CHAPTEE XIII. 



IMMORTELLES, OR EVERLASTING FLOWERS, AND ORNAMENTAL 



GRASSES. 



" There is religion in a flower: 

 Its still small voice is as the voice of conscience. 

 Mountains and oceans, planets, suns and systems, 

 Bear not the impress of Almighty power 

 In characters more legible than those 

 Which He hath written on the tiniest flower 

 Whose light bell bends beneath the dew-drop's weight." 



No collection of flowers is complete without some few varieties of 

 Immortelles, or Everlasting Flowers. When ice and snow abound, they 

 serve to brighten our in-door surroundings. Mingled with dried grasses 

 and branches of Arbor Vitas, or some other evergreen, they make good 

 substitutes for their more delicate sisters who are faded and gone. 



My sitting room is always adorned, in the wintry season, with vases 

 of these bright flowers, which retain their places until forced to yield 

 them to the fragile flowers of the early spring. 



So in ordering your seeds, don't forget to write down an assortment 

 of these flowers, whose beauty is not evanescent. 



They are invaluable decorations for home and church, and can be 

 made into crowns, crosses and bouquets. 



Their flowers should be gathered while in the bud; if allowed to 

 expand, they will not be as handsome when dried. The stems should 

 be tied together, and the bunches hung up in a dark, dry closet, taking 

 care not to tie them up in too large quantities, to dry quickly, else they 

 may mildew or mould. When well dried, put away in boxes until 

 desired for use. 



