IN THE FRONT YARD. 175 



There is a fascination here. Yon never know what 

 is coming. Jnst beside you, in the nnknown, there is 

 a rare, lovely and fragrant flower waiting to surprise 

 you. You wish to give it a chance to materialize, so 

 you are on the alert to welcome your new creations. 

 One in a hundred will be fair ; perhaps one in a thou- 

 sand will be superior. 



How about hand pollenization ? I should let tlie 

 bees attend to that. 



^ote this fact : You must • secure seed from the 

 VERY CHOICEST KINDS. Here we are handicapped. 

 Great, splendid ones, like Festiva Maxima, Tecumseh 

 and Richardson's Rubra Superba, can go no further. 

 Those grand, double ones have reached their limit. It 

 is well-known that the single and semi-double are very 

 prolific, and yield any amount of seed. When Terry 

 and Rosenfield, in the west, commenced their work, 

 they secured seed from the very best. Thirty years 

 ago Mr. Terry began with seeds from the choicest flow- 

 ers that would yield any, and he has given us some fine 

 ones. So with Rosenfield, Avho gave us Floral Treas- 

 ure and Golden Harvest, that now stand well at the 

 head of the procession. 



Other propagators I know of have used, I am sure, 

 seeds from inferior plants;, and as like begets like, they 

 have very inferior strains. One grower, by a good 

 deal of enthusiasm and fulsome praise, has sold sev- 

 eral which prove to be a disappointment. The whole 

 stock, with a few exceptions, is coarse and cheap, and 

 does not sustain itself. It is remarkable that vou mav 



