H 



Cop>.'i5nt Entry 

 CL>SS t>) XXc N.;. 

 COPY B. 









M 



E 



roL. xiii 



ArEIL, 1903 



Xo. 6 



This department is under the entire charge of Mr. Eexford, and everything not signed by 

 another name is from his pen. Eeaders are cordially invited to correspond freely with Mr. 

 Rexford, addressing him in care of this office. 



THEPiE is a good deal of humbug 

 tioating about in the periodicals with 

 regard to floriculture. ]\Iuch of it 

 Driginates in the big Sunday papers, which 

 seem to feel that they are expected to say 

 something about flowers, and assign the 

 task of writing up an article to some mem- 

 ber of ''the force" who may not have any- 

 thing else to do at that particular time. 

 That the writers are entirely ignorant of 

 their subjects is evident, in most instances, 

 to any one. who has any knowledge of flow- 

 srs. I have just read, in a Sunday paper, 

 that chrysanthemums can be kept Ijloom- 

 ing all winter, also hyacinths. And that 

 it is the easiest thing in the world to grow 

 all the violets one needs for personal use 

 by planting half a dozen plants in a tin 

 pan, and keeping them in the attic. All 

 the attention they will require is watering 

 once a week. And a short time ago I was 

 pleased to find out that ^'rose-growing is 

 within the possibilities for everyone who 

 will keep the pots containing the plants 

 standing in saucers of liquid manure. 

 Failure is common because most persons 

 who attempt to grow this flower starve 

 their plants." Here was the great diffi- 

 culty against which we have been contend- 



ing so long swept away in a sentence. 

 Xow, such absurd statements never do 

 any injury to any one who understands 

 som^ething about plant-growing, for they 

 detect the humbug at a glance, but they 

 do do harm among those who are just 

 beginning to grow plants, because they 

 lead them to pursue wrong miethods^ and 

 to doubt the advice of those who "know 

 whereof they speak." Look out for the 

 humbugs. 



^ H' ^ 



It will be noticed that this number of 

 Home AND Flowers does not contain the 

 usual instalment of '"This, That and the 

 Other" department. The omission of it 

 is due to just one thing — there was no 

 material on hand to make it up from. A 

 few letters were received that were evi- 

 dently intended for it, but they did not 

 contain matter of general interest, and it 

 was not thought advisable to give up to 

 them the space which could be used for 

 more practical purposes. I would be de- 

 lighted to get a good many brief, snapp}^, 

 right-to-the-point letters each month from 

 persons who have had experience among 

 flowers. G-ive us hints, suggestions, bits 

 of personal experience. The department 



COPYRIGHT IQ05, BY THE FLORAL PUBLISHING COMPANY. 



