BUDS, BLOSSOMS, FRUITS. 



107 



land, a successful landscape gardener. She has laid out 

 parks, public gardens and private grounds. Women are 

 particularly adapted to this profession. They are apt 

 to look after the little things and economize much more 

 than men, and success in horticulture may depend on 

 small items. At least, let women see what they can do 

 with their own back yards, large or small, and read, 

 read, read, the splendid floral magazines that are dainty 

 and bright with pictures and interesting articles. — A. L. 

 Hotbeds for Profit. — I made two beds 7-X4 feet. 



First, was made February 22, 1891. The second, 

 March 20. From these two beds I sold plants as 

 follows ; 



33 Marguerite Carnations, 6 cts each $ i g8 



II Moon-flowers, 10 cts. each i 10 



40 Verbenas, 4 cts. each i 60 



30 Asters, 2 cts. each 60 



10 Petunias, 3 cts. each 30 



9 Rooted Heliotrope cuttings, 8 cts. each 72 



13 Doz. Pansy plants, 20 cts. per doz 2 60 



Miscellaneous flower-plants 3 00 



40 Doz. Cabbage plants, 10 cts. per doz 4 00 



40 Doz. Tomato plants, 20 cts. per doz 8 00 



Total cash receipts 523 90 



Gave away to friends plants worth 5 00 



Used in my own garden plants worth 8 00 



Total production of hotbeds $36 90 



Cost of Beds. 



2 Old frames from store-front with glass $ 5 00 



Repairs, putty, dray, etc i 40 



2 Loads of horse-manure 60 



Miscellaneous i 00 



Total cost $ 8 00 



Of course I did all the work myself. Size of town, 

 1,200 population. No greenhouse in the place, but 

 two or three other persons had hotbeds, and raised 

 vegetable-plants for sale. I found the best way to sell 

 most flower-plants was in thumb-pots, which are very 

 cheap and greatly aid the sale as the plants can be 

 transplanted without danger of losing them. — J. R. W., 

 Marshall Co., O. 



Tying Grape-Vines.— The ordinary methods of tying 

 grape-vines with string, bark, straw, timothy or other 

 such material, is slow, and, where labor is scarce, ex- 

 pensive. A much better method is to use rings, open at 

 one side, of No. ig unannealed wire. These are slipped 

 around the trellis-wire and one or'more green shoots, 

 and then pressed between the thumb and finger till the 

 ends cross, each of which is given a short bend by a 

 skillful motion of the same thumb and finger. It is not 

 necessary to press them so close as to injure the green 

 wood in the slightest. The rings are made by winding 

 the wire on a spindle three-fourths to one inch in diame- 

 ter, into coils of any convenient length, which are then 

 cut by a pair of ordinary trimmer's-shears into rings. 

 These are carried in bags similar to those used by nailers. 

 As they are inclined to tangle, it is perhaps a saving in 

 time to prepare a number of sticks sixteen inches long 

 and one-half inch in diameter, with a wire nail through 

 the end. Pass these through the coil and cut into rings 



which will be carried by the stick without tangling. 

 One or more of these can be attached to a convenient 

 place about the person, and the rings readily removed, 

 a score at a time, and placed on the little finger of the 

 left hand for immediate use. This method will lessen 

 the cost of tying fully one-half; and a further saving 

 may be made by an improvement of the ordinary three- 

 wire trellis, by placing two No. 16 wires opposite to each 

 other, on the posts between the first and second wire> 

 and also between the second and third wires. As the 

 shoots grow they are placed between these or against 

 the main wire, and most of them will keep a proper po- 

 sition till the tendrils catch ihe upper wires. Those that 

 will not take the right position readily are tied with the 

 wire rings. To tie old wood to the trellis in the spring, 

 use burlap or other coarse fabrics cut into pieces six 

 inches square. The threads of these can be taken out 

 so easily, and are so convenient to carry, that no one 

 after using them would ever go back to balls of twine. 

 —A. McNeill, Ont. 



Tine Same Old Things. — Here, in my own window^ 

 are two long-leggy geraniums, with only half a dozen 

 leaves and no buds nor prospect of any. My neighbor 

 has others like them. The one on the right, ditto ; the 

 one on the left, also ditto. Every one seems to think 

 they must have geraniums ; whereas, the place for them 

 in the winter, nine times out of ten, is the cellar. One 

 enterprising woman started in the right direction when 

 she potted a Canada thistle ! It made a pretty window- 

 plant, and many of her visitors that would turn up their 

 noses at thistles in the fields, taken by surprise, asked her 

 the name of that curious plant in her window. But we 

 needn't depend on weeds. We may have bulb-windows, 

 and they, in their surprising beauty, will delight and 

 satisfy. If not bulbs, we might try some of the annuals. 

 If the seeds be planted in pots in August, by frost they 

 will be ready to flower. Nasturtiums, sweet alyssum, 

 petunias, all are satisfactory. A Jerusalem cherry tree, 

 with its red berries, looks well nearly all winter. But 

 if you want something to suit you wholly, try begonias. 

 One of my friends is a "collector," and no man after a 

 rare and costly coin beats her in enthusiasm when she 

 has found a new begonia. She has ten or twelve varie- 

 ties, and is sighing for more. But why not, once a 

 year, say, add one really choice plant to your collection ? 

 My first one would be a palm, Lalania Borbonica. Mine 

 does duty for the table on all the birthdays and holi- 

 days, and, with the ferns, gives a tropical look to the 

 rooms, especially when the cold wind blows over the 

 snow, and we have to stay in the house. — Sister Gra- 

 cious. 



Race Distinction in Peaches. — The Persian race 

 occupies the most northern position in our country, ex- 

 tending to the northern limits of peach-culture, and 

 forming the bulk of the northern orchards. The 

 Northern Chinese race occupies the lower portion of 

 the range covered by the Persian, and some varieties 

 succeed below it. This class produces very large fruit. 

 The Spanish race occupies the entire range of the 



