6i8 



BUDS, BLOSSOMS, FRUITS. 



ous-rooted begonia — a seedling — has utterly refused to 

 rest since it was given to me, though it was then quite 

 small. The tuber now measures three inches in diam- 

 eter. The flowers are white, and with the delicately-cut 

 leaves the plant forms a bouquet of itself. 



In digging up a bed, facing north but somewhat shel- 

 tered by a fence, I found a very thrifty Oxalis Jlori- 

 bunda rosea. As I did not plant any oxalises last spring, 

 it must have sprung from a root left there last fall. The 

 bed had been covered with leaves, and was, so far, well 

 protected. If this free blooming oxalis could be used for 

 a border-plant, and left out all winter, it might be made 

 to add much to the beauty of small gardens or isolated 

 flower-beds. O. floribunda alba is less hardy, — Celeste. 



Anld Lang Syne. 



Lines on the Blossoming of a Wild-flower Brought from 

 My Native Place. 



What memories thou bring'st to me 

 Thou wee bit flower frae banks o' Dee ! 

 Thou mind'st me o' my early days. 

 When blithe I played about the braes, 

 Where ilka spot flowers did adorn— 

 The daisy meek and sweet hawthorn. 

 But noo, like me, an e.xile here. 

 Far frae the land o' hills sae dear — 

 Oh ! may ye thrive and winsome smile. 

 My langsome hours o' care beguile, 

 For there is nane here but yersel' 

 Aught o' my native isle can tell. 

 In words o' sound ye dinna speak, 

 The favor of the ear to seek ; 

 Ve act by far a better part. 

 Ye touch the feelings o' the heart. 

 Leeze me on ye, ye bonnie flower, 

 I'm glad the seas ye e'er cam' ovver ; 

 An' thriving syne, sae fresh an' fair, 

 Wi' fragrant sweets ye fill the air ! 

 Sae may we baith fulfill our lot. 

 Yours be to grace this beily spot — 

 I, leal to our Creator's laws. 

 Prove faithful unto Truth's great cause. 



—William Nisbet. 



Fine Cactuses. — A Phyllocactus lati/rons four 

 years old, from a cutting, has just bloomed. It was a 

 thing of beauty and a joy — for one night. Among my 

 large collection of plants, some of them requiring much 

 care, it is pleasant to have some sorts that only ask to be 

 let alone. I set nearly all my varieties of cactus outdoors 

 during summer, the exceptions being F. lati/rons and 

 the true night-blooming cereus. I water them nearly 

 every day, as they are in pots ; then in the fall take them 

 to the cellar, which is light and warm, watering them 

 perhaps three or four times during winter ; but they get 

 dust-dry between times. I grafted Rat-Tail cactus and 

 Crab cactus both on a prickly pear a year or more ago. 

 Two slits were cut with a penknife in the prickly pear on 

 opposite sides, just long enough to hold the cuttings, and 

 about half an inch deep. A common brass pin thrust 

 through the cuttings held them in place. Both grafts 

 grew, but the "Rat-Tail" far outgrows the "Crab." 

 They make up a comical looking plant and attract a good 

 deal of attention. — Miriam P.^rker, Minn. 



Nymphaea tuberosa. — This superb species of water- 



lily is now in full bloom. It is in every respect a giant 

 compared with N. odorata, the plant being nearly twice 

 as large and the leaves often one foot or more in diameter, 

 while the pure white flowers are from five to eight inches 

 in diameter, varying in size according to the size of the 

 plant. N. tuberosa has beautiful flowers, which are as 

 fragrant as those of N. odorata, but their odor is quite 

 distinct. It seems strange to me that so much is said 

 about .A^ odorata and so little about N. tuberosa. 

 Certainly the latter is not a whit less beautiful than the 

 former, and is far superior in size. Its large rhizomes 

 bear many oblong tubers. The leaf-stems are much 

 coarser than those of N. odorata, and are often elevated 

 from six to ten inches above the water ; while those of 

 A', odorata, being slender and weak, always float upon 

 the water. The color of the leaves is a bright, shining 

 green, a pleasing contrast to N. odorata'' s. This superb 

 flower covers many of our Michigan lakes, and is often 

 found growing close beside .V. odorata. The best time 

 to plant this water-lily, and, in fact, nearly all aquatics, 

 is from June to September, although they can be moved 

 later in the spring or fall. — W. A. Brotherton. 



Plant Pools. — As the soil is enriched and improved by 

 modern intensive farming, the crops are more luxuriant 

 and the demand for water greater ; so that some means 

 of irrigation is a necessity. This is especially true in 

 gardening under glass. Our farm contains 22 acres. 

 When we moved here, five years ago, we found the water 

 supply quite inadequate to the demand, and we built a 

 windmill, placing the tank on the third floor of the back 

 building. We also constructed a reservoir 40 feet in 

 diameter, between the house and the barns, to receive 

 the water from the roofs of all the buildings, into which 

 the windmill pumps when the tank is full. Some of our 

 neighbors were anxious to see how the reservoir in Jersey 

 sand would hold water. We used the sand taken out for 

 the bank of the pool, in order to get all the elevation 

 practicable at little cost. When we had it shaped to our 

 liking, we drew a few loads of water-proof clay from a 

 pocket near, lined the pool, and had no difficulty in keep- 

 ing the water in place. We laid two-inch terra-cotta 

 pipes from the bottom of the pool in three directions. 

 They were fitted with cork stoppers fixed to iron rods 

 which stand above the surface, and are reached by a 

 movable plank, one end of which rests on a post in the 

 center of the pool, the other on the bank. We put into 

 the pool thus made a few goldfish, which are increasing 

 in numbers and can be sold ; and planted in it white and 

 pink water-lilies, the flowers of which sell readily. The 

 bank is planted with magnolia, azalea, clethra, mallow, 

 Lobelia cardinalis, and other beautiful or rare plants. 

 As the water rises to the top of the bank during storms, 

 and falls two or more feet when used from the reservoir, 

 some plants, requiring uniform moisture, would suffer by 

 the changes, so we made plank-boats for the pitcher- 

 plants and they have the appearance of miniature floating 

 islands. They move from side to side of the pool with 

 the changing breezes, sometimes stopping with the 

 nymphasas. In this way we bring together plants from 



