1 886. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



45 





kON C I 



ES 





The Rose Bud's Tale. 



Thoug^li the^■ whisper, he and !\Iay. 

 I can hear eaeh word they say : 



For I rest,— 

 Cliagiugto the ball-room's queeu. 

 'Mid the laee and silken sheen— 



At her breast 



*' Give me but that rose of thine. 

 I will build for it a shrine 



Near my heart." 

 From my bed she draws me out. 

 For a moment seems in doubt — 



Then we part . 



In his waistcoat, crushed. I lie— 

 'Mid cigars and purse I die : 



Ere the daj' 

 Am forgotten, and, ere night. 

 Trophy of a conquest light. 



Ttu-own away I 



Roses are in lietter color. 

 Poinsettias are firey -looking now. 

 Camellias with long stems last well. 

 The Horseshoe design is out of style. 

 Hot houses lonk bare after the Holiday plucking. 

 Single Primroses are finer as vase flowei-s. than 

 douiile ones. 



Londoners use the Ivy leaf as green for winter 

 button hole bouquets. 



Chorozema, the dainty la-illiant tiower. is used 

 with etTect for hair sprays. 



Lilies should seldom be mixed with other tlowers ; 

 they l«iok better by themselves. 



If you would have your tioral arrangements al- 

 wa,^'s interesting, keei> out of the rut of sameness in 

 making. 



A florist should have a special taste for tlowei-s, 

 and the essence of his ambition will be to prefer na- 

 ture's best work to her more ordinary. 



Cleaning Flower Vases. When gla.ss vases be- 

 come discolored or furred, a weak solution of hytb-o- 

 chloric acid will easily remove the stain, a better 

 plan than undue rubbing, which endangers the glass. 



FLORAL CRESCENT AND OWL. 



"Why are cut tlowers so dear," is a question 

 often asked at this season. The owner of a range 

 of hot houses requiring 400 tons of coal to keep them 

 warm through one winter, could quickly answer. 



In keeping flowers over night it is well to exclude 

 air as entirely as possible from them. If you can- 

 not place them in a refrigerator, they may go on the 

 cellar tloor, sprinkling lightly and inverting a tub 

 or tight vessel over them. 



Maiden Hair Ferns. No green is more charming 

 fur intermixing with cut tlowei'S or for touching up 

 tloral designs, than the fronds of these. Yet, as 

 with all other fine things, their use might be over- 

 done. We have seen such cases. 



A Lily of the Valley Dress ! Wlmt ovild that be 

 like? One so called was recentlj' worn by a bride in 

 New York. The corsage and overdress of white 

 silk tulle, over pearly satin, was strewn thickly with 

 the deUcate sprays of this favorite bloom of young 

 brides. The eflfect Ls said to have been exquisite. 



Flowers, the measure. ^liss (jascom spoke uf a 

 funeral she had liei-n tu as a tmiching atfair and the 

 most devotional occasion she ever witnessed. >Irs. 

 Harland was not so impressed, she saw no tears shed 

 and no emotion. " But the flowers, Mrs. Harland," 

 said Miss Gascom. "' why one of the pyramids was 

 five feet high." 



The Crescent and Owl. This grotesque rtoral <ie- 

 sign of which we give an engraving, received the 



first premium as a novelty at the last show of the 

 Buffalo Horticultural Society. The Crescent was 

 composed of yellow Chiysjinthemunis. the solenm 

 bird of night, of Marie I^ouise Violets. The jiiece 

 was suspended from the ceiling and attracted much 

 attention. It was one of the exhibits of Long 

 Brothers, the well known florists of this city. 



Forced Lilacs. With December came the earliest 

 of these in the markets. The first crop was held 

 at about $1 for each clu.ster. nuxking them a costly 

 flower. The purple varieties are the ones chiefly 

 gi'own. and these by being forced in the dark, yield 

 rt*iwers of a waxy white. In this color they are 

 in demand for bridal bouquets. When grown in 

 the light, the color is a shade lighter than garden 

 ones, and much moi-e delicate looking. A cluster 

 of Marechal Niel Roses fringed with these delicate 

 pxu"ple lilac tassels, is incomparable. The odor of 

 hlacs remains long after the bloom lias withered. 



The Ivy Leaf in Funeral Designs. At the fun- 

 eral of John McCullough, at Philadelphia recently, 

 there was brought together a remarkable collection 

 of funeral designs. Among these were a number, 

 in which the Ivy leaf was a leading article used in 

 construction. There was a five-foot column of these 

 imbedded in a sloping base of flowers, which in turn 

 surmounted a six -inch base of Ivy leaves. On the 

 slope against the column on one side was a sheaf of 

 wheat and on the opposite side some palm leaves. 

 A four-foot column of Ivy with a small sheaf at- 

 tached to it was also present. There was an elab- 

 orate urn four feet high of solid white flowers, 

 trimmed with pale roses and draped with festoons 

 of IV3- leaves, with some of the same also worked 

 into the two-foot square base. A five pointed crown 

 and the points well turned outwards was composed 

 of elegant white flowers in the inside, with Ivy on 

 the exterior. There were many besides, in which 

 flowers alone entered, altogether some twenty fine 

 designs were pi-esent, w^orth from $25 to $100 each. 



The dark parts of roots do not lengthen. 



Seeds and spores differ widely in structure. 



The study of Botany should begin in childhood. 



The thorns of young Locust trees, disappear with 

 age. 



A Botanic G-arden has been started at Reikjavik, 

 Iceland. 



Dr. Asa Gray completed his 75th year on Novem- 

 ber isth last. 



" Gold " Ferns receive their color from a farina- 

 cious substance. 



The wood of the large Tupelo i-oots, is so light 

 and springy as to be useful for corks. 



The Rocky Mountain Flora is treated on exhaust- 

 ively by Professor J. M. Coulter, of Crawfordsville, 

 Ind.. in a volume soon to appear. 



The plants <'f the earth, in the flowering divi- 

 sions are I'ut at about it6,000 species, by such recent 

 high authorities as Bentham and Hooker. 



A Jack Fruit. Artocarftu.'^ itifegny<}liiiff. weigh- 

 ing over 82 lbs. from Rio .lanerio, was shown at a 

 recent meeting of the Roya! Botanical Society of 

 London. 



The Algae, t^r plants of the open sea, often live 

 at coiisitierable depths. Udotea vitifolia has been 

 brought up from a depth of 250 feet near the Cana- 

 ries. Peron and Mange have dredged up brilliant 

 living Algae from '>C^^ feet. 



The Microphytes have a wonderful power of re- 

 sistance. Professor MeHendrick. found that after 

 subjecting organisms like Bacteria to a temperature 

 120'^ below zero, and then thawing the fluids con- 

 taining them. living organisms yet remained. 



Astonishing ! A si>ecirnen of the Giant Puff- 

 ball, Lycoperdon (jignntruni^ of the immense size of 

 five feet four inches its largest way, and four feet 

 six inches the smallest way in diameter, was in 1877 

 found by Pn.f. R. E. Call, in Herkimer Co.. X. Y. 



Plants and Animals. The laboi-s of Botanists 

 and Zoologists have long been directed to discover 

 absolute differences Itetween these two, but in vain. 

 There are points in the scale from the higher to the 

 lower orders in each, where no line can positively 

 be di'awn between the two kingd<)ms. 



Hard wood, a '.rvi- known as the Desert Iron 

 Wood, and gi'owing in the dry wastes along the line 

 of the Southern Pacific Railroad, is reported as l>e- 

 iugoneof the hardest woods in existence. Its specific 

 gravity almost e<iuals that of Lignum-vita?. The 

 heai-l which is black, when well seasoned will turn 

 the edge of an axe. and can hardly he cut by a well 

 tempered saw. 



Vitality of Seeds. Professor Real reports the re- 

 sults of experiments maile in the growth of seeds tliat 

 had been enclosed in sand in bottles, and buried for 

 five yeai's at a depth of twenty inches In-low the su>-- 

 face of the earth, as follows, the numbers indicating 

 per cents: A ni<irtin th k.s retro flex uk, forty -two : 

 Ambrosia artcmisia'/itlio, none: Brassicn nigra, 

 none; Bromus m-ralimts, none: CapHcUa Imrsa-jjaji- 

 toris, one hundred; Lepitfiuni virf/iiiirum, ninety- 

 four ;^i(7j/)f>/7>/a ninculdto, none: QCnofhfro biennis. 

 eighty-two: Plantago major, none: i\)lf/gotiiim Jii/- 

 dro-piper^ six; Portulaca aleracea, th irty -eight : 

 Quercus rubra, none; TrifoUum rcpens^ four; 

 Verhaatinn iiuiiiKua^ eighly-four. 



A Primula Convention, international in its na- 

 ture, will be held in London. England, commencing 

 on April 23 next. It will be conducted somewhat 

 after the plan of the great Orchid Convention of last 

 year, which resulted so well in advancing the general 

 knowledge of Orchids. At the coming Convention, 

 the Polyanthus, .\uriculas, American Cowslips. 

 Cyclamens, and other favorites of the Primnlarefv. 

 will each receive a share of attention. The high 

 character of the meeting is sufficiently indicated by 

 the fact that the committee for the United States 

 consists of Prof. Asa Gray, of Harvard, Prof. Thur- 

 ber of Xew .Jersey, Prof. Sleehan of Philadelphia 

 and Prof. Lawson of Halifax. Nova Scotia. 



ABOUT THE PLACE. 



Corn is a warming food. 



Plan improvements by this weather. 



Store pigs will consume a little clover hay with 

 profit, if given the chance. 



To scatter ashes on icy walks costs nothing; 

 broken limbs are very costly. 



The use of the easily made A-shaped snow scrap- 

 ers, may save much tiresome trudging through the 

 unbroken paths. 



Many a valuable horse has been crippled by sli[)- 

 ping <in the ice. To the shop at once if the shoes 

 are smooth, and the roads shppery. 



Surplus honey combs should be exposed to hard 

 frost in order that the eggs of the moth or miller 

 may be frozen. Rats and mice will destroy comb 

 when somewhat pressed for food: they must be 

 kept out of their way. 



In the depth of winter, it is important, tliat 

 stables, water pipes, cisterns, root pits and cellars, 

 be very thoroughly protected; now if this kind of 

 work was neglected earher, don't rest easy for one 

 day until it is attended. 



Pure Water. The water for farmers" families, 

 says the American Cultivator, is quite as apt to be 

 bad as that in cities, w^here boards of health step in 

 and enforce sanitary regidations. The best way to 

 insure pure water is to use that from the hou.se roof. 

 passing it through a filter to remove impurities. In 

 the West this practice of storing rain water in cis- 

 tenis is quite common, and the cisterns are made 

 very deej) to insure cold water in summer. 



Mulches. A (Tcrman experimenter. Prof. K. 

 Wollny, has fouud that soil covered with living herb- 

 age or dead vegetable matter is coldei- in sunmier 

 and wai-mer in winter than bare soil imdei- other- 

 wise similar conditions. The difference of tempera- 

 ture is greatest in summer and least in spring 

 and autumn. Bare soil heats more quickly in the 

 spring and cools more quickly in autuum than that 

 covered with living i»r dead vegetable mattei". 



We trust that not a single reader of Popc[^» 

 Gardening, is obliged from lack of feeding eon- 

 veniences, to throw the corn or other grain, fed to 

 hogs, on the muddy or snowy floor of the pens. 

 We confess it was only recentlj' we met a case of 

 this kind of feeding, and the man was one who can't 

 afford to take a paper not even Popular (Jardening, 

 at (U> cents a year. The i>ractice is as wasteful 

 as it is abomniable, fully one-fourth of the food 

 being lost, we are smv. 



Feeding the cow, when choice is to be had be- 

 tween good timothy and clover hay, feed the lattei". 

 If of good quality, not too coarse, ami not smoky, 

 it may be fed long. Unless it is flret-rate, it will go 

 further for being cut. but otherwise will be no better 

 for the ciiw. Our choice in such a case, if the sup- 

 ply- is ample, would be not to cut. and let her reject 

 the pooi'er parts. (Jood bright corn fodder, cut up 

 short, are fully the equal of good hay for feeding. For 

 meal, gi'ound oats is to be preferred above any other 

 kind : a mixture of half and half oats and corn, 

 groimd. is excellent for the milk yield. Half a pint 

 of linseed oil cake or cotton seed cake daily, will 

 keep the system in fine tone, and increase the milk. 

 Several quarts of roots per day. isanotiier addition 

 to the food not to be gotten along without, wheit- 

 the Iwist results are aimed for. 



