AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
149 
The Flower Garden. 
In this merry month of May, the flower gar¬ 
den should begin to look attractive. The walks 
will, of course, he cleaned and the edgings clip¬ 
ped. The double Hyacinths, which have quite 
heavy flower stems, may break down in stormy 
weather, if not protected in some way. Wide 
shingles, set up on the exposed sides, will 
break off the wind somewhat. But they, do not 
look well. A better way is to provide a bundle 
of slender, smooth stakes, about eight inches 
long, and to tie every flower stalk to one of these. 
Keep the ground loose and work it smooth be¬ 
tween all the plants, including Narcissus, Tu¬ 
lips, etc. While the gay show lasts, make the 
most of it: it is, all things considered, one of 
the finest in-the year, and will not come again 
under twelve months. As soon as the leaves 
turn yellow (not before,) cut them off close to 
the ground. Or, if you are very neat, and can 
not bear the first sign of slovenliness, as soon as 
the Ups of the leaves become yellow, you may 
lift the bulbs with a narrow spade or a trowel, • 
and set them out temporarily in a retired corner. 
Then smooth down the borders, and prepare to 
set summer bedding-plants, or to sow annuals. 
But does some lady lament that she has as 
yet no flower-garden ? She has the ground, and 
seeds, and a few plants. But she wants a little 
instruction in laying out the borders, and in 
arranging plants in 
them. We subj oin a 
few hints; but make 
haste, Miss Flora, or 
the season will get 
ahead of you. Sev¬ 
eral months ago, we 
gave a sketch of a 
plan worked out in 
our own grounds, 
which looks well, and 
is easily managed. 
But for those who would like something dif¬ 
ferent, we give another, (fig. 1), a favorite with 
Mr. Downing, and taken from one of his books. 
In such symmetrical gardens, it is not desirable 
to use coarse and tall flowers in any of the beds, 
as they would hide the others and destroy the 
general effect. Choose rather the dwarfish plants. 
For this particular pattern, it would be a good 
plan to set verbenas in the four outer beds: say, 
white verbenas in one, pink in the next, purple 
in the next, and scarlet in the last. In the small, 
central bed, put a sun-dial, or vase, or classic 
figure of auy kind. An ornamental frame of 
some sort, with a delicate climber festooned 
about it, would look well. And perhaps a single 
row of verbenas or petunias might encircle this 
central ornament. The twelve other beds may 
be managed thus: every alternate bed devote to 
bulbs, set at a reasonable distance apart, so that 
as soon as the tops of the bulbs begin to wither, 
showy annuals may be set between them. They 
will completely cover the bed by mid-summer. 
Some of the best annuals for this purpose, are: 
Drummond’s Phlox, Portulacca, Sweet Alys- 
sum, Eschscholtzia, Collinsia bicolor, etc. The 
other six beds may be occupied with the various 
scarlet Geraniums, Heliotropes, Ageratum, Petu¬ 
nias, Pyrethrum and other bedding plants. These 
will keep the garden in a blaze of beauty all 
Summer. The walks of such a parterre should 
be made of the finest gravel, and always kept 
clean and smooth. 
But some very sensible persons do not like 
perfect regularity and symmetry. ■ They are 
picturesque in their tastes, and want their gar¬ 
dens to have a certain free and easy, rambling 
look. With an eye to the wants of such people, 
we give the cut fig. 2. This garden, it will be 
seen, is secluded from the other parts of the 
grounds, by low trees and shrubs, irregularly 
grouped. It is entered by a covered walk, seen 
at a. The beds are cut out in irregular patterns, 
yet so fitted to each other as to leave about the 
same width of walk between them at all points' 
The walks may be of gravel laid over a solid 
bottom of cobblestones, or of smooth turf. If 
of the latter, the grass must be shorn and rolled 
once a week, and the verges neatly trimmed. 
The planting of the beds may be done in a pic¬ 
turesque manner—placing a plant here and 
there, without regard to size or character—some 
pains may be taken to assort colors, bights, 
etc. Quite a pleasing effect is produced by such 
a garden. 
Crinoline Flower Pots. 
The Moss baskets, of which an account was 
recently given (page 20), are exciting, deserved¬ 
ly, so much interest that we present here an en¬ 
graving of another contrivance known in Eng¬ 
land by the fanciful name of the “ Crinoline 
Pot.” Various kinds of green-house mosses, 
etc., are used for lining the pots or wire baskets 
and holding the soil. Among these named are: 
the procumbent Selaginellas, several Adian- 
tums, Aspidiums, and Aspleniums, Camptosorus 
rhizophyllus , Divallia dissecta,pentapTiylla, and Fady- 
enia prodfera. The plants that succeed best in 
these pots are heaths, ferns, all peat. loving 
plants, and doubtless many others. PI ants may 
be so placed as to protrude from any or all sides 
and even from the bottom, and, with the moss 
which clothes the soil, present a mass of beau¬ 
tiful verdure, at times rendered still more at¬ 
tractive by bloom. 
Transplanting Tomatoes, etc. 
If tomatoes, cabbage-plants, and the like, are 
“ pricked out ” several times in the liot-bed or 
seed-bed, they will become more stocky, and 
will form a mass of roots which will make their 
final removal to the open ground an easy mat¬ 
ter, and ensure their making a speedy and rapid 
growth. (By “ pricking out ” gardeners mean 
transplanting from a thick bed to give each 
plant more room to expand its tops and roots, 
and thus secure a more stocky habit. The roots 
of plants frequently transplanted are likely to 
grow in a more compact mass, and endure this 
final removal better.) While still under the 
glasses, they should have as much air as possible 
by day time, to inure them to the atmosphere of 
out-doors. Just after a shower the ground is wet 
enough to refresh the roots, and the air is so 
moist that it does not exhaust the plants by 
rapid evaporation. But that good shower does 
not always come at just the desired time; the 
season is advancing, our plants are full grown, 
and ought to be in the garden; what shall we 
do ? Do this: provide a number of old boxes, 
or a few dozen shingles, and have at hand a few 
pails of tepid water. Having stretched aline, 
make holes along side of it, where the plants 
are to stand, and pour a pint or more of water 
into each, leaving it to soak away. Take up 
your plants carefully with a garden trowel, pre¬ 
serving as much dirt as possible around the 
roots, and then set them in the holes, drawing 
fine soil around them, and covering the" stems a 
little higher than thay stood before. Previous 
to finishing off, pour about half a pint of water 
into each hole, and then cover with common 
dry soil,—though this last watering is not essen¬ 
tial. Shield each plant with a box or with 
shingles from the heat of the sun. The leaves 
may droop a little for a day or two, but they 
will revive again, and not a plant be lost. Fol- 
lowing this method one can transplant these, 
and many other plants, whenever he pleases. 
Poisonous Plants and Antidotes. 
Poison Sumach, Poison Elder, Poison Dogwood, ( Rhus 
venenata.) Poison Ivy, Poison Oak, ( Rhus toxicoden¬ 
dron,) Climbing Ivy ( Rhus radicans)i 
The poisonous acrid property of the milky juice 
of these shrubs is neutralized and made harmless 
by almost any alkali. When therefore one has been 
exposed to being “ poisoned ” by either of these 
plants, the parts exposed should be washed as soon 
as possible in a weak solution of potash, saleratiis", 
soda or ammonia water, or even strong- soapsuds.' 
A piece of hard soap carried in the pocket to be 
used as occasion demanded might save a good’deal 
of after torment. White lye forms a very simple 1 
and a very complete protection against the poison 
of Dogwood, or Ivy. It is made, as almost every 
body knows, by putting a couple of shovelfuls of 
hard wood ashes into a pail of water, stirring it up 
well and standing it aside to settle. Before going 
out to work among Dogwood or Ivy, wet tiie 
hands, arms, face, and legs, so far as may be neces¬ 
sary, with the We and let it dry on the skin. You 
may now worlTamong the vile stuff without harm. 
Take care not to make the lye strong enough to in¬ 
jure the skin, the same caution must be observed 
in the use of the alkalies named above. When the 
poisonous juice has been in contact with the skin 
for some time and specially after the inflammation 
has set in, it may be doubted whether its action can j 
be controlled, the poison must run its course. In¬ 
deed if much of the surface of the body is affected, 
it will be very unsafe to attempt to drive it away. 
I once met with a case where the eruption left the 
skin and settled upon the lungs, throwing the pa¬ 
tient into great danger of speedy death from con¬ 
gestion of that organ. Very active treatment re- 
