280 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



June 



HARDY BORDER PLANTS. 



TuE LiLV Familv. — Portions of this tribe have 

 a time-honored ckiiin to the flower-garden, long 

 anterior to the introduction of the more showy 



For the New England Farmer. 



A GOOD HOG. 



Messrs. Editors : — I am not in the habit of 



bulbs of the lily should not bo removed often, as 

 it injures the floAvering for the ensuing year, and 

 if kept out of ground any length of time it will not 

 recover its strength for two or three years. 



They are readily propagated by the scales of 

 the bulb, each of which is capal)le of forming a 

 new bulb, and should be stuck in sand in a shady 

 border, or in pots, in pits or frames. This 

 method is usually resorted to, to propagate scarce 

 or new kinds ; the ordinary way is to collect the 

 small bulbs tliat spring from around the old ones 

 yearly, and plant them in a well prepared border, 



till they Ijecome strong enough to flower. They Allowing one-fourth shrinkage in dressing, (and 

 also seed freely, and some kinds produce a quan- he was a lean hog,) and he gained nearly three 

 tity of small bulbs upon the stems, which can be and one-third pounds a day for ninety days 



and loss. It is one thing to make a good' hog 

 and another to get pay for so doing. 



Feb. 1, 1853, I took a shoat which weighed 

 230 lbs, and fed him 90 days, in which time he 

 consumed 19^ bushels of grain, being a mixture 

 of corn, oats, rye and wheat, worth 75 cents per 

 bushel. He dressed 399 lbs. Now for the profit. 



April 30, Cr. by 399 lbs. pork, at 9 cents per lb $35,91 



Feb. 1, Dr. to 230 lbs. shoat, at 6c per lb $13,80 



" " 19i bushels grain, 75 per bushel. 14,62 



$23,42 



Leaving a net gain of $7,49 



used for propagation 



Most garden soils will grow them, but to see 

 them in perfection, make a soil fifteen or eighteen 

 inches deep, of loam, peat, muck, decayed leaves, 

 and rotton manure, each equal parts, well mixed 

 together. The best time to transplant is as soon as 

 the leaves die awayin August. The following kinds 

 are all first rate, besides which every body shbuld 

 grow the splendid native species — Lilium supur- 

 huin, orange color in cluster — L. canadense, (Nod- 

 ding Meadow Lily,) yellow or deep orange scarlet 

 spotted with brown, and L. Philaddphkum, (com- 

 mon Red Lily,) vermillion, richly spotted with 

 black. 



L. longiflorum, the long flowered white lily. — 

 Flowers pure white, and fragrant, native of 

 Japan. Flowers in July. Good for pot cul- 

 ture. 



L. candidum, the old white Lily — Worthy of 

 a place in every garden, from its imposing ap- 

 pearance when in flower. Levant. July. 



L. Mariat/on, Turk's cap Lily — So named from 

 the petals of the flower reflexing very much, giv- 

 ingit the resemblance of a cap. There are many 

 varieties of this species, with difi"erent colored 

 flowers, as white, purple, spotted and variegated. 

 Germany. Flowers in July. 



L. titjrinum, Tiger spotted Lily — A very com- 

 mon showy garden kind, with orange ground, 

 and black spotted flowers. China. Flowers in 

 August. 



L. chaiccdonkum, scarlet Martagon Lily 



Flowers scarlet, reflexed, a good coinmon kind ; 

 native of the Levant. Flowers in July. 



L. japonicum, the Japan Lily — This and its 

 varieties are the finest of the genus, and have 

 hitherto been treated as green-house plants. The 

 variety spcciosum has a pink and white frosted 

 j;round, finely spotted with deep crimson. The 

 L. laiicifoliuin allmiii, is pure white, with reflexed 

 petals, and a peculiar crested projection of bri"-ht 

 crimson. ° 



L. lancifoUum punctalum or roseum — Flowers 

 large, white, petals studded with pale rose or 

 blush projections, and beautifully spotted with 

 rose color. — Ed(/ar Saunders. 



With respect, 

 Sutton, April 2, 1855. 



J. E. Putnam. 



IT CAN'T BE HELPED. 



"Can't be helped," is one of the thousand con- 

 venient phrases with which men cheat and de- 

 ceive themselves. It is one on which the helpless 

 and the idle take refuge as the last and only com- 

 fort — it can't be helped. Your enei-getic man is 

 for helping everything. If he sees an evil, and 

 clearly discerns its cause, he is for taking steps 

 forthwith to remove it. He busies himself with 

 ways and means, devises practical plans and 

 methods, and will not let the world rest until he 

 has done somethtng in a remedial way. The in- 

 dolent man spares himself all this trouble. He 

 will not budge. He sits with his arms folded, 

 and is ready with his unvai-ying observation, "It 

 ean't be helped !" as much as to say — "If it is 

 it ought to be, and we need not bestir ourselves 

 to alter it." Wash your face, you dirty little so- 

 cial boy ; you are vile, and repulsive, and vicious, 

 by reason of your neglect of cleanliness. "It 

 can't be helped." Clear away your refuse, sweep 

 your streets, cleanse your drains and gutters, pu- 

 rify your atmosphere, you indolent corporations, 

 for the cholera is coming. "It can't be helped !" 

 Educate your children, train them up in virtuous 

 habits, teach them to be industrious, obedient, 

 frugal, and thoughtful, you thougtiess communi- 

 ties, for they are now growing up vicious, igno- 

 rant and careless, a source of future peril to the 

 nation. "It can't be lielped." But it can be 

 helped. Every evil can be abated, every nuisance 

 got rid of, every abomination swept away ; though 

 this will never be done by tlie "can't-l)0-helped" 

 people. INIan is not helpless, but can both help 

 himself and help others. He can act individually 

 and unitedly against wrong and evil. He has 

 the power to abate and eventually uproot them. 

 But, alas ! the greatest obstacle of all in the way 

 of such beneficial action, is the feeling and dispo- 

 sition out of which arises the miserable, puling, 

 and idle ejaculation of "It can't be helped." 



