620 



BUDS, BLOSSOMS, FRUITS. 



are attractive as to color and odor, but their season of 

 blooming is short. Of course, no pond should be with- 

 out the magnificent Egyptian lotus, each part of which, 

 leaf, flower or seed-pod, would be sufficient to justify its 

 presence. Plants of Aymphcca Zanzibarensis, blue, 

 pink and purple, I procured in May from a local florist, 

 as seedlings in two-inch pots, at six cents apiece. July 

 ID they were blooming in seven-inch pots, and continued 

 to bloom until frost (they were kept under glass until 

 July i). This year I have put them in larger pots, and 

 shall have larger blooms in proportion. Of floating 

 plants, Limnanthemiim Indicum, well named "water 

 snowflake," is charming and easily grown. Eichhornia 

 crassipes is too coarse and weedy for a small pond. 

 The floating plants were started in shallow boxes and 



cannot be planted. Let them run over the outhouses, 

 cover the fences, and shade the porch. Train a choice 

 grapevine up the south side of your barn, and when the 

 luscious clusters of fruit are ripe, see if you regret the 

 little work they have cost you. When long rows of currants 

 begin to show their clear red or white berries, will any 

 housewife among us all regret the time spent in setting 

 the little cuttings, hoeing them, and keeping the worms 

 under, which, by the way, is a simple job if attended to 

 in time ! A small investment in lily bulbs will give a 

 greater amount of pleasure than the same money spent 

 for anything else ; and if the bed for them is well pre- 

 pared in the beginning, the work of caring for them after- 

 ward is very light. Hardy phlox would come next on my 

 list, closely followed by varieties of iris. Perhaps roses 



A City Lily-Tank. 



pots filled half with sand, half with loam, and raised 

 within two inches of the surface oi the v.'ater. The 

 plants had to be kept back, or they would have over-run 

 the whole pond. Such plants as cyperus, papyrus and 

 sagittaria take up but little room, and can be set about in 

 vacant spaces. Altogether, I found in this lily-tank a very 

 handsome return for a small outlay of trouble and money, 

 and shall be glad if the result of my experience induces 

 any one to undertake the same experiment. — Lyman C. 

 Josephs. 



Beauty for Small Expense. — For busy people no 

 flowers are of such service as hardy perennials. Once 

 planted, they need but little care, and grow more beauti- 

 ful each year. Vines are nature's drapery, and too many 



should have headed the list, for when kinds that are 

 suitable in your locality are selected, and properly 

 pruned, mulched and enriched, nothing will better re- 

 pay the care. Running roses are beautiful and easily 

 grown. Set a post firmly in the ground, letting it come 

 five feet above the surface. At the top nail two pieces, 

 each four or five feet long, at right angles. At the feet 

 of the post, in well-enriched earth, plant the roses, letting 

 them run and riot at will. Wistaria will soon climb to 

 the top of any common farmhouse. Honeysuckles will 

 climb and cling lovingly around the porches and windows, 

 and American ivy will cover any unsightly place with a 

 coat of brilliant colors. These plants are all cheap. If 

 I couldn't save eggs or butter enough to get a few roots 



