Merinos for Mutton. 
487 
and pleasure in return. We all remember the poppies and the 
marigolds of the olden time, that were kept growing among the 
beets and onions, we can think how their bright colors would glow 
in the sunshine on a summer morning. They are just as showy 
now, gleaming through the green foliage, as flowers of later 
fashion. We still love to see them in the garden. They are the 
dear old friends that we have sweet memories of childhood. But 
we have something more than these. That most charming of all 
our newer annuals, the Verbena, is admirably adapted to the Spring 
garden. It needs rich soil, good culture, and much sunshine, and 
will beautify any spot where it grows. This one variety will give 
so much satisfaction you will be likely to add others. Flowers are 
social things. One rarely sees a beautiful plant growing where the 
inclination is not to give it company,, and if you collect new varieties 
till your door-yard assumes the dimensions of a flower garden, so 
much the better; your enjoyment will be in proportion, and you 
will never miss the time given to its care. 
MERINOS FOR MUTTON —A LOOK AHEAD FOR FINE 
WOOL SHEEP BREEDERS. 
BY HON. A. M. GARLAND. 
Read at the recent Sheep-show at Waukesha, Wisconsin. 
With each recurring springtime, the eyes of western flock owners 
turn toward southeastern Wisconsin, while they, in body or spirit, 
minsrle with her breeders in their annual reunions around the fes- 
tive board and on the well filled shearing floor. Your good judg¬ 
ment, hard work and skillful breeding have combined to give Wis¬ 
consin flocks an enviable reputation among the strivers after a 
higher type of American merino in all parts of the country. How¬ 
ever much I enjoy the privilege of once more meeting with you, 
noting the improvement in your flocks, and sharing in the justifiable 
pride with which you can point to the achievements of the past, it 
is with somewhat of fear and trembling ” that I attempt the role 
of entertainer for even a short time. What is there in the past his¬ 
tory, the present attainments, or the future possibilities of an ad- 
