CHOICE OF FLOWERS 



there are old stumps about the grounds that are 

 too stout for pulling, they can be hollowed for 

 eight or ten Inches, and seeds or young nas- 

 turtiums can be placed there, in an ordinary soil. 

 While they seem to like the drainage in a situa- 

 tion like this, and in porch- and window-boxes 

 and hanging baskets, too, they are light feeders 

 and prefer a sandy soil to one that Is heavy and 

 richly manured. This makes them easy to grow, 

 and it may be the reason why they are not grown 

 oftener, for we take most pride, if not most com- 

 fort, in what has cost labor and anxiety. 



The geranium requires no introduction. 

 Everybody knows it, even In the towns. It is 

 common to both continents and is cheap, clean, 

 vigorous and useful. It is long active, and you 

 will force it to keep in blossom longer than it 

 intended if you will pinch off the flower-stalks 

 after they have begun to wither. This manner 

 of producing bloom apphes to numerous other 

 plants as well. For the same reason that people 

 buy yellow journals and see crimson dramas, 

 they buy scarlet geraniums, forgetful that the 

 plant has other hues, the pink, for example, and 

 the full, clear red and white. Venders In the 

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