1884 .] 
THE AMERICAN GARDEN. 
51 
NEW YORK HOETIOULTURAL SOCIETY. 
The February meeting of this Society was 
remarkable for the large number of unusually 
meritorious exhibits, and the number of ' 
1 eally beautiful plants on the tables was so : 
great that it would have been a diflieult task 
to decide which special exliibit deserved the ‘ 
palm. i 
The R-ose tabic found most admirers. 
Hundi-eds of persons were constantly crowd¬ 
ing around it, so that it was an impossibility 
to get near enough to it to examine its 
precious load carefully. j 
The Sunset ItosCy of which P. Henderson & j 
■Co. exhibited a large bunch, attracted prob- 1 
ably mox'e attention than any other variety. : 
There can be no doubt that the quality of ' 
the Roses grown in the vicinity of New York | 
is constantly improving, and any one who | 
has seen these magnificent bunches of i 
Catherine Mermet, Cornelia Cook, General j 
Jacqueminot, Niphetos, Saflirano, Perle des 
Jardins, and many others, will agree with us 
that their excellence has rarely, if ever, been 
equaled. 
Orchids were represented in large num¬ 
bers and great variety, the most gorgeous 
collection being that of Mr. William B. Dins- 
more. So magnificent specimens as the 
half a dozen spikes of Fliakeiiopsis ScMlleri- 
(vna, each about a yard in length, and thickly 
covered with flowers, had never been seen 
by any one present. The same collection 
contained a fine specimen of Catileija Tria- 
Hcl, with unusually dark flowers; also a 
dozen immense spikes of Pliajus f/randiflorus, 
and several others. A grand specimen of 
Schomburghia undnlata, with its large, rich- 
colored and singularly shaped flowers was 
shown by William Haxtur. Isaac Buchanan, 
James Tapliu, and George Such had also 
many flne specimen Orchids. 
The table directly fronting the entrance 
was, as usually, occupied by Woolson & Co., 
and their exhibit of brilliant Anemones ful- 
gens, Hybrid Narcissus, Fi-eesias, and a large 
number of pretty spring-flowering perennial 
plants, gave one a bright greeting at enter¬ 
ing the hall. 
Chinese Primulas, by several exhibitors, 
wex’e of astonishing size ; some of the plants 
measured nearly two feet in diameter, and 
varied in all shades and forms possible in a 
Primrose. 
. Lilies of the Valley were out in great force, 
and delightful to behold. Most of them 
were growing in nine-inch pots, twenty-flve 
to thirty “ pips” to a pot. 
Begonia Bruatiii, a pure white variety, , 
very compact, and a profuse bloomer, was 
•exhibited by Hallock & Thorpe. Tliere ■was 
also a beautiful specimen of Begonia glau- 
eophylla, about twenty inches in diameter, 
drooping over the rim, and completely cover¬ 
ing the pot. 
A large collection of brilliant and well- , 
gro^wn Cinerarias was e.xhibted by David 
■Clarkson. In Cut Flowers, Charles E. Parnell ; 
made, as usually, the most attractive display. , 
Hyacinths, Tulips, Cjmlamens, Lilacs, I 
Violets, Mignonette, Azaleas, Camellias, i 
Amaryllis, etc., in large numbers and mostly 
of great excellence, and a few collections of | 
forced vegetables made up the remainder , 
of this fine exhibition. i 
THE GENTLEMAN FARMER, 
He owned the farm — at least’twiis thought 
He owned, sliieo he lived upon it,— 
And when ho eame there, with him brought 
The men whom he had hired to run It. 
He liad l)con l>rcd to city life 
And had acquired a litl.le money; 
Hut, strange conceit, liimself and wife 
Thouglit farming must l)o sometliing funny. 
He did not work liimself at all. 
But spent ilia time in recreation — 
In pitching quoits and piaying ball. 
And such mild forms of dissipation. 
He kept his “ rods ” and trolling spoons. 
His guns and dogs of various habits, — 
While in the fail he hunted coons. 
And in the winter slcuiiks .and rabints. 
His hired help were quick to learn 
The liberties that might be taken. 
And through the season scarce wouid earn 
The salt it took to save their bacon. 
He knew 110 more th.aii child unborn, 
Oiic-half the time, what they were doing,— 
Whether they stuck to lioeiug corn. 
Or had on hand some mischief browing 
His crops, although they were but low, 
With iiroper food were seldom uourished. 
While cockle instead of barley grow. 
And noxious weeds and thistles flourished 
His cows in spring looked more like rails 
Set up ou legs, than living cattle; 
And when they switched their dried-up tails 
The very lioiies would in them rattle. 
At length the sherifl’ came along. 
Who soon relieved him of his labors. 
While he became the jest .and song 
Of his more enterprising neighbors. 
Back to the place where Ufe began. 
Back to the home from whence he wandered, 
A sad if not a wiser man. 
He went with all his money squandered. 
Mon.vi,. 
On any .soil, be It loam or clay. 
Mellow .and light, or rough and stony. 
Those men who best make faianing iiay 
Find use for brains ns well .as moneja 
— Tribune and Farmer. 
A NATURAL AQUARIUM. 
The Grantou quarry, on the east coast of 
Scotland, admits the tide, so that at high 
water the inlet has a surface area of about 
ten acres, .and a depth of sixty feet in some 
parts. The mouth of this inlet is to be so 
closed that fishes and other marine animals 
may be unable to pass through it, while the 
circulation of the sea water will remain un¬ 
obstructed. The inclosure will form a nat¬ 
ural aquarium, which is to be stocked with 
marine life of all kinds. A laboratory for 
students is to be placed on a barge anchored 
in the quarry, additional quarters being pro¬ 
vided in a cottage on shore. This eurious 
scientific aquarium is being established 
under the auspices of the Scottish Meteor¬ 
ological Society. 
It would seem that in such an aquarium 
the “ submarine balloon ” might be used to 
advantage. This is a device which will be 
used at the forthcoming International Ex¬ 
hibition at Nice, and is made of steel and 
bronze, to enable it to resist the pressure of 
water at a depth of 120 meters, nearly 160 
pounds to the square inch. The vessel is 
divided into three compartments: the upper 
for the commander, to enable him to direct 
the observatory and give explanations to the 
passengers, who, to the number of eight, 
occupy the middle compartment. They have 
under their feet a glass plate, enabling them 
to see the bottom of the ocean with its corals, 
fishes, grass, etc. The third compartment 
contains the buoyant chambers, whose power 
of flotation can be regulated at will. As the 
sea is dark at ihe depth of 70 meters, the 
observatory is to he lighted by electricity, 
and a telephone communication with the 
surface .—The Continent. 
NEW USE FOE PAMPAS PLUMES. 
Having in view the immense quantities of 
plumes below the standard required for pur¬ 
poses of ornamentation, which remain on 
the hands of producers unless ■n’orked up in 
some industry, a correspondent of the Santa 
Barbara Independent was induced lately to 
try, on a .small scale, a series of experiments 
■svith the plumage (if it may be so called), 
which were sufficiently successful to con¬ 
vince him that there are possibilities attend¬ 
ing the cultivation of this plant as yet 
unthought of. 
“By experiment,” he says, “I find that the 
feathery down possesses remarkable elas¬ 
ticity, and, on being removed from heavy 
pressure, it recovers from its compactness 
more readily than other vegetable fibers; 
but the most singular characteristic of the 
plumage is its bouyancy. As compared with 
cork there is no difference in buoyancy,— 
weight for weight, the displacement of water 
is the same, and on being submerged the 
plume regains the sm’faee as quickly, and, if 
anything, beats the other ‘light weight’ in 
point of time. For twelve horn’s I could find 
no perceptible loss in the buoyancy proper¬ 
ties of the plumage, not becoming water¬ 
logged, as did other grasses experimented 
with in the same way for the same length of 
time. Now, I have formed no conclusions 
from the result of my crude experiment, but 
will bequeath to some enterprising genius 
the idea of constructing a camp-bed suitable 
for land or sea, so that even those w'ho are 
compelled to ‘ go down to sea in ships ’ may 
take up their beds and walk—overboard, 
and float to realms of safety, in case ' of 
disaster.” _ 
A DAINTY TABLE DECORATION. 
The unique table decoration for a dinner¬ 
party, given recently at a French castle, is 
thus described: 
“Along the center a sheet of plate-glass, 
framed ■with a little balustrade in silver, 
and mounted on low, silver deer’s-feet. On 
this glass were strewn cut flowers, with 
occasional groups of dancers in Dresden 
porcelain. A garland of odorless flowers 
was aroimd each plate, and at each lady’s 
place was an engraved crystal flask in¬ 
closing a perfume, for her to inspire in ease 
she does not like the odor of game. The 
menu was engraved on ivory leaves, in red 
and black Gothic lettering.” 
THE WORLD’S SUGAR SUPPLY. 
According to the Sugar Beet, nearly one- 
half of the entire world’s consumption of 
sugar is manufactured from Beets. Franco 
produces annually over four hundred million 
pounds of raw Beet-sugar, and Russia over 
five hundred million pounds. 
