1870. 



NEW ENGLAND FAR:\IER. 



239 



pars us for the lapse of time. Canterbury ] it in (he catalogues. Tage.tes Sir/nata Pumila 

 Bells, Sweet Williams, Foxgloves, and many is a very higli sounding name for Marigold! 



other varieties are all indispensable in our 

 borders and parterres. The new varieties are 

 expetdingly improved and ver}' desirable. 



Perennials will bloom the first season, if 

 planted very early, and if hardy enough to 

 survive our wintry winds will blossom early 

 the ensuing season. Perennial Larkspur, and 

 Lttpin, Pentstemon, Scarlet Lychnis, Colum- 

 bine, &c., are all very ornamental and desira- 

 ble, besides hosts of others too numerous to 

 mention. 



Our old favorites and stand-bys. Asters, 

 Balsams, and Finks in all their varieties are 

 indispensables. Asters are nearly unequalled. 

 Among all the annuals of the day, they rank 

 supreme ! Their coloring is so dive^^e, their 

 petals so perfect ! The Pose Aster is well 

 named ; it is as perfect as its namesake ; but 

 alas ! it lacks its fragrance. It is earlier than 

 the large flowering Imbriqne Pompone, and 

 Pceony Perfection of TrulTaut. It grows two 

 feet iu height, the flowers are double to the 

 centre, the outer petals are perfectly placed, 

 and of great substance. A plant in full flower 

 is a marvel of beauty. These Asters are pro- 

 duced in every color, from a brilliant red to a 

 perfect peach-blossom, and the purest white. 

 A packet of these seeds sowed and cultivated 

 in a large box, are a garden by themselves, 

 and could be kept during the summer on the 

 roof of a piazza, if there is no garden attached 

 to the houte. Twenty-five cents would be the 

 only outlay for the seeds ; and the earth can 

 be procured at any greenhouse. 



To grow Asters perfectly, the soil should be 

 very rich. Superphosphate of lime dug around 

 the roots of the plants in June greatly en- 

 hances their beauty. Guano water should be 

 given them at least twice a week. The plants 

 must be set at least a foot apart, so as to al- 

 low the fullest growth of leaf and branch. 

 Each plant should be tied to a small stick, for 

 a heavy wind or rain may break it down. 

 They should always be mulched in July and 

 August with coarse manure, dry leaves or tan 

 bark. The plant delights in a rich, moist sit- 

 uation. 



The Dwarf Asters are one of the prettiest 

 of the Tom Thumb plants. Thev are only si.x 

 inches in height, and one mass of flowers. 



Zinnias have reached a great state of per- 

 fection. The flowers are far more beautiful 

 than dahlias, and of every hue of red, crimson, 

 pink and orange. It is claimed that a pure 

 white, fully <louble Zinnia has been produced 

 by the French florists. Such a flower would 

 be a great acquisition ! 



There are many flowers which are common 

 in old country gardens and endeared to many 

 of us from the earliest associations of child- 

 hood, which are so disguised by the nomen- 

 clature of science that we fail to recognize 

 them. Who would look for a Lady''s Delight 

 in a Cyams ? yet that is the name set down for 



It would seem as if the florists vied with each 

 other in prefixing the longest possible names 

 to the smallest flowers. 



. Salpiglossis and Schizanthns are both most 

 ('«sirable annuals, yet their names do not pro- 

 claim their attractions. Would it not be bet- 

 ter for the purchasers of these beauties of the 

 garden if more attractive yet simple names 

 could be given to the lovely flowt rs cf the 



For the New England Farmer, 

 CHAPTER Olf OAT3. 

 To him whose desire is for new kind.s of Oats. 

 Perhaps the result of experience during 

 about twenty years may not be uninteresting 

 <:o you, and as failure has been the result in a 

 majority of trials, I will not withhold the ac- 

 knowledgment thereof. The faithful report 

 of bad luck and ill success in any similar ex- 

 periment, I deem not only a duty to the pub- 

 lic but a great advantage in these — our times. 

 Therefore, brother farmers, send in the ac- 

 count of failures as well as successes, whether 

 with the Norways, the Early Hose, or any 

 other new variety of farm crop. 



In 1852 I purchased at one dollar per 

 bushel some new seed oats of a man in Tot\ ns- 

 end, Mass., weighing over forty pounds per 

 bushel. They were called Kentucky Oats. 

 The price was very high for those times. 

 They were brought to this place and produced 

 a fair crop in bushels, and a good crop in 

 pounds, weighing about forty-two pounds. 

 The crop of 18.o3 from the seed of 1852 was 

 sold in Boston to Nourse, Mason & Co., who 

 sold them at about three dollars per bag of two 

 bushels. The crops of 1854 went to the same 

 market. These oats I continued to raise unnl 

 the war, when being away from my farm, the 

 occupant lost the seed. 



I have now the same kind of oats from seed 

 distributed through the Agricultural Depart- 

 ment, and which I reganl as a profitable crop. 

 They may be "Surprise" to some, but to n)e 

 they are not; and it is probable many will 

 di-icard them because the threshers do not 

 make as many bushels by measure as of the 

 common oat. Their weight, and general ex- 

 imprion from rust, however, I think more th.-ia 

 an offset. 



In 1857 while canvassing for the Nkw Eng- 

 land Fakiieu in Franklin County, Vt., I pur- 

 chased a bag of Tree Oats said to have been 

 introduced into that region from remote Can- 

 ada, and to produce a wonderful crop. These 

 were sown but one year and were a total fail- 

 ure by reason of blight and had no superiority 

 over the horse-mane oats. 



In 18G8, the members of our Farmers' Club, 

 made an arrangement for the Norway Oat. 

 We could not buy for less than ten dollars per 



