be  produced  upon  them  which  would  guide  the 
operator  advantageously  in  his  futrire  experi¬ 
ments. 
It  may  puzzle  the  reader  who  has  a  consider¬ 
able  collection  of  plants  to  minutely  attend  to 
the  alx)ve  and  to  many  other  essential  opera¬ 
tions  which  the  lloricultural  journals  weekly  re¬ 
cord,  requiring,  as  such  attention  would,  more 
time  in  every  day  than  there  is  in  the  day.  This 
has  always  puzzled  me. 
lated  by  blood,  education,  etc.,  were  by  no  means 
unanimous,  for  in  the  written  answers  seven 
various  names  of  the  color  were  used.  Some 
attribute  such  facta  as  due  to  color  blindness ; 
but  the  truth  possibly  lies  in  the  fact  that  with 
most  {lersons  there  is  no  very  clear  appreciation 
or  stAn<]ard  of  names  and  shades  of  color. 
ANTHUuirMS. — Few  plants  are  more  showy  for 
conservatory  decoration  than  these.  A,  Scher- 
urianuni  is  one  of  the  best.  The  spathe  lasts 
for  months.  ,4.  <S'.  Tf’?7itunm,  a  novelty,  forms 
with  it  a  fine  contrast.  Its  habit  is  the  same, 
but  the  spatbe  is  pure  white  and  the  spadix  a 
jiale  lemon  color. 
llLTTo>-Hot.r.  Bouot7F.TR.  —At  A  reccnt  banquet 
of  the  Lord  Mayor  of  Ijondon,  one  thousand  of 
those  were  provided — one  for  each  guest.  Are 
we  to  suppose  that  the  Lord  Mayor  of  I<ondon 
“  buttonholed  ”  every  one  of  his  guests  ? 
GonuES  Ptrf.thrum-  Is  it  Poisonous  ?— A 
correspondent  of  the  Gardeners'  Chronicle  of 
London  mentions  the  fact  that  two  bucks  were 
found  dead  in  a  certain  park  and  that  a  post¬ 
mortem  examination  gave  proofs  that  tliey  were 
killed  by  having  oaten  the  Golden  Feather  I’y- 
rothrum.  Thus  warned,  wo  should  hiwsre  of 
this  favorite  bedding  jdant. 
Bose  Ei.ECTioNs.“Our  readers  may  or  may 
not  be  aware  that  Bose  Flections  arc  held  in 
England  for  Ui©  purpose  of  ascertaining  by  the 
votes  of  experienced  Ito«e  growers  those  Boses 
which  are  held  in  highest  esteem.  We  give  the 
first  twenty  of  tlio  last  election,  the  comparative 
merits  of  which  are  indicated  by  the  numbers : 
1  to  4,  Marechal  Kiel,  Alfred  Colomb,  Marie 
Baumann,  Baronne  de  Bothschild ;  6,  Charles 
IJefeb^Te;  6,  Etienne  Tsivet;  7,  La  France;  8, 
Louis  Van  Iloutte ;  9,  Marquis  de  Castcllanc ; 
10,  Buko  of  Edinburgh ;  11,  Ma<lamo  Victor 
Verdier;  12,  Comtosso  d’Oxford;  18,  John  Hop¬ 
per;  14,  Devoniensis ;  LI,  Catherine  3Iormet; 
Ifi,  Senatour  Vaisse;  17,  Xavier  Oliho;  18,  Fran¬ 
cois  Jlicbolon ;  I'.i,  Horace  Veraot ;  20,  Mdlle. 
Eugenie  Verdier. 
te  confound  the  two  trees,  which  le-ads  to  confu¬ 
sion,  and  may  lead  to  controversy. 
The  huge  dimensions  of  this  U'ec  struck  yon 
with  some  surnriso.  Trees,  five  to  six  feet  in 
diameter,  40  to  80  dean  trim  hark,  100  to  1.50  feet 
high,  and  such  a  magniliccnt  oniamontal  shade 
and  slielter  for  cerhiin  fog-linc  localities  of  this 
State,  and  for  foreign  climate  generally !  Be¬ 
sides,  '  for  valuable  timber,  the  wood  8i)lit8 
traight  and  as  readily  as  its  Eastern  coiisi?!,  is 
soft  and  ia  easy  to  work ;  but  becomes  very  hard 
when  dry  from  age.  As  seasoned  stuff,  it  planes 
and  polishes  remarkably  Rinootli,  and  is  valuable 
when  stained  for  tlio  fmost  o.T'>»inet  work ;  is  very 
tough,  and  T.aluable  to  the  wliwclwright.  Your 
expressed  desire  to  aid  in  tlio  diffusion  of  useful 
intelligence,  even  in  the  midst  of  an  oxciting 
political  canvass,  is  itself  prophetic  of  the  “  good 
time  coming.”  If  the  attention  of  the  jmblic  is 
often  invited  to  these  objects,  we  may  rciisona- 
hly  hope  during  the  next  century  that  some  pro¬ 
gress  in  due  appreciation  may  result.  The  j)op- 
ular  press  is  the  best  of  all  educators,  and  tJie 
duty  of  the  local  representatives  is  host  fulfilled 
by  aiding  and  directing  us  in  every  way  that  de¬ 
velops  our  home  resources,  adds  to  the  delight 
which  all,  more  or  loss,  experience  in  viewing 
forests  and  fields  and  all  tlie  more  beautiful  ob¬ 
jects  of  the  landscape. 
It  seeml^d  needless  to  add,  the  nuts  are  among 
the  articles  list'd  as  food  by  the  Indians  of  this 
coast.  This  tree,  in  some  localities,  dwindles 
down  Uj  a  paltry  bush,  bearing  fruit  on  its  top 
when  barely  a  foot  high  to  as  high  as  your  betul. 
It  goes  under  the  half-boiTowcd  Houthern  At¬ 
lantic  name,  with  the  local  prefix  of  California, 
chinquapin  chestnut,  which  is  said  to  bo  of  the 
same  H)>ecies  as  the  largo  tree  you  behold. 
MINUTE  HOT -HOUSE  DIRECTIONS 
GATHERED  FROM  CURRENT  BUNSBY  FLORICUITURAI 
LITERATURE  AND  INTERPRETED 
BY  AX  Ol.n  OAROEXER, 
Plants  love  sunshine.  The  reason  why  they 
love  sunshine  is  because  it  sharpens  up  their 
appetites  and  at  the  some  time  provides  them 
with  their  dinners.  This  is  a  selfish  sort  of  love 
on  the  part  of  plants— but  sunshino  is  benevo¬ 
lent  and  knows  full  well  that  plants  could  not 
get  on  without  its  aid  ;  that  the  carbonic  acid 
which  they  imbibe  would  destroy  them  if  its 
oxygen  were  not  rclttase<l ;  that  their  loaves 
would  bo  white ;  that  they  could  jirodnce  no 
progeny  and  would  soon  become  extinct.  And 
BO  sunshine,  ktiowing  the  helplessness  of  plants, 
smiles  upon  them  without  in<piu-ing  whether 
they  approeiiite  it  or  not.  Plants  ought  to  be 
grateful,  certainly.  But  ver>'  little  is  known  as 
to  tholr  sense  of  moral  obligations. 
Plants  should  have  plenty  of  sunshine,  and 
they  ucetl  it  most  when  the  days  are  dark  and 
gloomy. 
Give  your  oats  i>lenty  of  milk,  that  they  may 
not  enter  the  conservatory  in  i)mBnit  of  water 
or  food  and  upset  tlio  plants.  The  same  may  be 
said  of  other  animals-  varying  the  food  to  suit 
their  Ustea—  such  as  mice,  rata,  insects. 
Flowering  is  a  highly  exhaustive  proooss.  At 
this  most  trying  period  of  their  existence  plants 
need  only  pericsi,  Indeed,  when 
they  fall  into  the  jolly  habits  of  many  men, 
some  women,  and  a  few  hoys,  and  cannot  con¬ 
trol  their  appetites.  J’tUirgomwim,  Kpi-phyir 
lums,  Aplu'Uiinlrns,  Cvurarins,  h'du‘7)ifriai>,  Gtc., 
etc.,  will  ho  coming  into  bloom  sooner  or  later. 
Less  patience  is,  therefore,  required  in  the  for¬ 
mer  than  in  the  latter  case. 
When  you  have  visitors,  always  take  for 
granted  that  they  arc  as  much  interested  in  the 
subject  as  you  arc  and  talk  about  nothing  else 
but  flowers.  Show  all  you  have-  not  In  a  hur¬ 
ried  manner,  but  dclilwrately— and  tell  their  his¬ 
tories  and  give  their  liEtin  uamos.  In  this  way 
you  may  acquire  a  flow  of  floral  language  end 
y^ur  visitors  may  be  taught  the  virtue  of  pa¬ 
tience. 
As  a  toa-kcttle  will  not  boil,  so  flowers  will  not 
bloom  so  soon  if  watched.  While  this  singular 
phenomoTion  has  never  (I  believe)  boej^  ex¬ 
plained  in  the  Instance  of  the  tea-kettle,  in  the 
instance  of  flowers  it  has  been  shown  that— but 
I  am  at  this  moment  reminded  that  I  must  not 
anticipate  an  exhaustive  work  npou  this  subject 
by  Mr.  Ciiari.kh  Darwin  or  Mr.  Thowa.s  Mee¬ 
han  (I  have  the  names  so  mixed  up  in  my  mind 
that  I  cannot  for  the  life  of  me  tell  which)  that 
in  point  of  infinitesimal  research  will  quite 
eclipse  anything  previously  recorded  by  those 
or  other  microscopical  observers. 
The  quantity  of  water  needed  by  different 
plants  and  the  times  of  watering  depend  upon 
many  intricate  phenomena  which  cannot  be  hero 
noticed.  It  is  easier  to  determine  this  in  plants 
with  normal  appetites  and  in  vigorous  health 
than  in  those  which  have  led  a  pampered, 
intemperate,  abnormal  existence.  An  exact 
knowledge  of  the  laws  of  introsiisception,  im- 
miscibility,  phytotomy  and  morphology  is  indis¬ 
pensable  in  either  case.  Florioultnral  hooks 
and  periodicals  toll  us  that  when  very  ilry  they 
need  more  water  than  w'heu  very  wet,  and  that 
when  very  wet  tliey  do  not  need  to  be  watered. 
This  may  be  true  enough  in  general  practice, 
but  no  fixed  rules  can  be  written  suited  to  indi¬ 
viduals,  and  people  viust  be  guided  by  the  most 
observant  experience  and  inveterate  study. 
When  leaves  fail  off— souiriAini)  is  wrong. 
The  first  thing  to  be  done  is  to  find  out  what  it 
is  that  is  wrong  and  then  remedy  It. 
When  the  pot  is  too  small  for  the  plant,  or, 
what  is  nearly  the  same  thing,  when  the  plant 
is  too  big  for  the  pot — it  may  bo  placed  in  a  size 
larger.  Then  it  will  not  feci  so  much  cramped 
as  before.  It  is  thought  that  plants — like  men 
of  business — do  not  like  to  be  cramped.  The 
great  difference  is  that  men  cannot  always  find 
one  size  larger.” 
MISCELLANEA 
Zkiiua  striped  Eulalia.- The  American  Ag¬ 
riculturist  gives  a  fine  cut  of  Eulalia  Japmka 
Zelu'ina,  a  beautiful,  transversely-striped  Grass 
sent  to  this  country  by  Mr,  Thomas  Hooo  from 
Japan. 
That  variegation  should  be  deemed  a  disease 
at  all  is,  wc  believe,  one  of  those  vagaries  that 
sometimes  creep  into  tiio  heads  of  scientific 
men.  As  “  the  circulation  of  the  Juices  of  tlie 
leaf  must  take  place  in  a  lengthwise  direction,*’ 
the  A.  A.  reasons  that  tbls  plant,  whose  variega¬ 
tion  is  transverse,  must  present  a  pnzzhiig 
problem  to  tliose  who  believe  in  the  disease 
theory,  “since  Die  mitrinient  for  each  green 
portion  of  the  leaf  must  pass  through  one  of 
the  colored  sections.” 
The  Pelargonium  Happy  Thought  should 
prove  no  less  puzzling.  This  plant  is  as  vigor¬ 
ous  as  any  other  I’eliu'gonium.  Cuttings  from  it 
strike  as  easily  as  those  of  any  other — and  yet 
the  disc  is  a  creamy. wliite,  and  the  veins  which 
carry  nutriment  to  the  griMni  margin  must,  of 
course,  traverse  it  afterward. 
Wlien  nothing  whatever  is  linown  respecting 
tlio  cause  of  certain  phenomena,  why  not  say 
HO  ?  But  it  sooniM  that  one  theory,  however  ab¬ 
surd,  is  good  until  another  is  advanued,  and 
Uiat  the  rule  is-  a  silly  theory  is  Ixstter  than 
none.  If  wo  look  back  ujwii  the  egregious 
blunders  that  have  been  made  from  building 
Kuporstnietm-os  upon  imaginary  founilafions,  it 
would  seem  that  no  theory  is  far  better  than  a 
senseless  one,  and  tliat  scientific  men  cannot 
afford  to  be  scieritifloally  ingenious  at  the  ex¬ 
pense  of  common  sense. 
If  it  is  true,  alas !  that  variegation  in  plants  is 
a  disease,  what  should  disturb  us  most  is  that 
Uie  present  rage  for  variogalod  plants  and  con¬ 
sequent  propagation  of  them,  to  the  neglect  of 
the  healthy,  unvariogatod  sorts,  can  be  consid¬ 
ered  in  no  other  light  than  a  cruelty  to  vogota- 
hles  ;  and  that  the  lovers  of  flowers,  whoso  son- 
sibilities  are  supposed  to  have  been  softened 
and  refined  by  this  fondness,  have  encouraged 
tlio  increase  and  spread  of  this  “malady,”  and 
that  societies  for  ils  prevention  have  not  sprung 
up  everywhere,  ai’o  sad  evidences  of  the  general 
depravity  of  man  and  womankind. 
EXTRACTS  FROM  CORRESPONDENTS’  LETTERS. 
The  Rural's  Exciiakof.. — I  wish  to  express 
my  thanks  to  the  Bukaj.  for  its  liberal  offer  of 
Oct.  7,  I  received  nine  Jotters  containing  a 
qreat  many  soeds,  and  they  were  all  nice  vari¬ 
eties. 
Many  in  their  letters  expressed  their  gratitude 
to  the  Rural  for  opening  a  way  for  us  flower- 
lovers  to  become  acquainted.  I  wish  I  had 
something  rare  to  send  you, 
I- intend  to  plant  Bose  and  Dahlia  seeds  in  the 
spring. 
I  have  watched  everything  in  the  Rural  per¬ 
taining 'to  plants  or  trees;  seen  the  different 
letters  telling  about  raising  new  varieties  from 
seeds,  and  I  will  be  glad  to  tell  you  if  I  succeed 
well. 
I  have  raised  several  beautiful  Pansies  and 
Daisies  from  seed,  and  have  found  they  grow 
much  larger  if  the  ground  be  kept  loose  and 
mellow  and  then  watered  often.-  M.  A.  li., 
Waitfilmrq,  Walla  Walla  (Jo.,  \V.  T. 
liioDLDAMBAR  FOB  BusTic  WoRK. — I  have  been 
wondering  for  some  time  why  I  have  never  seen 
any  rustic  work  made  of  the  branches  of  the 
Liquidambar,  which  grows  so  plentifully  here. 
I  now  have  some  branches  baugLug  on  my  walls 
that  are  quite  ornamental  as  well  as  curious  to 
those  unaccustomed  to  seeing  such  every  day. — 
M.  B,  P.,  .Ridyevay,  JY.  C. 
Tiuro.UA  Tvabia.  -I  have  one  of  these  plants 
which  was  set  out  last  spring  and  began  to 
bloom  in  September.  It  is  now  (Dec.  5)  in 
bloom,  although  we  have  had  in  this  section 
quite  cold  and  freezing  weather  for  more  than  a 
week.  The  ice  over  the  Potomac  River  was 
about  three  inches  thick  yesterday.— J.  W.  H., 
Cumberland,  Md. 
THAT  METHOD 
Our  readers  will  remomlier  our  allusion  to  a 
remarkable  method  of  propagating  trees  and 
shrubs  which  was  by  its  simplicity  to  upset  all 
other  known  processes.  The  gentleman  ^Ir. 
Bachra  rz  an  Austrian  nurseryman  first  offeriid 
his  secret  for  a  small  sum  and  finally,  we  beUeve, 
communicated  it  gi'atis  in  an  article  to  the 
Wiener  Gartenfreund.  The  Gardener's  Ghrom- 
cle  epitomizes  it  thus  : 
Cuttings  of  shnibs  and  trees  are  taken  off  at 
the  beginning  of  July,  from  6  or  7  to  12  inches 
long,  according  to  the  kind.  The  leaves  are  re¬ 
moved  from  the  lower  portion  which  is  to  enter 
the  ground,  but  those  which  will  come  above¬ 
ground  are  attached.  Bods  are  prop.ared  for 
them  in  the  open  air  by  Uiorough  digging  and 
leveling,  and  afterwards  apjilyiug  a  superficial 
layer,  about  2  inches  thick,  of  rotten  dung  froii# 
a  siient  hotbed.  The  cuttings  are  thou  stuck  in 
about  2  inches  apart  and  in  a  somewhat  oblique 
direction.  Each  bod  when  filled  is  surrounded 
with  a  lath  fence,  so  that  shade  may  be  given 
when  the  sun  is  very  hot,  and  the  outtiugs  are 
well  watered  in  with  a  rose-spouted  can.  This 
completes  the  opieration.  The  only  further  caie 
necessary  ia  a  sprinkling  overhead  throe  or  four 
times  a  day  during  the  first  week,  if  the  weather 
bo  very  hot,  and  once  a  day  afterwards.  In  the 
course  of  five  or  six  weeks,  ri'eated  in  the  manner 
indicated,  the  cuttings  of  most  lliingB  will  have 
formed  a  callus,  and  further  shading  will  be  un¬ 
necessary. 
Late  in  the  autumn  a  layer  of  rough  dung,  2 
or  3  inches  thick,  is  spread  over  for  winter  pro¬ 
tection.  It  also  serves  as  manure  when  the  cut¬ 
tings  start  growing  in  tlie  spring ;  and  cuttings 
treated  thus  make  extraordiuoiy  growth — in  fact, 
plants  equal  to  two-year-old  jilsuts  from  winter 
or  spring  outtiugs.  Very  few,  it  is  asserted,  fail. 
This  plan  would  doubtless  succeed  very  well  in 
ibiB  country,  and  indeed  it  is  practiced  in  the 
case  of  the  common  Laurel  and  some  few  other 
things.  The  new  method  of  grafting  Boses  is 
the  insertion  of  growing  eyes  early  in  spring, 
instead  of  dormant  eyes  in  the  summer.  They 
are  inserted  in  the  main  stem  on©  on  each  side, 
to  fonn  symmetrical  heads.  These  make,  it  is 
said,  as  much  growth  the  first  soasun  as  the  dor¬ 
mant  eyes  the  second  season. 
THE  CALIIFOENIA  CHESTNUT, 
4Ve  had  often  heard  of  the  California  chestnut, 
says  the  Sonoma  Democrat,  but  did  not  believe 
in  its  existence.  Traveling  recently  in  northern 
Mendocino  county,  just  after  leaving  Willots- 
villo,  our  attention  was  attracted  Ity  a  magnifi¬ 
cent  tree  near  the  roadside,  which  we  at  once  re¬ 
cognized  as  tlie  chestnut,  of  which  we  Jiad  often 
heard  but  had  never  btdore  seen  on  this  coast. 
Fortunately,  thougb  wo  were  not  then  aware  of 
it.  Dr.  A.  Kellogg,  n  botanist  of  fc>an  Frandsco, 
was  a  fellow  passenger.  He  had  often  visited 
that  part  of  the  State  before,  and  was  perfectly 
familiar  with  the  tree  and  its  habits.  Ho  kindly 
consented  to  give  iw  a  written  description  for 
pnblication,  and  it  is  with  pleasure  that  we  pre¬ 
sent  to  our  readers  the  letter  of  the  accomplished 
gentleman,  on  one  of  the  most  beautiful  pro- 
dnotions  of  our  California  forests: 
Meeting  as  traveling  companions  on  the  stage 
rout©  from  Little  Lake  to  Gahto,  the  writer  was 
highly  gratified  to  find  a  stranger  so  justly  ap¬ 
preciative  of  the  elegant  beauty,  symmetry  and 
grandeur  of  onr  golden-loaf  evergreen  chestnut 
(formerly  (Jfutanea  chryeophylla,  now  Ccuttan- 
opsis  chrysophylla). 
The  title  of  golden-leafed  chestnut— as  the 
suggestive  name  implies — is  derived  from  the 
observation  that  when  stirred  by  the  breeze,  the 
otherwise  dark,  glossy-green,  laurel-like  leaves 
turn  their  under  surface  to  (ho  sun,  reflecting  a 
BCifteued  sheen  of  gold,  lighting  up  its  face  with 
a  chiHirful  smile  against  the  somewhat  somber 
background  of  green  ;  also  the  young  and  tender 
twigs,  with  their  vernal  foliage  clad  in  yellow 
velvet,  hold  the  attention  effectually  and  steadily 
to  its  true  ideal  characteristic  featui'e.  This  lat¬ 
ter  qualify,  seen  from  a  distance  in  the  spring 
season  of  a  year,  awakens  a  charming  illasion  as 
if  the  beholder  were  viewing  a  inaguifioent  ever¬ 
green  tree  clad  In  golden  bloom,  .Another  Cah- 
foroia  forest  tree— and  we  have  many  such— 
occurs  to  mo  as  I  write,  showing  this  illusive 
feature,  to  the  eye  more  ornamental  than  the 
never-changing  foliage,  shrubs  and  tiees,  the 
sickly  work  of  men's  hands ;  we  allude  to  the 
dense-flowered  chestnut-oak,  tanbark  oak  of  the 
forest  vandals  (Quercus  ileynnjlartia).  In  this 
oak,  the  young  twiggy  tufts  are  an  almost  pure 
velvety  white  against  a  lighter  green  background. 
This,  like  the  other  trees,  is  a  very  choice  land¬ 
scape  ornament,  simulating  it  in  flower,  foliage, 
and  often  in  general  symmetrical  outline,  though 
of  somewhat  more  open  and  spreading  habit.  It 
is  an  evergreen,  and  claims  close  botanical  alli- 
ance  with  the  chestnut.  The  one  bears  a  prickly 
chestnut  burr  with  bard-shelled  and  sub-trian- 
gulai'  sweet  nuts ;  the  other,  or  oak,  has  the 
mossy  cup  and  large  well-known  acorn.  But  to 
return  from  tliis  digression,  which  was  deemed 
advisable  by  way  of  contrast,  as  so  many  are  apt 
somebody  to  supply  a  pot 
Look  out  for  red  spider.  A  way  to  keep  them 
within  liounds  is  to  go  over  the  plants  every  day 
with  a  microscope  and  kill,  with  the  thumb  and 
finger,  every  one  you  see.  This,  of  course,  will 
require  time.  It  will  require  more  or  less  time 
as  the  collection  is  small  or  great.  If  the  col¬ 
lection  consist  of  but  one  plant,  it  will  take  one 
hundred  times  less  time  than  if  the  collection 
consist  of  one  hundi-ed  plants. 
Various  remedies  for  aphides,  mealy-bug,  etc., 
are  proposed  by  experts.  I  have  noticed  alco 
hoi,  turpentine,  carbolic  acid,  sulphur,  hellebore, 
nitric  acid,  Bulphmic  acid,  tobacco,  salt,  and 
two  hundred  others.  I  have  not  tried  them  all. 
and  cuiiuot  speak  from  experience.  I  should 
RIVERS  AND  DEEP  CANYONS, 
The  wearing  away  of  the  earth  by  the  action 
of  streams  is  familiar  to  all,  says  the  Pacific 
Rural  Press ;  but  the  vastness  of  this  influence 
in  modifying  the  surface  of  the  cai'th  Is  rarely 
appreciated,  except  by  the  professed  geologist. 
In  passing  across  the  oontinent,  from  the  At¬ 
lantic  to  the  Pacific,  the  regularly  increased 
evidence  of  this  action  is  noticeable  at  almost 
every  stage  of  progrese.  It  is  not,  however, 
until  the  traveler  has  passed  the  crest  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  that  he  beholds  the  most 
extraordinai’y  phenomena  of  this  description. 
Very  deep  canyons  are  comparatively  rai'e  east 
of  those  mountains,  while  they  become  the 
almost  invariable  rule  to  the  west  of  them.  Two 
NOTES, 
Color.— As  illustrative  of  the  widely  different 
views  held  by  individuals  as  to  the  shades  of 
color,  the  Gardeners’  Chronicle  mentions  an  In¬ 
stance  of  a  few  common  Dahlias  having  been 
shown  to  thirty-four  different  persons,  Tliir- 
teeii  different  names  of  supposed  shades  of  color 
were  given.  One  of  the  flowers,  moreover,  had 
been  placed  before  a  family  and  friends  com¬ 
prised  of  eleven  ijeople,  and  these,  though  re¬ 
