[March, 



MAECH WIND. 



A squirrel heard against his door 



The noisy March wind tap ; 

 Ho scanned the whitened woodland o'er, 

 And chattered : " Dears, 

 I've many fears, 

 We'll take another nap." 



A tiny spear of grass peeped out 



And heard the wind so shrill; 

 It paused a while, in fear and doubt, 

 Then seemed to say : 

 "I'll go away 

 Till skies are not so chill." 



A little bird, all pinched with cold, 



Sat muffled in a tree ; 

 It tried to sing, its heart was bold. 

 And feebly cheeped: 

 " The snow is heaped ; 

 Sad weather this for me." 



A pretty rill crept from the ice, 



To tinkle down the hill; 

 It glanced iu sunshine warm and nice, 

 Then quiet grew. 

 All ! well it knew 

 The frost would linger still. 



A Snowdrop looked up at the sky. 



With baby face so dear! 

 It thrived, though sleet and wind went by, 

 And smiled: "I'll stay, 

 Please, if I may, 

 Some weary heart to cheer !" 



— Independent. 



SEASONABLE HINTS. 



Plans for the rapidly approaching planting 

 season should now be perfected without de- 

 lay, and in so doing it is well to bear in mind 

 that the purpose of the flower garden is two- 

 fold — effect or beauty, and use or utility. 

 These two objects cannot easily be accom- 

 plished in one and the same spot ; it is 

 therefore necessary to make a well denned 

 distinction between these different styles of 

 flower culture. 



Show Beds near the house, where they 

 are most conspicuous, should be planted 

 with "bedding plants," attracting attention 

 for the massive, aggregate effect more than 

 their individual beauty. Here the individu- 

 ality of the single plant becomes subordinate 

 to the common, combined appearance. 



Reserve Beds, for use, should be in every 

 garden, however small. These should be lo- 

 cated where soil and exposure are most favor- 

 able, and be arranged in rows like the veg- 

 etables in the kitchen garden, which latter 

 is generally the best place for them. Here 

 should be rows of Sweet Peas, Mignon- 

 ette, Violets, Pansies, Gladiolus, Tuberoses, 

 Roses, Geraniums, and other free-blooming 

 plants from which flowers may be cut with- 

 out stint and restraint. This is also the 

 proper place for the plant hospital, where 

 patients, sickly and enfeebled from winter 

 confinement, may, in fresh soil, pure air and 

 bright sunshine, recover their vigor and 

 beauty. 



The Wild Garden is somewhat of a compro- 

 mise between the two systems. It affords an 

 unlimited variety and quantity of flowers at 

 a minimum expeiise and labor. A packet of 

 "American Garden Premium" Wild Garden 

 Seeds scattered thinly over a mellow bed of 

 any good, rich garden soil, raked under, wa- 

 tered, and kept free from weeds, will produce 

 more flowers during a season than are found 

 in most gardens. 



PAPAVER DANEBROG. 



Under this name a new single-flowering 

 Poppy of striking effect is introduced among 

 the novelties of the season. The flowers are 

 of a brilliant scarlet color, bearing on each 

 of the four petals a large silver-white spot, 

 forming thus a white cross on scarlet ground. 



The annual "Poppies are very hardy, and 

 may be sown outdoors early in spring. As 

 they have strong tap-roots, they are difficult 

 to transplant, and should be sown where 

 wanted to flower. When sown in groups 

 where there is a green background, they pro- 

 duce a striking and most brilliant effect. 



PAPAVER DANEBROG. 



DEGENERACY IN TUBEROSES, 



Something seems to have gone wrong with 

 Tuberoses lately, many complaints being 

 made by purchasers of them that those they 

 purchase for double flowering turn out sin- 

 gle. This complaint is not without founda- 

 tion, and the disappointed amateur, not 

 knowing the causes of the degeneracy of his 

 double flowers, naturally blames the dealer 

 for selling him a spurious article. Double- 

 flowering roots are not a rarity, and are as 

 easily grown as single ones, and to do the 

 grower justice, there does not seem to be any 

 temptation for him to substitute one for the 

 other. 



The true cause of the difficulty, I think, 

 will be found in the tendency of the abnor- 

 mal form to return to its natural condition 

 when the causes that produced it are re- 

 moved. 



For many years I grew Tuberoses in quan- 

 tity, and do not remember ever having seen at 

 any time a single one among them. The soil 

 in which they grew was a heavy loam over a 

 hard pan of gravelly clay, — not apparently 

 a congenial soil. In preparing the soil for 

 planting, care was taken to pulverize it 

 thoroughly, and to apply old stable manure 

 with no stinted hand. The result was not 

 over-large roots, but strong and healthy ones, 

 always producing double flowers. The man- 

 ner of keeping the roots through the winter 

 may also have some bearing on the subject. 

 The Tuberose being a tropical plant, its sea- 

 son of growth in our northern climate is but 

 limited until the first frost of autumn black- 

 ens its leaves, while they are yet in a grow- 

 ing state, and hardly have arrived at that 

 state of maturity or ripeness most conducive 

 to a robust and vigorous condition for the 

 production of bloom the next year. 



After lifting and drying, the plan I pur- 

 sued for storing them away was simply 

 placing them alongside of the flues that 



heated the greenhouses. Of course the flue, 

 as such, had nothing to do with the matter 

 only as a medium of heat, which assured to 

 the roots the conditions necessary for a more 

 perfect maturity. 



Following the course I have indicated as 

 far as possible, viz. : loamy soil, more in- 

 clined to moisture than dryness, heavy 

 manuring, and keeping warm during the 

 season of rest, I have no doubt will prevent 

 the frequent disappointments now experi- 

 enced of having only single flowers from 

 double-flowering roots. 



An Old Cultivator. 



SOME GOOD GLADIOLUSES, ' 



We are frequently asked to name the 

 best twelve varieties of Gladiolus, to which 

 inquiry we have to answer that it is simply 

 impossible to make a selection of a certain 

 number of varieties that would be , satisfac- 

 tory to every one ; there are too many beauti- 

 ful ones — in fact, none are otherwise. To 

 secure a fine display and diverse varieties of 

 beautiful Gladioluses it is not necessary to 

 purchase high-priced named kinds. The mixt- 

 ures ordinarily sold by seedsmen and florists 

 contain many beautiful varieties, and by 

 planting a hundred or more ' ' fine mixed " 

 Gladioluses one maybe pretty sure of finding 

 among them some of the choicest kinds. 



Yet there is a good deal of fascination in a 

 named collection, but those who are making 

 a beginning should commence, and become 

 familiar, with the hardier and cheaper kinds, 

 many of which, although old, are as beautiful 

 as some novelties at a tenfold price. 



Of red varieties, Brenchleyensis, one of the 

 oldest and cheapest, is the hardiest and best 

 for massive effects. Its bright vermilion- 

 scarlet produces a gorgeous appearance 

 among a group of evergreen shrubbery. 

 Meyerbeer is brilliant scarlet ; Van Spandonk, 

 fiery red. 



Among striped varieties, Eugene Scribe, 

 with very large, open, pale rose flowers, 

 striped with carmine, is one of the most de- 

 sirable ; Milton is cherry-rose, striped with 

 red, very robust ; Shakespeare has most per- 

 fect spikes, is nearly white, striped, and 

 tipped with delicate carmine-rose. 



Addison is nearly amaranth. Zenobia and 

 Thomas Methveu are of a beautiful lilac. 



There are many salmon or buff colored 

 varieties. Penelope, or Mazeppa, are as good 

 as any. 



La Candeur is the purest white ; John Bull 

 has a slightly yellowish tint ; and Virginalis 

 is pure white, with a soft and most delicate 

 shading of carmine. 



Yellow. — Isaac Buchanan is probably the 

 best. Canari, or Citrinus, would likewise 

 prove satisfactory. 



We fear we have already named more than 

 a " baker's dozen," but among so much 

 beauty it is difficult to limit one's choice. By 

 taking any one from each class, no one will 

 lie disappointed ; but add Le Poussin, which 

 is bright red, with white throat, very unique, 

 forming almost a class of its own. 



Probably no two growers would agree en- 

 tirely upon the same selection, and we could 

 name another dozen lists of as many varie- 

 ties of equal merit. The most important 

 condition to insure continuous blooming is 

 not to plant all at the same time ; by plant- 

 ing at intervals of two weeks, flowers will 

 be had all summer. 



