IN THE FRONT YARD. 189 



I understand they can be used successfully for forc- 

 ing, and think this would be feasible. The trouble 

 with those grown out doors is supposed to be the se- 

 vere spring frosts. This difficulty would be obviated 

 by bringing them into the greenhouse. In those sec- 

 tions where you can depend on them, the blossoms are 

 of resplendent beauty, some of the newer sorts almost 

 as large as a dinner plate. 



They are usually propagated by putting a slip into 

 the fleshy root of the herbaceous kinds. It will use 

 this for a time and then discard it for its own. The 

 stools can be readily separated, and if you wish to in- 

 crease faster, graft the tops on their own roots much 

 as the nurseryman does his young apple trees, using 

 the lip or splice graft. Care must be taken, however, 

 to let them knit well before planting out. But if you 

 have patience you can wait for the root division. 



The Tenuifolia are the earliest of all. They are 

 single and double. They are not quite as hardy as 

 the Chinensis, as they need mulching in the West in 

 winter, where the cold will be excessive and sometimes 

 there will be no snow\ I have had them bloom as early 

 as May 5th. The blossom is like a rose, seated in that 

 delicate, soft, fern-like foliage. The only drawback 

 is, it is not fragrant. Yet it has an important place 

 to fill. 



The Officianalis is the ^'piny" of our mothers. I 

 remember with a shudder the steeping of the ''piny 

 toes" for the ills of childhood. For years I looked 

 with contempt on the whole family on account of the 



