1885. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



2 I 



Treecllmber's Talks. 



AN EARLY-COMMENCINO FLOWER. 



In my jauuts away from the tife-top, I fre- 

 qviently get into the outlying meadows and 

 woods. A walk here is rarely taken in Octolier 

 without running across my interesting old 

 frienil .the Witeh-hazel, in bloom. This shrub 

 has the queer habit of flowering late, after all 

 other blooms are past, and even when its own 

 leaves are ripened ami falling. I she > w au en- 

 gi'aving of a leaf and some flowers of the bush. 



These late flowers, so far as their more im- 

 portant functions of maturing seed is concerned, 

 belong to next sea.son. The}' are merely com- 

 nienciu.g the coming year's operations in the 

 end of this year, in which rcs|ject they are like 

 the schools that have commencements at the 

 end of each yearly term. The blossoms, of a 

 jiale vellow. showing prettily along the twigs, 

 remain in a (hied state where they are. through 

 the winter. When spring comes thev develop 

 into fruit, and require the season to mature. 



I never see the Witch-hazel blooming in this 

 unseasonable mouth, without thinking of the 

 special perniit it seems to have from mistress 

 Nature, of thus getting the start of her sister 

 flowere that bloom in the spring. But nature 

 appears to delight in allowing these odd caprices 

 sometimes, as we see in many singidar habits 

 and forms in the vegetable world. The Creator 

 who ordered things so, saw that it was good, 

 and we cannot but en jo}' in this bush the pleas- 

 ing variations of some flowei-s late in the fall, 

 amongst the sombre aspect of natm'e at this 

 sea.son. The flowers ajipear much more attract- 

 ive now than they could if their opening was 

 deferred until spring, among the many early 

 flowers. As a lawn flowering shi-ub this late 

 bloomer is of value. A friend in another state 

 reports a handsome specimen ten feet high, in 

 the shape of a sugai- loaf, which every autumn 

 is charmingly coverefl with golden bloom. 



Now you may want to know about 



THE NAME WITCH-HAZEL. 



This shrub of singular habit has long been 

 associated with supei-stitious notions. Those 

 who have read from the poems of Token, may 

 have seen the following allusion to it: 



Mysterious plant : }\'liose golden tresses wave 

 With a sad beauty in the dying year. 

 Blooming amid Xoveinber's frost severe. 

 Like a pale corpse-light o'er the recent grave. 

 If shepherds tell us true, th.v wand hath power, 

 With gracious influence to avert the harm 

 Of ominous planets. 



The fact that the shrub was formerlv thus 

 regarded, together with its close resemblance to 

 the trae Hazel, easily accounts for its common 

 name. It is known lx)tanically as HatnttmHis 

 \'iryiniana. The branches were formerly in re- 

 pute as "divining rods" by means of which 

 deep springs of water, and precious metals 

 were supposed to be revealed. All intelligent 

 persons know V)etter now than to believe that 

 anj'thing possesses such power, and the notion 

 meets with ridicule. That the Witch-hazel has 

 some medical virtues is not doubted, and an 

 extract from it is a popnlar remedy. 



Timothy Treeclimber. 



can never rea.sonably lie expected to be done, is 

 thus set forth by a recent writer: 



Tocarr.v the \iiuly nf even a small women, weigh- 

 ing, say, Km pounds, wonlil reifnire a machine hav- 

 ing at leasl four liiirse power. This would call for 

 wings, supjiosing we hail the machine to work them, 

 of enormous size. The liirds fnmid far out at sea, 

 known a.s Mother Carey's chickens, seem t<i he lal'Kc. 

 but when killed, and the body stripped of feathers, 

 it Ls not much bigger than a canary bird. And so of 



Why Men Cannot Fly. 

 What boy as he has watched the gracefid 

 flight, and free and rapid movements of birds 

 through the aii-. has not wished that he could fly ; 

 Inventors for ages have dreamed of a time to 

 come, %vhen men could put on wings and fly. 

 Much money has been spent in devising and 

 building flying machines, all thus far without 

 securing anything capable of serving any prac- 

 tical or useful pm-pose. Why flying Viy men 



pounds of jams and jellies: tinne<l meats. 6,(100 

 pounds: di-ied beans, :).iK»i pounds: rice, •'j.mniixiimds; 

 onions, .-j.mil pounils; potatiH's. *> tons: Hour. 300 

 barrels, and egtcs. l.'Jim dozen. Kresh vegetables, 

 dead meat, and live bulli>cks, sheep, piKS, geese, 

 turkeys, ducks, fowls, fish, and casual game are 

 genei'ally supplied at each port, so that it isdiftieult 

 to estiimil<. them Probably two ilozeii bullocksand 

 si.\ty sheep would be a fair averaee for the whole 

 vo.vage. and the rest ma.v he inferred hi projjortion. 

 During t he sunnner months, when traveling is hea\'y. 

 twenty-live fuw Ls are often used in soup for asiugle 

 dinner. 



lie 



pen 



Read hit to me. 



AN EARLY-COMMENCING FLOWER 



all birds capable of extended flight. Man's strength, 

 it is estimated, would have to be increased some 

 thirt.v fold before he could fly. and then he would 

 be forced to confine himself to dead calm weather. 

 CmTents of air have often a velocity of twenty miles 

 per hour, a fact which .shows how might.v must be 

 the power man must command before he can launch 

 himself upon the air and compete \\ ith even the 

 slowe.st birds. Aside from au extreniel.v jtowerful 

 motor there must be some apparatus that will do 

 the same special .service for man that feathers and 

 wings do for birds. 



Sharing Equally. 



The visions of Socialists and others, who be- 

 lieve that an equal distribution of wealth among 

 all mankinil is needed for securing the highest 

 sum of happiness, can never be realized. Even 

 if it were possible to be carried out. the results 

 would not effect any material change in the 

 condition of the poor. 



During one of the revolutions in the city of Paris, 

 several t-ough-looking men entered the banking 

 house of Rothschild and demanded nione.v. saying 

 that all men were brethren, and that the lich should 

 share with the poor. 



" Here is your .share." said the banker, handing 

 each man a" five-franc piece: "there are many of 

 my poor brethren in Parts." An Eastern parable 

 runs thus; 



.4. very poor man went to a very rich man and 

 said. "We are two sons of Adam and Eve: therefore 

 we are brothers. 'V'ou are very rich, and I am verj- 

 poor; give me a brother's share." 



The rich man gave to the poor man one cowrie — 

 the smallest jiiec-e of mone.v. a tiny shell. 



'The pour num said. "O sir. why do , von not bestow 

 upon me a brothers share "r" 



To which the rich man rei>lied. " Be content, my 

 good friend : if I give all luy poor brothers one cow- 

 rie each, 1 shall not have any remaining. 



Writing not Easy Work 

 Colonel "^'erger's negr<i Sum, although very 

 useful as a general utility man about his mas- 

 ter's j)laee, found it exhausting to wiite letters. 

 According to Ti.nis Siflinris he thus applied to 

 his employer for some clerical aid, with the re- 

 sult stated : 



"Boss, I wants yerter write mealetteiter Waco." 



"All righl, Sam, I'll do it." 



"Has yer got de paper an' de ink 

 ready dar'r" 



" \es, Sam. go ahead." 



" Write Austin, Texas." 



" All right." 



" Has yer got hit written?" 



"Yes." 



" Allobhit?" 



"Certainly." 



"What has .ver got written? 

 boss." 



" An.stin, Texas." 



" Pat's right. Now write June de fourteenf." 



".\II right. Sam." 



" Has 3'er got hit down boss. alread.v." 



" Yes." 



"(i'wa.y. boss, .you am jokin'. Read hit ler me." 



".Tune fourteenth." 



"Y'ou has got hit down all right. Now. boss, 

 reail hit all ober from de heny begiimin' 



"Austin. Texas, June fourteenth." 



" Dat's right. "V^Tiew : I say. boss, let's res' awhile, 

 I's tired. M.v head aches like hitwasgwintersplit." 



Satisfied that tha Earth is not Round. 



We, who are amuseil at the theories of un- 

 civilized or ignorant ]>eople concerning the 

 shape of the earth, should reflect that it is only 

 a few hunch'e<l years, since even wise men, were 

 ske])tical as to the matter of its rotundity. 

 Following is an account of the pros and cons 

 on this same subject and a test of the I'a-se, by 

 two braves of an Indian village, near Quebec, 

 some time since, and printed in the Golden 

 Days: 



One held that it was round, because men had trav- 

 eled in a straitrht line and had come back to the 

 ver.v spot whence the.v had started. 



To this it was rei>iied that men were apt to travel 

 in circles, as they often do when lost. 



Then it was urged that white men said so, and 

 they knew more than the Indians: hut it was an- 

 swered white men frequenth' lied, as the Indians 

 ver.v well knew, 



■The matter was settled finalfv as follows: A stake 

 was driven into the groimrl. and at night an apple 

 was placed upon the stake. In the morning the 

 apple was still there: whereupon the chief, who was 

 acting as referee in the ca-se. <leclared that if the 

 earth had revolved in the nij^ht the apple would 

 have fallen off. 



Professor dooking at his watch) : " As we 

 have a few more minutes, I shall lie glad to an- 

 swer any question that any one may wish to 

 ask." 



Weary Student : "What time is it, plea-sef 



The pleasantest things in the world are pleas- 

 ant thoughts, and the greatest art in life is to 

 have as inmiv of them as [wssible. 



Provisions for an Ocean Steamer. 



Persons from the interior, who for the first 

 time see a large ocean steamer, are quite cer- 

 tain to be impresswl, by its vast proportions. 

 And yet its cupatity for holding freight and 

 pa.s.seugei-s, and the extent of the ojierations of 

 loading and fitting ui) the vessel for a voyage, 

 are hanl to be realized liy the casual si>ectator, 

 as a large portion of the vessel lies out of sight 

 beneath the surface of the water. The Loiidtin 

 Tiinrs thus descriiies the provisiimiug of a large 

 vessel, for passengers and crew : 



In each vessel Ls packeil away :i..'>00 pounds of 

 butter rj.iwohams; l.liW pounds of biscuits, exclu- 

 sive of those supplied for the crew: S.lXKl pounds of 

 grapes, almonds, figs, and other dessert fruits: l,.'jil0 



An investment in knowledge always pays the 

 liest interest. 



An Autumn Hostelry. 



It was the dear «)ld appU* tree. 



^\1lo took me for his gue.st : 

 He gave me shelter, gave me food. 



And welcome of the best, 



A hetl I foiuid for slinnlier sweet, 



< If sfiflest mosses made: 

 The host himself he covered me 



With cool and pleasant shade. 



.\nd when I asked what I owed. 



He shook his leaves at me. 

 Be blessings on ,vour tieatl for a.ve. 



You dear olil aiiple tree. 



— t'///and. 



