July, 1920 
suited in a business deal that proved 
advantageous to both. 
The most successful physician I ever 
knew conversed freely with his patients 
before and during his examinations. 
In this conversation he usually mani- 
fested an interest in their affairs and 
especially in their fads or hobbies if 
they had any. His patients used to 
say that his visits always did them as 
much good as his medicine. 
The late Napoleon Saroney, New 
York’s most noted photographer of 
celebrities, once related his difficulty 
in getting Grover Cleveland to assume 
a natural pose when sitting for his 
photograph. Remembering his fa- 
vorite hobby, Saroney arranged his 
camera and engaged the President in 
conversation on the subject of trout 
fishing. His self-conscious expression 
at once vanished, and just as he was 
arriving at the climax of one of his 
fishing experiences Saroney pressed 
the bulb and secured one of the like- 
nesses that helped to make his fame. 
There are good and logical reasons 
for encouraging the natural tendencies 
that children have for taking up hob- 
bies, such as the collecting of postage 
stamps, the raising of pets, etc. They 
sharpen the wits, develop the power 
of concentration and have educational 
value far beyond common belief. Best 
of all, they keep the child busy, and 
you know it is the idle hands that Satan 
finds most mischief for. 
The Glad Philosopher. 
Some Wild Marsh Plants. 
[Concluded from page 113.] 
ward. The peculiar twisting of the upper 
part of the leaves, almost at right angles, is 
characteristic. The brown erect fruit-stalk 
is still prominent. 
The late fall is a study in browns. The 
purple-brown of the Typhas has become a 
lighter straw-brown, except where the erect 
dark brown fruit projects. The tops of Acorus 
become touched by the frost, and the deep 
brown of these blends well with the light 
straw brown of Leersia. The lowest parts 
of Acorus foliage are still olive-green and these 
with masses of Lemna form an interesting 
edging along the stream. Scirpuscan still be 
distinguished fromTyphaby the more golden 
brown of the masses. Iris begins to show 
frost effects. The clumps are streaked with 
brown. In fact, all marsh vegetation shows 
signs of autumnal brown. 
In winter, on the marsh one may obtain two 
characteristic effects: either that of stretches 
of white snow with the tops of taller-growing 
forms outlined against it, or a study in browns, 
when no snow is on the ground. 
In the winter, stretches of Scirpus may 
still be distinguished from Typha. The former 
is a more golden brown. Hibiscus Mos- 
cheutos is conspicuous by its brown seed- 
clusters on tall, straight stems. Typha still 
persists. All the plants that grow along the 
water’s edge become quite indistinguishable 
as to form, but they take on a deep brown 
color. Iris Psettdacorus, however, does not 
lose all its green leaves until the winter is 
well under way. 
The American Iris Society is under- 
taking a most commendable work in 
endeavoring to eliminate among the 
enormous number of varieties, those of 
least merit. All interested should assist. 
Ohc Slower (&row< 2 r 115 
Two Ways with Water Lilies. 
Planting. — The end of April, or the first 
week in May in backward localities, is the 
most suitable time for this work. The tem- 
perature of the water is then beginning to rise 
and growth is distinctly on the move. The 
first thing is to secure some suitable baskets 
in which to plant them. I have found the 
most suitable are what are known in the trade 
as “nursery rounds.” These will average 
about 9 inches or 10 inches in depth and be 
of various widths. Those 2 feet in diameter 
may be chosen for the smaller or medium- 
sized crowns, those 3 feet for the larger ones, 
and for the strongest and most vigorous plants 
baskets up to 4 feet in diameter may be used 
with advantage. 
Soil. — I find nothing to equal the following 
preparation: In the basket first place some 
well-decayed leaves collected last autumn and 
as taken from the heap. Cover the bottom of 
the basket with these to keep the soil from 
working through, say, to about one-third of 
the depth of the basket. Then take some 
good turfy loam, roughly broken to pieces, 
covering this over the leaves, which will thus 
be pressed down. Upon this place some 
similar but finer soil, with a sprinkling of 
bone-meal. Plant the crowns on this so that 
the surface of each crown just shows. Spread 
out the roots in all directions and cover with 
similar soil, allowing from 2 inches to 3 inches 
of soil over the roots. This should bring the 
surface slightly above the top of the bas- 
ket. Then take some coarse, tarred string 
and lace it across the basket so that the crowns 
are quite secure against floating. If some 
clean, coarse gravel is available scatter some 
of this on the surface so as to keep down any 
soil that may be sufficiently light to float. 
The soil should be made fairly firm. 
After-treatment.— As soon as the planting is 
completed put the baskets into the water. 
There are various ways of doing this. Assum- 
ing that the water has been lowered so as to 
more conveniently attend to the work.it is an 
easy matter to place them where it is deemed 
advisable. Then for the time being, and until 
the water has again risen sufficiently to cover 
the crowns, let them be shaded with old mats, 
which should be kept always moist, removing 
them when no longer needed. If the water 
has not been lowered it is possible to place 
them in position by either pushing them out 
with long, stiff poles, or, what is better still, 
by cords, if the opposite bank is not too far 
away for the cord to be used on the other side. 
Division of crowns. — In some ponds or lakes, 
where the water is congenial to their well- 
being, and the pond mud present in sufficient 
depth, the growth will, in a few years, be over- 
vigorous in the case of the more robust varie- 
ties. This is more apparent when the depth 
of water is not sufficient to float the leaves of 
such as these well away from the crowns. 
The remedy is to lower the water and divide 
the crowns, then replace them, but in deeper 
water if possible. In doing this, select prom- 
ising growing pieces rather than the very 
largest. Even in the first season there will 
be a good display of flowers where for a year 
or two past it has been rather a mass of leaf- 
age that forces itself well up out of the water, 
with many flowers hidden underneath. In 
doing this work it will not be advisable to 
put back into the same space or spot more 
than one fourth, or at the most one-third of 
the quantity taken out. These strong crowns, 
will have rooted deeply into the mud, and be 
found rather difficult to lift. With two or 
three digging forks and a manure drag it will 
be possible to move them. 
The choicer kinds that do not grow quite 
so luxuriantly will at times need division, or 
perhaps a larger basket, for their well-being. 
Assuming such to be the case two or three 
years after planting, it is an easy matter to do 
this. With the same tools they can be brought 
to the edge and attended to. Some may need 
division, others may not, but larger baskets 
will very likely be required. If divided it will 
be possible to increase the stock and put them 
back, either in baskets of the same size or, 
say, two or three in larger baskets. Spread 
the roots out and use soil as advised above. 
With new additions to the stock it is possible 
they will be somewhat small, but none the 
worse for that if healthy. Use the smaller 
baskets for these, and do not place them for 
the first season or two into too great a depth 
of water— say, about 1 foot over the crowns. 
By keeping these in shallow water it will be 
possible to watch their progress more easily. 
Other work.— In growing Water Lilies do 
not use any farmyard or stable manure, as it 
may cause disease and is not in any sense an 
advantage.— James Hudson, in Country Life. 
This is a very good article by Mr. Hudson, 
of Gunnersbury House who grows Water 
Lilies admirably, but it is well to know there 
are alternative ways that are also good. His 
plan is exeellent for shallow water that can be 
easily cleaned out and the plants attended to 
in all ways, but in our land there are many 
natural waters in which these beautiful hardy 
Water Lilies do better than in any shallow 
water, and also with better effect, as the flow- 
ers are not crowded over the whole surface. 
In all ponds or lakes fed by natural streams 
out of woods and hollows there is usually 
much silt washed in, which I think is the best 
food for the Water Lily. I acted on that be- 
lief when I began, many years ago, to plant 
Water Lilies. Mixtures of loam and other 
things may do very well for those who plant 
in cement or shallow ponds, but one gets a 
better result from the natural mud of the 
pond. Some kinds, put in more than twenty 
years ago, have never gone back, and the 
difficulty is to thin them out and transplant. 
As to placing the roots, the way described 
by Mr. Hudson is excellent generally, but with 
the kinds that are not very rare I simply throw 
the root or rhizome into the water weighted 
with a bit of old iron or a brick attached, 
which finds its way to the bottom and gives 
the plant its start in life. From some kinds 
I planted in that way I could gather 100 flow- 
ers. In the case of new or rare kinds I use a 
basket, but the best way is to plant them in 
small tanks until they get size. The pond is 
12 feet or more deep in the middle, and that 
prevents overcrowding or spreading all over 
the surface, which is a great gain both for 
effect and in all ways. 
Success depends much on the absence of 
vermin — water-rats and the common water- 
hen. The water rat lives on the flowers and 
cuts them off in dozens, and the water- 
hen disfigures them. I destroy them both, 
but there is such a stock of them in the woods 
around that their numbers never seem to be 
lessened much. W. R. in Gardening Illus- 
trated. ( English ) 
California Dahlia Novelties 
POT GROWN BULBS 
We are booking orders now for November 
delivery. *J Catalog mailed on request. 
Key Route Heights Nursery Co. 
3852 Loma Vista Ave. OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA 
Derby Gardens Gladioli 
LIST ON APPLICATION. 
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John H. Umpleby, Lake View, N.Y. 
