The mountainous States of the West, from Montana to New Mexico, from Colorado almost to the Pacific, have a climate of their own, varying naturally according to latitude. A resident of Las Cruces, New Mexico, writes: "The first killing frost is usually to be expected from the 7th to the 25th of October, very often it is much later, and we have had tomatoes till December with the slightest possible protection. Many flowers in a sheltered position bloom in winter, such as Calendula, Violets, Wallflowers, and Pansies. The highest ordinary summer thermometer is ninety-two to ninety-eight degrees. The lowest usually in winter is fifteen degrees—occasionally it has gone down to fifteen or twenty degrees below zero, but that is most exceptional. The climate is extremely dry. Most of New Mexico is at a high altitude—we are about three thousand eight hundred feet above sea-level here. "As some plants blossom through the winter, it is hard to say when the garden begins to bloom. But about the middle of March we have Crocuses, followed the 1st of April by Jonquils, Narcissus, Tulips, and other bulbs, The garden at Mr. Barker's mountain home is delightfully fitted to its surroundings, where nature is supreme and all else studied simplicity. Flowers revel in their freedom without the restriction of conventional beds. Flowers, nature, and the simple life of the Southern hills is the message from this distant home. Las Cruces, N.M. Percy W. Barker, Esq. |