OCTOBER 1, 1914 



sunmiei' showci' 



soil it is no work at all to keep the weeds 

 down and out, so our dasheens are now, 

 some of them, a yard tall, and we are al- 

 ready using it for stews. The little suckers 

 that grow around the main plant are the 

 nicest for what we call oyster soui^; and if 

 we bank them ujo, so as to have the soil 

 bleach the shoots, they will be all the better. 

 The sesame plants I have spoken about are 

 now full of buds. We expect to have ripe 

 seeds in a short time. The helianthus is now 

 quite a little higher than my head, covered 

 with yellow flowers. It looks exactly like 

 an artichoke. I have to be careful about 

 hoeing them, because the roots shoot under 

 the soil for a distance of 18 inches or per- 

 haps two feet. These are, I suppose, the 

 ones that bear the tubers. We have to be 

 careful about hoeing among the plants for 

 fear of cutting these tuber-forming rootlets. 



After the above was dictated Huber took 

 some views of my artificially irrigated gar- 

 <len ; but before I proceed to describe the 

 ])ictures accompanving it, I want to digress 

 a little. 



Quite a little criticism has appeared in 

 these pages in regard to the way in which 

 The "Luther Burbank Co." does business, 

 sending out circulars to thousands of peo- 

 ple,, urging them to become "honorary mem- 

 bers" by paying a certain sum, etc. 



Well, along in the early summer I learned 

 that our druggist had a varietv of seeds of 



the "Burbank creation." I accordingly 

 looked them over and i^urchased four pack- 

 ets. The one I have tried to picture, the 

 "Rainbow Corn," has been a delight to my- 

 self and friends all summer. Below is what 

 I find printed on the packet : 



BURBANK'S IMPROVED RAINBOW CORN 



(EXTRA select) ; 

 25 CENTS A PACKET. 



Beautiful and exquisite in colorings as orchids — a 

 flower in bloom from the time the youn? shoots ap- 

 pear until the heavj- frosts of autumn; nothing like 

 it for decorative effects, for garden, cutting, or cor- 

 sage bouquet. Leaves variegated with brilliant 

 crimson, yellow, white, green, rose, and bronze 

 stripes. 



I am very glad to say, the above descrip- 

 tion is not, in my mind, an exaggeration. 

 T think it is altogether the most beautiful 

 and startling ornamental foliage plant I 

 have ever come across. It is something- 

 after the fashion of the old-time ribbon 

 grass ; but there is a much greater variety 

 of colors, and the colors are ever so much 

 brighter. Away up north, near the Soo 

 Canal, there is a resort (Manitou Island) 

 where Avealthy men and women of fashion 

 congregate every summer. I described my 

 visit there in these pages some years ago. 

 The most attractive thing on the island (al- 

 though it is an attractive place) is the gor- 

 geously arrayed women of wealth from al- 

 most all over the world. Their fantastic 

 costumes, with not only brilliant Init glit- 

 tering colors, make quite a fairv show. 



