10 



THE FLORAL WORLD 



FLORAL EXCURSION. 



The steamer left the early 



in the morning with a party of excur- 

 sionists composed of four distin- 

 guished gentlemen, , , . 



. Also four ladies of high distinc- 

 tion, , , , . One of 



the ladies was noted to be , but 



considered a and was given the 



. After reaching the forest, 



a basket was opened and contents 

 proved to be a tempting lunch. A 

 meat, a berry, a vegetable, a fruit, a 



nut, a condiment, a candy, , , 



, , , , . After 



dinner one of the ladies accident- 

 ally spied on a . Quicker 



than a flash one of the gentlemen • 



and fired which missed its aim 



and struck one of the ladies. There 

 being no physician present, the wound 



would until there was a • . 



Fearing death might result, her af- 

 fianced was called. Being much 

 grieved to see his , he adminis- 

 tered and tied the wound with 



and started homeward. 



La. Mrs. W. N. WmrE. 



A BACK YARD IN TEXAS. 



Our back yard was small, bare, 

 rocky, and a perfect eyesore. The 

 fence enclosing it is unpainted up-and- 

 down boards, somewhat dilapidated. 

 Early this spring I measured off a 

 flower bed about three feet wide, all 

 along the fence, and with pick and 

 hoe dug out all the rocks in this 

 space, and bordered the beds with the 

 rocks to prevent washing. Then with 

 shovel, hoe and coal scuttle I scraped 

 off rich surface dirt from every nook 

 and corner of the premises, and filled 

 in my beds. It was slow work, but in 

 a week I was ready, and went out on 

 the prairie and took up tiny plants of 

 wild yellow and. red gaillardia, dainty 

 blue flax, pink primrose, purple ver- 



bena, coreopsis and phlox, setting 

 them carefully in the beds, and plant- 

 ed with wild buckwheat vines along 

 the side of the bed, next to the fence. 

 Then dug out the rocks and made a 

 little round plot about the middle of 

 the yard, planting a sunflower in the 

 center and phlox around the border. 



In a few weeks the unsightly yard 

 was a creation of perfect loveliness. 

 The beds a continual glory of bloom, 

 and the unsightly fence a wall of 

 beautiful green vines. 



Texas, Miss Ellie Stelle. 



HINTS ABOUT GLADIOLUS. 



Be sure to include yellow bulbs in 

 your list of gladiolus. Among the 

 reds have some dark velvety ones. 



I advise setting the bulbs five 

 inches deep, as they can be cultivated 

 better. 



A liberal top-dressing of manure 

 does them good. 



The bulbs always come true in 

 color, but the seed, if planted (caring 

 for the tiny bulblets as for the large 

 ones), will in three years produce 

 flowers in new combinations of color 

 and markings. 



Gladiolus bloom longer if not al- 

 lowed to produce seed. I like mine 

 best when planted in clumps or long 

 rows; if the latter way, put a stake 

 at each end and then a slat across 

 and tie the plants to this. Here we 

 protect them in winter, only taking 

 them up every other year. They 

 bloom much earlier if left in the 

 ground. 



For the busy woman they are cer- 

 tainly a boon. If only fragrant, one 

 could not ask for a better general pur- 

 pose flower. 



Oregon. Mrs. Olive Chamberlain. 



In Japan, arrangement of flowers is 

 considered a fine art, and taught to girls 

 as one of the valued accomplishments. 



