290 
^failing for t|f gottitg. 
FLORICULTURE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
No. IV. 
JOHN N. DICKIE. 
Arrangement of Flowers in (lie Unrdm, 
No mailer how flue the (lowers are you raise, 
they never will appear lu advantage unless proper¬ 
ly arranged. 1 would, rather see a neatly laid out 
garden' of dandelions, burdocks, thlsiles, Iron- 
weed, clover, etc., than a uuxed up Jingle of the 
llnest Powers that ever bloomed, l saw a Power 
bed once 1 shall never forget. It was about twenty 
feet long and live feet wide. Jn one end was a 
bunch ot asparagus (or •‘sparrowgraas ” as Urey 
termed It) overshadowing a lot of sickly Portulaea. 
Next came some Gompkrcua (ICnglLsh clover) 
grown luaclutnp, tall and spindling; tlieu bachelor 
Bullous, 1’ausles, a bunch of Hollyhock, Popples 
and a number of other plants 1 Cannot no w recall, 
m iking what I may properly term a floral Jam of 
the first magnitude. 
Never crowd your (lowering plants. Give them 
plenty or room and they will give you double the 
quantity of larger and liner (lowers. Transplant 
at any lime, l have set out plants nut uu Inch 
high during a drought when uie soil was appar¬ 
ently as dry as Uie dust In the middle ot me road, 
and never ottered to suado them, and still rarely 
lost one. As soon as they are in 1 pour water bp 
tlui suits Q/ llut plant. This does not wash away 
the soil, and Is tuo only proper way to water young 
plants. Last season was exceedingly dry here. 1 
had a lot of .Japan Pinks sown In a frame late, and 
they were very small—not over a half Inch high. 
I transplanted them on a hot day, in a dry soli, 
hut only lost one plant out of a lot of over two 
hundred. In August l had the Quest display of 
this flower l have ever seen. 
To those J u-st begl lining the culture of flowers, I 
would recommend their arrangement In beds as 
often seen In kitchen gardens. Ju setting your 
plants observe this rule, viz., to sei low flowering 
plants nearest the main walk, and the taller sorts 
in the rear, Portulaea la one or the lowest plants 
we have. Japan Pinks, In rich soli will grow a 
toot or more In hlghl. Verbenas should always 
occupy a front bed, Browallla should take a back 
seat; also Popples, Salvias, zinnias, etc. The 
rule la simple enough, ami a lluie care In the ar¬ 
rangement will give you a flower garden worm the 
name. 
But many of my young readers will not be able 
to have a flower garden, and wlU only have a half 
dozen varieties or so. Then lot me tell you a very 
attractive way to arrange them. Get a Uttle plot 
of ground, spade It deeply and manure It moderate¬ 
ly, for soil can be made too rich for nowers. Now 
lay it out in drills two feet apart, each drill being 
long enough to take each variety. Put the lowest 
growing in front, aud the next highest second, 
etc., until you form a sort of floral pyramid, which 
It certainly will be If you make me proper choice. 
I shall have a large flower garden ibis year, and 
one of the beds will be arranged thus: At the rear, 
ltlcluus (castor oil oeau) then canuaa, then salvias 
fronted by Balsams, DlanthuB, Verbenas and 
Portulaea, In separate curved rows. This will 
make a beautiful bed, and my young readers of 
the Rural cau do as well. 
Before closing this series of articles, 1 wish to 
caution my young friends about purchasing 
greenhouse flowers. Suppose you wisli a dozen 
Verbena plants, the great muj >riiy of them will 
consist ota single stem vvtm one flower there m. 
Don't buy mese. Insist un short plants wim no 
flowers, You will then get something mat will 
bloom In a reasonable time after planting tuem. 
Pansies forced Into bloom In pots are never so 
good as these short, stubby ones which people re¬ 
ject, because they have no flowers, or course, 
Geraniums, Fuchsias, &o., are a different class of 
plants, and can be bought safely in flower, 
In closing, 1 must say, I hope to hear good re¬ 
ports through the columns of the Rural from 
numberless little flower gardens throughout the 
country. Nothing Is more elevating or reflulng 
than floriculture tor the house, lawn and garden. 
When people raise flowers merely to sell, It be¬ 
comes floriculture for money, and the work then 
loses half lts charm. 
Morrow Go., Oblo. 
-♦-*-*- 
ROBINSON CRUSOE. 
Dear Unoi.k Mark Kept Indoors by a steady 
rain-storm, I find opportunity lor fulfilling my 
promise to give the cousins a description of my 
Island. It, is not quite so desolate as Robinson 
Crusoe’B for It Is Inhabited and In the place or his 
“man Friday," 1 have my Pink to blossom by my 
side, and to give color and fragrance to my exist¬ 
ence; and Instead of a cat, I have my cunning 
little Juanota to cuddle In my arms for caresses. 
1 fancy the scenery or toy island, too, is grander 
than Alexander Selkirk's nor Is mine a “lonely isle 
of the sea," bur, one of many, forming an archipel¬ 
ago of an arm of the Pacific known as Paget Sound, 
which la almost surrounded by the coast Range 
whose lofty peaks are crowned with eternal snows, 
while the Islands are clad la perpetual green. 
Protected on the north and east, by mountains, 
and fanned by the rnlid breezes from the ocean, on 
i he sou th and west, our climate Is uniform through¬ 
out the year, winter venting Itself In rain. Decid¬ 
uous trees drop their leaves here, as elsewhere, but 
thl3 has little effect upon the appearance of nature, 
since maje tic evergreens hang out their curtains 
of unchanging verdure aud long moss, to conceal 
the bare limbs of their less modest neighbors. 
Here luxuriate the fir, cedar, spruce, hemlock, 
pine, juniper, yew, aud maneninceL The flr 
grows to the height of zoo or Juu feet, and 
Is valuable for shlp-bulldlng, particularly masts 
and booms. The cedar Is used for shingles 
stakes, rails, as it splits so evenly and smoothly. 
Wild flowers cover the open places on the bluffs 
while glaucous ferns QU the more fertile spots In 
the valleys; f ir our island 1b dlverstfled;wllh mount 
and vale, cataract and lake, the last, filled chiefly 
with trout and covered with wild ducks and 
yew. in the dense forest, lurks the timid deer 
whose branching antlers make tor a huntsman, a 
rack unique and appropriate, for his muHket, shot 
and powder-flask, game bag and fur cap. On the 
main land we have the bear, black, and grizzly 
wild cat, panther and other vicious animals 
and as king over them, (and perhaps not less dan¬ 
gerous) the Red Man, whose revenge Is proverbial, 
and whoso offspring Inherit the treachery of 
Spanish ancestry, For a livelihood they hunt and 
flah, and carry on trafllo with thq Hudson Bay 
Fur Company by moans of a Jargon called Chau- 
uke. it is amusing to hear them wor-wor, (talk) 
Chanuke. Mtker Is you. Cumtucks Is understand; 
Mlker cumtucks wor-wor chanuke? moans, Do, 
you understand Chanuke7 Answer, Na whiten 
(yes), or Halo (no). Nlkcr means I or me; clatlva, 
go, begone; elairowyier, good day, howdy; chuck, 
water,; muce-muce, cow; cloce, horse; ingbasTle, 
chief; Hlghassockle Tie, God; lx, one; mox, two; 
cloon, three; locket, tour; quliium, live. 
The beach Is strewn with shells aud pebbles, 
the most curious ot which Is the *• sea egg" (local 
name; Uncle Mark, please give us the right one) 
shaped like a trophy tomato, and bristling like a 
chestnut burr, with thousands of bony points 
which may be rubbed oil leaving the shell smooth 
with a puiple tint, and its beautiful tracery ot nat¬ 
ural laco work, [son egg or sea urchin are the 
correct common names lor this class of radiates. 
The generic name Is Echinus, and the species most 
common on the American coast Is called Toxo- 
pueusies drobachlensls —which Is even worse than 
Chanuke. U. M.J The “ match-su te," or barnacle, 
with its hall dozen delicate cells, is also curious, 
and would make a mermaids’ vase with compart¬ 
ments for grouping different colors of flowers. 
The most valued oi the pebbles Is the agate, which 
la transparent. Others are beautifully marbled as 
Castile soap. Our Island is noted tor the enor¬ 
mous size of Its berries. Imagine you see .launeta 
wltn a strawberry as large as a hen's.ogg, in each 
little dimpled hand, crushing R In her effort to 
grasp li, while the crimson juice oozes out between 
her fingers, in like proportion are raspberries and 
gooseberries and currants. Apples, pears aud 
plums reach the greatest perfection here, but the 
nights are too cool for peaches and too damp for 
grapes. Phials may be transported from hero 
with safety, f have rested It. our florist, •• Pana¬ 
ma Jack," would exchange some for greenhouse 
plants, If “ the cousins” will address him at Lopez 
Island, Washington Territory. 
W ill-O’-the-Wist. 
-»♦ * 
AUTOGRAPH VERSES. 
As some of the little readers ot The Rural 
New-Yorker may receive autograph albums as 
presents Horn their mends, and be troubled to 
find some verse suitable for au “ opening piece,’> 
I send the following to meet the emergency, and 
also a fe ,v verses suitable for little folks to write 
In their friends’ albums: 
Dear Friends 
if ere i» a place 
For you to trace 
A pleasant word or two. 
If hard to find 
Words to you mind 
Your name alone will do. 
For a Boy’s Autograph Album. 
FOUR “ BK’S." 
Perhapa it may not be your late 
In life to be among the great, 
But be it ever understood, 
You meau to b>' among the good. 
ANOTHER. 
Always remember ’tis the wisest plan, 
Not to give up, but do tho bust you can. 
ANOTHER. 
Be (rue to yourself ; bo true as the needle 
That steadily aiuis its slim point to the pole; 
Be true to your God and regardless of evi 
In purity over keep sacred your soul. 
F'or a Girl’s Album. 
May the loved friends who walk by your side 
And ever advise you aright. 
Be heeded by you, then with Christ as your guide 
Your path through tho world will be bright. 
another. 
The work we ought to do 
To-day, should be well done. 
It may not be our lot to view 
To-morrow’s rising sun. 
Fur a Gentleman. 
The eagle aims its flight.to reach tho sun, 
By stern endeavor victories are won. 
ANOTHER, JN SUMMER. 
My mower waits ’mid Holds of waving hay, 
While with my pen " Forget Me Not,” I’ll say. 
Niagara CO., N. Y. Sotiija C. Garkktt. 
-♦ ♦ ♦- 
LETTERS FROM THE COUSINS. 
Dear Uncle Mark and Cousins :—I received Uie 
seeds sent me all right, and was doubly glad to 
get tlieia, for I did not expect to get any because 1 
wrote so late, l shall try my best with them, and 
next fall I will tell you how I succeeded. I must 
tell you, cousins, about my adventure in the 
woods. Wishing to get some rich soil for my 
Doable Chinese Pinks my sister and myself climbed 
Into our great wagon, and, driving a spirited span 
of greys, we set out for the woods. We drove back 
In the wood3 for about u quarter of a mile, when 
all at once the wagon tongue came out, and before 
we could stop the horses they ran against a tree, 
upsetting the wagon and spilling us on the ground. 
We scrambled to our feet again and looked around 
for our horses; they had broken loose and were 
running toward home. They soon ran against a 
tree, however, and one of them fell down, hut 
not hurting Itself seriously. We brought them 
back to the wagon, but we were unable to replace 
the tongue In Its proper position; bo mounting a 
horse each we went to get our big brother to help 
us. He soon bad the wagon right side up, and, 
placing the soil which we had gathered In it, we 
sta rted on the journey home, where we arrived In 
safety. We gave the horses over to our broth¬ 
er’s care, gnd were soon engaged In putting the 
soil in boxes and sowlDg different varieties of 
seeds. Matib. 
Stryker, Oblo. 
De\r Uncle Mark:—H ere comes another of 
those letters asking to be admitted Into the large 
circle of cousins, If you and the cousins are wilt¬ 
ing. Most of the letters I have seen In Uie Rural 
are from those wishing to become jnembers; why 
don’t the other cousins wake up and write oftener? 
I Intend to write again If tills does not find an 
untimely grave lu the waste basket. I intended to 
begin my garden this week, but If It remains as 
cold as It Is to-day tho seeds will be Just as well off 
If not planted. I thank the Rural for the seeds 
received, and hope they will do well. 1 think those 
of fho cousins that have “ big brothere ’’ that are 
willing to help them with their gardens should 
consider themselves well off. But never mind, 
girls, those of us who have none will do the best 
they can. Agoie. 
Waushara Co., Wls. 
Hear Uncle Mark : If you were to see the wild 
flowers that cover this wild and mountainous 
region throughout the summer you would think 
we needed anything else more than a flower gar¬ 
den here. But the sight of wild flowers creates a 
desire to cultivate and surround one’s house a 1th 
the beauties that have been Improved by cultiva¬ 
tion. 1 bavo several kinds already started In bores 
and by the time the ground Is sufficiently warm 
out-of-doors to receive them they will he nearly 
ready to bloom. Brother John Is thinking of cul¬ 
tivating a small patch of vegetables this summer 
the success or failure of which 1 will write you of 
♦ together with my own. Yours truly, 
Clearfield Co, Pa. Alue A. Stowell. 
Dear Uncle Mark:— I have been thinking a 
long time I would like to join the Horticultural 
Club. My father has taken the Rural twenty 
years and we like It very much. I am going to 
try and raise a good many flowers this year If the 
ehlekens don’t help me too much. They scratched 
so last summer that they spoiled nearly all our 
flowers and vegetables. But we are going to keep 
them shut up-this summer, and I think we will 
have better success. Wo have a good many house 
plants, and I love to take care of them and see 
them grow. Sweet-brier. 
Dear Uncle Mark:— I am a little girl eight 
years old and live at the edge of lloopeaton, 111. 
We take your paper and like it very much. My 
papa Is a preacher of the Christian Church In 
Hoopeston, and Is a good papa, 1 think. We have 
lots of fruit and wlU have lots of flowers this 
summer. I have a pet bird and a kitten. The 
kitten’s name Is Mischief and the bird's name Is 
Btmon. As this Is my first letter I will close for 
fear you will not publish it. 1 am getting a piece 
out ot your paper to speak at school. I think it 
la very nice. Good-bye. Myrta 15. 
Hoopeston, Ill 
Dear Uncle Mark :—I am a little boy eleven 
and-o-half years old. I go to school about six 
months of the year. I wish to Join the Horticul¬ 
tural Club. 1 take an Interest In flowers, vegetables, 
fruit and bee-keeping, but as I do not know much 
about any of them, I wish to get all the Informa¬ 
tion possible. I have Just the dearest baby broth¬ 
er you ever saw (that is to me). My mother has 
a great many flowers. 1 like tho Rural very 
much. Yours truly, Alvin L. Potter. 
N. II., Coos Co. 
Dear Uncle Mark As I saw my last letter lu 
print, 1 will try again. I will not have so many 
flowers to write about. I am pleased to think that 
Uncle Mark sent seeds to the cousins again this 
year. I wonder If any of the cousins have a how 
and arrow. 1 have a bow with which I can shoot 
one hundred yards. If any of the cousins have a 
how please describe It la the paper. I Intend to 
have a garden this year. Roving Bob. 
Jacksonville, Ills. 
Uanous. 
BRIEFLETS. 
The Marquis of Lome, iu the National Hymn 
or Anthem which he has composed, makes 
rhymes of “nurture,’’ and “hurt her,” aud 
“hours,” aud “ours." ... An iuceused 
dairyman calls Oleomargarine “Bread Salve.” 
. . . A contemporary says: “Let beginners 
abandon learning to graft until they have 
mastered tbe art ot buddiug.” Ob, no. The 
one is as bimplo as the other. In the one case 
a stem is iuserted into a slit made in tbe wood. 
In the other, a bud is inserted into a slit made 
in the bark. . . . Our readers must not 
forget the “ White Elephant” which we pro¬ 
pose to introduce to them in due time. . . . 
There is very little doubt that London Purple 
will be used extensively the coming (season iu 
place of Paris-green. It is cheaper and just 
as efficacious. . . . Mr, William Parry 
places his “ Queen of the Market” aud Cuth- 
bert at the head of the list as th§ most valua¬ 
ble hardy of Red Raspberries for home use or 
market. Wo shall be glad to find that there 
is some (even the slightest) difference between 
the Cuthbert and “ Queen of the Market.”. . . 
It is proposed to change the name of politician 
to pollutician, because the creature more than 
any other pollutes the stream of liberty. . . 
Land and Home thanks Us contemporaries for 
their entertaining obituary notices....The 
Herald says that the promised suectaele of an 
English earl iu the character of an American 
stock brei der may arouse a few of our own 
wealthy citizens to a realization of the value of 
some of our almost neglected resources that 
invite enterprise aud promise profit_H. B. 
Ellwanger mentions, in the Country Gentleman, 
the Jefferia, Fame use, JonaLhan aud Northern 
Spy as the four best apples for table use yet 
produced. Though inferior to the Spitzen- 
burgh iu flavor, they are superior as regards 
crisp flesh, which is so tender that it almost 
dissolves iu the month. The four soi ls ripen 
iu the order given, and furnish fruit from early 
autumn until late spring. ...Whatever else 
may hrf^pen to a nominee, he can count surely 
on one thing—on being proved by his oppon¬ 
ents to ho as vile a creature as ever lived- 
Dr. Schenck told a story at Mr. Uarnersley’s 
dinner of a great divine who said that when he 
made an important mistake in speaking, he al¬ 
ways corrected it uu tbe spot, but that he 
passed a trivial error by without notice. Act¬ 
ing on this principle, when he referred to the 
devil as the father of lawyers instead of liars, 
he passed on, thinking that so trifling a mis¬ 
take as that would hardly excite attention. A 
judge, at whom the shaft was aimed, immedi¬ 
ately replied, that while the devil was probably 
necessary to lawyers, it was certain that he 
was absolutely indispensable to the very exist¬ 
ence of the clergy_Mr. Collins, of Water¬ 
ford, N. J., has been shipping cranberries 
since early in January. He picks out all im¬ 
perfect berries and obtains in cousequence a 
higher price than the current rate — If you 
could ouly persuade yourself to be glad that 
things are no worse, Instead of grumbling that 
they arc as bad as they are, yon would mate¬ 
rially increase the possibilities of happiness. 
. . . If you will settle down to the fact that 
success is hard to win, and then train your 
muscles to the work, you will get ou far bettor 
than fly regarding yourself as an unapprecia¬ 
ted genius whom a cold world neglects.—N. Y. 
Herald. . . . Professor A. J. Cook, of the 
Michigan Agricultural College, fluda London 
Purple very effective with tho potato beetle, 
lie finds one pound i* enough for 100 gallons 
of wator. It is more diffusive than Paris 
Green, and therefore needs less stirring to 
become well mixed with water. . . The New 
York State Fair will be held in Albany Septem¬ 
ber 13th . . . D. D. T. Moore, for many 
years the editor of this journal, is announced 
as editor of au agricultural department of the 
“ Christiau at Work." . . . 
A GOOD METHOD OF GRAFTING. 
A method of grafting fruit trees is repre¬ 
sented bt low. At a, the stock is represented, 
which may be any tree, not over six inches in 
diameter, or a branch of auy form which it 
may be desirable to graft. A cut is made pre¬ 
cisely as in budding, and the cion (b) is in- 
A METHOD or BARK GRAFTING.—FIG. 140.; 
serted instead of the bud. Completed a side 
view would appear as in c. Any number of 
cions from one to a dozen may be inserted, ac¬ 
cording to the size of the stock. Bast may be 
used to wind about the wound, but it is not 
needed. Grafting wax to exclude the air is 
sufficient. This method of grafting has many 
advantages over the methods usually practiced. 
If the cion should fail the stem is not injured 
and may again bo grafted another year. The 
dotted line shows where the stock may be 
cut off when it becomes apparent that the 
clonB have not taken. Wo have practiced this 
method, and with very little care success is 
almost assured. Of course, the cion should be 
uearly or quite dormant, and the bark part 
readily from the wood. Try it Ruhal readers. 
-« » » 
Clydesdale Houses.— The sale of a draft 
of 19 of these from tbe shed of Lord Dnnmore, 
on the 26th of February came off at Glasgow. 
They brought from #65 to #1,600, according to 
age and merits. 
