6 



THE FLORAL IVORLD 



then planted in cans of garden soil. 

 This I kept moist and in the shade 

 till the seed came up, never allowing 

 the earth to become dry. When the 

 vines had begun to run, I used a string 

 for each can, tying it to a stick pushed 

 down in the soil. I allowed them to 

 grow until they were over a yard long, 

 when I changed them to a A;^^ell-pre- 

 pared trench beneath the gutter. The 

 roots had partly filled the cans, so ] 

 carefully slipped them out, dirt and all. 



I put them out a dark, rainy morn- 

 ing, the first of June, and the change 

 didn't disturb the growth, nor did they 

 even wilt. They were left on the same 

 strings, and when they had reached 

 the top of the porch I had a strip of 

 poultry netting fastened around the 

 porch for them to cover. 



By August 1 they had covered the 

 netting, forming a dense awning 

 around a gallery twenty-four feet 

 long. Three vines have done this, 

 and they had nothing but plenty of 

 water and a little training. They 

 bloom after sundown and last until 

 about 8 o'clock in the morning. Some 

 evenings I have counted twenty 

 blooms, and were the vines less dense 

 there would be more. 



Mississippi. Mrs. W. B. Byrd. 



FERTILIZING PLANTS. 



A lover of the beautiful can take de- 

 light in cultivating the most tiny 

 flower. Geraniums are hardy and give 

 good satisfaction. Hen manure is the 

 best fertilizer for them I've had any 

 experience with. In the summer, when 

 your plants are in the open air, it is 

 the time to apply it, as then you will 

 not get the odor. I work among them 

 with a stick, or f jrk, stirring the soil, 

 which makes it light and loose. Turn 

 them towards the light, thus prevent- 

 ing t^^em from growing one-sided. 

 Ammonia water is a good fertilizer. 

 Apply it once a week, not too strong. 

 I generally use one tablespoonful to 



a two-quart pail of water. Equal parts 

 of sand, leaf mold and garden soil is 

 what I use when obtainable. I get the 

 best results for miles around, because I 

 always base my work on actual, prac- 

 tical experience, which, after all, is the 

 only thing that tells in the end. 

 New York. Mrs. L. Ryan. 



FLOWER DECORATION. 



A big bowl of Bohemian amber, 

 filled with superb yellow plumes of 

 full grown golden rod, artistically ar- 

 ranged with clusters of fiaming maple 

 leaves, can not be surpassed as a cen- 

 ter piece in fall. Cut a large branch of 

 rose geranium, then arrange pansies 

 among it and see what a pretty bou- 

 quet you will have. 



Scarlet cannas and spikes of tube- 

 roses go well with the leaves of ma- 

 honia or barberry. 



Take a large vase of the wild maid- 

 en hair fern as at basis, and put among 

 them large clusters of pink oieauuer 

 — nothing else is so fine. 



A large plant of the white-ieavea 

 centuria, cut entire, and put in a vase, 

 with white and lavender asters 

 of the simple type filled in, makes at 

 beautiful center piece. 



White foxgloves and blue del- 

 phium look fine among a mass of as- 

 paragus plumosa, with several sprays 

 of asparagus sprengeri. 



A large standing wicker basket is in 

 my room filled with the large wnite 

 day lily, "Funkia," stems cut entire, 

 with buds, as well as open lilies, with 

 the large leaves oi the oak fern for fo- 

 liage. These are put in cans of water 

 held steady by spagnum moss packed 

 tightly around them. 



A lovely center piece is composed of 

 the branches of acacia daltreata, a sil- 

 very green, and the tall spikes of the 

 old hardy lupin, a delicate, shell-like 

 porcelain blue. 



Missouri. A. Elizabeth Badger. 



