INVUA TION TO READEliS.—n-e want short, practic j 

 notes on cultural methods and devices, and sketches and photo- 

 graphs of choice plants, fruits, flowers, vegetables, garden-scenes , 

 implements, etc. Therefore, for any available article occupying 

 a half-column or so of space, or for any sketch or photograph from 

 which an acceptable engraving can be made, a year's subscription 

 to this magazine will be given. Please always so specify when 

 contributions are sent in under this offer. 



I. LITTLE TWIGS, 



Begin to plant bulbs. 



In Japan, hothouses are unknown. 



Fall planting is preferable for peonies. 



Plan now for plenty of snowdrops next spring. 



Lift frOiM the border early all plants that are to be 

 kept over winter. 



You CAN GROW tulip-flowers in the window if you 

 can grow anything. 



Our bed of hardy roses has not been a day without 

 flowers since May 30. 



A tree-baling machine has been invented b y a 

 Nebraska nurseryman. 



The earlier the better is a good rule for planting 

 Dutch bulbs after September 20 arrives. 



Don't look for strong growth of root or perfect 

 ripening of fruit without the aid of healthy foliage. 



Madame Crozy Canna — July 20 finds this the most 

 distinct and attractive flower among hundreds in bloom 

 on the writer's grounds. 



A STRAIN OF silver-leaved POPLAR that would not 

 sprout at the root would be a valuable tree. Cannot we 

 have it, you originators of new varieties ? 



The horticultural department at the World's Fair 

 has received, from a gentleman in St. Louis, Mo., three 

 palms and a bamboo, each about 35 feet in height. 



Grafting-wax made of bees-wax and rosin, rendered 

 plastic by additions of alcohol, is used and recommended 

 by Prof. Craig, of the Canadian experimental farm. 



Trellising Tomatoes. — No matter how simple 

 tomato-trellises may be, in private gardens they are orna- 

 mental and improve the fruit in cleanliness and appear- 

 ance. 



Ours is an Age of Specialties. — Even horses can and 

 should be trained to do special work. Note, for instance, 

 the difference in their adaptability in cultivating hoed- 

 crops. 



Doubling Narcissus Pceticus. — It is said by an experi- 

 enced gardener that this form of narcissus can be doubled 

 by lifting and replanting the bulbs about the time of 

 flowering. 



Black Flowers. — What do we want with black del- 

 phiniums, pansies, callas, etc. ? We can hardly find room 

 for all our bright and beautiful blossoms without wasting 

 space on such gloomy things as these. — l. g. 



Tree Booths. — The base of the big tree that goes to 

 the World's Fair from California, will, it is said, be hol- 

 lowed out into booths, in which will be sold California 

 wines, fruits, and curiosities of polished redwood. 



Such annuals as eschscholtzia, Centaurea cyanus, 

 single petunias, and other ready self-seeders, are peren- 

 nials in one sense ; they perpetuate themselves peren- 

 nially, if not by root, at least as effectually by seed. 



Dahlia-buds will sometimes blast during a dry season. 

 To prevent this, mulch the roots of the plants heavily 

 with straw. The dahlia succeeds best in a rich, moist 

 soil, and is greatly improved by good cultivation. — J. H. 



Nemophilas at Woodbanks were particularly fine 

 this year, because of the damp weather in May and June. 

 Seed sown May 8 gave us a choice treat of chaste blos- 

 soms in delicate lavender, cerulean blue and other tints. 



Miniature Violets. — A strain of new violets, tiny and 

 exquisitely sweet, has made its appearance in England. 

 The flowers are beautiful in form and color, much smaller 

 than the ordinary type, and the habit of the plant is very 

 dwarf and compact. 



The blood-leaved plum in autumn does not lose its 

 bright coloring, as does nearly every other tree of similar 

 characteristics, but is rich and bright in foliage-tints until 

 the very end of the season. Other trees of this sort begin 

 to fade in midsummer ; for instance, the blood-leaved fil- 

 bert, after July, is a dull-looking object. 



' ' The Talking Trees, " is the title of an attractive little 

 art-book from an occasional contributor, Margaret 

 Landers Randolph. She illustrates some of the pictur- 

 esque and historic trees of Clinton, N. \ , about Hamil- 

 ton College. The text is a poem upon the subject by 

 Professor Edward North, comprised in his half-century 

 letter to Hamilton College, in i8gi. 



Sulphur for Pine-Tree Blight. — James Gurney, the 

 veteran superintendent of the Missouri Botanical Garden, 

 and of Tower Grove Park, St. Louis, looks upon sulphur 

 as a complete remedy for blight. When the tree shows 



