June, 1891. 
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GARDEN 
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June Jottings. 
June brings us Roses and a measure of 
relief from toils and cares in the garden. It 
is the beginning of the time for well-earned 
rest and enjoyment. There is always some- 
thing to do, however; but, surrounded by 
flowers and breathing the air filled with 
then - fragrance, we are refreshed with a 
sense of renewed life and vigor, and what 
remains to be done ceases to be toil and be- 
comes a pleasure. (By-the-way, which are 
the more lovely, Roses on a bush or Roses 
on a woman’s cheeks?) Weeds need to be 
looked after at all times. The real way to 
manage weeds is never to let them grow. 
The best weeder for the garden is the push- 
ing hoe. See that all plants that need it 
are staked and neatly tied up. Too often 
the plant is drawn together in a mass, and 
a string passed around it and tied. This is 
not pretty. The native character and 
beauty of a plant may be easily preserved 
by tying the branches mostly in the posi- 
tion in which they naturally grow, the 
“knack’’ of doing which is not so very hard 
to learn. It will take a little more time, 
but the plants will look better and produce 
many more flowers. The walks should be 
kept neat and free from weeds at all times, 
and the labor will be much lightened by 
beginning early. Transplanting and thin- 
ning out will still need looking after. The 
green-house should be cleaned up and put 
in order for the season. If tuberous-rooted 
Begonias are kept under glass they will 
need a little shade in summer. This may 
be given most readily by tacking cheese 
cloth to the rafters. Briefly, whatever you 
find to do, do it. 
* * * 
When a new Carnation is introduced, if 
it happen to be just a little fragrant, it is 
thought to be a great recommendation to 
say that it has the fragrance of the old 
Clove Pink; and it would be such if that 
delightful fragrance 
were present in a pro- 
nounced degree. It 
is usually, however, 
too faint to be recog- 
nized as the “real 
thing” by those once 
familiar with the 
spicy, aromatic odor 
of this old inmate of 
the garden, now so 
seldom seen. The old 
Clove Pinks are worth 
Dutchman’s Pipe. Fig. 17 # lo o k i n g up, and 
should have a goodly space in the new “old- 
fashioned” garden that is now receiving 
more or less attention, and that is sure to 
be popular again. We know of plantshere 
and there in some old gardens, but can not 
at the moment, remember who (if any- 
body) has a good collection for sale. If 
there be any such, the proper thing to do is 
to advertise them. Let us have again the 
real oldtime Clove Pinks. 
* * * 
We shall probably in the near future 
have Water Lily gardens, and women are 
quite sure to lead the way to them. How 
lovely it will be to see the nymphs among 
the Water Lilies. 
* * * 
Seeds of Portulaca may now be sown. 
We have long been satisfied that nothing is 
gained by sowing Portulaca seed till warm 
weather lias fully set in. We are satisfied 
also that the largest per centage of double 
flowers is obtained from a rather poor 
sandy soil. The plant is made for such con- 
ditions, for which we ought to feel thank- 
ful, and for very obvious reasons. If you 
have a piece of unsightly sandy waste, 
sow it with Portulaca. Sow the seed on 
the surface and press the soil down with a 
board. Some of the double varieties are 
about as pretty as Roses. 
* * * 
Some complaints are made that the flow- 
ers of the Ice King Primrose “fade before 
they open;” but the flowers of the Ice King 
POMEGRANATE FLOWER. Fig. 896. 
are all right, and open at their appointed 
time. This misapprehension is owing to 
the fact that some do not understand that 
the Ice King is an Evening Primrose, and 
do not visit their gardens at the right time. 
The flowers open just before sundown and 
close before nine o'clock the next morning. 
It is exceedingly interesting to take a seat 
near the plants as the sun goes down, and 
patiently watch the motion of the petals as 
the flowers gradually open and mingle 
their delicate sweetness with the surround- 
ing air. It is very refreshing, also, to take 
an earljj look at them in the morning. 
* * * 
New Jersey is famed as well as defamed 
for its mosquitoes. She may say in defense 
that she never does anything by halves, 
and that is one reason why her mosquitoes 
are so perfect — of their kind. If properly 
drilled, they would make a splendid sea- 
coast defense in case of war, even better 
than ironclads; and of this fact our tender- 
skinned friend, the Italian marquis, should 
take heed, and avoid the Jersey coast, if he 
proposes to send his war ships here. But 
however useful the mosquito may be as a 
coast defender, he is not a welcome guest 
at our homes and their surroundings; and 
it is fortunate, therefore, that our Japanese 
friends not long since sent us a plant that 
is so attractive to this songster that it not 
only clings to it, but stays to it. The at- 
traction is a viscid or sticky juice secreted 
by the flowers, for which mosquitoes have 
a fondness, and from which there is no es- 
cape. The plant belongs to the Asclepiada- 
cece order, and its name is Vincetoxicum 
acuminatum. A plant blessed with so much 
name should have a useful purpose some- 
where in the economy of nature. It is 
probably the “toxicum” that does the mos- 
quito business. The plant grows about two 
feet high, and bears clusters of handsome 
white flowers nearly all summer. It de- 
serves a place among ornamental border 
plants, and should be generally grown. The 
name Mosquito Plant is expressive enough. 
♦ * K" 
Some forty or fifty years ago Aquilegia 
glandulosa was one of the most admired of 
hardy herbaceous plants. It produced or 
ripened only a few seeds, and owing to this 
and other causes (among them bedding 
plants) it gradually disappeared. A few 
seeds and plants have occasionally been of- 
fered for sale, but they have seldom been 
true to name. This led the late Dr. Thur- 
ber to look abroad for the true plant, and 
he finally succeeded in getting it. It has 
been propagated, (chiefly by division,) and 
the stock has passed into the hands of Mr. 
Meyer of Passaic, N. J. The plant grows 
about eighteen inches high, and blooms 
profusely. The petals are pure white and 
the sepals blue; but such a blue! We hope 
to see this beautiful plant generally grown 
again. — P. B. Mead. 
A Praiseworthy Example. 
“The Hampden County (Mass.) Horticul- 
tural Society” has upward of 400 members 
and “The Springfield Amateur Horticul- 
tural Society” has 652 members, making a 
total of more than a thousand members 
working harmoniously together in the same 
field. Springfield is the headquarters of 
both societies. No other city in the Union 
can present such a showing. The Hamp- 
den County Society has just distributed six 
hundred Chrysanthemums among the 
school children, (from ten to sixteen years 
of age,) and some two thousand more will 
be distributed in the same way. This may 
be regarded as a new movement in educat- 
ing the youngsters in a “Kind-o’-garden” 
way. The plants are given to the children 
on the condition that they will carefully 
grow them and exhibit them at the autumn 
exhibition. Each child is given a printed 
list of directions for growing the plants. 
The girl who shows the best grown plant 
will receive a new dress valued at ten dol- 
lars, and the boy who shows the best grown 
plant will receive a suit of clothes valued 
at ten dollars. In addition, fifty dollars in 
cash will be divided up for minor prizes. It 
