[September, 



SUNFLOWERS, 



They blossom brightly, straight and tall, 

 Against the mossy garden wall, 



Beneath the poplar trees ; 

 The sunbeams kiss each golden face, 

 Their green leaves wave with airy grace 



In fresh September's breeze. 



On one fair disc of gold and brown 

 A purple butterfly lights down; 



A sister blossom yields 

 Her honey store, content to be 

 A late provider for the bee, 



Flown here from clover fields. 



Each dawning day, when climbs the sun, 

 And steadfast, till his course is run. 



These royal blossoms raise 

 Their grand, wide-opened, golden eyes, 

 To watch his journey through the skies, 



Undaunted by his blaze; 

 The butterfly may sleep or soar, 

 The bees may steal their honey store, 



But still the flowers gaze on, 

 With burning looks of changeless love, 

 Toward the day-God, high above, 



Until the day is gone. 



Fair maid beside the garden wall, 



Thy lithe form copies, straight and tall, 



The Sunflower's stately grace; 

 The golden tresses of thy hair, 

 Like Sunflower rays, do weave a fair 



Bright halo round thy face; 



And through their shadows, looking down, 

 We find thine eyes of softest brown, 



Like Sunflower centers are ; 

 We watch thee standing in the bloom, 

 The God-given Sunflower of our home, 



Yet meek as evening's star ! 



Ah, watching thus, high thoughts arise, 

 Deep thoughts, that till our time-worn eyes 



With fearful, hopeful tears. 

 God give thee sunshine on thy way! 

 God crown thy happy summer day 



With peaceful autumn years ! 



In due time, coming on thy breast 

 Love's purple butterfly may rest, 



And nestle close to thee ; 

 And ere thy summer time is o'er, 

 Thy sweetness may yield honey store 



For life's brown working bee. 



But evermore, though love should come 

 And fold his pinions in thine home, 



Lift thy calm gaze above; 

 Mark thou the Sunflower's constant eye, 

 And follow through life's changing sky 



The sun of faith and love. 



Ladies' Treasury. 



SEASONABLE HINTS. 



A good Flower-Garden should now be in 

 its greatest glory, combining with the brill- 

 iancy and fragrance of its flowers the fullest 

 richness and profusion of foliage. Cooler 

 days and damper atmosphere produce an 

 enjoyable contrast with the torrid days of 

 the preceding months, causing a state of 

 sweet repose during which we are apt to 

 forget to make preparations for the future. 

 Yet there is much important work to be done 

 now. 



Seeds of Perennials and Biennials, if sown 

 now will flower next summer, while if sow- 

 ing is deferred till spring, they will not 

 bloom before another year. Hollyhocks, 

 Chinese Pinks, Sweet William, Aquilegias, 

 Delphiniums, Campanulas, and many other 

 hardy kinds may be sown in beds out of 

 doors. A somewhat sheltered position, fac- 

 ing to the south, and where water cannot 

 stand at any time, should be chosen. After 



making the soil rich, light, and deep, the j 

 seeds are sown in narrow drills, and require 

 no care until winter, except an occasional 

 watering if the season should be very dry. 

 When cold weather sets in the bed should be 

 lightly covered with leaves and evergreen 

 branches. Early in spring the covering is to 

 be removed and the plants are transplanted 

 to the beds where they are intended to 

 bloom. Many of the hardy Annuals may be 

 treated in the same way, producing much 

 earlier bloom than could be obtained other- 

 wise. 



SCARLET CLEMATIS. 



(Clematis cocoinea.) 



This magnificent climber, an excellent 

 colored plate of which is presented to our 

 subscribers with this number, is acknowl- 

 edged as one of the most brilliant gems of 

 the Clematis genus. The plant is a native of 

 our South-western States, and has caused 

 considerable controversy among botanists, 

 who have in turn named it C. Pitcheri, C. 

 Viorna var. coceinea, C. Texensis, and C. 

 coccinea, under which latter name it is now 

 generally recognized. 



The plant is perfectly hardy in this lati- 

 tude. Being herbaceous, it dies down every 

 winter, and in spring throws up eight to 

 twelve vines to a height of eight to ten feet. 

 Early in July, and eontinuing till frost ap- 

 pears, its one to one and one-half inch long, 

 bell-shaped flowers, of the most intense 

 coral scarlet, shine as if polished. They are 

 produced from the axil of each leaf, on 

 strong, wiry peduncles, three to four inches 

 long, standing out boldly from the foliage. 

 The leaves are of a rich, deep, glossy green, 

 deeply lobed, and of firm texture. The 

 foliage and entire habit of the plant is ele- 

 gant, bright, and attractive, — indeed, even 

 without flowers it would be a valuable ad- 

 dition to a garden. Its cultivation is of the 

 easiest kind, as it thrives in any moder- 

 ately rich soil, and in any situation where it 

 gets the benefit of a few hours of sunshine a 

 day. Another great point in its favor is 

 that it is not subject to insect depredations, 

 which prove so disastrous to many other 

 climbers. From all that we have seen and 

 heard of this novelty, we consider it a most 

 valuable acquisition, and we have therefore 

 placed it on our Premium List for the com- 

 ing year. 



PANSIES, 



One of our most beautiful flowers is the 

 Pansy. It well deserves its popularity. It 

 ought to be in every garden. If I could 

 have but one flower, I think I would make 

 this my choice for the border. Most flow- 

 ers will not do well in shady places, but 

 I have always succeeded in growing fine 

 Pansies in such locations. 



Some years ago a German friend of mine, 

 who grew vegetables for market, brought me 

 one day a bouquet of the most beautiful 

 Pansies I ever saw. They were wonderful 

 for size and variety of color. Some were 

 really black when looked at out of the sun- 

 shine ; others were purple, with most brill- 

 iant markings of yellow and brown ; others 

 were a soft, bright blue, and the loveliest 

 ones of all were a pale primrose yellow, that 

 shaded into white on the edge of the petals. 

 I had tried my hand at Pansy growing, and 

 congratulated myself on having fair success, 

 but I had never raised any that would com- , 



j pare with those from my German Mend. I 

 asked him the secret of his success. "Come 

 see how I grow them," he said. And I went. 



His Pansies grew on the north side of the 

 house, and had only the early morning sun- 

 shine. The soil was quite sandy, and con- 

 sequently light and mellow. He told me 

 that he sowed seed for next year's flowers in 

 July or August, and September, and never 

 kept this year's blossoming plants over, as 

 most persons do. The vitality of a plant is 

 exhausted by one season's bloom, and young 

 plants are what should be depended on. If 

 these are started late in summer they are 

 strong enough to winter well, and early in 

 spring they will begin to bloom, and can be 

 relied on, with proper management, to give 

 a constant succession of flowers through the 

 season. Old plants will give a few flowers, 

 but never as large and healthy ones as young 

 plants will. My friend told me that he used 

 in his Pansy-beds well-rotted manure from 

 the cow stable. This he worked into the soil 

 thoroughly. He kept the ground mellow, and 

 free from weeds, and, in dry seasons, he 

 took care to see that the plants did not suffer 

 from lack of water. He put leaves about the 

 young plants as a protection in winter, and 

 these leaves he worked in about them in 

 spring, thus making their winter covering 

 afford them food during the blooming season. 

 They seem to be very fond of leaf-mold, and 

 if I could obtain it in sufficient quantities I 

 would prefer it to any other manure. 



One reason why so many fail in grow- 

 ing these flowers well is, because they select 

 shady locations for them where there is not 

 a sufficient circulation of air. In these close, 

 damp places the plants mildew, or make an 

 unhealthy growth, which is sure to fail in 

 bloom. They like shade, but they must 

 have plenty of fresh air. I have followed 

 his advice since then, and I have been 

 gratified by his compliments regarding my 

 success. 



Save seed from only the best strains, and 

 sow each variety by itself. They will not 

 always be like the flowers from which your 

 seed was obtained, but they will be beautiful 

 enough to satisfy any one who loves brilliant 

 colors, and mine have never " sported "very 

 much. If the soil is too rich there will not 

 be as generous a crop of flowers as will be 

 the ease where the soil is moderately so. 



Eben E. Eexpoed. 



SINGLE DAHLIAS. 



At one time, and that very recently, no 

 one ventured to have such a thing as a 

 single Dahlia in his garden. In raising 

 seedlings of the double type all the single 

 forms, good or bad, were looked upon as 

 little better than weeds. Yet this change of 

 opinion in favor of these handsome plants 

 has been so great that the original species 

 have been re-introduced from Mexico, and 

 are now largely propagated and hybridized, 

 great care being taken to exclude every 

 type showing a tendency to double flowers. 



This revival of original forms, says Gar- 

 dening Illustrated,- — which gives the following 

 directions, and from which the accompany- 

 ing life-like illustration is reproduced, — is a 

 healthy sign, and means that the hard lines 

 which guided specialists in flower culture, 

 and through them the public, are being 

 broken down. It is well it is so, in this eace 

 at least, for these single Dahlias are bold and 



