30 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



November, 



^^'^ON CI ES 



Her Floral Highness. 



She wore a corsage bouquet 



Just in the usual place 

 But 'twas so large and spreading 



I could not see her face. 

 And whether it was handsome, 



Or whether it was plain, 

 I really cannot answer. 



For I dodged about in vain; 

 But peeping through the Roses. 



One eye I did espy. 

 While a little urchin shouted, 



•' Now how is that for high? " 



Foliage Decorations are on the increase. 



No one tires of Lily of the Valley blooms. 



The True Lovers'-knot is now made pure white. 



A Common Sell. Perle Roses for Marechal Neil, 

 the buyers knowing no diJEerence. 



Autumn Leaves. They are most handsome for 

 all manner of designs and free to every one now. 



Ning-Poo fans of heart shaped and curved sur- 

 face are among the latest holders for souvenu-s and 

 favors. 



We have no doubt but that Sunderbi-uck's (Cin- 

 cinnati) floral alligator was o£ sweeter odor than 

 the real article. 



A Chicago Florist reports having sold 200,000 

 Pteony flowers during last June. This is a suitable 

 time tor setting out some roots of this flower. 



Since the appreciation for simple forms of 

 flowers has been so greatly revived, the sale of sum- 

 mer wild-tlowers has been immense in the cities. 



Heliotrope spoils quickly after cutting, as usually 

 handled. But let it be kept in glasses, a few stems 

 to each, and uncrowded, and it keeps for a surpris- 

 ing length of time. 



A symbolic design a little out of the usual was 

 shown by Henry Gardner at the Cincinnati Expo- 

 sition. It was a floral stump with an axe resting 

 against it, representing " Rum aud its Cure." 



I often keep Roses for a week by gathering them 

 when the buds are soft, and the first leaves are be- 

 ginning to uncurl, and placing the stems in a shal- 

 low dish of cold water in a dark cellar, with moss 

 over the stalks. " One of the Family." 



Foliage bouquets made of such exquisite mater- 

 ials as Maiden Hair and other fine Ferns, Asparagus 

 plumosa, Lycopodium, Croton and other leaves are 

 at present the most fashionable. Roses or Valley 

 Lilies are occasionally placed in a bunch on one 

 side of the bouquet, shading towards them. 



Placing Caskets on a bank of flowers is in vogue 

 in some cities; it being a pleasing change from the 

 free use of the ordinary funeral designs and not 

 more expensive. This is done by having a ground 

 work of board under the casket and to project six 

 inches or more beyond, on all sides, on which to bank 

 flowers and leaves, 



In London set ornaments or large plants are 

 never seen now on the dinner table; the present 

 fancy is for many little ornaments filled lightly 

 with a few sprays. Often there will be twenty or 

 thirty of these holders scattered with apparent 

 carelessness over the table, some holding cut flowers 

 and some tiny ferns. 



Flowers may be preserved tor months by dipping 

 them carefully, as soon as gathered, in perfectly 

 limpid gum water; after aUowing them to drain tor 

 two or three minutes, arrange them in a vase. The 

 gum forms a complete coating on the stems and 

 petals, and preserves their shape and color long 

 after they have become dry.— Enylixli Paper. 



Sale of Orange Blossoms at Paris. The Deustche 

 Garten Zeituny says that, according to the ancient 

 rule, the Orange blossoms of the gardens at the 

 Luxembourg and the Tuilleries were on May 22d 

 last sold by public auction in presence of the Inspec- 

 tors of the Administrators of Domains, such being 

 the property of the State. The 150 trees of the 

 TuiUeries garden were taken into the garden rather 

 late, namely, after the close of the Industrial Festi- 

 val, which was held there. Of this number of trees 

 forty of them date from the reign o£ Francis I, in 

 the 16th century. 



The Floral Exhibits of the Cincinnati Exposition 

 have grown to be famous, and those of the present 

 year made during September contributed even more 



than usual towards keeping up the reputation of 

 these shows. But then there was prize money to 

 the amount of over $2,000 offered in this depart- 

 ment alone. If this, in addition to the honor of 

 carrying off prizes, would not spur up the best efforts 

 of florists, then what would ? Among the leading 

 prize designs were a G. A. R. monument 15 feet 

 high, an army wagon and two tents, an engine 

 and tender, the yacht Mayflower, a steamboat, 

 a patrol wagon, a pedestal with a Roman chariot 

 and horses, a huge nautilus, a Corliss engine, a bag- 

 gage car. a secretary, lounge and billiard table of 

 the ordinary size, an enormous Maltese cross, a lite- 

 size stag, swan, alUgator, a stump surmounted by 

 an owl, a fountain ten feet high and many of the 

 more ordinary designs. The chief exhibitors were 

 B. P. Critchell & Co., The Floral Co., Henry Gardner 

 and Sanderbruch & Son. 



Boots absorb liquids, only as vapor. 



Green rind does the duty of leaves. 



Cabbage does not head in the Tropics. 



Italy is to have a new botanical journal. 



Bees visit only one kind of flowers on each trip. 



Quince trees are evergreen in Southern Europe. 



Germany has 3) botanic gardens; the United 

 States five. 



Never before has there been so much botanical 

 activity m this country as at the present time. 



Nearly all the rusts, smuts, mildews and rots 

 that injure our crops are of fungoid gi-owth, hence 

 within the botanist's province. 



Crows distribute many tree seeds, such as acorns 

 and nuts, by plucking them and carrying them 

 away, dropping them again at some distance from 

 the place of starting. 



In and in breeding, according to Professor Mun- 

 son. dwarfs, weakens and sterilizes progeny; cross- 

 breeding distinct varieties, as well as the hybridizing 

 of nearly allied species, gives vigor and prolificacy, 

 but that hybridizing distinct species or different 

 genera produces sterile progenj-. 



The work of forestry the government should take 

 in hand. Every year of timber waste makes our 

 climate worse and we must look to the government 

 to preserve dur woodlands. This state in 185;^ had 

 54 per cent of forest and in 1884 only 17 per cent 

 remained. And Ohio speaks for all America.— 

 Parker Etirlt". 



That the well-known red-truited Solatium Dul- 

 camara (Woody Nightshade; Bittersweet! is of a 

 poisonous nature H. U. Falkestone believes, as the 

 following shows: One of my younger pupils some 

 years ago ate of its bright berries, and it was scarcely 

 thought he would recover. He had to beheld down 

 in bed, and the eyes were dilated, just as in Bella- 

 donna poisoning. In fact, the physician treated 

 him for that, and successfully, though I knew the 

 Belladonna did not grow in the neighborhood. The 

 boy showed me the berries afterwards, and where 

 he had gathered them. 



Easpberry and Blackberry Cross. Prof. Saun- 

 dei-s, of Canada, and perhaps others, have effected 

 a cross between Raspberries and Blackbenies, but 

 the results are not known. It appears from Mr. 

 Carman's experiments in this direction that the 

 cross is a simple one to make. Both the Raspberry 

 and Blackberry buds were opened and the anthers 

 removed while green. Pollen from each was applied 

 to the other, and carefully wrapped up in tissue 

 paper to prevent contact of pollen from bees or 

 wind. About fifteen berries formed from this 

 hybridization, three-fourths on the Raspberry and 

 the remainder on the Blackberry. The seeds of 

 the Raspberry have been sown, and those of the 

 Blackberries are to be when ripe.— A^. Y. World. 



Wheat and Chess. Even many intelligent people 

 can be found who believe that Wheat sometimes 

 turns to Chess, and they may seem to present 

 the proofs. For instance some weeks ago a gentle- 

 man showed us a head of wheat from one side of 

 which, between the glumes, there was a small 

 branch of genuine Chess. It looked as if it had 

 grown there true enough, but a careful examina- 

 tion showed otherwise. By taking away the Wheat 

 kernels one by one it was soon seen that there was 

 no union between the Wheat and the Chess. In 

 some way the Chess must have been caught by the 

 chaff of the Wheat, and crowded down into the 

 head, where it was held quite firmly. Such speci- 

 mens are, throughout the length and breadth of our 

 land, constantly being discovered— of t«n enough, in 

 fact, to lead many superficial observers into the 

 error referred to and strongly' supporting it. 



Reference was made in the May issue to the con- 

 dition of the botanical part of the Department of 

 Agriculture at Washington. Since that time the 

 committee of the American Association on the 

 health and diseases of plants addressed a memorial 

 to Congress setting forth the desirability of Investi- 

 gations upon the fungous foes of the cultivator and 

 asking for $5,000 with which to carry on the work. 

 To Prof. Riley and to Commissioner Colman the 

 credit of finally securing the favorable action of 

 Congress is largely due. The residt has been that 

 the work on the diseases of plants has been separa- 

 ted from the botanical part of the Department (now- 

 raised to the dignity of a division) and has been 

 placed in full charge of Mr. Scribner, who reports 

 directly to the Commissioner. Of the appropria- 

 tion of $5,000 obtained, S840 goes to the Botanical 

 Division, to be expended chiefly in studying the agri- 

 cultural grasses of the West, andthebalancet-o the 

 study of the diseases of plants. — Botanical Gazette. 



ABOUT THE PLACE. 

 Hogs like clean water, too. 

 Bees are not taxable property. 

 A good time to destroy Sorrel patches. 

 Bees left on the summer standsshould have some 

 kind of a wind-break for their hives. A high tight 

 fence about the bee yard is the right thing. 



As to fences of barbed wire, what the statute 

 of Connecticut recognize as a legal one is one hav- 

 ing 4 strands of wire, the lowest within 12 inches of 

 the ground, the highest at 4 feet, and all tightly 

 stretched on posts not further than 16 feet apart. 

 It is a good fence for anywhere. 



What we keep Cows for is their milk. But if 

 cows are not kept warm, aud their systems are re- 

 duced by biting winds and beating storms, they will 

 not secrete full udders of milk. So common pru- 

 dence demands that now, before winter, the stables 

 should be put in the best of order, to make the 

 animals real comfortable during cold weather. 



Protecting Water Tanks. Some people when 

 they go about protecting the tanks in their barns or 

 other buildings do so by packing saw-dust or tan- 

 bark all about them, thinking they are doing the 

 best kind of a job. Then later on they are surprised 

 to find that frost has penetrated the tank, forming 

 thick ice, and to its damage. A much better way 

 than this is to have no packing material directly 

 against the tank, but to surround this by a close 

 rough box, three inches away all around, leaving 

 an air space between the two. Then board up your 

 saw-dust or other material outside of this if you 

 like, but it will hardly be necessary. Protection by 

 a belt of air is simple, effective and inexpensive. 



A Simple Ice-house. Let me tell how I keep ice 

 the summer through, without any outlay for a 

 regular ice-house. In the corner of my barn is a 

 room ten by twelve feet, having a window outside 

 and a door into the feeding alley. This I pack full 

 of iceexceptingaspacenineiuches wide all around 

 the sides and bottom and a foot on top which is 

 filled with sawdust, as the packing in of ice goes 

 on. I slide the ice into this room through the out- 

 side window, which, when the flUing is done I board 

 over from the outside. I prefer to have cakes longer 

 one way than the other to break joints. The saw- 

 dust beneath rests on a plank floor, and into this some 

 holes have been bored to make drainage. In this 

 way we enjoy the luxury of ice the summer through. 

 — Gustave Bilgaster, Windsor Co., Vermont. 



Protect the Wells. The idea that the water of 

 our wells is the purest obtainable, says the American 

 Cultivator, was long ago exploded. Well water 

 may be pure, but its degree of purity depends 

 wholly upon its distance from all filth. It is now 

 admitted that in many soils both air and water travel 

 very freel.v under the surface. Some are so porous 

 and deep that water will easily settle through them 

 and the bulk of the filth be retained in the top 

 loam ; and in such cases it may be said that ordinary 

 cultivation and the growing vegetation will absorb 

 the objectionable element. Water in such locations 

 is regarded pure and' safe. But where wells are 

 shallow and dugin clayey or impervious soil, having 

 near to or at their bottom an impervious stratum, 

 they are likely to be receptacles for filth contamina- 

 tion for many rods around. It does not follow that 

 because the contents of sink drains soak out of 

 sight that the deadly element therein is gotten rid 

 of ; it too frequently finds its way to the water which 

 the family are prone to extol as the very perfection 

 of purity. It is never safe to depend upon taste in 

 this matter; it there is a source of contamination 

 near the well, rid yourself of it without delay; at 

 least do not rest content until you have had the 

 water subjected to a thorough chemical analysis. 



