9° 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



May, 



C I E 



A beautiful hunch of Rosehuds 

 Some one gave to my little boy; 

 Half open, and dewy and fragrant— 

 His eyes just danced with joy. 

 And with tenderest care he watched them 

 As they faded day by day. 

 And when the last had fallen. 

 He said in a wistful way: 

 "If I could choose me a present, 

 Do you know, mamma, I'd take 

 Some more of those little roses 

 That weren't quite wide awake." 



—Bessie Chandler. 



The Daisies peep from every field. 

 And Violets sweet their odor yield; 

 The purple blossom paints the thorn. 

 The streams reflect the blush of morn. 

 Then, lads and lassies, all, be gay 

 For this is Nature's hoMday. 



—Pindar's May Day. 



Jamesoni and occupies a prominent position. Man- 

 tels are banked with Calendulas and fringed with 

 Othonna. Bushes of Genesta in full blossom are 

 placed on pedestals and are formed in an arch 

 against pier glasses The golden harp is made five 

 feet high, and with cords of bulHon for strings. 

 This piece is usually placed in a corner where it is 

 highly decorative It should have casters to be 

 easily rolled 



" Green Dinners " are stiU much in vogue. Table 

 cloths of white satm show off the lacy foliage used, 

 more elegantly than others Chains of vines, such 

 as Asparagus, Lygodiuin scandens or Ivy extend 

 through the table, garlanding candelabra. The cen- 

 ter effect is made of Maiden Hair Ferns, and the 

 favors are fanciful bunches of Ferns with a cluster 

 of Geranium leaves or Lemon Verbena to provide 

 odor. The Clover Leaf, made on a light wire frame 

 of delicate foliage, is a popular favorite for these 

 green decorations 



►lanic^lO^d^et 



Arbutus flowers are in request. 

 White 'Violets are in demand for bridal flowers. 

 Bitter with the sweet-the florist's all night work. 

 The language of the Narcissus is egotism, over- 

 confidence. 



Pink-tinted Lilacs and pink Larkspurs are sought 

 for festooning. 



May weddings will display a profusion of blush- 

 colored blossoms. 



Dark crimson flowers harmonize well with golden 

 ones in floral arrangements. 



Outdoor 'Violets now crowd their cousins of the 

 flower stores against the wall. 



This department is enriched by numerous para- 

 graphs from our regidar New York contributor. 



The wedding bunch is made of medium size of 

 white Violets with a cluster of Orange blossoms at 

 one side. Violet leaves finish the edge. The breast 

 bunch is a small knot of Violets, and the veil is 

 fastened with a trail of these interspersed with 

 Orange buds. 



The wedding branch is to be formed of Apple 

 Blossoms for a May wedding. This branch or 

 bough is formed naturally on wire so that it spreads 

 and bends gracefully. It is thickly covered with 

 flowers and is one of the most charming pieces for 

 a wedding canopy, it carefuUy finished. 



Those who preferred not to indulge in bouquets of 

 Jacqueminot Roses during the winter, because of 

 their high price, may be gratified to know that they 

 are now sold as low as Tea buds were two months 

 ago. Being very large, they are the cheapest Rose 

 in market. They smell just as sweet as at any other 

 price. 



'We saw a beautiful home-made bouquet at a fun- 

 eral lately, which showed what can be done in this 

 line without having access to the florist's stand, 

 even in early spring It was made wholly of single 

 Snowdrops and the handsome dark -green foliage of 

 the Periwinkle, both of which grew freely in a home 

 garden near by. 



The choicest luncheon parties have been deco- 

 rated with Clover or Sweet Pea blossoms, both of 

 which are to be had, for their price. The satin 

 cloth is the palest pink; Sweet Clover or Pea blos- 

 soms are arranged in low dishes of glass. Corsage 

 bunches of the flowers tied with narrow sashes of 

 blush colored ribbon are the favors. 



Young ladies' luncheons are made with English 

 Primroses for the center embeUishment and Daffo- 

 dils for the favors. The stems of the latter are left 

 long and are bound with a piece of gi-ass. Cottage- 

 maid TuUps are also much in demand for young 

 ladies' luncheons. Hinsdale or Grace Wilder Car- 

 nations are used for "pink luncheons." For rose- 

 bud parties, Bon Silene buds are chosen. 



The " chime " is the most fashionable piece de 

 resistance for weddings; under this, which is com- 

 posed of from three to five bells, the nuptial cere- 

 mony is performed. The bells in the chime are all 

 of different sizes, the largest being swung over the 

 bride and groom. The inside of' the bells are made 

 of two different colored flowers, which contrast 

 handsomely. The bell pulls are satin ribbons. 



Golden wedding decorations are elaborate. 

 The pyramid is made of Daffodils or Streptosolon 



Leaves absorb one part of the plant's food from 

 the air. 



The little Spring Beauty is a near relative of 

 Portulaca . 



The fragrance of flowers varies in strength 

 throughout the twenty -four hours, 



■We clip the following lines regarding Dr. Asa 

 Gray from a receut London Gardeners' Chronicle: 

 English botanists claim Asa Gray as one of them- 

 selves, despite the accident of his birth on the other 

 side of the Atlantic, and he is held in as great es- 

 teem here as in the land of his birth. 



A clump of thrifty Mandrake, {Podupkijllum pel- 

 tatum 1, plants graces a lawn near by. They seem to 

 be almost as much at home here as in the woods, 

 and flower well. We encourage the idea of seeking 

 out attractive wild flowers and giving them a place 

 in culture, for many of them succeed admirably. 



Botanical students are sure to be richly reward- 

 ed for their weary tramps through the meadows, 

 choppings and woods during May. The Wake-rob- 

 ins, Spring Beauties, Wood Anemones, Blood Roots, 

 Adders' Tongues, and numerous species of Violets 

 are now to be met with almost everywhere North, 

 besides many other less attractive wild flowers. 



The Horse-chestnut is an interesting grower 

 among trees All the growth of one season is made 

 in the space of a few weeks in the spring. During 

 this time the shoots extend very rapidly on vigor- 

 ous specimens, in tact one can almost "see them 

 grow," as the saying is. As the growth of this tree 

 proceeds from a comparatively small number of 

 buds, it is always a misfortune to have any of those 

 injured or broken, for thereby the symmetry of the 

 tree is sure to be impaired. 



Arctic Plants. Sergeant Elison, one of the vic- 

 tims of the Greeley expedition, was an enthusiastic 

 botanist and collected some very rare Arctic plants, 

 two of which had never been classified. The plants 

 are from six inches to two feet m height, and under 

 a magnifying glass present a very beautiful appear- 

 ance. Of the thirty -two classified specimens, all 

 but two were flowering plants. At the latitude at 

 which they were gathered (81° 44') the sun is quite 

 warm in July and August, and vegetation, though 

 stunted and short-hved, is not a rarity. 



A Glue for the Herbarium. Carriage glue is an 

 excellent medium tor mounting. It is always ready, 

 and one dispenses with the intolerable nuisance of 

 a water-bath. Work which accumulated on my 

 hands to a formidable amount I have been able to 

 quickly and surely discharge by its employment. 

 The glue, which is a semi-fluid, easily thinned by 

 water, comes in tin cans of various sizes and prices, 

 from thirty cents upwards. Given the glue, the 

 curator has then only to provide the small boy to 

 apply it.— ir. ir. Bailey, in Botanical Gazette. 



Botany for the Sick. Says Popular Science 

 Monthly: "InvaUds, as a rule, have a great deal of 

 leisure on their hands— more of it than they Uke— 

 and to fill this time pleasantly is a question involv- 

 ing a good deal more than mere amusement. The 

 miportanoe of mental distraction to invalids is a 

 fact too universally recognized to caU for comment 

 here, my object in this paper being merely to sug- 

 gest a mode of distraction that, in my own experi- 

 ence, has not only been attended with the happiest 

 results physicially, but has proved a source of in- 

 tense and never-failing pleasure. I allude to the 

 study of botany— not the tiresome, profitless study 

 of text-books, but of the woods and fields and 

 meadows. 



"The beauty of this pursuit is that it takes the 

 student out-of-doors, and throat and lung troubles. 



as has been truly said, are house-diseases. I am 

 speaking, of course, to those who have begun to 

 fight the enemy before he has captiu-ed the inner 

 defenses, and who are supposed to be strong enough 

 to do a reasonable amount of walking, and some 

 solid thinking, for botany, though the simplest of 

 the sciences, cannot be mastered without some 

 effort. You are met right at the threshold by that 

 fearful, technical vocabulary, which must be con- 

 quered before advancing a single step— a labor so 

 formidable and repellent, when undertaken accor- 

 ding to the old school-book method, that I do not 

 wonder so many have shrunk away from it in dis- 

 gust or in despair." 



ABOUT THE PLACE. 



Have dry walks ; l>o not wade mud. 

 Pine water pipes average fifteen years. 

 If not yet done, bee-hives, and all necessary ap- 

 pliances, should be gotten around in anticipation 

 of the swarming season near at hand. 



An Iowa correspondent says that the benefit de- 

 rived from having a small fruit patch surrounded 

 by evergreens surprised him very much. It doubled 

 the amount of fruit, and the plants were better 

 than those not protected.— Honie and Farm. 



Bee Moth Worms. These show up on the bot- 

 tom boards of hives, on chilly mornings, in the 

 spring. Destroy every one that can be discovered. 

 By so doing much loss and vexation in the future 

 may be avoided, as they increase very rapidly; 

 every one now killed being equivalent to hundreds 

 at the end of the season. 



Neat and attractive yards add very much to 

 the appearance and value of any home, and there 

 is a direct money return for the labor and trouble 

 expended in the additional value which .such at- 

 tractiveness imparts to the property. Besides this 

 additional value which a weU-kept lawn always im- 

 parts to the property, everything which will add 

 to the attractiveness of a home brings its own re- 

 ward in making what is all essential in a happy 

 home— beautiful and attractive surroundings. 



Riches Flying Away. The an- of every stable 

 reeks with the fumes of ammonia, unless it is ab- 

 sorbed as it should be. Ammonia, slippery article 

 that it is to hold, is one of the most valuable ele- 

 ments of plant food. Allowed to escape through 

 the stable, besides being lost, it unfits the air for 

 breathing, and takes the lite out of the well-oiled 

 harness, which it can reach. Dry muck and earth 

 makes most excellent absorbents. They will draw 

 ammonia into their keeping as a sponge draws up 

 water. Dry muck will hold more moisture than 

 any other available substance. Dry, loamy earth 

 ranks next in this quality, and in the absence of 

 muck will do very well for a stable absorbent. A few 

 shovelfuls of either muck or earth sprinkled over 

 the stable floor after cleaning out will make the 

 air sweet and pm-e by absorljing into itself the im- 

 pure substances 



House Drains. Disease and death often lurk in 

 the house drain. It is a treacherous thing, Itisput 

 in, covered up, and finished with a receiver and the 

 house-lord congratulates himself on having made a 

 genuine, good improvement. Some weeks or 

 months later, the hopper is found stopped and run- 

 ning over. If in the winter, it may be from freez- 

 ing; but if summer, it is choked and may be opened; 

 that done, a nauseating sight is disclosed and a 

 stench given off enough to poison the lungs and 

 blood of a whole neighborhood. 'Where there is 

 considerable fall, and free outlet for the slops, and 

 free inlet for purifying air to circulate, a drain may 

 serve well excepting the loss of the manurial mat- 

 ter. It is much safer and also more economical to 

 carry all slop to the compost heap. This is a mat- 

 ter of so great sanitary and economic importance 

 that it can scarcely be too much impressed. 



Have a Stencil Plate. The cost of a good plate 

 with its accompaniments, but little to begin with, 

 would pay it back many times on every farm, 

 through preventing the loss of bags, horse blankets, 

 Buffalo robes, umbrellas and similar articles, by 

 having all such plainly marked. One can be gotten 

 up at home if not convenient to patronize a regular 

 maker of plates, by marking the letters out plainly 

 on a piece of sheet lead, copper, tin, or even a heavy 

 grade of manilla paper, and cutting them out with 

 chisels and knife. In letters that have loop parts, 

 such as O, R and A, the centers must be con- 

 nected with the outside by some uncut parts, to 

 give them a complete shape. In using the plate, 

 thin paint should be applied with a short brush, 

 using but a small quantity at one time. Thick paint, 

 and much of it. is what causes blurred letters. Let 

 the plate lay close to the article to be marked, first 

 laying this out on a flat, even surface. 



