22 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[January, 
What is Honesty ? 
No one need, in an attempt to be funny, ans¬ 
wer to the above question—“ the best pol¬ 
icy”; it is a serious horticultural, in fact, a 
trade question. In the “winter bouquets” 
offered for sale there are, among other things, 
objects which may be described as little oval 
frames, an inch or so across, on which are 
stretched a peculiar, silky, semi-transpa¬ 
rent membrane. These things, used in these 
bouquets, are evidently a natural product, a 
part of some plant; and if the dealer is asked 
what they are, he may reply “ Honesty,” or 
honesty (Lunaria biennis). 
Imnaria, or more probably say, that he does 
not know. A number of these curious 
frames having been sent us to learn what 
they were ; we give an engraving of one of 
the plants producing them. The genus is 
called Lunaria, from Luna, the moon, on 
account of its rounded pods. It belongs to 
the Mustard Family ( Cruciferce ), of which 
Candytuft and Alyssum are common garden 
plants. The flowers in this family have four 
petals, and are followed by a pod, which is 
two-celled, by a thin partition which stretches 
from one side to the other. In Honesty, this 
pod is nearly circular. The two outside parts, 
and the seeds fall away when the pod is ripe, 
leaving a central frame, across which is 
stretched a thin semi-transparent membrane, 
which has a peculiar soft, satiny lustre. It 
is this portion which makes these remains of 
pods especially acceptable in winter bouquets 
and other floral ornaments. There are two 
kinds of Honesty in cultivation, the most 
common being Lunaria biennis. The seeds 
of this, if sown one year will produce plants, 
which the next year will give flowers and 
fruit and then die. Another species, L. redi- 
viva, is perennial. It is a native of the 
mountain woods of Europe, grows two to 
three feet high, has purplish, very fragrant 
flowers, and perhaps slightly smaller pods 
than the other. It is a pleasing plant when 
in flower, and is worth cultivating by those 
who wish a supply of its peculiar pods, or 
rather parts of pods, for ornamental work. 
Plants for a North Window. 
There is an item going the rounds to the 
effect that it is useless to try to grow plants 
in a north window. It is true that but 
few plants will bloom well in north 
windows, but there are many kinds 
that will flourish there, and give a fine 
show of green through the winter 
months, when fresh leaves are almost 
as pleasant as flowers. I have a north 
window in my study, before which is 
now growing some very healthy plants. 
One is a Myrtle, M. communis, and I 
cannot see that it suffers in the least 
from lack of sunshine. I have a 
Th'acena individisa, and a finer, more 
robust specimen one does not often see. 
Another is a Rose Geranium; it does not 
look quite as stocky as some growing 
in sun-lighted windows, but it is per¬ 
fectly healthy, and is a fine plant. For 
blossoms, I have a Calla, and in hang¬ 
ing baskets, Oxalis and Begonia Wel- 
toniensis. Those three plants are in 
bloom nearly all winter, and I see no 
marked difference between their flowers 
and those of similar plants in sunny 
windows, save the begonia blossoms are 
a paler pink. In such a window a few 
plants with distinctly variegated foliage 
will compensate for the absence of 
flowers. One of the best of all house 
plants is Aspidistra lurida variegata. 
Another, not so large, but bright and 
well marked, is Reinecka carhea varie¬ 
gata. A variegrted Cyperus alterni- 
folius, often erroneously called “ Papy¬ 
rus.” These all do well in the shade. 
Clambering about the window I have 
an English ivy, which, as generally 
known, does well almost anywhere. I 
have no difficulty in keeping my plants 
healthy, because I am careful in giving 
them a good showering at least once a week, 
and see that they get fresh air daily. These 
plants grow well in north windows. E. E. R. 
A Good Word for the Worst Weeds. 
Purslane and Chickweed are, by common 
consent, put down as the worst weeds in the 
garden. Many a man fights them his life 
long, and leaves his garden more thickly 
populated with these enemies than when he 
gathered his first crop They have their 
economic uses, especially purslane, which is 
excellent food for pigs and chickens when 
confined in pens, and is not to be despised as 
a dish of greens with boiled ham. But the 
chief value of these vegetable pests is as a sign 
of bad husbandry. They can be eradicated 
as surely as any other weed, and if allowed 
to choke the growth of any crop, it is proof 
positive against the cultivator, that he has 
neglected his duty. The tares have grown 
while he slept. More thorough scarifying 
the soil would have killed the weeds as fast 
as the seed sprouted, and at the same time 
made the crop far more productive. When 
the crop is gathered, no tune should be lost 
in plowing or cultivating the surface of the 
soil. If there is an open spell in winter, 
plow or harrow again if a weed is in sight. 
Lentils and their Uses. 
The addition of a large number of Conti¬ 
nental Europeans to our population, has 
brought into our markets various food and 
other products not before known. This is 
especially the case in New York City, in 
which can be found nearly every article used 
as food in any civilized country. Among 
the products, especially of European origin, 
are Lentils. They appear like veiy small 
flattened peas, and vary in color from a 
greenish drab to a reddish brown. The len¬ 
tils are produced by a plant related to the 
pea, and still more, closely to the vetch, 
Lens escidenta (given in some works as Ervum 
lens). The general habit of the plant is 
shown in the engraving. It rarely grows 
much over a foot high, has compound leaves 
terminated by tendrils, and bears a few small 
bluish flowers at the end of long flower-stalks. 
The pods, of the shape shown in the engrav¬ 
ing, rarely contain more than two flattened 
and double-convex seeds; the magnifying 
glass of a similar shape is called a lens, from 
its resemblance to the seed of this plant, the 
ancient Latin name of which was lens. 
This is one of the earliest plants known in 
cultivation. It was grown by the ancient 
Egyptians, and its seeds, it is very certain, 
formed Esau's ‘ ‘ mess of pottage.” The plant 
is no doubt a native of Southern Asia, but 
having been long in cultivation it has become 
the lentil (Lens esculenta). 
naturalized in Europe and elsewhere. The 
lentil is rather a field than a garden crop, 
and as it runs too much to herbage on a rich 
soil, land in but moderate fertility is pre¬ 
ferred. The seeds are sown in drills about 
thirty inches apart. When some of the pods 
begin to turn yellowish, the plants are pulled, 
allowed to cure a few days in the sun, and 
are then placed under cover to be threshed 
as wanted. The French recognize several 
