10 
The Floral Instructor. 
under side of the leaves and strive at 
all times to keep die air of the plant 
room moist by sprinkling the plants and 
evaporating water on the stove. 
Mr. McGtILL —Dear Sir :—Having 
been a subscriber to the little “ In¬ 
structor ” for nearly a year, I venture 
to send a few questions to the “Letter 
Box.” (1) I have a fuchsia that has 
bloomed abundantly all summer, and 
has grown to be a large plant. Will it 
blossom as freely next summer, or will 
a young plant of the same do better ? 
(2) When is the proper time to start a 
fuchsia (speciosa) for winter blooming ? 
(3) The roses I received from you in 
the spring seem determined not to grow. 
I have tried to learn all L could in re¬ 
gard to rose culture, and treat them ac¬ 
cordingly, but they are no larger than 
when I got them, and I am quite dis¬ 
couraged. (4) Please tell me if double 
geraniums are generally as free to bloom 
as single Ones. They ;have not proved 
to be for me. 
The Instructor is a most welcome 
visitor. I saw it advertised in the Floral 
Cabinet , and felt sure that the editor 
must be the “ Bennie” whose letters to 
the Toledo Blade I had so carefully 
pasted away in my scrap book. That is 
I how I came to subscribe. 
Truly yours, Mrs. B.F.B. 
P. S.—Please tell me if you furnish 
Peterson's Magazine in connection with 
the Instructor and on what terms ? 
Yes, $2.00 for both papers. 
1. Freely on the young wood. 2. In 
the spring months. 3. Plant those roses 
out next spring in good rich soil and our 
word for it they’ll surprise you. 4. Sin¬ 
gle geraniums are the best bloomers. 
-•- 
Skinny*Men. —Wells’ Health Renew- 
er. Absolute cure for nervous debility 
and weakness of thef generative func¬ 
tions.']! $1.00 atf druggists, Iowa Depot, 
Mitchell, Bartlett & Crain, Des Moines, 
Iowa . 
For the Instructor. 
VEGETABLE GARDENING NO. 1. 
It is the intention of the writer of 
these articles to give the reader of this 
publication the benefit of his experi¬ 
ence in gardening, hoping thereby to be 
of use to some. Any questions asked by 
subscribers pertaining to the vegetable 
garden will be answered to the best of 
my ability through the Question-Box 
Department of this Magazine. 
A good garden is one of the necessary 
acquisitions of every household, but in 
our county, where land is so plenty, this 
branch of industry does not, as yet, re¬ 
ceive the attention it should ; still I am 
pleased to know that interest in this 
matter is increasing. 
Supposing that you have determined to 
have a garden, the first thing to be de¬ 
termined is its 
LOCATION, 
which, if possible, should be a gentle 
slope to the south. It should, at all 
events, be protected on the north and 
west, either by a grove, buildings, or 
close, high fence. 
The size and shape should be such as 
will admit of plowing. The old theory 
that a garden should be spaded is long 
since exploded. Plowing is equally 
good, if not better, and saves much val¬ 
uable time. Right here I wish to re¬ 
mark that the vegetable garden should 
not be crammed with Currant, Raspber¬ 
ry bushes, etc., especially round the 
fences, as such bushes are always in the 
way, it is difficult to gather the fruit 
from them, and it looks untidy. Small 
fruit should have a place to itself, or, if 
it must be in the garden, let it be on one 
side, with the bushes set in rows at such 
a distance apart as to render fruit gath¬ 
ering easy. But this is a digression 
from the subject. 
THE SOIL. 
best suited for the vegetable garden is a 
rich sandy loam, which each year should 
receive a good coat of well-rotted ma- 
