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prompted to send you this one as a specimen, thinking 

 that others might make experiments likewise, and be as 

 much surprised as I was. Of one thing they can be 

 sure, that whatever flowers they get will surely be new. 

 The seeds were sown by my friend, James M. Bryant, 

 and he gave me the bulbs to try and see what would 

 come out. In selecting this one out of the whole collec- 

 tion, all of which turned out very beautiful, I was 

 prompted by its brilliant colors ; for the scarlet mark- 

 ings on its petals of yellow make it look like a blaze of 

 fire, shading gradually from a bright sulphur yellow in 

 the center through orange to dark scarlet at the tips. — 

 William Graf, Kirlruutod , N. J . 



Number of Florists in Chicago. — The new Chicago 

 directory, just published, which covers the 175 square 

 miles of territory now constituting Chicago, under the 

 business head of florists, contains the names of 153 

 firms doing business in the city proper. Add to these 

 the names found in the American florists' directory, is- 

 sued this year, of some 22 outlying towns doing more or 

 less business in this city, we get some 64 more names, 

 which added to the former gives the respectable num- 

 ber of 217 firms noted. A directory of 1851 contained 

 one name — Samuel Brooks. One for 1857, if it em- 

 braced all, would add 3 more. That for 1881 had 56 

 names, which will show, if our total population has 

 double in 10 years, the florists have gone one better and 

 trebled in the same time. — P}-airie Partner . 



Rose Buds on a Mission of Charity. — In a large 

 hospital a young girl has wasted away day by day with 

 consumption. Visiting ladies supplied her with books, 

 delicacies, ect. She always had a pleasant ' ' thank you " 

 for these kindnesses, but seemed unusually reserved as 

 regards her religious feeling. One morning I cut some 

 of my lovely rose buds, and tied them with a few sprigs 

 of mignonette, and wishing that the poor child might 

 really believe a loving Heavenly Father had sent them, 

 I wrote on a card and fastened it on the stems, "Come 

 unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I 

 will give you rest. " I went to her bed, but her face was 

 hidden, and her slight form convulsed v ith sobs. In 

 her hand she held a tract, and my eyes glanced at these 

 words : ' ' Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with 

 thy might, for there is no work nor device in the grave 

 whither thou art hastening ;" and underneath that, "Ye 

 serpents ! how can ye escape the damnation of hell ?" 

 The lady that gave her the tract was probably a Christian 

 but a stern and cruel one. "Look here, dear child," 

 said I. She took the lovely flowers, read the comfort- 

 ing text, laid her cheek against them and murmured : 

 ''God is good, He loves me; I am not afraid." The 

 flower mission is a beautiful charity. Let us carry these 

 lovely blossoms to the sick, the sorrowful and the erring 

 instead of these dreadful tracts. The flowers will always 

 teach a heavenly lesson. The tracts may do real harm 

 and cause positive suffering. — Sister Gracious. 



Some Notes of Roses. — In the first place let the 

 amateur buy only the more hardy roses, consulting some 

 reliable catalogue for the necessary information, or an 



experienced rose grower. It is foolish and altogether 

 unwise to waste time, labor, and money over the tender 

 tea roses that will have to be removed from the garden 

 borders every fall to sicken in the close and confined air 

 of our keeping rooms ; and if the plants come out alive 

 in the spring they will do exceedingly well. Only a cold 

 frame, laid in a sunny, sheltered nook, will insure good 

 success in wintering. It is milch better to buy hardy 

 sorts. The hybrid perpetuals are excellent keepers, 

 and will stand the rigor of our winters with only ordi- 

 nary protection. 



Roses need a good stiff clay soil, well enriched. If the 

 soil is sandy, clay should be used with it. Daily atten- 

 tion should be given to the slug pest during the early 

 part of the summer ; but tobacco has at last shown its 

 useful side. If a strong decoction is frequently applied 

 it will soon exterminate these molluscs, and besides act 

 as a useful stimulant to the plant. 



To raise roses from slips, break down the stray shoot 

 from which the rose has just fallen, and plant it in a tin 

 can. The uneven pieces that come from the parent 

 stem is just the part that will callous and emit roots- 

 A better plan still, and a surer one, is to crack the under 

 side of strong healthy shoots, and then to peg them down 

 in cans sunk at convenient distances and filled with rich 

 earth. The cans should have a slot cut in the side near- 

 est the plant for the passage of the shoot. Wheri well 

 rooted, cut from the parent stem, lift the cans, and you 

 have your young plants in good condition and well 

 started. 



At the approach of winter bank earth about the roots 

 of your roses, some six inches or more ; and after the 

 first light freeze or just before, add further protection 

 in the shape of leaves fastened about the tops with 

 brush or stakes. Evergreen boughs are still better, as 

 they let in the air and do not hold dampness. In the 

 spring, after removing the outer protection, cut back to 

 the green wood. Often the entire plant will come out 

 green and healthy but it should be pruned severely, if 

 young, healthy flowering shoots are desired. The mound 

 of earth may be removed later. 



Among the most hardy, best flowering roses, are La 

 France, Louis Van Houtte, Hermosa, Glorie de Dijon, 

 Perle des Jardins. These bloom all the summer long, 

 especially if well pruned, and this is best done by cut- 

 ting the roses, bud and bloom, as fast as they appear. 

 The stingy florist saves the first flowers, and thereby 

 looses many later ones — not heeding that wherever one 

 rose is cut with plenteous stem, two or three will appear 

 in its place. 



To the lover of flowers no one kind can afford more 

 pleasure or profit with so little labor as the rose. It 

 bids fair to become the favorite among all our summer 

 and autumn flowers. Even the popular chrysanthemum 

 cannot in our autumn days quite eclipse the equally 

 popular rose. — H. K., Geniiatitoivii , O. 



An Energetic Squash Vine. — A Michigan exchange 

 speaks of a squash vine which grew so rapidly that the 

 blossoms were killed by being dragged along the ground! 



