[December, 



ALTERATIONS, 



If all our world were a broad, level plain, 

 Each vale exalted and each hill made low, 



The rivers then would stagnate, and the rain 

 Would turn the fields into a reedy slough. 



If skies were cloudless, ever clear and bright, 

 And all our days were one incessant glare, 

 The flowers would droop, just through excess of 

 light, 



And dearth and death would meet lis every- 

 where. 



Or if the sky were always dark with cloud, 

 Making the sunlight only dull and dim, 



The wail of famine would wax long and loud, 

 Earth's cup of sorrow filled up to the brim. 



If all the seasons were one summer day, 

 With harvests ripening in the sunshine warm, 



How we would miss the winter, cold and gray, 

 And long to hear the voices of the storm. 



If all our life were one exultant psalm, 

 With no soft interlude of minor tone, 



Jlethiuks its music soon woidd cease to charm, 

 And we should weary of its monotone. 



If all our days were one unbroken joy, 

 The very joy would ripen into pain ; 



For as the gold must have its brse alloy, 

 So sorrow blesses, and our loss is 6 aiu. 



Creation's law is still the, law of life, 



The evening and the morning round our days ; 

 While, through the changing chords of rest and 

 strife, 



Prayer sings responsive to her sister Praise. 



Henry Burton. 



SEASONABLE HINTS. 



Dutch Births of all kinds, Hyacinths, Tulips, 

 Crocus, Narcissus, Scillas, etc., may still be 

 planted where the ground is not frozen, and 

 in well prepared beds will produce fine 

 blooms next spring. Such late-planted bulbs 

 should be covered at once to keep the frost 

 out of the ground as long as possible, and al- 

 low them to form good roots before spring. 

 Earlier planted bulbs should receive protec- 

 tion before the ground is frozen hard. 

 Peat, leaf-mould, or fine horse-manure, make 

 excellent mulch for bulb beds, as such fine 

 substances need not be removed in spring, 

 while coarse material has to be taken off soon 

 after the shoots push through the ground, 

 exposing them frequently to late spring 

 frosts. 



Gladiolus bulbs are not seldom forgotten to 

 be taken up until the ground is frozen so hard 

 that it cannot be done. If they have been 

 planted the rjroper depth, they need not be 

 lost, however, in such cases. We have often 

 preserved outdoors large beds of Gladiolus 

 by covering them thick enough to exclude 

 frost. A coat of twelve inches of rye straw 

 or forest-leaves answers the purpose com- 

 pletely. 



Boses, the hardy as well as the tender va- 

 rieties, if in at all exposed situations, should 

 have some protection. The first part of this 

 month is the proper season for this. Amateurs 

 err frequently in covering their Eoses too 

 early, causing them thereby to decay or 

 mould. Tall and hardy bushes should be 

 tied up with straw or matting ; evergreen 

 branches make an excellent protection. 

 Small plants and tender varieties have to be 

 laid or pegged down and then covered. It is 

 best to cover the entire bed with leaves, and 

 these with some evergreen branches to hold 

 them down. 



CHRISTMAS ROSES. 



These peculiar and interesting plants do, 

 notwithstanding their given name, neither 

 bloom at Christmas, nor are they Eoses, or 

 even distantly allied to them. Their generic 

 name is Helleborus, and in their botanicf l re- 

 lationship they are Buttercups rather than 

 Eoses. Nevertheless, their flowers are so 

 beautiful, and blooming far in advance of 

 any other outdoor plants, that they are al- 

 ways welcome, and prized as much in their 

 season as the Eoses of summer in theirs. 



The common Christmas Eose, Helleborus 

 niger, is a native of Central Europe, growing 

 in rich, sheltered, mountainous regions. In 

 England it has long been a garden favorite, 

 and grows without much care and attention 

 in almost any garden soil; but with us it is 

 rarely seen, and requires more care for its 

 successful cultivation. The plant suffers not 

 so much from extreme cold as from our hot, 

 summer sun, and the sharp, drying winds of 

 winter, and requires, therefore, careful pro- 

 tection from both. 



There are, no doubt, sufficiently sheltered 

 spots 'in many gardens where they might be 

 grown satisfactorily, and would amply repay 

 the trouble taken with them. To those who 

 wish to make a trial, we would recommend 

 to select a somewhat moist and sheltered, 

 partly shaded situation, on the eastern mar- 

 gin of a group of shrubbery. Dig the 

 ground to a depth of two feet, work .in 

 plenty of rotten manure, leaf-mould, and 

 some sand, if the ground is heavy, and set 

 out the plants as early in sjjring as possible. 

 When hot, dry weather sets in, the entire 

 ground should be thickly mulched with muck 

 or cut straw ; in winter, scatter forest-leaves 

 over the bed, and cover all lightly with 

 branches of evergreens. 



Christmas Eoses are also admirably suited 

 for pot-culture, in frames, where they can be 

 protected from the hottest sun and the most 

 piercing winds. During winter the pots may 

 gradually be brought to a warmer place for 

 gentle forcing, and maythus be had in flower 

 nearly all winter. Those brought in earliest, " 

 if strong crowns with well-developed buds 

 have been selected, may thus vindicate their 

 name by expanding their large, open, white 

 flowers, shyly hidden among their broaa, 

 dark-green leaves, in time to wish you a 

 " Merry Christmas ! " 



SOIL TOR FLOWERS. 



One of the chief hinderanees to the more 

 general cultivation of flowers is, no doubt, 

 the fancied necessity of providing a special 

 soil for each class of plants, prepared accord- 

 ing to fixed formulas. The origin of this 

 notion dates back to the dark ages, when 

 even the simplest gardening operations were 

 held as trade secrets, and those who reaped 

 benefit from them took good care to mystify 

 and keep them hidden as much as possible. 

 It is well known now that plants, as well as 

 animals, accommodate themselves to altered 

 conditions. The Ladies' Floral Cabinet has 

 an able editorial on this subject, from which 

 we condense the following : 



"The best soil for any purpose where 

 plants are to be grown can easily be procured 

 or prepared at your own door. Take sods 

 from the road-sides or meadow, pile them 

 up in any convenient out-of-the-way place, 

 and let them rot : then you will have a soil 



that contains all the elements that con- 

 tribute to the growth of plants. It is by no 

 means necessary for the roots of the grass 

 to become thoroughly rotted ; all that is re- 

 quired is to have them killed ; then the 

 coarser the soil the better for the plants, as 

 the roots of the plants will consume the 

 roots of the old turf as fast as it is decom- 

 posed. Plants grown in this soil will be 

 strong and healthy, consequently floriferous. 

 A more rapid growth will be induced if a 

 liberal proportion, say one-fourth, of well- 

 rotted manure is added; in this case you 

 will have more weeds and worms to contend 

 with, but you will be amply repaid for all 

 the trouble they will cause you by the in- 

 crease in quantity and quality of bloom. We 

 would advise the growing of young plants, 

 such as are intended for the flower-garden 

 for summer blooming, to be grown in soil 

 without manure, providing the sod was 

 heavy, and taken from rich sojJ. Plants 

 grown in such a soil will be perfectly healthy 

 and vigorous, and, when planted out in the 

 rich soil of the garden, they will have 

 strength to assimilate all the food there is 

 in store for them, and they will make a far 

 stronger and more rapid growth than if 

 started in a very rich soil, where all the 

 other conditions of growth were unfavorable. 



"We do not say that some soils are not 

 better for certain plants than others, and 

 that good peat or leaf-mold would not ma- 

 terially benefit a stiff, clayey soil for exotic 

 plants. On the contrary, we say that cer- 

 tain plants are indigenous to certain soils 

 and localities, and will thrive better in their 

 native soil than anywhere else ; yet a soil in 

 which any plant is found in its native state 

 is not necessary for its perfect development. 

 And further, we know from our own experi- 

 ence that many plants will not succeed as 

 well in a soil that is natural to them, if 

 grown in a different country, where the 

 climatic and other influences are entirely 

 different ; for instance, the Cactus, or at 

 least most of this genus, is found wild, 

 growing in dry, arid wastes ; now introduce 

 them into our green-houses, and undertake 

 to grow them in soil brought from their 

 native habitats, and the result will be a 

 failure. Why? Simply because the other 

 conditions of growth are not the same ; 

 there are not the same elements in the at- 

 mosphere here as in their native homes ; 

 earth and air must work in harmony together 

 to produce the plant. 



" We do not wish to be understood as say- 

 ing that all plants can be grown in a clayey 

 or sandy soil ; we know very well they can- 

 not. But we wish to say that the soil and 

 atmosphere in any given locality are fitted 

 for each other ; so that any plant that you 

 may wish to introduce into your garden, 

 will, if properly cared for, succeed quite as 

 well, if not better, than if artificial soil were 

 procured. Work well the soil you have ; if 

 poor, give it food ; put out your plants at the 

 propertime, andyouwill, if impossibilities are 

 not expected, be satisfied with the results." 



Mirabilis Jalapa, popularly known as " Four 

 o'clocks," can be preserved and re-planted in 

 the same manner as Dahlias. Two-year-old 

 plants produce more flowers and give better 

 satisfaction than those grown annually from 

 seed. The roots should be planted in the 

 open ground, about the first of May. 



