NEW YORK, AND ROCHESTER, N. Y„ FEB. 1 , 1873 , 
OL. XXVII. No. 5. I 
WHOLE No. 1201. i 
PRICE SIX CENTS 
#2.50 PER YEAR. 
[Entered uccordlnR to Act of CouirroBs, lu the year 1373, by D. D. T. Mookk, In the ottleo of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.J 
lent little work recently published, “ Every 
woman her owa gardener,” docs not help in 
this matter very much, when in giving advice 
to inexperienced women, on the selection of 
seeds from the catalogue, she gives i\ list of 
flowers ‘‘whose beauties are familiar to her, 
and whose names are household words, M and 
it contains the names of one hundred vani¬ 
ties of annuals (bid, strangely omits the bust 
of all—petunias) and about seventy biennials 
and perennials. On tin- subject of culture, 
and floral decoration and taste, t he hook is 
very good, as far as it goes, and would be 
better if it went' further—omitting the veg¬ 
etables. 
SELECTION OF FLOWER SEEDS FROM THE CATALOGUES. 
Having had much experience with flowers, 
of these publications ; and now, as Spring is 
approaching, thousands of the younger mem¬ 
bers of the households are spending hours in 
scanning the pictures and reading the long 
names and glowing descriptions of flowers, 
and calculating how many varieties their 
means will allow them to send for. 
All who have read the charming little book 
for children, “Three Little Spades,” pub¬ 
lished by the Harpers, N. Y., 186 H, will remem¬ 
ber the “ terribly hard work” which Mr. 
May’s three little girls had in selecting from 
the catalogue each an assortment of flowers 
to cost only a dollar—owing to their not being 
familiar with the flowers, and having no 
friend of experience to advise them. Mrs. 
Johnson, (“ Daisy Eye-Bright,”) in her excel- 
and understanding pretty well the tastes of 
young beginners in floriculture, I would rec- 
commend the following assortment of annu¬ 
als, of cosy culture, that will make a fine dis¬ 
play at very little cost. The first four are the 
best selection to cost only fifty cents, and the 
whole for one dollar. 
Aster, New Rose .15 cts 
Balsam, <'amHIia-IIowered.15 “ 
Petunia, Fine mixed.10 “ 
Phlox Druuimondll, mixed.10 “ 
Zinnia, Double mixed. 10 “ 
Tagetes, Signata nuinlla.10 ‘ 
Pnrtulaeu, mixed . 5 " 
Mignonette... . 5 “ 
Candytuft.. 5 “ 
Propeolum, Dwarf mixed. 5 “ 
Antirrhinum, mixed...... 5 “ 
Larksiiur Dwarf Rocket... .. 5 “ 
Sweet Peas, mixed. 5 “ 
Sweet Allvssuin.5 “ 
These, by the figures, foot up $1,10, but 
most of the catalogues offer this amount for a 
dollar, or an assortment of $2.”.*) for $2. For 
this amount I would add to the above list, 
one or two of the newer kinds of. Asters, liner 
Petunias, Pansies, Japan Pinks, Ten week 
Stocks, Cypress Viue, and a few everlasting 
flowers and ornamental grasses for "Winter 
bouquets. Most of the new and high-priced 
varieties are really no better than the older 
and cheaper ones, and should be left for those 
who already have the latter and desire to in¬ 
crease their assortments.—M. B. Batehait, 
Painesvilln, O. 
It is proper to state that this list was pre¬ 
pared lust year but unavoidably omitted, It 
is just as good now, though there may possi¬ 
bly be some change in catalogue figures ; but 
we doubt if there are—at least enough to 
weaken its force and value. 
MUCINA PRURIENS, 
Probably there are few persons who would 
not gladly be exempt from all further expe¬ 
rience with plants known to the mateHu 
me die a; still as long as people will get sick, 
natural remedies must remain popular. A 1 
most every one has, at least, heard of CoHh 
hage, or Cow-itch, which is extensively em¬ 
ployed in the West Indies fie a vermifuge; 
also used by practitioners itf other countries ; 
but we do not suppose that everybody knows 
anything of the plant that produces this 
drug, There are several species of plants 
that produce the Cow-itch of commerce, al¬ 
though all are nearly related and similar In 
habit. 
We give herewith an illst ration of the leaf, 
flowers, seed-pod and seed of a remarkable 
and beautiful species, viz.: the Mucina pru¬ 
rienti, which is a native of the West Indies. It 
is a rapid growing, twining plant, the corolla 
about half the length of the keel, varying in 
color from a dirty white to pale purple ; the 
wings dark violet-purple. The flowers being 
produced in large clusters, are very showy 
and beautiful. The leaves and seed-pods are 
of the size and form shown. The plant is 
merely u giant species of bean, the pods being 
densely covered with flue, stinging hairs, 
which are removed und become the Ca w-itch 
of commerce. 
A Vo do not know whether any of our flor¬ 
ists have ever cultivated this plant or not; 
but its flowers are exceedingly beautiful, and 
almost rival the well known Clkmthus Dain- 
pieri in the richness of color. 
ABOUT ROSES, 
Mrs. Polly C. We do not know of uny 
Satin Rose, although there may be such a 
variety. The term “Satin Rose” is often 
used in describing the colors of flowers, par¬ 
ticularly certain varieties of the Gladiolus; 
and it is probable that from this you have 
obtained the idea that there was a rose in 
cultivation by that name. There are Moss 
Roses which bloom more than once in a sea¬ 
son, the following being choice sortR :—Alfred 
de Dalmas, Genl. Druout, James Veitoli, 
Madam Edward Ory, Saict, Raphael. They 
are not very free bloomers, but when given 
good or extra culture, produce flowers at va¬ 
rious times during the entire Summer and 
Autumn. 
THE INCREASING TASTE FOR FLOWERS 
SELECTION OF FLOWER SEEDS FOR BEGINNERS. 
One of the most gratifying evidences of im¬ 
provement among the rural population of 
this country at the present time is the increas¬ 
ing taste for flowers and their culture, as a 
means of beautifying country homes and mak¬ 
ing rural life more attractive, especially for 
young people. Everywhere among the bet¬ 
ter class of farmers an observer will find that 
the number of dwellings having nice flower 
beds and lawns in front, has increased at least 
three fold within the past four of five years. 
In our towns and cities, also, the taste for 
newel's has increased quite as rapidly, as is 
manifested in the gardens and door-yards of 
the people, or in the windows and balconies 
of those who have no ground ; and still more 
in the increased use of flowers for decoration 
at parties, weddings, etc. 
It is not unusual for five hundred or u thou¬ 
sand dollars to be expended for plants and 
flowers at a fashionable party ; and it is es¬ 
timated that the amount expended for plants 
and flowers in the City of New York is not 
less than a million of dollars annually. The 
credit for this beneficial movement through¬ 
out the country is largely due to the cheap 
postage law ; tliis started enterprising seeds¬ 
men and florists, like Vick, Bliss, Hender¬ 
son, Brigcjs and others, in the business of 
furnishing flower seeds and plants by mail, 
at trifling cost, for the millions in all parts of 
the Union ; and in their laudable competition 
vieing with each other in printing and dis¬ 
tributing attractive catalogues, or “Floral 
Guides,” giving information about the difter- 
ent flowers aud their culture; so that it is 
rare to find at this time a family of any in¬ 
telligence in the country without one or more 
PLANTS IN A COLD GREEN-HOUSE 
A “Constant Reader” wants to know 
how to make Camellias and Geraniums bloom 
in a green-house where there is no artificial 
heat applied. We cannot give any better ad¬ 
vice than to apply artificial heat, for it is 
probably for the want of this that the said 
plants fail to bloom. The same writer asks 
how to propagate Hmilax ; whether from 
cuttings, or division of the roots. It can be 
propagated by either mode, but the latter is 
the most common. After the vine has ri¬ 
pened and tried down, the small clumps of 
tubers may be divided and placed in sepa¬ 
rate pots, or several planted in one. 
SLUGS AND SNAILS, 
Mr. Anderson, of Meadowbank, informs 
The Garden that slugs and snails, with com¬ 
mendable taste, devour sweet-scented plants 
and flowers first. According to his experience, 
if there is one such plant in a house, it is at 
once attacked. 
