PAirST SHOW. 
Three children sat in n row on a fence; 
They knew not whnt to do; 
They were tired of playing their old g-ames, 
And wished for something new. 
They looked around with discontent, 
'Till they saw the Pansy hed. 
Where each bright blossom, in purple and gold, 
Was nodding its royal head. 
Then one of the children cried aloud: 
“Let’s have a Pansy show; 
Wo can dress the flowers and m.ake them look 
Jnst like people, you know.” 
They gathered the velvet Pansies, 
And. when dressed in green and white, 
Tlicy were placed in groups on the grass — 
It was truly a fairy sight. 
They charged five pins admission 
To see the wonderful flowers. 
In this way they made great profits 
And spent many pleasant hours. 
In summer you will see the Pansies, 
On their faces an eager glow, 
Waiting to be picked by the children. 
And placed in the flower show. 
—Young People. 
SEASOVAHLH HINTS. 
Tender Playiis to be raised from seed should 
be started during this month, in a hot-bed or 
in pots in a warm, sunny room. For although 
many tender annuals will bloom when sown 
outdoors in May, they will rarely come to 
fullest perfection unless started previously, 
as they require a longer season than oui’ 
summers afford. A frequent cause of fail¬ 
ure with plants raised in this way is sow¬ 
ing too thick, and the neglect of thinning 
them out sufBeiently. Whenever practicable, 
young seedlings of fill tender plants should 
bo pricked out before their final transplant¬ 
ing, allowing liberal room to each plant. 
Half a dozen stocky, evenly developed plants 
are worth more than hundreds of puny and 
sickly ones. 
Poses deteriorate generally by being left 
too long in the same soil. When a Rose¬ 
bush has been growing three or four years 
in the same place, it should be transplanted, 
or a part of it at least. Liberal manuring 
will, of course, be of some benefit,—and 
Roses will bear almost any quantity of ma¬ 
nure,—but it cannot entirely take the place 
of transplanting to new soil. 
Holf-liardy Poses suffer often more in spring 
than during winter, just when the sap begins 
to start. Bushes that are not already pro¬ 
tected should therefore have a little straw 
thrown over them to retard their growth 
as well as to prevent their becoming sun¬ 
burned. 
Bulb Beds should have a part of their eov 
ering removed at the earliest opening of 
spnng, and the remainder slightly loosened. 
But aU should not be taken off the first warm 
day, else the young, tender shoots which 
have been pushing forth under the covering 
are likely to become injured by night frosts 
Hwdmmg Plants, wintered in frames or 
m the house, and intended for bedding out 
IS of great importancd at this season. Unless 
It IS actually freezing, plenty of air should bo 
given on all bright days. If forced now 
growta aunng summor, ^ 
GEOWDIG pansies. 
The beautiful plate ggrve to 
lb. 
have been made m „ .pg.gase gi'oiviug 
days when the modest highest 
iu gi’andmother’s garden was ^ ^ 
typa The individual 
on oim plate, although as consid- 
o- 
their originals. 
IRIS GERMANICA. 
Can I gi-ow as beantiful flowers as these ? 
will be the natural query of the beholder. 
"Yes,” we answer unhesitatingly, if you 
really love flowers and take pleasure and 
delight in administering to theii’ wants. The 
first condition for growing beautiful Pansies 
is fii’st-elass seed; for, although not crery 
seed, even of the very best selections, will 
produce as fine flowers as their parents, the 
IRIS SUSIANA. 
s=;rrb'r;r''*“- 
warm room or in a hot-bod 
scattered very thinly on light 
covered about one-oighth of 
down lightly 
in 
or 1)o.xos in a 
It should bo 
rich soil, 
un inch, prossod 
and kept modoratoly 
moist. 
The soil should be shaded frona the direct 
rays of the sun until the seed germinates 
and the young plants appear above ground 
which will be in from ten to twelve days’ 
As soon as large enough to handle, the seed¬ 
lings have to be pricked out about two inches 
apart in light, i-ich ground, and finaUy trang. 
planted outdoors ten to twelve inches apart 
each way. 
Pansies thrive in any rich and deep soil. A 
compost much in favor with specialists ig 
prepared of one part of good loamy garden 
soil, one part leaf-mold, and one part well- 
decayed cow manm-e. They delight in ^ 
somewhat shady position, and plenty of 
moisture in dry weather, with the addition 
of a weekly dose of liquid manure. The 
more flowers are cut off the more new ones 
will develop, and the faded ones must he 
scinpulously cut off every day; this is an 
.absolute necessity when long-continued 
bloom is desii’ed. 
THE IBIS. 
The Iris is a lovely border flower. It has 
a delicacy of texture unequaled by any 
other. Hold one up between you and the 
sun .and it seems so fragile that you half ex¬ 
pect to see it melt away, for its petals look 
as if wrought of fi-ost, colored by some of 
Nature’s chemicals. It ranges through many 
colors and shades of colors, from subdued 
to the most brilliant. The common varieties- 
are a pale lavender, which is almost white, 
a delicate straw color, and a most intense, 
velvety pimple. A gi’oup made up of all 
these colors is exquisite. It will look as if 
covered with gorgeous butterflies. The Iris 
resembles Orchids in its delicacy and bright¬ 
ness more than any other flower. 
It is a robust, hardy plant, increasing in 
size and be.auty year after year, when given 
a deep, rich soil to grow in. For use in 
vases, for the house, it is simply superb. 
The flowers remain in perfection for days 
after being cut. 
When ordering plants for spring planting, 
do not forget a collection of Iris. 
R. E. E. 
NEW MARIGOLDS. 
AYith the introduction of the strikingly 
beautiful Marigold, “Meteor,” attention has 
been drawn to the merits and possibilities 
of this genus. Every year brings some new 
v.arietios, and the following, introduced from 
Europe, among the novelties of the season, 
appear to possess supieidor merits : 
Calendula mariiima, Jl. pi .—The original 
form is a native of the Sicilian Mountains, 
and is dwarf, compact, and free-blooming, 
and cultivated as a valuable spi’ing flower. 
Iliis now double form is claimed to be supe¬ 
rior ill many respects to C. officinalis. Bs 
flowers are somewhat smaller, but are so 
abundant that they cover the plants for two 
to throe months, and tliongh perennial, it i* 
Raid to commence flowering tivo months 
after being sown. 
C. Picula,Jl. pt .—'riiis differs from the fore¬ 
going chiefly in the color of its flowers, 
which aro of a brilliant orange. It is of the 
same bushy habit, and flowers abundantly. 
nffiicinalis, “Prince of Orange.”— A seed¬ 
ling of “ Meteor,” which it resembles in fere® 
and general habit, but is said to far surpass 
it in brilliancy of coloring, especially in the 
intense shade of its orange stripes. 
