This is an open department for the use of all interested obseri'ers, from luhom cor- 

 respondence is solicited on any topic of horticultural interest. Many 7'ahiable items arc 

 crowded out this month. 



Curious Freak of a Perennial Phlox. — During the 

 last summer considerable interest centered in one of 

 our hardy phloxes, which early in the season began to 

 show signs of color variation. In the morning the 

 flowers were of a clear blue, remaining of this color 

 until nearly noon, when they gradually changed to a 

 delicate pink and by evening were of a beautiful deep 

 rose. This was repeated every day while the plant was 

 in bloom. The variety is Monsieur Maille, and is the 

 only one having this freak in a collection of twenty. 

 It is set close against the west side of the dwelling in 

 rather a clayey soil which becomes dry and hard. It is 

 quite large and blooms profusely for a long period. I 

 can hardly think the freak is in the variety, as another 

 plant of the same kind, in better soil, did not change 

 but remained of one color, deep rose. Then, again, 

 other varieties of rose shades in the same clayey soil 

 and position did not vary in color. The plant has been 

 blooming for three seasons and the past one is the first 

 that it has alternated the blue and rose colors. Can 

 anyone explain ? Had the wet season anything to do 

 with it ? — John F. Rupp, Pa. 



Bokhara Clover in the West. — The plant referred 

 to as a "new species" by Omaha and other western 

 papers, which is so rapidly taking the place of the sun- 

 flower and the weeds on the Missouri bottom lands, is 

 the Bokhara clover {Melilotus alba). It was introduced 

 into the west as a garden plant, but our climate and soil 

 are so like those of its native home in Central Asia that 

 it bids fair to become a first-class weed. Yet under 

 culture it is easy to subdue, and when plowed under as 

 a green manure it is nearly equal to clover as a ferti- 

 lizer and soil renovator. 



It is a matter of regret that the smaller growing 

 species of the melilotus of the black soil sections of 

 Russia had not been introduced in place of the rank 

 growing Asiatic species. This was introduced into 

 England in 1828 from Sarepta on the Volga, u-nder the 

 name of Melilotus Rii/lienica, but coming from a dry in- 

 terior region it failed to do well in ihii moist climate 

 and I think it has been lost. 



It is like the Bokhara clover, but it is much smaller in 

 all its parts, grows much thicker, its white flowers and 

 its leaves are quite as fragrant, and stock at Sarepta 

 seemed to relish it quite as well as they did the eastern 

 form of the alfalfa, which is also much grown at Sarepta. 

 — J. L. BUDD. 



History of the Carnation. — 



It is supposed that the pink was 

 unknown to the ancient Greeks 



and Romans, as no mention is made of it in their writ- 

 ings. When Louis the Pious made a crusade to Tunis 

 in 1270, he was delighted with the fragrance of this beau- 

 tiful flower, which he took home and cultivated with the 

 greatest care. 



At first it was called Tunice, from the place where it 

 was discovered, afterwards they called it Nelke (caryo- 

 phyllus) on account of its clove-like odor. The climate 

 of the southern part of Europe resembling that of 

 Tunis, the pink has become wild in the South of France 

 and Italy. 



It is said that the good King Rene, of Anjou (who 

 died 14S0) devoted a great part of his leisure to the cul- 

 tivation of the pink. He considered it a medicinal 

 plant, and poets sang its praises. In the i6th century 

 it was extensively cultivated in the middle and south of 

 Germany, and in 1597 splendid varieties were introduced 

 into England from Poland. At the same time the 

 Spaniards carried this beautiful flower to America. 



About the year 1700 the Dutch turned their attention 

 to the cultivation and propagation of the pink, and 

 brought it to su-ch a state of perfection that they soon 

 counted 360 varieties. The prize of beauty was then, 

 as now, awarded to a perfectly formed, well developed 

 flower of fine color, with unbroken calyx. — E. A. 

 Taylor, Conn. 



Differences in Varieties. — There may be some truth 

 in Mr. Allen's articles on seed growing, in what he says 

 about "naming once in an hundred times the fruit to 

 which the name belonged." Nevertheless had he seen 

 the growth from first to last of my tomatoes which he 

 criticises, the bearing quality, habit of plant, flavor, 

 etc., he might have less difficulty in selecting the va- 

 rieties. At about blossoming time there was a very 

 marked difference in the plants, so that there was but 

 little difficulty to pick out varieties where the rows 

 ended, etc,, without looking up the labels. 



As tomatoes have a more fixed habit than the apple 

 or peach when grown from seed, we need not look for so 

 much diversity of flavors, but that there is a great dif- 

 ference in their quality no one who has studied that 

 particular side will deny. In looks they are more uni- 

 form. — N. Hallock, Crecdiiioor, L. I. 



