154 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



May. 



violets. 



They smell of the rain, the sun and breeze ; 



Of the long, cool shadows of Cedar trees; 



Of the brook that sings down Its mossy ledge; 



Of the bending Ferns and the rustling Sedge; 



Of velvet Mosses that keep the dew; 



And of sweet dead leaves that sweet last year knew. 



They smell of the chill, pure breath of dawn; 



Of wind-swept hillside and sun-swept lawn; 



Of Rose Briar hedge and of winding lane; 



And— of dreams that will never come hack again, 



These wild, pale Violets faint and sweet. 



That we buy In the crowded city street. 



—Puck. 



A Dandelion. 



She stood knee-deep in meadow-grass 



With joy of life's new comers, 

 A winsome brown-eyed little lass 



Of three brief careless summers. 

 At last a Dandelion crossed 



Her path of springtide pleasure ; 

 She stopped an instant, wonder-lost, 



Then brought to me her treasure. 

 Her swift glance sought the sky-lield sun 



Then flashed back to the other. 

 " I've found," she cried, '"another one, 



The sun's dear little brother ! " 



Youth's Companion. 



Mid the flower-wreathed tombs I stand 

 Bearing Lilies in my hand. 

 Comrades ! In what soldier grave 

 Sleeps the bravest of the brave ? 

 One low grave, yon trees beneath. 

 Bears no Roses, wears no wreath ; 

 Yet no heart more high and warm 

 Ever dared the battle-storm; 

 Turning from a comrade's eyes. 

 Kneeling where a woman lies, 

 I strew LUies on the grave 

 Of the bravest of the brave. 



— r. W. Higginson. 



The Pear is long lived. 



Jack Frost we fear you. 



Shallow planting does'nt suit Lilies. 



Even flower seeds should go into drills. 



The group is the key-note for arranging line 

 lawns. 



No harm in sowing thickly, provided you thin 

 quickly. 



What will cure a mossy lawn V— More rich 

 compost. 



Have one bed of tine-striped Petunias. They 

 will self-sow. 



Our fall-mulched hardy flowers came through 

 in the best possible shape. 



Well-shaken, when taken, applies with full 

 force to spraying with fungicides and insecti- 

 cides. 



Hot-bed sash are good thing to buy at auction. 

 We can always And profitable use on the farm 

 for a quantity. 



Why not grow more Prunes? A single year's 

 importation into the country now reaches !tO- 

 00U,000, pounds. 



The Sacred Lotus, at whose shrine we would 

 like to worship, has thus far refused to take 

 root at Woodbanks. 



A little lime-water occasionally, will help your 

 pot and other plants, at the same time it will kill 

 all angle worms in the soil. 



Ammonia, a teaspoonful in two quarts of 

 water, gives thrift and luxuriance to pot plants 

 watered with the mixture. 



Long White French Turnip, called in Virginia 

 ** Sugar Turnip,^' is pronounced by Mr. Massey 

 to be the best of all for family use. Should be 

 sown early. 



In place of glass sash, frames covered with 

 strong Manilla paper painted with two coats of 

 raw linseed oil, are used by some gardeners with 

 good results. 



A smoke pipe is needed. Heating with an oil 

 stove has not given satisfaction. I find the gas 

 injures the plants badly.-- n'.i;.Bo«'nia»,Oftiu. 



Better have some dried Asparagus for use 

 next winter. The drying of this delightful suc- 

 culent is now recommended in some quarters. 

 Simply dry the stalks in the sun, and put away in 

 a box until winter. When wanted soak over 

 night, and cook with the addition of a little salt 

 in the water. We shall try it. 



The Kentucky Coffee Tree iOymnocladux Cana- 

 (le»»i^) is a valuable shade and ornamental tree. 

 Its leaves arc sometimes used to poison horseflies. 

 Pound a handful of the leaves in a mortar, and 

 put in shallow dishes with a little milk. Flies 

 partaking of this dish soon die. It is harmless to 

 other animals and human beings. 



Any tree or shrub planted on the premises 

 that adds to our comfort, also adds to the money 

 value of the place. Whatever will make a place 

 worth more to us, will also to others who might 

 like to possess it. This is a consideration that 

 should stimulate activity in providing the place 

 with trees and vines.— »4. P. Heed, Me. 



Would you have an extraordinary develop- 

 ment of fine foliage, in Cannas, Caladiums, 

 Castor Oil Beans, Eulalias, Reeds, Ailanthus, 

 Pawlonia, etc.? Then rely on an abundance of 

 manure, in the soil and abundant summer water- 

 ing. These conditions provided and it is very 

 easy to make a grand success with this class of 

 plants. Try it. 



Leaf mold is a natural fertilizer for all trees, 

 and shrubs, and wood flowers, or any plants that 

 like a shaded place. It is also very useful as an 

 addition to potting soil. Together with well- 

 rotted cow manure, say two years old and having 

 been kept under cover, it constitutes a perfect 

 fertilizer and soil material for the florist and 

 lawn maker.— 4. P. Reed, Cumherland Co., Me. 



Everything in its Place. Do not set any tree 

 in or around your garden ; you need all the 

 light, all the sunshine for your vegetables. 

 While a tree the first season may not obstruct 

 the light, nor give much shade, nor monopolize 

 the fertility,' of . the soil — soon it will ; and you 

 will be driven from your most convenient gar- 

 dens pot. I know how it is from experience. — 

 Fritdemann Oremer,N. Y. 



The Ideal Lawn. The meadow in springtime 

 should furnish the lawn pattern for the season 

 through. We refer to the delightful period 

 when the grass has began growth, and long be- 

 fore it shoots up its stem. All grass plats are 

 then in the height of their attractiveness. By 

 the aid of the handy little lawn mower— or the 

 horse mower tor large areas, the ideal grass-land 

 of springtime may be had until fall. 



A new insecticide is ottered under the name 

 sludgite and claimed to be moi-e powerful than 

 kerosene emulsion. Col. Pearson of New Jersey 

 says it kills the Rose bug. Prepared from sludge, 

 a petroleum product, combined with soap. It is 

 readily cut by hot water, and forms a permanent 

 emulsion. The manufacturers, Columbia Chem- 

 ical Works, Brooklyn, N. Y., recommend it for 

 Cucumber beetle. Elm Leaf beetle. Potato bug, 

 tent caterpillar, borers, hen lice, etc. It may be 

 worth a trial. 



Wild Flowers in the House. I have to-day two 

 pots of Hepatica triloba or Liverleaf with from 

 thirty to forty blooms on each, colors ranging 

 from white to blue, and they are the wonder and 

 admiration of my friends. Anybody can get 

 such plants by digging them up during the open 

 weather that often occurs during January, Feb- 

 ruary or March, and potting them. After 

 blooming the plants may be placed in your wild 

 flower garden, and will bloom year after year.— 

 W. E. Bowinan, Ohiii. 



Test the Fnrity of Sulphate of Copper. The 

 efficacy of the Bordeaux mixture depends on the 

 purity of the sulphate. To find out, whether 

 the drug is all right, dissolve a few of the crys- 

 tals in a well-cleaned tumbler of water; then 

 pour in a little milk of lime, or some aqua am- 

 monia, and a precipitate will be formed of a 

 beautiful skye-blue if the copper sulphate is 

 pure. If it contains irtm, it will be of a rusty 

 blue color, and if adulterated with zinc it will 

 be a dirty, cloudy white. 



There is no Excuse Take one home owner with 

 another and plenty of persons can yet be found, 

 who are without that most delicious, wholesome 

 and earliest of garden vegetables,the Asparagus. 

 The plants can be bought at a dollar or less per 

 hundred, the culture is of the most simple 

 character, a rich deep soil being the great secret 

 of success. A good distance to set tbem apart is 

 five feet by two, thus admitting of horse culture 



one direction. Fifty plants well grown should 

 answer for an ordinary-sized family. 



Plantain Lilies or Funkias are not grown in 

 pots nearly so much as they deserve. They are 

 very effective for standing in balconies, corri- 

 dors, etc. There are many varieties, some with 

 plain foliage, some with variegated, but all more 

 or less striking. The plants may remain in the 

 same pots for a number of years. In the autumn 

 the foliage will die dtiwn, and then the plants 

 may be removed to a cold frame or spare room, 

 or left outside. During the summer they re 

 quire copious watering. Almost any kind of 

 soil suits them. 



Dear Bought Experience. Last year I im- 

 ported some Roses from Erfurt, Germany. The 

 packasie, forty pounds in weight, was received 

 in December. The original cost of the plants 

 was $'3.2.5 at Erfurt. The charges on the same 

 by the time they reached me was as follows : 

 Commission fees, Hamburg, $1.44; freight, $3; 

 custom house entry and bond, $1 50; cartage, 

 50 cents; insurance, 26 cents; forwarding com- 

 mission, 30 cents; duty, 20 per cent, 65 cents; 

 express from New York $2.75; total, $13.35. Have 

 I been cheated?— i. Kuhc, Seivard Co., JSeb. 



Portable Garden Pump. One of the many 

 simple and cheap devices made use of by Eng- 

 lish gardeners, is the portable pump here illus- 

 trated. Our transatlantic friends find it very 

 useful in irrigating their gardens, and for many 

 other purposes A hose may be attached to the 

 discharge pipe, so that any smaller or larger 

 body of water, or ditch, a pool, a tank, may 

 thus be utilized for furnishing water to the plots 

 within a reasonable distance from it. The 

 weight of the person working the pump handle, 

 as he stands upon the frame work of the barrow- 

 like foundation, serves to hold the pump steady 

 and firm. 



Hanging Baskets. No wonder they are popu- 

 lar, for there cannot ijossibly be prettier orna- 

 ments for decorating a window or verandah 

 than one of these, well-arranged and well-cared 

 for. To have one or more baskets is worth some 

 little time and trouble The greatest need is 

 good soil for the large bulk of plants grown in a 

 small compass, an abundance of water, the 

 easiest way to supply which is to dip the basket 

 bodily into a pailful of water, and letting it get 

 thoroughl.v soaked, once a week. Geraniums in 

 many kinds, Coleus, Fuchsias, Oxalis, Wandering 

 Jew, German Ivy, Kenil worth Ivy, Vincas and 

 greenhouse Saxifragas are some of the plants 

 suitable for this purpose. 



Meehan's Monthly. All lovers of our native 

 flowers and plants will rejoice to learn that the 

 publication of the able work known as " The 

 Flowers and Ferns of the United States by Thos. 

 Meehan" which was stopped some years ago is to 

 be resumed by the author himself. The work is 

 to^e issued as an octavo monthly of 16 pages with 

 a colored plate consisting of some native wild 



Portable Oarden Pump. 



flower uniform with the former series, and by 

 the same artists, L. Prang & Co., Boston. There 

 will be a chapter on wild flowers each month 

 together with some matter on general gardening, 

 and containing numerous woodcuts. Mr.Meehan 

 will oe assisted by his sous, in its publication. 

 The price will be $2.00 per year. 



Two Fine Volumes. From Prof.Wm. Trelease, 

 Director of the Missouri Botanical Gardens at 

 St. Louis, we have received a copy of the last 

 annual report of this garden, besides a volume 

 devoted to the origin and history of the Tower 

 Grove Park of the same city. The former con- 

 tains a fine portrait and biographical sketch of 



