1900 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



229 



•captivated her at once by its diminutive size. 

 I told her if she would put it in a saucer with 

 ■a tumbler over it, and keep it warm, it would 

 grow into a big plant. 



Now a word about the mission, or, if you 

 ■choose, the power, that flowers exert in this 

 way. Sometimes along in the afternoon , when 

 the girls and women in the factory are getting 

 to be fatigued, I slip in quietly with a little 

 tray of new colei, or may be some plant in 

 bloom. One day I took one of our azalea- 

 plants in a neat new pot, and went through 

 the work-rooms, slipping up quietly so they 

 <iid not know I was coming. I would choose 

 a stool or chair where I could set my plant 

 down, put it down very quietly, then as some- 

 body turned around to see what was going on 

 I watched the effect of the gorgeous array of 

 Islooni, on the sober and perhaps wearied-look- 

 ing countenances. Many of the younger girls 

 would spring right up from their chairs and 

 hold up both hands. Then I would hear a 

 •chorus of expressions like this: "Oh! did 

 you (?zw see any thing so lovely f'' "Why, 

 Mr. Root, did that wonderful plant actually 

 grow and blossom in your little greenhouse ? " 

 The effect all through the room among the 

 men, as well as women, made me think of a 

 spring of cool sparkling water in a desert 

 land. Some of the men-folks would say, 

 " Why, Mr. Root, that plant would please my 

 -wife better than any thing else in the whole 

 wide world." 



And this brings us to the matter of selling 

 plants. Here at home, through the letters, 

 the question is asked. " Mr. Root, are you go- 

 ing to sell plants?" Dear friends, I do not 

 lielieve that God has called me to grow plants 

 for sale. I am too old to go into a new busi- 

 ness ; and even if that were not the case, I do 

 not believe God wants me to sell them. 

 Through Gleanings I will tell you where 

 Ihey may be bought at very low prices. 

 1 will tell you how to grow them, and I may 

 possibly give some away to the mothers who 

 read Gleanings, just as I am giving away 

 samples of jadoo. Several of the kind letters 

 have alluded to the fact that God has sent 

 flowers to this world of ours to preach needed 

 sermons. They are especially the things to 

 give away. I do not believe much in presents 

 of gold or silver — no, not even at Christmas 

 time ; but I do believe in giving inexpensive 

 flowers — not cut flower.s, but flowers in little 

 pots, that will grow. You can buy little bits 

 of pots for less than half a cent apiece almost 

 anywhere. Then you can get beautiful rooted 

 cuttings for a cent apiece, or may be two or 

 three cents. These cuttings can be multiplied 

 by a forcing-bed or by the use of tumblers and 

 saucers almost indefinitely. You can not 

 only multiply the beautiful plants you have 

 gotten hold of, but you can develop new varie- 

 ties by selecting a bunch or leaf that shows 

 some new feature or "sport," as it is called. 

 A great deal has been done in developing 

 new and wondrous creations among florists, 

 but I have got just enough insight into the 

 business to feel that there is a great unknown 

 and unexplored region in this very direction. 

 The florists of our land ought to be good men. 



And, by the way, there are quite a few women 

 who grow plants and send out beautiful cata- 

 logs. As a rule their prices are surprisingly 

 low. 



Now, if there is anybody whose eyes alight 

 on these pages who would like the business of 

 furnishing rooted cuttings by mail to the 

 readers of Gleanings, I will give their names 

 free of charge in our next issue. Why, the 

 thought fairlj' makes me yoking again. Every 

 person, no matter where situated, nor how he 

 is situated, may develop these wondrous beau- 

 ties right from the hand of the great Father 

 above. He can do this in his own home right 

 in his own dooryard ; and when he (or she) 

 becomes expert, such person may make it a 

 profitable business in almost any neighborhood 

 on the face of the earth. The knowledge and 

 skill acquired in working with plants helps 

 one not only to be a better farmer or market- 

 gardener, but it has more or less to do with 

 caring for these bodies of ours, and teaching 

 us how to live in harmony with all animated 

 nature. May God go with you and bless you 

 as you learn of him through studying and 

 working with the plants he has given us. 



We will close with a letter from our good 

 friend Dr. Miller, about roses. I asked him 

 if he could tell me the name of a little rose I 

 saw years ago. It had little 4)lossoms not 

 much larger than a dime, and it bloomed in 

 little pots about the size of a teacup. May be 

 some of the rest of you know of such a rose 

 that was in fashion thirty or forty years ago. 



Dear Friend Root : — You can hardly understand how 

 delighted I am that you have got your eyes open to 

 see the beauties there are in God's wonderful gift, the 

 flowers. It reminds me of the words of the psalmist, 

 " Open thou my eyes, that I may behold wondrous 

 things out of thy law," Ps. 119 : 18. The wondrous 

 things are there all the time, only we need our eyes 

 opened to see them. 



You say, " Why didn't you tell me. years before, the 

 wonderfully nice things there are about roses?" 

 Bless your heart, I've always tried, but your eyes 

 weren't open. Now that they are opened, I've a long- 

 ing for a good long talk with vou. How I should en- 

 joy it! 



The miniature rose you saw years ago must have 

 been, I feel pretty sure, double instead of single. It 

 was probably a Bengal or China rose, the smaller kinds 

 of which were quite popular .50 years ago under the 

 name of button roses, or fairy roses. Polyantha roses 

 have come in since, and have supplanted them alto- 

 gether. Your favorite Clothilde (not Chlotilde), Sou- 

 pert, is a polyantha, although very different from the 

 others, Clothilde being the largest in the class. I have 

 never seen any thing smaller than some of the poly- 

 anthas. They are a little mixed, I think, as to name, 

 and I have some doubt whether all name them alike ; 

 but if you order the smallest flowering polyantha you 

 will be likely to get what you want. If you must use 

 a name. I would try paquerette or mignonnette. All 

 are white or pale tinted. 



I wish you could see a rose that stands almost in 

 reach of where I sit writing. It is a Princess Bonnie, 

 has been in bloom a week, and has given enough 

 pleasure to the household to pay for its care for a 

 whole year, although it will be expected to give many 

 another bloom. The rose is more than three inches 

 across : indeed, from tip to tip of the outer petals is 

 more than four inches ; each petal of a charming red 

 is delicately veined, and throughout its whole week of 

 life it has been breathine out a delicious perfume. It 

 is an exceptional thing that a rose is allowed to fade 

 upon its bush, as this one is doing, for when it gets to 

 its best it always goes to the church or to the side of 

 some sick-bed. It is thus doubly enjoyed. 



Princess Bonnie is a comparatively new rose, and I 

 haven't known it years enough to tell whether I should 

 prefer it or .Souvenir de Wooton (they are a great deal 

 alike), if I could have only one red rose for the win- 

 dow. Meteor is good ; a" darker red, but lacks fra- 



