148 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Feb. 15. 



man's thumb to go inside of it. All the soil 

 it had to grow in was a teaspoonful of jadoo 

 and another of sand packed in close. The 

 plant above it is the parent. When I first re- 

 ceived it from John Lewis Childs, one little 

 sprig was broken off in the mails. I had just 

 finished my forcing-bed, and the plant was 

 hastily stuck in some wet sand. Not a leaf 

 withered or faded, and it commenced grow- 

 ing and kept on growing. When it had roots 

 half an inch long it was potted as I have told 

 you, in the little pot, and watered (just before 

 blooming) wiih jadoo liquid. The plant is now 

 at this date, Feb. 8, in full bloom with quite a 

 cluster cf fiery scarlet flowers. In order to 

 produce a background for the golden-hued 

 leaves in the upper plant, I held a stone plat- 

 ter just back of it. In the background you 



THE GOtDEN-LEAVED SALVIA THAT GREW SO 



FAST, AND WHICH IS NOW IN BLOOM 



IN A THUMB POT. 



get a glimpse of one of my favorite azaleas. 

 In the larger picture you get a view of two of 

 the azaleas ; and the one near my elbow is at 

 the present time covered with blossoms. Next 

 to it stands a Norfolk Island pine. There is 

 only one spot on the face of the earth where 

 these will grow in the open air. They can 

 not bear the hot sun. Near the post is a rub- 

 ber-tree. Back of the post is the machinery 

 that raises and lowers the front sash. Next 

 to the edge of the bed where I am sitting is a 

 row of carnations, all different. Between the 

 carnations and the azalea there are 39 differ- 

 ent kinds of roses. The Meteor now is bud- 

 ded, and the buds partly open. The gerani- 

 ums, begonias, and other plants, I need not 



name, because you can recognize them in the 

 picture. 



Just in front of me is a bed of Grand Rap- 

 ids lettuce-plants. The next day I sold the 

 whole bedful for $5.00, and they had occupied 

 the bed scarcely more than 30 days. I had 

 no thought of having my own picture ; but 

 after Ernest had taken the salvia he turned 

 his instrument over toward me, and did not 

 even give me time to straighten up my eye- 

 glasses nor to button up my overcoat. Quite 

 a few of the friends have complained some- 

 times because they did not have a good pic- 

 ture of the writer of the Home Papers. Well, 

 I think you have got it now, just as I look in 

 my every-day attire. 



Oh how I should love to take the women- 

 folks, who read Gleanings, through all that 

 little greenhouse ! and I could tell them quite 

 a little story about almost every plant. When 

 we get to the roses I should like to have Dr. 

 Miller along with the women-folks, because he 

 is an enthusiast on roses. And, by the way, 

 who would ever suppose that a rosebush would 

 grow a foot in only five or six weeks ? When 

 my little granddaughter Mildred conies over 

 to see me she almost always wants to see the 

 roots of every plant as well as the tops ; and I 

 suppose she would be glad to have me tip the 

 big orange-tree out of its pot to show her 

 the roots as well as the top. The tree had 

 eight oranges on it, but the grandchildren 

 and myself ate four of them, and there are 

 now four left. 



Oh ! just one thing more. I am so much 

 delighted with the jadoo fiber for growing 

 cuttings, and, in fact, for growing every thing, 

 that I want somebody to share the pleasure 

 with me ; and I am therefore getting ready to 

 mail a sample package to every lady who 

 reads Gleanings, if she will just send word 

 on a card that she is interested in house- 

 plants, and would like to try some jadoo 

 fiber. We use it one-fourth or one-half sand. 

 Of course, you can get the sand at home. 

 Jadoo can be sent for a small amount of post- 

 age, because when dry it is exceedingly light. 



When I was out on one of my wheelrides 

 last fall I called on a relative who had just 

 been building a fine house in Tallmadge, Sum- 

 mit Co., O. Not finding the family at home 

 I took the liberty of looking over the new 

 house with its modern comforts and applianc- 

 es as well as I could from the outside, taking 

 the liberty of looking in the windows. I know 

 this looks a little on the tramp or burglar style ; 

 but as I was very well acquainted I made my- 

 self quite at home — that is, as well as I could 

 with the doors all locked. Well, on looking 

 in at a newly modeled bay window I caught a 

 glimpse of some plants that made me so happy 

 at the time that I felt the influence of that brief 

 glimpse for a long time afterward ; yes, and I 

 feel it yet. The sight that attracted my atten- 

 tion particularly was a group of colei. I did 

 not know what particular variety at the time, 

 but I found out afterward. Itis what is called 

 Sunset. At my next visit my cousin gave me 

 a slip, but I did not know how to handle such 

 things then, and of course it died. Then I 



