“ Plans An Explanation 
flowers is not suitable for every position and for this 
reason there are many who do not admire it. The 
type Hydrangea paniculata is of a much more grace¬ 
ful habit and better adapted for the mixed border as 
the flowers are upright and looser in their make-up. 
Many of the altheas are not very attractive as the 
colors have a tendency to a dull shade of purple or 
magenta. There are however, some very attractive 
varieties, A. totus albus a single white, A. ccelestis 
single blue, Jeanne d’Arc, double white, bicolor, 
cream, crimson centre and Lady Stanley, double 
blush white, would meet with the approval of the 
most fastidious. 
Weeding, hoeing, staking and watering con¬ 
stitute the principal work in the flower garden, but 
like the plants themselves we should begin to think 
about and make provision for another season. 
Biennials should now be sown so as to get good 
strong plants in condition to stand the winter. 
Pansies, sweet williams, canterbury-bells, foxgloves, 
hollyhocks and forget-me-nots, may be classed in 
this group. Those who have always purchased 
their pansies already grown have no idea of the de¬ 
light and surprises experienced in raising their own 
from seed. Each one is a mystery until it blooms 
and when a good strain of seed is procured the many 
beautiful varieties well repay for the trouble. 
Germinating seed at this time of year requires 
rather more attention than during the spring, owing 
to the heat, so that provision must be made to give 
them the required shade and moisture. 
A cold frame with the sash raised up so as to 
allow free circulation of air and cheese cloth tacked 
over the glass for shade, is an excellent arrangement 
for the purpose and insures against loss from heavy 
rains. Sow the seed thin so that they can remain 
until planted in their permanent quarters. Even 
without the protection of the frame, if suitable spots 
are selected, good success may be had by sowing in 
the open ground. 
The vegetable garden is now paying for all the 
trouble and expense put upon it. The last sowing 
of corn, peas, beans, etc., has been made. Where 
early crops have been cleared off, the ground should 
be dug and pulverized, and a sowing made of turnips, 
spinach, white Strassburgh radishes and lettuce; 
they will come in very nicely during the fall. Plant 
celery and strawberries as advised in the last issue, 
giving the latter every attention so as to get good 
strong plants by the winter as this means an in¬ 
creased quantity of fruit next spring. When setting 
the plants in the ground, put them well down, as 
deep as possible without burying the crowns. 
Now is a good time to make a mushroom bed if the 
requisites are procurable, the most essential being 
a good supply of fresh horse manure. This should 
be shaken out of the straw and piled under an open 
shed until sufficient has accumulated for the purpose. 
The manure should be turned over about every 
other day to get rid of the rank gases and to prevent 
overheating. When sufficient has been collected 
do not add any more to the heap but keep on turn¬ 
ing it over for a week or so to get it all in the same 
condition. Select some convenient place in out¬ 
house or cellar and make up the bed. Eor con¬ 
venience in handling the bed should not be more 
than three feet wide but can be made as long as 
desired. 
It is very essential that the manure be pounded 
down very firmly and evenly and it should be at 
least nine inches deep when the bed is completed. 
Do not introduce the mushroom spawn immedi¬ 
ately but bury a thermometer in the bed and watch 
it closely for a few days. If the manure was in the 
right condition, the temperature will rise very 
rapidly, possibly to a hundred degrees or more. As 
soon as the temperature falls below ninety the spawn 
may be planted. Break it up into pieces about the 
size of a walnut and bury them about four inches 
apart, then leave for about a week or ten days when 
the bed should be covered with about two inches of 
loam spread evenly over it and firmed down. The 
soil and manure should be in a moist condition when 
used but not wet or sticky. It is usually not ad¬ 
visable to water the bed but tbe ground and walls 
surrounding it may be sprinkled to keep the at¬ 
mosphere moist. It usually takes from four to five 
weeks before tbe mushrooms begin to appear. 
“PLANS”—AN EXPLANATION 
TN order to correct a misapprehension which 
appears to have arisen in the minds of some 
of our subscribers with regard to Mr. Lawrence 
Visscher Boyd’s charming cottage shown at the 
bottom of page 40 of our July issue, we desire to 
say that the plans referred to are small black and 
white reproductions similar to those accompanying 
the house illustrated on the top of the same page. 
No architect, of course, would have put any other 
interpretation on our announcement, but by the lay¬ 
man it seems the word “plans” is sometimes erro¬ 
neously interpreted “working drawings. ” It was 
found at the last moment that room could not be 
made for the cuts of the plans of this particular 
house, and in order that our subscribers might not 
be disappointed, we offered to forward them by 
mail at our own expense, and that offer still holds. 
House and Garden. 
97 
