AMONG THE FLOWERS WITH REX FORD 



11 



Wild Roses, in the wayside glooms, 



Shake down a shower of sweet perfumes 



To lull me into Lotus dreams 



Of drifting down enchanted streams. 



O, slowly, softly out to sea 



A fairy shallop floats with me. 



The world is fading from my gaze. 



The hills recede in amber haze. 



Blown outwardly by nnfelt wind 



I leave the cares of earth behind. 



Thy sky has seemed, the whole day through. 



Like a great Violet overturned, 



With sunshine filtering through its blue, 



While idle, careless, unconcerned, 



I lay among the grass and heard 



The cricket's chirp, and talk of bird, 

 And saw the clouds sail slowly by 

 Between me and the far blue sky. 

 Like argosies that life sends out 

 In search of treasures dreamed abouto 



No discord mars the silver tune 

 To which is set this day of June — 

 This poem that the hand of God 

 Writes out on sky, and tree, and sod. 

 I read it in the upper air, 

 I see it, hear it everywhere ! 

 And I, who am not learned or wise 

 In lore which many scholars prize, 

 Have talked with Nature as a friend 

 Whose love I fully comprehend. 



THIS, THAT, A^B THE OTHEE 



LICE OX ASTERS 



Judging from the numerous inquiries 

 that come in from all parts of the country, 

 those who attempt the cultivation of the 

 Aster will have to wage diligent warfare 

 if they make a success of it. A few years 

 ago we did not hear much about injury 

 done to this plant by aphides. Now hardly 

 a garden is safe from their attacks, and 

 the Aster is one of the plants to which 

 they do most injury. There are two 

 sjiocies — one working on the branches, and 

 the other at the roots. Those on the stalks 

 are generally green, those at the roots 

 dark gray, or blue, sometimes nearly black. 

 Either will damage the plant severely, 

 and often they kill it, if not interfered 

 with. For those on the plant I use the 

 Ivory soap infusion spoken of elsewhere. 

 I begin the use of it when I see the first 

 aphis. I apply it with a sprayer, making 

 sure that it reaches every portion of the 

 plant. I apply it daily, until not an aphis 

 is to be found. For those at the roots I 

 use fresh, strong Tobacco dust. I draw 

 away the soil from the upper portion of 

 the roots, shake the dust over them thickly, 

 and then replace the soil. The moisture 

 in the soil extracts the strength of the dust 

 and makes it do deadly work against the 

 aphis. Asters are frequently injured by 

 the root aphis before its presence is sus- 



pected. If they wilt or begin to look yel- 

 low or seem to stand still when they should 

 be making vigorous development, it is safe 

 to suspect the aphis, and it will be well to 

 make prompt search for him at the roots 

 of your plants. 



GOOD VINES FOR SUMMER USE 



I am frequently asked what vines grow 

 rapidly and make good screens for porches 

 and windows where they must be grown in 

 pots or boxes. Two that come as near 

 to "filling the bilF' as any are Madeira 

 vine and German Ivy, or, more correctly 

 speaking, Senecio. Both have pretty 

 foliage. That of the Madeira vine is thick, 

 glossy, and heart-shaped. That of the 

 Senecio resembles the English Ivy in 

 shape, hence its common name of "Ger- 

 man" Ivy. It is, however, not even re- 

 motely related to the Ivy family. To make 

 satisfactory screens of either plant they 

 must be given a rich soil of sandy loam, 

 and watered freely and regularly. They 

 also require a liberal amount of root room 

 in order to produce a profusion of 

 branches, therefore I would advise plant- 

 ing them in good-sized boxes. The Ma- 

 deira vine grows from tubers. The Sen- 

 ecio starts readily from cuttings. But 

 single plants started from cuttings made 

 this season will not give a sufficient num- 



