44 The Ti'ofhy Tomato. 



It is a mistake to suppose that flowers are the peculiar property of 

 the afliuent. God has made them as common as air or water, and the 

 poor can, and do, enjoy them equally with the rich. We have known 

 a rich lady discard all flowers, and would have none of them on her 

 premises, because they required too much care, and she did not see 

 much beauty in them ; and w^e have seen a shanty with morning glories 

 creeping over the door and windows, with here a patch of verbenas, 

 and there a bed of pansies ; and we have no doubt the mistress of the 

 shanty was more of a woman, and enjoyed life more, than the lady of 

 the mansion. 



God made the flowers ; let us be co-workers with him, and cultivate 

 them. God made us capable of enjoying the flowers ; let us develop 

 our nature to its highest capacity of enjoyment. God has given us 

 families and friends ; let us make a pleasant home for them, by sur- 

 rounding it with flowers — the cheapest and most beautiful material 

 adornment that home can have. 



THE TROPHY TOMATO. 



By J. J. H. Gregory, Marblehead, Mass. 



When this new tomato was sent out last season at the moderate price 

 of $5.00 for twenty seeds, I held to the belief that in the various shapes, 

 sizes, degrees of solidity, earliness, and quality that were possible in the 

 tomato family, to the nearly thirty varieties I had already under cultivation 

 there could be but little added — certainly not enough to return five dol- 

 lars' outlay on twenty seeds, all of which might be slipped under the 

 finger-nails and hardly be noticed. About every one of the thirty vari- 

 eties had been originally sent forth as a marked advance on all that 

 preceded ; and yet, from the earliest sent forth to the most recent, the 

 distance in good qualities was somewhat easily bridged. It weighed 

 considerably against the Trophy, in my mind, that it was not sent forth 

 as a new variety, but simply as the result of years of careful selection 

 of seed-stock. 



I purchased my five-dollar package, and gave it a trial this last sea- 

 son. The result is, that I am satisfied that in some respects the Trophy 

 is quite an acquisition. In shape it inclines to flat-round, — though some 



