268 TRANSACTIONS OP THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 



" I presume many of the Patent-OflQce seeds had lost their vitality, as 

 but few of them grew. The only ones of value were mixed snapdragons . 

 (antirrhinums) of numerous shades of crimson, pink, white, yellow, and 

 several variegated varieties. They were not sown until late, and many of 

 them gave abundance of rich spikes of bloom this fall. These are bien- 

 nials, and have the appearance of being hardy enough to withstana even 

 our winters. The Chinese pink.s I prized highly, as they blossomed early, 

 and the flowers were very large and double. I had eight shades of pink 

 and crimson, all white-edged and barred with black across the petals. 

 These were biennials and blossomed until frost, when I cut them close to 

 the ground and covered them slightly. The carnation pinks have not yet 

 blossomed. I expect rich and fragrant flowers from them, if they survive 

 the winter. So much for my Patent-Office seeds. My balsams, though I 

 got only a five-cent paper of seed, gave me great satisfaction. About a 

 fourth of the plants proved double, and the blossoms were very large, 

 and as double as roses. I thinned out the rows b3^ transplanting, leaving 

 the plants about six inches apart, which was too close. (2) Those left 

 standing blossomed first, but the transplanted ones were superior to the 

 others, because moving them dwarfed the plants and the foliage, therefore 

 showing the bloom to greater advantage. A very fine efiect may be 

 obtained from simply a bed of balsams, for there is a great variety of col- 

 ors, and they are very bright and showy, and continue in bloom a long time. 

 My pansies gave me more pleasure with their large, velvety, many-colored 

 eyes, than did the gayer balsams. Tiie balsams are quite tender — a slight 

 frost being sufficient to kill them — while the pinks and pansies bore quite 

 severe frosts without apparent injury, and the pansy blossoms are buried 

 under the snow, read}^ to smile whenever the sun reaches them again. I 

 am waiting not to those who have gardeners and gardens large and can 

 buy any plants they choose, but to those who, like myself, depend for flow- 

 ers on their own personal attentions to seeds and plants, and who deem it 

 a pleasure to soil their fingers in the brown mold, if it will make a leaf 

 greener or a flower larger and brighter. 



"The golden bartonia, called by some California gold-cup, I consider 

 desirable in a small collection of flowers, for it has large single flowers, of 

 a bright golden color, and a beautiful satiny appearance. The double 

 stocks, or- stock gilly, is especially valuable on account of its long bloom- 

 ing, which is until after very severe frosts. I have only a purple variety. 

 If you wish flowers to continue long in bloom, do not let them go to seed. 



" (3) I would have farmers' girls, all over the country, cultivate flowers. 

 If it is only a bit of ground three feet square, plant it with the best seeds 

 you can get, and after they are up, do not forget to care for them yourselves. 

 They will give you double pleasure, if you tend them with your own hands. 

 But do not be afraid of soiling your fingers. If you are, I am afraid your 

 flowers will grow but feebly. If you cannot get such as you would like, 

 do the best you can with what you have. Good care and tasteful arrange- 

 ment will make even the commonest flowers look well; and do not despise 

 a pretty flower because it grows in the forest. And, fathers and brothers, 



