5O0 



THEY SAY. 



this vine is ripe at this time of the year, and is sold at 

 the railroad station by the little " piccaninies " at five 

 cents a quart. The althaeas, Hilusras gyandijloyus and 

 H. coccineus are blooming profusely, and a few flowers 

 of the gardenias may still be seen. Roses are as com- 

 mon as the dandelion in the north — teas, hybrid per- 

 petuals, polyanthas and climbing roses — the favorites, 



Fig. I. First attempt— at 10 Fig- 2. Finds the right 



years of age. end — at 12 years. 



of course, being Chromatella and Marechal Niel. Of 

 the trees, the most conspicuous are the magnolia and 

 live oak, while the rare little holly. Ilex iiiyr/ifoiia , is not 

 wanting. The barberry, Bcrberis vulgaris, and Olea cla- 

 vata, an exotic evergreen, may also be seen. The air is 

 everywhere laden with the fragrance of the tuberose, jas- 

 mine {Jasniimtm i-evolulitui'), and many, other fragrant 

 flowers. Every porch is covered with some kind of 

 vine or creeper, Aiitigonon leptopiis, honeysuckle and 

 clematis being most numerous. In fact, the character- 

 istic feature of Pensacola during the summer is the 

 abundant growth of her vegetation. The trees almost 

 hide the harbor from view. The small, old-fashioned 

 houses are almost buried in rank growths of vines and 

 creepers, and the lawns of Bermuda grass are every- 

 where dotted with the flowers of cultivated plants and 

 shrubs. "The Land of Flowers" is a term particu- 

 larly appropriate to Pensacola and the vicinity. — P. W. 

 Reason ER. 



Evolution in the Potting of Plants. — The graphic 

 illustrations of this process on pages 500 and 501 will be 

 readily comprehended and recognized. 



Plant Humor. — There are awe-inspiring plants like 

 the night-blooming cereus and the Easter lily, and 

 there are also cheerful, mirth-provoking plants. Look 

 at the hanging-basket of pink and white oxalis. They 

 are the very frolicsome little children among house- 

 plants, and to see them tuck their little leaves and flow- 

 ers together and go to sleep after the sun sets reminds 

 one of a tired-out baby. The jolly sun-flower, with its 

 round, beaming face, makes one laugh to look at it, and 

 as for the yellow squashes and pumpkins, they fairly 

 seem to blink their eyes in the sunshine, as much as to 

 say "Just make pies of me," "Laugh and , grow fat. " 

 I have heard them likened to golden breast-pins on the 

 bosom of mother Nature. There are comical shapes in 

 beets, gourds and other vegetables. One can make 

 quaint hanging-baskets out of beets, carrots, parsnips 

 by scooping out a place at the top and keeping water in 

 it, and very soon it will be covered over with green 



sprouts. There is a curious little plant called hens and 

 chickens, shaped something like a full-blown rose, only 

 green. It keeps sending forth little sprouts, just like the 

 old one, I have a round green box with a large "hen" 

 in the center. As the ' ' chickens " peep out between the 

 leaves, I pull them ofi^ and stick them down in the box, 

 where they start readily. 



If you keep your eyes and ears open, you constantly 

 see or hear about funny shapes or queer habits in plant 

 life. There is the Chinese pitcher plant, with a regular 

 lid, and this pitcher holds about a cupful of water. It 

 is quite common in the island of Ceylon, where 

 monkeys appreciate this curious joke among plants, and 

 laugh and chatter as they raise the lid and drink off the 

 water. But North Carolina can boast of the Venus' fly- 

 trap, one of the most innocent-looking plants with its 

 leaf spread wide open. The gay and festive fly lights 

 on it, the leaf claps together, and the poor fly is soon 

 absorbed. Venus looks as if she enjoyed herself getting 

 the best of the poor fly. If you want to be puzzled, 

 and also to have exercise, try to find two blades of ribbon 

 grass striped exactly alike ; or make a blow bag of the 

 live-forever. The balloon vine is another queer thing. 

 The dry pods with seeds make a nice rattle box. There 

 is plenty of human nature in the dodder, or love-vine, 

 which clings to any plant which happens to be near it, 

 and, having no roots in the ground, steals its living out 

 of its victim, and to show how it enjoys and laughs over 

 its cuteness, the vine is as yellow as gold. — Sister Gra- 

 cious. 



City Flowers. — It would be interesting to know just 

 what is the educating effect upon that part of the city's 

 youth which we may call the pavement population, of 

 the sight of flowers the year through. During the 

 winter months, though not always accessible, they are 

 always visible, and during the summer months they 

 fairly overflow the city — in the florists' windows, in 

 great clusters on the street corners, and, best of all, in 

 living profusion in the parks. It is not wholly a fancy. 



Fig. 3. Wet feet— 15 years. Fig. 4. Dry feet— 16 years, 



perhaps, that all this has more than a slightly refining 

 influence upon these young souls, into whose lives comes 

 so little that makes for the amenities of life. It is a 

 good thing for a child to learn to love a flower. In 

 learning that he has learned much more. His imagina- 



