334 
THE LADIES’ FLORAL CABINE1 . 
are from self-sown seed, and have been in flower since 
the middle of July. The flowers are double, beautifully 
imbricated; they are striped, the colors being deep 
orange on a pale straw-colored ground. We have also 
a new variety of calendula, the “ Prince of Orange,” a 
novelty of the past season. The only difference we 
notice is that its markings are a little more distinct. 
Had we either, we should not require the other. 
* 
* * 
We are often called upon to defend insects, or at least 
to speak a kind word in their favor, believing they have a 
useful mission in the economy of nature. That they have 
such there is abundant evidence on every side, and there 
is no more interesting study than to watch their opera¬ 
tions. The following query shows how well they know 
their work and how faithfully they perform their tasks : 
Why is it that the bee-hke fly did not appear among 
my chrysanthemums before the ioth of October? Last 
year numbers were to be seen by the 2d or 3d, but then 
I had several varieties in flower, notably Madame Des 
Grange, Fleur Parfaite and Alex. Dufour. This season 
my first flower, a single seedling, opened on the ioth, that 
is, the disk or true florets opened at that time; a single 
row only were perfect, and sure enough two of my wel¬ 
come friends — the flies—were there also. 
How comes this busy family to know the exact day 
when they would find food and employment and why 
came only two at first ? 
As the chrysanthemum season progresses they will in¬ 
crease in numbers, so much so as to fill the houses with 
as much buzzing as do a colony of bees in a cherry-tree 
in May. John Thorpe. 
. * 
* * 
Missouri State Horticultural Society. —It is the de¬ 
sire of the officers of the society that this twenty-eighth 
annual meeting, to be held at Warrensburg, December 
9, 10, ix, shall be the best one ever held in the State, and 
every member is requested to be present, if possible, and 
to come prepared to give his experience, as successes or 
failures are alike valuable. A “Question Box’’will be 
upon the secretary’s table, where any questions may be 
put. Among the many interesting topics for discussion 
indicated on the programme are the following : 
“/The Fruit Business from a Commission Man’s Stand¬ 
point,” E. T. Hollister, St. Louis. 
“The Nurseryman’s Duty to His Patrons,” C. H. 
Fink, Lamar. 
“ The Yellows, the Rust and the Mildew,” B. F. Gallo¬ 
way, Columbia. 
“ Best Six Varieties [of Apples for Profit and Best 
Twelve Varieties for Family,” E. P. Henry, Butler. 
“Best ri Three Varieties of [Strawberries, Raspberries 
and Blackberries, and Why? ” P. Ames, Carthage. 
“Parasitic Fungi,” Prof. S. M. Tracy, Columbia. 
“ The Greenhouse Work,” Prof. L. R. Taft, Columbia. 
■Jf 
* * 
Plant Life. —It has been shown by Professor Schubet- 
ler, a Norwegian plant-geographer, that most plants in 
high latitudes produce much larger and heavier seeds 
than in warmer regions near the equator. This effect 
he attributes to the prolonged influence of sunlight dur¬ 
ing the long summer days of the high latitudes. The 
difference of seed development was very remarkable in 
some cases. Dwarf beans taken from ChristianiaTto 
Drontheim—less than four degrees farther north—gained 
more than 60 per cent, in weight, and thyme from Lyons, 
when planted at Drontheim, showed a gain of 71 per cent. 
The grain of northern fields is heavier than when grown 
in more southerly localities, and seed from Norway 
planted at Breslau decreased greatly in the first year. 
The leaves, also, of most plants are larger and more 
deeply colored in higher latitudes, as was first noticed 
by Griesbach and Martins. The same is true of flowers, 
and many which are white in the southern climates 
become violet in the far north. While on this subject 
of the changes in flowers, it may be mentioned that a 
chameleon sort of flower which grows in the United 
States is white in the morning and red at night. It has 
been named the Confederate rose on account of its two 
beautiful colors. The plant is odorless, it grows in 
great bunches, and is susceptible of a high degree of 
cultivation. 
Literary Notes. 
The index of Babyhood’s first year, which accom¬ 
panies its twelfth number (November), comprises nearly 
four hundred titles, and gives an idea of the subjects 
covered by this novel mother’s companion in its first 
volume. It would have been difficult for Babyhood to 
crowd into its 390 pages a greater variety of informa¬ 
tion and suggestion touching the rearing of children and 
the regimen of the nursery, yet a glance at many of the 
articles shows that their subjects have been by no means 
fully treated, while a vast number of allied topics remain 
totally untouched. In other words, Babyhood has as yet 
scarcely entered upon its field, so prolific is it of the 
most interesting and fascinating study. 
The November Wide Awake opens with a frontispiece 
by Hassam. This is followed by the closing chapters of 
the interesting serial entitled “ A New Departure for 
Girls.” Mr. Brooks’ historical serial, “ The Governor’s 
Daughter,” is also concluded in this number. James 
Otis has in “ Dan Hardy’s Crippy ” a pathetic Thanks¬ 
giving-time story, and the second “ Popsy Story ” ap¬ 
pears, one of the last labors of Mrs. Helen Jackson 
(“ H. H.”). Mrs. Harriet Pinckney Huse gives some early 
recollections of the novelist Cooper, which form a charm¬ 
ing pendant to Miss Harris’s paper about him in “ Plea¬ 
sant Authors for Young Folks,” and there is a portrait 
and a drawing of the old hall at Cooperstown. “ The 
Cock-Horse Regiment,” by Mrs. F. A. Humphrey, com¬ 
memorates in verse a charming little historical happen¬ 
ing, and has six full-page illustrations by Garrett. New. 
serials open in the next number : “ A Girl and a Jewel,” 
by Mrs. Harriet Prescott Spofford; “ A Midshipman at 
Large,” by Charles Remington Talbot, and “ Dilly and 
the Captain,” by Margaret Sidney. 
