LETTERS FROM OUR FRIENDS 



28 



blue one that I took from a bed in the garden 

 one fall, cut it back, and it was covered with 

 flowers f11 winter, although in rather poor soil. 

 In our garden we have the Koses spoken of in 

 the article on 'Old-Fashioned Flowers.' There 

 can be nothing prettier or sweeter than the Dam- 

 ask 'Blush Eose,' as we call it. We also have some 

 Fleur-de-lis, Widow's Tears, and Dielytra. 

 'Widow's Tears' has slender, Lily-like leaves, 

 and is covered with bright blue three-petaled 

 flowers. Dielvtra is a pretty plant with leaves 

 a little like Groldenglow, and has sprays of odd 

 shaped, drooping flowers of a bright rose with 

 white pistiL Both die down after flowering. 

 If those who are troubled with little black 

 flies about their house plants will try covering 

 the soil with wood ashes, I think they will have 

 no more trouble. It also acts as a fertilizer 

 for the plants. I like ashes better for the 

 garden than manure. I use ashes and leaf 

 mold for garden and house, and am but little 

 troubled with weeds. I have a Date Palm I 

 raised from seed. It was a year old in March, 

 and has two sword-like leaves about fifteen 

 inches long, and one shorter one. It has never 

 lost a leaf, and looks green and thrifty, but it 

 does not grow fast enough to suit me. It is 

 in a two-quart tin pail in soil one-third leaf 

 mold and sand and two-thirds good garden 

 soil. It has good drainage, and water when it 

 needs it. Does it need more fertilizer, or am 

 I too impatient? Does it require the same 

 treatment as other Palms? I wish to get a 

 Calla that will flower well in vdnter. What 

 kind would you advise? Do you think hardy 

 Chrysanthemums would be hardy in this state?" 



Our country is pretty well represented this 

 month. Here is a letter from Alabama, in 

 which will be found some useful suggestions 

 which other subscribers in that locality will 

 do well to take advantage of : 



"Have just received my third copy of Home 

 AND Flowers since I became a subscriber. 

 Thought I would write and tell how I succeeded 

 with my Pansies. I planted seed the last week 

 in March, and some a little later. I had a glass 

 placed over the box, and 'every morning 

 sprinkled the soil with warm water until the 

 seed came up, which was in a very short time. 

 About the time the sixth leaf appeared I trans- 

 plantefT them to a rich, loamy soil and watered 

 with soapy water, and now they are -blooming 

 and look like plants that are three months old. 

 I have a red Marechal Mel Eose that is two 

 years old and about twelve or fourteen feet 

 high, but it has never bloomed. It is highly 

 fertilized. The leaves are dark green and look 

 healthy, but I can not account for it not bloom- 

 ing. What ought I to do for it? It grows very 



rapidly. Geraniums that are watered with 

 warm, soapy water with a little ammonia will 

 bloom much better, Callas will, too, I hope 

 some one can tell me about my Eose, 



"Sadie Dozier," 



If the Eose was originally grafted, it is 

 possible that the graft or scion may have died 

 off, and the present growth is from the roots 

 mpon which the graft was "worked," Very 

 often grafted Eoses disappoint us in this way. 

 Wouldn't we of the North be delighted to be 

 able to grow Marechal Niels out-of-doors? But 

 perhaps we appreciate the Eoses we do have all 

 the more because we have to fight for them 

 against our severe winters. 



Those who love the good old Nasturtium will 

 find this communication practically helpful: 



"I wish to tell your readers my experience 

 with the. climbing Nasturtiums. I sowed seed 

 about the 15th of May, and July 10 picked my 

 first blossom, and from that time until late 

 frost I had an abundance of flowers. The 

 seeds were sown in yellow sand, and the only 

 ferlitizer was my wash water. They were 

 trained on common wrapping twine, and grew 

 to a height of twelve feet. I kept flowers 

 picked the same as Sweet Peas, not letting them 

 go to seed until late. Mrs. C. W. Brown.^^ 



"Vermont." 



We would be glad to get any number of short, 

 right-to-the-point letters like the above. 



Mrs. John Le Valley, Medina, New York, 

 takes the editor to task for what she considers 

 a possibly unintentional misrepresentation of 

 a "fact in nature," as regards the sheep. She 

 refers to that portion of the serial now being 

 published in this magazine, which tells how 

 Miss Betty was "treed" by old Bruiser on a 

 stone pile: 



"Will you allow me in the friendliest spirit 

 in the world to call your attention to a point 

 in 'Winning Her Way'? The story is very en- 

 tertaining and true to life, but, dear Mr. Eex- 

 ford, have you ever had any personal experience 

 with an .'Old Bruiser?' In the first place, as 

 near as I can reckon, he was not a cross old 

 'sheep,' but a ram, and even a cross sheep would 

 have tumbled Miss Betty off that stone pile, no 

 matter how high it was, before she had time 

 to seat herself. We have both stone walls and 

 stone piles in plenty, as part of our possessions 

 includes a quarry, and there never was a wall 

 or heap of stones that would present the least 

 difiiculty to 'Old Bruiser.' I have to thank you 

 for many a hearty laugh as I thought of poor 

 Miss Betty, seated for a whole month upon 



