tfovember, 1913 



TUE (JARDEN AND FIELD. 



247 



In Wonderland : The Unseen 

 Artists. 



W e arc intluen(.vd by the , com- 

 p.my we ket^p. Association with 

 the pure and beantiiiil will have its 

 impress upon us. W hen we think 

 of it, there has been large provi- 

 sion for our spiritual as well as 

 material wants. 



Beauty is for immortals. Ani- 

 mals cannot appreciate it. Along 

 in the lifties I used to drive over 

 the vast ilower-sprinkled prairies. 

 The fragrance was so profuse you 

 seemed wading in it. In the far- 

 off horizons the emerald of the 

 earth blended with the sapphire of 

 the heavens. I sat entranced, 

 drinking in the scen'e. But my 

 horse never could take any interest 

 in it. Along with the world of 

 matter there is a world of soul. 

 / And the soul has tastes as well 

 as the palate. Soiii'etimes I sit 

 down among my ilowers and think 

 of them as the most skilled 

 artists on earth, with a refine- 

 ment of taste, a delicacy of touch 

 no human brain or hand can imi- 

 tate. In a group there will be an 

 iris, a peony, a columbine and an 

 oriental poppy. How 'courteous 

 each one is to the rights of the 



G. L. MUELLER'S 



Aromatic Schiedam Sclinapps 



This universal cordial is manufactured 

 and bottled 



IN SCHIEDAM (HOLLAND) 

 with special care and is warranted 

 free from every injurious properly and 



ingredient. 

 It is highly recommended by most of 

 the hotelkeepers in the Commonwealth 

 of Australasia. 



Please take notice 6f the signature on 

 the labels, and beware of inferior 

 imitations. 



other. Under the earth are un- 

 seen influences which balllc all hu- 

 man ken. These tiny roots down 

 lu their prison are doing what no 

 human artist can do with wide 

 open eyes in the full light of d-ay. 

 l';ach busy worker knows just 

 what he is about. The peony 

 never steals the tints that belong 

 to the columbine. Flowers'of the 

 same variety never , rob each other. 

 How can those imscen artists pick 

 out and send one color for the 

 outer petals and another for the 

 inner ones ? Two varieties of the 

 same family grow side by side. 

 Ivach may have a dozen shadings 

 and tintings. Never is there a 

 mistake made. No red is sent up 

 when the color should be blue. 

 Each flower must have just what 

 belongs to it — such exactness bai- 

 lies all human efTort. 



See that supefb iris, the finest 

 of the whole Germanica family ? 

 The standards are immense petals 

 of Velvet and ivory, with that mar- 

 velous glistening refiex like that 

 of the richest silk. How could 

 tho.se artists down in the dark 

 manufacture that elusive sheen 

 which flashes in the sunlight? Then 

 these charming petals must be 

 \ eined and traced with' the most 

 delicate tintings, while they are 

 edged with deeper purple. Never 

 is a mistake made in the blending 

 of those harmonious colors. 



The giant macrantha is the 

 largest of all, with petals three 

 inches across. Never a blunder 

 made in the moulding and fashion- 

 ing of those great blossoms — vein- 

 ing and tinting them with a 

 beauty surpassing the rainbow. 

 And there is Fairy, tall and 

 princely, with the delicate fra- 

 grance of the peach blossom. 

 Who manufactured that dainty 

 little vial of odors and then un- 

 corked it to pour the aroma out 

 upon the air ? ^ark that tracery, 

 interwoven with the pure white- 

 ness of the flower. 



There is no blind chance in all 

 this. In this garden of delight I 

 am' at work with God. All these 

 things are the expression of His 

 love. " How precious are thy 

 thoughts unto me, oh God." All 

 these forms of beauty — these inir- 

 acles of the highest art, are the 

 translations of his thoughts to 

 me. So much for the present. 

 But just over in the unknown are 

 new forms of loveliness which are 

 vet to greet me — new creations. 

 I take a dull piece of earth and 

 plant it to bidbs, roots and seeds, 

 and He and I created this section 

 of Paradise let down to earth for 



our (kkctation. it is all a pro- 

 mise aiul a i)ro))hesy of the "glory 

 to be revealed." 



1 am over fourscore, living on 

 the margin of the two worlds, 

 and instead (jf g'rowing old 1 seem 

 on the borders of eternal youth. 

 So I am proclaiming the evangel 

 of beauty far and wide. It is the 

 Gospel of Iloi)e. There is an up- 

 lift and inspiration in it. It will 

 make people less i sordid and 

 greedy. It will lead the young 

 into paths of pleasantness and 

 peace. — G. S. Harrison, in " Hor- 

 ticulture." 



♦ 



Potting Soil or Compost. 



What is meant by " good pot- 

 ting soil." Now these words, or 

 the common ones, " good com- 

 post," How glibly from tongue and 

 pen ; but they convey little or no- 

 thing to the mind of the novice 

 in pot plant culture. First, it is 

 needful to impress the fact, that 

 for pot plant culture ordinary gar- 

 den soil will not do. Plants grow- 

 ing in rich soil out in the garden 

 are in very diverse conaitions 

 from similar plants growing in the 

 very restricted space that flower- 

 pots afford to their roots. For 

 these soil must not only have an 

 ample supply of plant food in it, 

 but it must have in it also some 

 fibr^e or other ingredient which 

 shall keep the compost fairly open 

 and porous, allowing air and 

 water to pass through it freely, 

 thus keeping it equally moist and 

 sweet, but also enabling roots to 

 run in it freely. Ordinary garden 

 soil lacks fibre, and after being 

 frequently watered in pots lacks 

 porosity. It runs close together 

 and becomes hard and impervious; 

 it also lacks natural plant food. 

 Now, for ordinary plants grown 

 in pots the compost or soil 

 should consist of turfy loam, old 

 hot-bed manure, now solid and 

 fullv decayed, equally well decayed 

 leaf soil and sharp white sand. But 

 the turfy loam is the primary con- 

 stituent, and should be in the 

 proportion of two-thirds at least 

 of the whole. This material may 

 be difficult to obtain, but the 

 skimmings of grassed land will do. 

 The older it is and the yellower the 

 sand under it the better. If when 

 this soil be compressed in the hand 

 it holds together it is a stiff loam, 

 and can be corrected in using by 

 adding rather more sand. If it is 

 a' free loam it breaks freely and 

 will need less sand. To make good 

 soil the surface should be cut off 



