Cleaning Brick Flues.— I take half-inch gas-pipe 

 of lengths to suit, screw them together until I have the 

 required length, and use in place of a line for running 

 through the flues. It cleans them well. — Am. Florist^ 



The Soja or Soy Bean, the papers tell us, has been 

 tried by the stations, and the reports are all good. The 

 Rural Nezv- Yorker tried this bean at least lo years ago, 

 and reported it as comparatively worthless. — Rural 

 Kcz^'- Yorker. 



Tobacco-Waste as Manure. — Tobacco takes from 

 the land more of nitrogenous and mineral plant-food 

 than any other. For this reason the waste from tobacco- 

 factories that can usually be procured at cheap rates 

 makes more valuable manure than anything else at the 

 same price. — Aynerican Cultivator. 



Lombardy Poplars. — It does not seem to be gen. 

 erally known that this variety of poplar never seeds. It 

 is simply a variety of another poplar, and must be in- 

 creased wholly from cuttings. The pollen-bearing form, 

 so far as known, does not grow in this country. The planj 

 is wholly pistillate. — Meehaus' Monthly. 



The Darwin Tulips constitute a new strain of late- 

 flowering self-colored or "breeder" tulips, remarkable 

 for their brilliancy of coloring. From a botanical point 

 of view, as well as from the standpoint of the florist 

 there is great interest in watching the changes that occur, 

 and in endeavoring to arrive at some explanation con- 

 cerning them. At the Paris Exhibition these tulips at- 

 tracted great attention, not only for their beauty of color, 

 but for their hardihood and power of enduring both sun 

 and rain. Among them is the " black tulip. " described 

 as " the most absolute black in the vegetable kingdom." 

 — Carde?icrs' Chronicle. 



Gladiolus, the Bride. — This variety is sometimes 

 known as Colvillei alba. It is one of the most beautiful 

 of gladioluses, and one of the most useful white flowers 

 hat we possess. Its bulbs are by no means dear when 

 purchased by the dozen or hundred, and all who have 

 the slightest demand for cut-flowers should grow this va- 

 riety in quantity. It is well suited to pot-culture, and 

 succeeds admirably in beds and borders in the open air. 

 The bulbs are no larger than those of an ordinary crocus, 

 but I have often found such bulbs to produce from three 

 to five bloom-spikes 12 to 18 inches in height. Their 

 culture is easy. If pots cannot be spared, quantities of 



them may be planted and grown in boxes, /. e., where 

 the flowers are wanted only for cutting. Their spikes 

 last an unusual length of time when cut, and their grace- 

 ful appearance fits them admirably for artistic decora- 

 tion. After blooming, their bulbs are not useless, but 

 go on flowering year after year. In the flower-garden, 

 too, they have a charming appearance, but I am as much 

 pleased with them in the herbaceous border as anywhere, 

 and as the bulbs are thoroughly hardy, and may be 

 planted out at any time during the winter, this gladiolus 

 may justly be classed amongst the best of hardy flowers. 

 — Ga rcien ing III ustrated. 



Pop-corn for the Children. — Children enjoy popping 

 corn, and it is a pleasure easily procured for them. Pop- 

 corn requires the same cultivation as other corn. It is a 

 little tedious to shuck, but produces abundantly, giving 

 three to six ears to the stalk, and four to six stalks to the 

 hill. The hills may be two to three feet apart, or even 

 closer. There are several good varieties — the Eight- 

 rowed White, the Yellow, the Rice and the Pearl. The 

 Yellow is excellent for buttered pop-corn, and the White 

 for candied popcorn-balls. A surplus is easily sold, in- 

 deed some farmers make a neat little sum by growing 

 several acres on purpose for market. As it is not a per- 

 ishable product it may be held for a good price, its value 

 increasing with age. — Ne-w York Tribune. 



Sowing Small Seeds. — Sowing seeds too deeply is 

 one of the most common mistakes of beginners, and is a 

 sufficient reason why so much of it fails to come up. All 

 small seeds, such as carrot, cabbage, lettuce, celery, etc., 

 should be left within an inch of the surface ; larger 

 seeds, such as peas, beans, corn and beets, within two to 

 three inches. Small seeds sown when the ground is in 

 good condition and left unfirmed by the feet or the roller 

 may be expected to die unless favored with a timely rain. 

 Seeds should not be sown when the earth is so wet that 

 it will stick to the roller, nor when it is parching dry. 

 When freshly plowed up and prepared it is usually in 

 the best condition for sowing, but it must be firmed. — 

 ABC of Agriculture. 



Beautify the Home. — If you have a back yard, 

 large or small, you can do something to make it pretty. 

 If you hang your clothes out on a roof, there can be a 

 beauty-spot in the way of a few plants in boxes or large 

 tubs. One of my neighbors has her back yard paved, 



