We, as a nation, are not a happy, home-loving people. The “spirit of unrest” pervades all classes.

This enterprising, uneasy spirit, has been, and is of benefit to us, as a comparatively new country, in settling and breaking our wild western lands.

But the time has come when it is well to curb that spirit, and cultivate all quiet, home-loving influences.

Therefore we beseech you, parents, to begin in earliest infancy to cultivate a love of the beautiful in nature; give your little ones flowers; and as soon as they are able to play in the garden, give them a little spot of their own to dig in; and when they can understand the process, give them seeds to plant, and some few flowers to cultivate. We can tell you of a happy cottage home, where the children, from earliest infancy, have lived among flowers. Each had their tiny garden, with spade, hoe, trowel, and watering-pot. The father and mother would also assist with their own hands in training vines, roses, and shrubs, in artistic beauty. The good father never went to his counting-room without some flowers in his hand, or in the button-hole of his coat, the valued gift from the tiny garden of one of his darlings. Years passed and fortune favored them, but they never would exchange their cottage home, with its vines, trees, and shrubs, for all the stately mansions in the town. And as the daughters married, and the sons left to seek their fortunes, they would look back with intense longing to their loved home; and joyous were their meetings around the home Christmas tree.

On Sundays they always, even in midwinter, ornamented their social table with flowers, for they are God’s smiles. Therefore, my friends, we speak from observation, and from seeing the effect of an opposite course. If you wish to lessen your doctor’s bill, and give the beauty of robust health and happiness to your children, girls or boys, give them a garden, and let them plant, weed, and water it. If your children bring you even a simple field daisy, express your pleasure to them, and let them not see you cast it aside.

A well cared for garden displays—and displays to good advantage too—the love of home, domestic taste, a wish to please, industry, neatness, taste, and all the sweet household virtues that create a happy home.

Horticulture confines itself to no rank, and it may form the amusement or the pursuit alike of great and small, rich and poor; only the kind of garden we choose, and what we do with it, must depend on our circumstances.

Teach your boys the use of a pruning-knife, and how to graft; then give them some trees to experiment upon. You may save them from dissipation, by giving them a taste for horticulture. It is a happy, health-giving employment.

Decorate even your barn with graceful vines. The poorest house can be made an agreeable place by transplanting a few of the many simple wild vines. It is not natural to love intensely a stiff, ungainly object.

We have often thought, as we have roamed about the farming districts of New England, and have seen the many great, stiff, square houses, with not a graceful tree or flower to relieve their nakedness (though now and then a syringa, or lilac bush, or cinnamon rose, and perhaps a stately old butternut, may be seen), the sons and daughters of those households will surely emigrate. Utility is our hobby. Some farmers think it waste time to plant a flower, as it yields no fruit.

Remember the old saying, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” You that dwell in a city, strive to have a small spot in the country to which you may send your children in summer, to roam at will. We heard a little child, in urging her mother to go into the country in vain, cry out, “It is too, too bad, mamma. We know God did not make the city for little children, because he loves us.”

Do not waste your money at fashionable watering-places. Even in early years, take your children to the woods and let them see nature in its wild state. There is nothing like a day in the woods for refreshing us all, in body and mind. The wild music of running brooks is so lulling, the birds carol their “native wood-notes wild” so sweetly, the strange blended odor of the damp mould, the leaves, the wild flowers, and the prospect of the distant meadow, are so delightful; the play of the sunlight through the dense foliage, and on the sylvan walks, is so beautiful, and the quiet is so marked, after the hum and roar of a city, that the mind is tranquillized, and both you and your children will be nearer to God, and nearer to one another, for every hour thus spent. Our whole country is full of wild beauty. Spend your spare money in decorating your homes with trees, flowers, and shrubs. The influence upon your children will be far more beneficial.

If your children wish for money to purchase seeds and flowers for their gardens, if possible, give it cheerfully. It is far better so spent, than in dress and toys. Let them plan their own gardens, and experiment as much as they please. A very pretty fence can be made round such gardens by a number of stakes of equal lengths, pointed at one end to drive into the ground, square at the top, and painted green. Then place them at equal distances around your garden, and bore holes about six or seven inches apart for the twine, which should be brown linen. Pass the twine through the holes, in lines all around the garden. Plant vines which run rapidly, such as Cypress Vine, Madeira Vine, Nasturtium, Maurandya, Barclayanna, Dwarf Convolvulus, Mountain Fringe, &c. By midsummer your simple fence will be very beautiful.

Having spent many years in cultivating flowers, perhaps a few practical directions from our own experience may be of service to our readers. And we will give some excellent suggestions taken from a famous florist.

1.—HOW TO PLANT SEEDS.

We often think, because the seed we plant does not germinate, that we have purchased poor seed, when the fault is in the manner of planting.

Nearly all kinds of flower seeds require transplanting, therefore it is best to plant in boxes, pots, or hot-beds. Old cigar boxes are convenient, and are easily handled, but first bore holes in the bottom of the boxes, and in your pots or boxes place either broken clam or oyster shells, or pieces of old flower pots, as a drainage; then take light, rich earth and sift it or rub it carefully in your hands, to be sure there are no lumps; some bake the earth to destroy any insects which may be in it, but it answers the same purpose to pour boiling water upon it. After you have filled your boxes or pots with this prepared earth, sprinkle your seed carefully over it, and sift over them light soil sufficient to cover them, moisten them with warm water, and place the box where there is but little light, and throw a piece of paper over the top. Some use a piece of thick flannel; if you use flannel, water your seeds without removing it, until your seeds have sprouted. A warm place will start them best. Let them remain thus several days, till the seeds have a chance to swell, before you give them much light, and keep the earth moist (a sponge is excellent to water them, as it does not disturb the position of the seeds; also use warm water); as soon as you see they are sprouting, give them light, and air, if not too cold, or else the plant will not have strength to grow well. Hot-beds are the best, and can be made with but little expense, by taking some old box; and if you do not possess an old window-sash, you can purchase one of some builder for a trifling sum of money, and fit it to your box by nailing strips at the sides; dig a place the size of the box, and two or three feet deep; fill it with horse manure, mixed with straw, which is the most heating; then sprinkle soil over the top about six inches deep; place your box on the top, carefully heaping the earth around the outside, and your hot-bed is made, in which you can start your seeds and slips by either placing your boxes or pots in the earth on top of the manure, and plant your seeds and slips in them, or as many prefer, planting in the soil of your hot-bed. After your seedling plants are of sufficient size to transplant, if you first transplant them into small pots, you can easily plant them in your flower beds without disturbing the roots, and the plants will not require covering; you must first dig a hole and pour water into it, then carefully slip the plant, dirt and all, from the pots, and place into the hole made for it, and press the earth tight around it. Of course they must remain in the pot till they are well rooted. In raising slips, you need to mix in full half common scouring sand with the soil, and they must be shaded from the light several days.

All who care for flowers will desire to raise verbenas, as they blossom all summer. If you wish to raise them from seed, they should be sown in February or first of March. One secret in raising fine verbenas is change of soil. It would be better to plant them every year in a different location, but if you renew the soil it will do to plant them twice in the same bed, but never three years in succession. Indeed, flowers as well as vegetables need constant change of soil; they soon exhaust the earth. Seeds are better that are raised in locations distant from the place where they are to be sown. Flowers soon deteriorate if you continue to plant over and over from seed raised in the same spot; that is one of the reasons why seeds from Europe are generally preferred by florists. Japan Pink seed should be planted in March, in order to have them flower the first year; they are hardy and blossom also the second year. Pansy seed should be planted as early as Verbenas. Ten Weeks’ Stock, Phlox Drummondi, Double Zinnias, Lobelia, Petunias, Portulaca, Salpiglossis, Candytuft, Larkspur, &c., should be planted in April. If you desire to raise Picotee or Carnation Pinks for the next year, and Canterbury Bells and Fox Gloves, sow in April. Sow Asters of all kinds the last of April or first of May. Some of the climbers, such as Maurandya Barclayanna, TropÆolum, commonly called Nasturtium, Cypress Vine, Thunbergia, &c., need transplanting, and better be sown early. Sweet Peas should be sown in the open soil about three inches deep, early in April. It is better to soak the seed in warm water before sowing. When they have germinated, and as they begin to climb, fill in earth around them, and water now and then thoroughly with soap suds. Mignonnette should not be transplanted; sow the seed in the open soil the first of May. Candytuft and Sweet Alyssum are hardy, and the seed can be sown out of doors; but if you have once had them, they will come up self-sown. Look over your beds in spring, and take up such plants, when you have the soil prepared and beds made, then you can plant them back again where you desire. Joseph’s Coat is a very brilliant plant; its leaves are all shades of green, red, and yellow; the seed can be sown either in or out of doors by the first of May, also Golden Calliopsis. Balsams will grow better if the seeds are not planted till the second week in May, out of doors.

All the flowers we have mentioned are desirable, even in a small garden; of course there are hundreds of varieties of even annuals, but unless you have a gardener it is impossible to raise them all, for it is desirable, even in a small garden, to have some flowers raised by slips, or bought from some green-house, such as Fuchsias, Double Feverfews, Scarlet Geraniums, Bouvardias, Heliotropes, Rose Geraniums, Lemon Verbenas, Monthly Roses, Hardy Perpetuals, &c. Hardy Perpetual Roses are desirable in every garden, they grow so thrifty and blossom all summer, and with a little covering will live out all winter, and if they are showered often, early in the spring, while the dew is on the roses, with whale-oil soap suds, using a syringe to shower them, it will prevent the usual damage done by the slug. If you have a shady, moist place in your garden, there you can plant your Lily of the Valley, Double Blue English Violet, Forget-me-not, and Pansy.

Fuchsias also require some shade. Heliotropes and Geraniums will bear enriching more than most plants; frequent waterings with guano water are excellent. A table-spoonful of guano to a gallon of water is sufficiently strong. It also improves Pansies, Fuchsias, and nearly all plants except Roses. Soap suds is better for Roses and Verbenas, at least according to our experience. Nearly all plants make a finer show in a garden arranged either in beds, each variety by itself, or in clusters. Before planting your garden in spring, it is well to carefully consider the nature of each flower, and arrange your garden so that each flower can be displayed to advantage; never plant promiscuously; it is astonishing what a difference landscape gardening will make in the general aspect of even a small place. It is quite as desirable as to arrange the colors in a picture to harmonize. Even an old stump of a tree can be made beautiful by planting vines around it, or by scooping out the top and filling in soil, and planting Nierembergia, Lobelia, Double Nasturtium, Variegated Myrtle, &c., in it. Those we have mentioned blossom all summer, except the Myrtle, the leaves of which are as beautiful as many flowers.

If we ladies would spend less time on our dress and in arrangements for the table, and take that time for working in our gardens with our children, we should not only make our homes more attractive, but we should gain in health and strength. Early every spring call a family council to decide the arrangement of your flower garden. Let your boys have a place to raise vegetables as a pastime. Encourage them to diligence by promising to purchase all they will raise; in that way they can earn money to give to the poor, or for their Christmas presents; even children will take far more pleasure in giving what they have really earned with their own hands.

2.—THE QUEEN OF FLOWERS, THE ROSE.

This beautiful flower deserves especial attention, and is truly called the Poet’s flower. A rose is the type of beauty in women. A lovely maiden is called a rose-bud. A beautiful matron compared to a rose in full bloom. Its delicate and refreshing perfume is always welcome to an invalid. It adorns a bride, and is a tribute of love in decorating the lifeless remains of our loved ones.

Volumes could be written upon the beauties of the rose. A child can cultivate this beautiful flower. If you do not possess any ground, there always will be room for at least one pot with a rose in your own room.

Roses can be classified under three general heads.

No. 1.

Those that bloom only once in a season, such as Hybrid China, Provence, Sweet and Austrian Briars, most of the mosses, and all climbing varieties that are hardy in New England and the Middle States. We do not advise our young friends to cultivate this class, unless they have large gardens. Madame Plantier is the only variety which we retain in our garden. This rose is a profuse bloomer, and one of the most perfect white roses grown. We will mention some of the desirable climbing varieties which can be used for “Pillar Roses.”

• Queen of the Prairies, deep rose color.
• Baltimore Belle, blush white, blooming in large
• clusters.
• Russeliana, crimson shaded to pink.
• Madame d’Arblay, creamy white.
• Gem of the Prairies, carmine, blotched white, very
• full.
• Superba, flesh color, clusters immense.

No. 2.
THE HYBRID PERPETUALS, OR REMONTANTS.

This desirable class is of comparatively recent origin, and obtained by hybridizing the Provence and Damask varieties with the Ever-blooming, or China. They in a measure combine the qualities of the two classes, but less of the China, as the name Perpetual is a misnomer, for the chief blooming ones in regular season of rose flowering, unless especial care is taken to cut off every flower as soon as they begin to wither, and keep the plant growing freely, then these plants will blossom twice or thrice in a season. Most of these Remontants are full bloomers, and the flowers very perfect. We will give a list of a few varieties we can recommend.

• Auguste Mie, pale shade of rose, very full.
• Baronne Provost, bright rose, very double.
• Blanche Vibert, pure white, delicate grower.
• Caroline de Sensal, blush, pink centre, free bloomer.
• GÉant des Batailles, reddish crimson, superb.
• General Jacqueminot, bright crimson, very brilliant.
• Jules Margottin, bright scarlet crimson.
• Le Lion des Combats, very dark crimson purple.

No. 3.

The monthly, or ever-blooming class, are distinguished by their delicate shining leaves and stems. This class comprises four sub-classes, namely, the Noisette, Tea, Bengal, and Bourbon.

The Noisette are of rampant growth, usually flowering in clusters. In the Southern States they need no covering during the winter months, but in the North, East, and West, if buried in winter, and properly trained, they are often used as Pillar Roses, particularly the beautiful La Marque, whose pure white buds are so valuable to all florists. If planted in the ground in a green-house, it will climb all over the walls. We will name some varieties which we have cultivated, and know can be successfully raised, even in New England.

NOISETTE.

Aime Vibert, pure white, very full bloomer.

America, straw color.

Gloire de Dijon, blush white, buff centre.

Lamarque, large, white, shading to yellowish centre.

Minette, light crimson, very double.

Marshal Niel, very beautiful deep yellow.

Souvenir d’Anseleme, deep carmine.

Solfaterre, deep straw color.

TEA.

Adam, rich rose, salmon shaded.

White Tea, the freest bloomer of all roses.

Camellia Blanche, pure white.

Devoniensis, blush, Magnolia fragrance.

Isabella Sprunt, clear canary yellow.

La Pactole, canary color, free bloomer.

Safrona, orange yellow.

BENGAL.

Agrippina, bright crimson.

Bousanquet, blush white.

Louis Philippe, light crimson.

Madame Rohan, pure white.

Napoleon, blush, extra large.

BOURBON.

Marshal Niel, a deep buff; the king of roses.

Bousanquet, rich blush, free bloomer.

Duc de Chartres, large, very double, crimson.

Hermosa, deep pink, most desirable.

Psyche, light rose, very double.

Souvenir de Malmaison, flesh color, very double, superb.

Sombriel, blush white, one of the best.

There are comparatively but few varieties of roses suitable for producing an abundance of flowers in winter, and these would not be called the finest varieties for summer culture. They are selected for their buds. The Safrona for instance, is selected for its deep, saffron colored buds; the full flower is but semi-double. We will give the names of a few of the roses best adapted for winter culture.

Lamarque, white, tinged with straw color.

Safrona, saffron yellow, free bloomer.

Agrippina, rich deep crimson, free bloomer.

La Pactole, light canary-color, abundant bloomer.

Hermosa, rosy pink, most prolific variety.

Gloire de Dijon, large, full, buff, shaded to salmon.

CULTIVATION.

The best soil for the rose is a rather stiff loam, although it is not particular about soil, but grows luxuriantly, flourishes well in a fresh loam with a plenty of pure air and sunlight. A stiff, clay loam will produce better flowers, and of a deeper color, than a soil of a light muddy character. If you desire many blossoms, be careful to cut off every rose when it fades away. We gather our roses so freely, we leave but few to wither. In the spring roses should be pruned thoroughly.

Many people have been discouraged in raising roses, on account of the slug and other insects; but nothing can flourish in this world, that is desirable, without care. So with the rose. Early in spring, just as the buds are starting, wash your roses in a solution of tobacco or whale-oil soap. If the insects appear on the leaf, syringe the bush freely, early in the morning or late at night, with a solution of whale-oil soap. Sprinkle wood ashes or charcoal dust around the roots.

A gardener invariably recommends monthly roses, rather than the so-called perpetuals. Those who purchase perpetuals, without a previous knowledge of their habits, are always disappointed in the few flowers they produce after the first blooming. Their great virtue is the hardy nature of the plant. The monthly roses bloom at the South nearly the whole year. But what shall we do with these delicate roses at the North during the winter? The best way is to lay them down, and cover with sods, or earth and manure. If the subsoil is gravelly or sandy, they will surely keep, as a good drainage is necessary, without it they cannot live. The way to lay down a rose-bush is to dig a trench four or five inches deep, up to the root of the rose, then bend your rose-bush carefully into the trench, and peg it down. Cover entirely root and branches by sods, placed grassy side upwards, forming a hillock. Or cover it with earth or sand, and straw or manure.

The next important consideration is the time at which it is done. Few amateurs have any idea of the amount of freezing which even the tender tea roses will sustain without injury. It often proves fatal to roses to be covered too soon. It is well to cover the ground around the roots of the roses with leaves or straw to prevent the earth from freezing. In New England, the early or middle part of November is generally the time to cover roses for the winter; in the Middle States, in December. The best rule is to let your roses remain uncovered, until the ground can no longer be ploughed, or dug with a spade. This covering can be removed as soon as vegetation fairly starts in spring. Every plant thus saved possesses a four-fold value over those planted out in the spring, as the roots have been so little disturbed. Another way is to dig a trench, line it with straw, and lay in your delicate roses, then cover entirely with earth until spring. Roses that have bloomed all summer should not be potted for winter use. They need rest, and will not flourish in warm rooms.

ROSES FOR WINTER BLOOMING.

Roses for winter blooming require a different treatment, as one essential condition of free winter flowering is, that the plant has abundance of active, or, as gardeners term them, “working roots.” Plants are started for this purpose either by cuttings struck in March, or else one year old plants are used. These plants should be re-potted frequently to prevent their becoming pot-bound. They must never be allowed to dry or wilt in the heat of summer, else the white, working roots will perish, and before the plant can regain its vigor new ones must be formed. You must not attempt to force your rose at first; when you take it in for winter, a cool temperature will be needful. It depends upon when you desire rosebuds how you treat it. It must be pruned previous to flowering. If you desire roses the first of January, prune or shorten the shoots the first of November (earlier for Christmas). They then can be placed in temperature ranging fifty degrees to sixty degrees at night, with only fifteen degrees higher during the day. Two year old plants are better for new beginners, as they form working roots sooner, having more fibres.

In the summer the plants should be exposed to the sun; but to keep them from drying, place the pots in beds of sawdust, or refuse hops, tan, bark, or sand, whichever is most convenient to obtain.

PREPARATION.

Our young friends may desire to raise their own roses, so we will give them a few directions. The best time to take cuttings is from October to January. The wood must be ripened; cuttings are usually made with three or four eyes. These cuttings are best put into a cold frame, or in a box prepared with equal parts of sand, leaf mould, and loam; all they require is sufficient protection not to freeze. Cuttings placed in such frames about the last of October, will be rooted sufficient to pot by March. Cuttings can be placed in rows quite near together, say an inch apart, and the rows three inches apart. This space allows you to press the soil firmly about each stem. One thorough watering, when put in, to settle the soil closely around them, will usually be all that is necessary until they begin to root in the spring. Some varieties will root much easier than others. As soon as they are well rooted, they should be potted in two inch pots, shaded and watered for a few days, and gradually hardened off by exposing them to the air; in this way they can be sufficiently rooted to plant in the open ground in April or May. Layering is more easily done from about the middle of June to the middle of September, always using shoots of the young growth—that is, a growth of three or four weeks old, or such as are not so much ripened as to drop the leaves; or in other words, the cut should always be made at that part of the shoot where there are as green and healthy leaves below as above the cut. This condition of the shoot is very important, in order to produce a well-rooted layer.

Another mode of layering, not in general use, is, to place the layer where the incision is made, in a three or four inch pot, sinking the pot in the ground to the level of the rim; all the roots being confined in the pot, when the layer is lifted, no check is given to them. Layers so made may be planted out in the fall, and if a little mulching is given round the roots, not one plant in a hundred will fail; while if the layering is done in the usual way, without pots, a heavy percentage is almost certain to be lost during the winter. To the florist, without proper means of propagation, this method of layering roses in pots will be found very advantageous, as every layer so made will make an excellent flowering plant by spring, if kept in a green-house or cold-pit, during the winter, and will prove nearly as valuable to the purchaser as large one year old plants.

ROSE-BEDS.

Before planting a rose, be sure to find out its nature, or you may have a tall bush where you would desire a low shrub-growing rose. In arranging rose-beds, plant the tall standards in the centre. Then a row of high bush growing roses, then a row of half dwarfs, then a row of dwarf-growing roses. If this selection of the roses in such a bed is properly made, it will be pleasant to the eye from June to October. Of course the roses should be chiefly monthlies, or free-blowing perpetuals.

3.—FLOWER BEDS.

There are a great variety of opinions as regards the most effective way of planting flower beds. Some prefer to mix plants of different colors and varieties; others prefer the ribbon style of planting, now so generally seen in Europe.

If the promiscuous style is adopted, care should be taken to dispose the plants in the beds, so that the tallest plants will be at the back of the bed; if the leader is against a wall or background of shrubbery, the others graduating to the front, according to the height. In open beds, on the lawn, the tallest should be in the centre, the others grading down to the front, on all sides, interspersing the colors so as to form the most agreeable contrast in shades. But for grand effect, nothing, in our estimation, can ever be produced in promiscuous planting to equal that obtained by planting in masses or in ribbon lines. In Europe the lawns are cut so as to resemble rich green velvet; on these the flower beds are laid out in every style one can conceive; some are planted in masses of blue, scarlet, yellow, crimson, white, &c., separate beds of each, harmoniously blended on the carpeting of green. Then again the ribbon style is used in the large beds, in forms so various that allusion can here be made to only a few of the most conspicuous.

In a circular bed, say of twenty feet in diameter, the bordering can be of blue. Lobelia, attaining a height of six inches; next plant Mrs. Pollock Geranium (this does not grow very thrifty out of doors in New England), or Bijou Zonale Geranium, growing about nine inches high. If you plant Mrs. Pollock, on the next row to it plant Mountain of Snow Geranium; if the Bijou plant, a circle of the red-leaved Achyranthus; there are several varieties of this plant. Next the Coleus Verschaffeltii; the centre being a mound of Scarlet Salvia. Another style is to edge the bed with Alternanthera Spothalata (leaves pink and crimson), which grows low and thick for a border. Then the fern-like, white-leaved Centaurea Gymnocarpa; next row, the Crystal Palace Scarlet Geranium. Then Phalaris Arundinacea Picta, a new style of ribbon grass; next Coleus Verschaffeltii; in the centre a clump of Coma or Pampas Grass.

There are a great many different ways of arranging these ribboned beds. It is pleasant to exercise one’s own taste, therefore we only give examples to teach our readers how such beds can be prepared.

Narrow beds along the margins of walks, ribbon lines can be formed of low-growing plants, such as the White Lobelia Snow-flake, or Gypsophilia, or Silver Leaved Alyssum for the front line, followed next by Tom Thumb TrapÆolum; then, as a centre, or third line, Fuchsia, golden fleeced; as a second marginal line on the other side, Bijou Zonale Geranium, white-leaved, with scarlet flowers, followed by a line of Blue Lobelia. Shaded stars have a fine effect on a lawn; cut a star, and plant it either with Verbenas, Petunias, Phlox Drummondii, or Portulaca. The ends of the stars should be white, and shaded to the centre, which should be dark, each point having different colors, one shade of purple, one shade of pink, one shade of red, then shades of lilac, then shades of scarlet. The centre the darkest shades. There are many pretty ways of forming the beds of a small garden. We append one diagram of a garden, and the flowers to plant it with according to our taste.

A. Plant in the centre Scarlet Salvia, around that the white Centaurea Gymnocarpa, bordered by Blue Lobelia. (All these beds should have either a low border of box or turf.)

B. Heliotrope, with Sweet-scented Geranium at each end.

C. Verbenas, properly shaded.

D. Dwarf TrapÆolum, Sweet Geranium at the points.

E. Varieties of Phlox Drummondii.

H. On the point of the shield Lemon Verbena, the remainder, Monthly Roses, border of Gypsophilia.

I. On the point, one Lemon Verbena, the rest to be filled with Monthly Carnations, bordered with Alyssum Variegatum.

F. Varieties of Zonale Geraniums.

G. Varieties of Fuchsias (if there is not too much sun). If so, plant Japan Lilies; border both F and G beds with Double Feverfew. Perhaps a bed of roses, arranged with standards in the centre, as we have described, might be prepared for the centre bed A, and the Salvia, &c., planted in the bed H, in place of the roses.

4.—CARNATIONS.

The cultivation of the Carnation is very simple. It is rooted from cuttings at any time from October to April, and as the plant is almost hardy, it may be planted in early spring with safety in the open ground. It is safe to put them out as soon as cabbage plants are set out. Many from ignorance keep their Carnations in a pot or green-house until the last of May, thereby losing six weeks’ growth.

The Carnation cannot flourish in a wet soil, and care should be taken to secure good drainage. As the Carnation grows, if winter flowering is desired, the young shoots that the plant throws out should be cut off; this induces a steady growth. There are many fine varieties for summer growth, and but few suitable for winter flowering.

5.—FUCHSIAS.

These flowers are very easily cultivated from slips; any amateur florist can make these slips grow, either by planting in wet sand, or in a bottle of water. Their lovely and graceful flowers add to every bouquet. They require rich light soil, such as decayed leaves and peat, moist atmosphere, and shade. Like the Lemon Verbena, the plants will keep all winter in a cellar. There are but few varieties that bloom well in winter. Bianca Marginata, white, with crimson corolla. Speciosa, flesh-colored, with scarlet corolla (this variety will bloom the year round, if well cared for). Serratifolia, greenish sepals, with orange scarlet corolla. These are recommended for winter flowering by all florists. We will mention a few varieties for summer culture.

Elm City, crimson, very double. Venus de Medicis, white, magenta corolla. Rose of Castille, sepals white, corolla violet rose. Snowdrop, sepals bright scarlet, corolla white, semi-double. Striata Perfecta, double striped blue and crimson. Queen of Whites, double white corolla. Charming, violet corolla, crimson sepals, clusters immense. Lady of the Sea, corolla violet purple, flowers two inches in diameter.

6.—PANSIES.

Who does not love a pansy? They are easily raised by seed and layers. The seeds should be planted in March for summer culture, and in October for winter use. The pansy requires a rich soil.

The finest bed of English pansies we ever saw were planted in the fall, in a bed of rich soil. Before the winter snows the plants were covered lightly with manure and straw through the winter. In the spring the manure was carefully raked off, and the plants dug around with a garden fork. They bloomed early in spring; and, as we looked upon them by the morning light, their bright faces seemed to say “Good morning!” These lovely flowers look like happy children.

Many persons in our country call the pansy, violet; but the gardener only calls the sweet double blue and white violet by that name. And this sweet violet hides its head modestly under its leaves, and is the flower the poet speaks of,—

The bright-faced pansy does not hide its head; it looks you in the face as fearless as a sinless child. These violets are in great demand from their delicious perfume. These plants require shade and moisture. The best varieties are the “double blue Neapolitan” Setsenbran, single blue, very prolific. King of Violets, very large blue. Double white Neapolitan; this does not bloom freely. Sweet-scented Geraniums, Heliotrope, Lantanas, Lemon Verbena, &c., are all easily propagated from slips. The three first require often watering with guano water, and with this treatment will fully repay all care.

7.—HOW TO PLANT HARDY BULBS.

October, or the early part of November, is the time to plant bulbs for next year’s flowering. Bulbs can be raised in any sunny place, no matter how small the bed may be; they require less care, for the beauty of the flower, than any other class of plants. We will give some plain and simple directions, hoping our young readers may be induced to plant at least a few bulbs this fall.

The soil for bulbs should be rich and well drained; it should also be dug deep. If water should lie on the surface long the bulbs would rot. If the soil is poor, enrich it with well-rotted stable manure, or with surface earth from the woods, or decayed leaves. Cow manure, of course, is the best. If the ground is stiff, and the manure fresh, it is well to put a little sand around each bulb. If the soil has too much clay, mix sand with the manure.

It is well to have your beds made so narrow that the weeds can be destroyed, and the ground kept mellow, without walking among the plants. Before the heavy frosts of winter appear your bulb beds should be protected with leaves. Over these throw a little brush, to prevent the wind from uncovering your bulbs. If your bulbs have been planted a year or two, cover them with manure in the fall; the flowers in the spring will repay you for all expense and trouble.

Hyacinths and tulips should be planted about six inches apart, the hyacinth four inches deep, and the tulip three inches. The early varieties will often blossom the latter part of March. Crocuses blossom even earlier. They should be planted about three inches apart, and two inches deep. Snowdrops—the first flower of spring—should be planted in the same way as the crocus, or a little nearer together. Narcissuses, including the daffodil and jonquil, should be planted in the same manner as the hyacinth. All these bulbs can be planted in beds where you may desire to place either seedlings or any other annual, which will blossom after these bulbs have done flowering.

It is best to take up all your bulbs every third year, when they are done flowering, and separate the newly-formed bulbs from the old. Keep them in a dry place till October, then replant as we have directed.

8.—JAPAN LILIES.

Of all the valuable flowers that have been imported from Japan or China, during the past twenty years, nothing equals the exquisitely beautiful Japan Lily—Lilium Lancifolium. No description can do anything like justice to these flowers, or show the beautiful, frost-like white of the surface, glistening like dew-drops; or the rubies that stand out on the surface of one of the varieties, while the end of the leaf is shaded like the exquisite pink, or the inside of some sea-shells from India.

There are nine varieties. The pure white and crimson, Lancifolium Monstrosum rubrum; the pure white Lancifolium Monstrosum album, and a delicate rose of the same variety; then the dark crimson, Lilium Melpomene; white, spotted with delicate salmon, Lilium Punctatum; the pure white, with projecting glistening spots, called Lilium Lancifolium album; Lilium Lancifolium rubrum, white ground, spotted with crimson; Lilium Lancifolium roseum, shaded and spotted with rose; and Lilium auratum. This is sometimes called Golden-banded Lily, and is truly the king of the lilies. The flower is ten to twelve inches across, composed of six delicate white ivory parts, each thickly studded with crimson spots, with a golden band through its centre. In addition to the beauty of these lilies, they are fragrant, and as hardy as any of our common varieties.

Strong bulbs send up flowering stems from three to five feet in height, and begin to bloom about the middle of August. Each flowering stem will have from two to a dozen flowers, according to the strength of the bulb.

Rich garden soil is all that is needed for these lilies. Plant them in October or early in November, about a foot apart, and five inches deep. The bulbs should remain several years, if possible, without removal. These must be the lilies that surpassed Solomon in all his glory. Lilium Longiflorum is called very beautiful. The flowers are snow-white, trumpet-shaped flowers. Lilium Brownii, new variety, superb white.

9.—CAPE BULBS.

These are so called from coming from the Cape of Good Hope. The Gladiolus is the finest variety. These bulbs are easily cultivated in New England and the Middle States; they can be planted out as soon as all fear of frost is passed. They will bloom by the last of July, and by making successive plantings every two weeks to the middle of July, they can be had in perfection until the frost returns. Although they are not particular about soil, yet if choice can be had, a sandy loam, peat, or a soil of decomposed leaves, is better than a stiff clay soil.

In any soil, if it is well enriched, the flowers will increase in size and beauty.

These bulbs should be taken up as soon as the stems begin to wither in the fall; but should the stalk of the late plantings be yet green, the bulbs should be left adhering to the stalk until dried, which will ripen off the bulbs. They can be kept in winter under the stage of a green-house, or in a frost-proof cellar or closet, or in any dry place where potatoes will keep. It is impossible to mention varieties; all are good, and new varieties increase yearly.

10.—HOW TO GROW BULBS IN WINTER.

Bulbs can be grown in vases, bowls, dishes, cornucopias, &c., of whatsoever shape or form, from the small ornament that will hold a crocus, to the large family punch-bowl, capable of growing a dozen hyacinths. Wire or rustic work of any kind, lined or not with zinc, and filled with moss, will grow bulbs to perfection. A zinc frame can be made to fill the whole front of any window; and if filled with moss or sand, and planted with hyacinths, lily of the valley, crocuses, snow-drops, tulips, narcissus, and polyanthus, would in itself form a complete miniature winter flower-garden. These, with successive plantings, may be made so many connecting links between our autumn flowers and the early spring blossoms.

Take a common soup plate, place in it as many strong bulbs as it will hold easily, and fill in about half an inch of water. In a few days the roots begin to spread, and so clasp each other in the course of a few weeks, that they form a natural support. If the bulbs and plate are covered with moss, it improves the appearance. For winter bloom successive plantings can be made every two weeks, from September till January. After the early part of December, hyacinths intended for glasses had better be half grown in pots, then turned out and the roots carefully freed from the soil in tepid water, then placed in glasses. In this way they will blossom sooner. The soil used to cultivate bulbs should be light and rich, full half sand. Bulbs can be grown in moss by keeping it damp. They can be raised even in clear sand. Take any ornamental dish capable of holding moisture, and fill it with sand in a pyramidal form. In the centre plant a hyacinth, and at equal distances round it plant three or more, according to the size of the dish; fill up the space with crocuses, snow-drops, dwarf tulips, &c. In planting, the bulbs should be covered with sand, all but the tops. Then place the dish of bulbs in water five minutes, in order to fix the bulbs firmly in their position. Repeat this bath once a week, never allowing the sand to become dry. Place it in the dark for two weeks, then keep it in a cool, light, airy room.

There is no bulb so well adapted to house culture as the hyacinth. They grow easily in pots or glasses. They will grow in almost any light, sandy soil; but just in proportion as this is adapted to the plant, will the perfection of their culture be attained.

For pot growing, the hyacinth, to attain its greatest beauty, should be grown in pots seven inches in diameter, and the same depth. They will grow and blossom in pots of four or five inches in diameter. Only one bulb should be planted in a pot. Two or three can be grown in larger sized pots. Put over the hole in the bottom a good drainage, half an inch or more in depth, on this either a handful of leaf mould, very old cow manure, or the coarse part of the compost; then add the prepared soil, filling up the pot to within an inch of the top. On this place the bulb, covering it with soil all but the top; press the earth gently around it, and shake the pot slightly, to settle the soil, and finish with a good watering; then either plunge the pots three or four inches in some old hot-bed, and cover with leaves, or place them in the dark, covered carefully, but in a dry place, for several weeks, to allow the roots to make a vigorous start. Water them very slightly at first, then gradually inure them to the sunlight. As the flowers expand, place a saucer under each pot, which must be kept filled with water till the flowers begin to decay; then lessen the water till withheld entirely.

For planting in glasses, the last of October or early in November will do. Use only rain or spring water. Fill the glasses with water, and place the bulb so that the roots will just come in contact with it; set them in a dark closet, or on a shelf in a dry cellar, and let them remain till the roots have started, usually in three or four weeks; then remove them to any place which is well lighted and warm, keeping them from the sun till they look a deep green; turn them around now and then, and change the water once in three or four weeks. If you perceive the roots look slimy, and the water fetid, carefully remove the bulb, and place the roots in clear water of the same temperature; wash the roots gently; cleanse the glass before replacing the bulb.

11.—GARDEN INSECTS.

In presenting this subject to our readers, it will be difficult to decide where to begin, or where to leave off. With the first warmth, aphides, or plant lice, in shoals and nations, show their unwelcome presence on our roses, geraniums, and almost all choice plants. Many of our choice fruit trees are infested with these pests of the garden. They are exceedingly prolific. RÉaumur has proved that one of these insects, in five generations, may become the progenitor of nearly six thousand millions of descendants. They fasten themselves in crowds on a plant, and suck the life from it. Some live in the ground and infest the roots of plants, such as verbenas and China asters. We have often, on seeing a plant drooping, saved it by taking up the plant, root and all, and washing it in strong soap suds; replant it, after carefully scalding the earth, and digging it in. The plant should be protected from the sun for a few days, until the roots start again.

The best remedy for these plant lice is to syringe them with a solution of whale-oil soap, or a mixture of soap suds and tobacco water, used warm. Still another remedy is a solution of half an ounce of strong carbonate of ammonia in a quart of water. Where it is possible, dip the infected branches into either of the above solutions, holding them carefully in the solution several minutes.

A drying east wind makes insects abound, and rain clears them away.

The rose-chafers, or rose-bugs appear about the second week in June, and remain thirty or forty days. They infest rose bushes and grape vines. They must be carefully picked or brushed off into a basin of hot water, or burned, as they increase thirty fold, and destroy both fruit and flower.

Caterpillars of many butterflies and moths are destructive in a garden, and, when the perfect insects can be caught, before they lay their eggs, one death will save much killing. Whenever one is found resting quietly on a branch, stem, or leaf, with the wings folded, it is most likely a female about to lay her eggs, and it had better be killed. If a butterfly or moth is found so placed, dead, she will have laid her eggs; be sure to find and destroy them. As the season advances, destroy every chrysalis you find.

Possibly some of our young readers have never seen a chrysalis, and may not know what it is. We will try and explain this to you. Every species of the butterfly, or moth, is first a grub or caterpillar, crawling upon, or in the earth. These caterpillars, when they have completed the feeding stage, retire to some place of concealment, under a leaf, beneath palings, or in interstices of walls, spin a tuft of silky fibre, and entangle the hooks of their hindmost feet in it. Then they form a loop, to sustain the fore part of the body in a horizontal or vertical position. Then they spin a band over the back; and most caterpillars form a cocoon, in the shape of the letter U, around the body. Then they cast off the caterpillar skin, and become a chrysalis. In summer the chrysalis state lasts from eleven to fifteen days. Later it lasts all winter (while in this state these insects remain dormant). At the proper time the chrysalis bursts open, and a butterfly issues from it. We have often found these cocoons, or chrysalides, and taken them to our rooms to watch the coming forth of the butterfly.

Rose slug (Lelandin RosÆ), a light green, translucent little fellow, varying from one sixteenth of an inch to nearly an inch in length. There are evidently two species or varieties, one of which confines its ravages to the lower side of the leaf, the other eats it entire. The first is by far the most destructive here. In a few days after the plants are attacked they appear as if they had been burned.

The only remedy we have found is a preventive one, which, in fact, ought to be used against all insect life. We have spoken of this (and will not repeat) in our rose chapter. The only remedy, whale-oil soap, is prepared by florists by dissolving one pound to eight gallons of water. They apply it ten days in succession, with a garden engine or syringe. This must be done very early in the morning, or late at night, as the slug shuns the light of day, and hides under the leaf. With very young, delicate roses, the solution is too powerful; hand work will be necessary to pick them off. English sparrows, a comparatively late importation, should be kindly treated by all, as they are the best exterminators of injurious insects. The ground, or blue aphis, and verbena mite, are among our most subtle and dangerous of pests. They work at the root, and often before we can see the plant fading, they have taken its life. The florist’s remedy is as soon as you see the least sign of drooping in your Asters or Verbenas, the plants most afflicted by them, water them copiously and persistently at the roots, with tobacco water, the color of strong tea, and apply it daily for one week. We often take up the plants and wash the roots, but it is a harsh remedy: it will kill or cure.

12.—SOME USEFUL HINTS.

We have, in studying different books on horticulture, found many opposing sentiments. Some seemed like hearsay to all former experience, yet we ought to be ready to receive all advice based upon positive experience. We intend acting upon some new theories of Peter Henderson, a famous gardener near New York. We have always supposed it very injurious to take water directly from a cold spring to water plants, and that rain water or soft water must be used, at the same temperature as the air in which the plants are growing. He says it is a foolish dogma, as the water will take the same temperature before the plant can be injured. Of course if the plant was to stand in cold water it would injure it. This will save much extra trouble; we ourselves shall profit by his advice, as he ought to know, having faithfully tried the experiment.

We have always supposed it necessary for the health of a potted plant to have a sufficient amount of bits of oyster shell, &c., at the bottom for drainage.

Mr. Henderson says, for fifteen years he has grown all his thrifty plants without the use of crock, charcoal, or any other substitute, and he considers it useless trouble; he thinks the moisture escapes freely from the sides of the pot. He says when we wish to resuscitate an unhealthy plant, we wash the soil from its roots, and put in a new pot, where the drainage is perfect from the sides. He has grown millions of healthy plants without draining. He thinks old pots, whose pores are all filled, often cause the death of a plant. He approves of frequent change of pots, as it injures a plant for the roots to become hard and woody. In most cases the slightest tap on the edge of the pot is sufficient to turn out the ball of earth. Be careful and not take too large a pot; the size must increase gradually.

Mr. Henderson thinks it is not unhealthy to sleep with plants in the room, as we have always been taught. He says it is a common practice for gardeners to sleep in their green-house, and to be with their plants often at night, and yet, as a class, they are vigorous men. He himself, for three winters, slept on the floor of the hot-house, without any injury, and that was more than a score of years ago.

Plants can easily be sent by mail, by first washing the roots in water, then take them dripping and wrap them in dry moss, then roll around them several thicknesses of thick brown paper; the whole must be tightly rolled, to prevent the dry air penetrating to shrivel the plant. In this way plants can be sent even two thousand miles at a cheap rate, as our postal laws only charge two cents for four ounces, unless the package exceeds four pounds.

13.—MOSS BASKETS.

Take a piece of the spring used in hoop-skirts, or a rattan, and make a small hoop about eight inches in diameter. Collect from the woods a quantity of the long, feathery moss, and wind a heavy wreath of this moss on a hoop, then cover a piece of the rattan or hoop-spring, sufficiently long for the handle, with moss, and fasten it to the hoop. Then take a solid bunch of this moss, the size of the centre of the hoop, and push inside of this moss-covered hoop; this forms a moss basket. Take a common plate, and place this basket upon it, and sprinkle it thoroughly with water. This basket can be filled again and again with bright flowers, casting away the flowers as they wither. The wet moss will keep them fresh as long as if placed in a vase filled with water. Now and then place this basket in a dish of water, and sprinkle it, or let the rain fall upon it. This will freshen the green tint of the moss.

Baskets covered with the knitted moss, which in our work department we have given the directions how to prepare, are very pretty. A tin dish should be made to fit it, and painted green; keep this filled with natural flowers, or French artificial flowers, which imitate nature perfectly, can be arranged in them, and if placed on a bracket, or in some place where they will not be likely to be examined too closely, they will easily pass for fresh flowers.

To form a pyramid of flowers, take three, four, or five wooden bowls, according to the size you wish for your pyramid; let them be a regular gradation in size; procure some round pieces of wood, like ribbon blocks, graded in size, glue the tallest into the centre of the largest bowl so that it will stand upright, and up on top of that glue the bowl next in size, and so on to the smallest bowl. Varnish the inside several coats; paint the outsides green, and cover with moss; some have a stand made, and glued to the bottom of the largest bowl. When filled with flowers it is a lovely sight. Baskets made of tin and painted green, then covered with moss, make the prettiest hanging baskets possible. Tin rings, large enough to surround vases placed inside, and made to hold water, with little wires across the top and painted green, when filled with flowers, form the prettiest mats in the world; the wires keep the flowers in place. I saw one filled with only rosebuds, blue forget-me-nots, and geranium leaves. It is an improvement to cover the outside with moss. Crosses made in the same way are very beautiful, and are appropriate to place on the grave of any beloved friend. In that way flowers can be preserved a long time, if there is a sufficient supply of water to preserve them.

There are innumerable ways of arranging flowers. The poorest person can afford to purchase a tin basin, and with a little common paste and moss, which can be found in all country places, a pretty dish for flowers is soon made. Shells make lovely vases. The large shells sailors polish so exquisitely to resemble mother of pearl, make elegant hanging vases; bore holes on each side and hang them with strong cords.

The month of September is not too late to make a fine collection of mosses from mountains and valleys. Mosses will have attained by this time a luxurious growth. There are but few mosses that look well after being pressed. The best way to preserve a collection of mosses is to arrange them in some suitable box, as they grow, and in the order you desire to keep them, and let them dry slowly. If you wish to cover any box, basket, or vase, it is better to paste them on, before they are entirely dry, with common paste. The dry white and gray mosses form very beautiful receptacles for flowers, by covering the outside of any rustic basket with the moss. Thread wire will fasten it firmly to any basket, or rustic work. Paste or wire can be used to fasten it on to boxes or bowls.

We have seen a lovely rustic stand for flowers, formed from a common wooden box (a large bowl is the more desirable). The handle was formed from a barrel hoop. The legs of the stand were made of gnarled branches of trees. Then fine annealed wire was wound over the whole. This served to hold the moss firmly to the box. The beautiful curled white, gray, and green dry mosses were then arranged all over the box, legs, and handle, so as to give grace and beauty to this inexpensive stand. This box was then filled with rich loam, and planted with purple, white, and pink Maurandia, and variegated Myrtle. These vines twined over the handle, and festooned the sides of the box. Lobelias, Fuchsias, Nierembergias, white and scarlet monthly Pinks, silver-leaved Geranium, and King of the Scarlets, also one white monthly Rose in the centre, filled the box with bright flowers all summer. This inexpensive flower-stand was constructed by a boy during his school vacation, and it formed a beautiful centre ornament to his mother’s front yard. In the winter the good mother had her boy’s work carefully removed and placed in her bay window. There it blossomed, and spoke cheering words to her of her absent darling, as she sat day by day, during the cold winter months, sewing by its side.

14.—HANGING BASKETS.

Hanging baskets are now in such universal use, that the taste for them has extended to every town or village in our land. All florists keep a supply of baskets, with flowers planted and growing, ready for sale. These baskets are quite expensive. We will give directions for some equally pretty, but inexpensive, which any ingenious boy or girl can make.

Take a small wooden bowl, bore holes in the sides to fasten in a cord, or screw in rings. Cover this with cones, acorns, black beans, &c., in fact, any pretty seed can be used to good effect; arrange them in different forms, like flowers. Varnish with asphaltum varnish. A cocoanut shell makes a pretty small basket. Either of the above are pretty with the white and green dry moss glued over the outside. Baskets can be made of sticks of the oak or maple tree, choosing those of the size of a man’s thumb, and cutting them of equal lengths, eight, ten, or twelve inches, according to the size of the basket desired. Then build your basket like a log hut; interlace your fingers, and you will see the design. Nail these sticks firmly in place, fasten in a wooden bottom. Heat a wire and thrust it through the end of each stick, and bend it into a loop; suspend it by cords fastened to these loops. This makes a durable basket to hang out of doors; any boy of twelve could make it.

Rustic baskets can be made with or without a wooden frame, but a wooden bowl is a good foundation; procure from the woods a quantity of blasted branches, or other crooked, rough, or knotty twigs. Soak them in hot water or steam them, so as to make them pliable. Stain the bowl with asphaltum or black varnish, then screw in rings for the hanging cords to pass through. When the varnish is dry, bend around the outside of the bowl one of the twigs or blasted branches, and nail it securely at the top edges on either side. Twine several pieces around in this way, according to your taste, until the whole surface is covered; finish by nailing one around the rim of the basket for a border. Varnish the branches like the bowl. The entire basket is then ready for use. All kinds of shaped baskets can be made out of wire, painting them green, and filling in moss in all the crevices; a painted tin dish, placed in for the dirt, will surely prevent any drip; thick moss is ordinarily sufficient. All kinds of these baskets should be filled up with light, sandy loam; a few bits of charcoal, and a piece of sponge in the bottom, assist in keeping the soil moist. Light, trailing vines should be trained to fall over the sides, and loop in and out of rustic work. We will give a short list of vines suitable for baskets.

Lobelia Erinus Paxtoni, an exquisite blue.

White and pink Gypsophila.

Panicum Variegatum.

TropÆolum, ball of fire.

Convolvulus Mauritanicus.

Variegated Myrtle.

Geranium Peltatum Elegans.

Nierembergia.

Linaria Cymbalaria.

All varieties of Maurandia Barclayana.

German Ivy.

Alyssum Variegatum.

Vinea Elegantissima Aurea.

Moneywort.

PLANTS FOR THE CENTRE.

Centaurea Gymnocarpa.

Alternanthera.

Sedum Sieboldii.

Bijou Zonale.

Achyronthes Gilsoni.

Mrs. Pollock, &c.

These baskets should be exposed to the sun at least two or three hours daily, and in dry weather watered freely. If the surface of the basket between the plants is covered with moss, it will prevent the earth from drying as soon, and the basket will look neater.

Baskets of moss and wire can be every week dipped into a pail of water.

15.—ARTIFICIAL ROCKERIES.

A well-formed and flourishing rockery is an ornament to every lawn.

Petrified wood forms very beautiful rockeries, but as our purpose is to assist our young friends to make their own rockeries, we will leave the more elaborate to the gardener.

Save all the clinkers from your furnace coal, dip them in a hot lime wash to color them pure white, their fantastic shapes are thus more conspicuous; arrange them in a mound according to your fancy; leave at suitable distances cavities of six or eight inches deep, to be filled with soil; in this plant your creeping plants; bright colors should be selected for a white rockery. Dwarf Scarlet TropÆolum, Scarlet Verbenas, Petunias, Golden Moneywort, Lobelias, Scarlet Geraniums, Myrtles, Coleus, German Ivy, &c., are used to good effect on this rock work. Hydraulic cement instead of lime will make a pretty drab color. If the rockery is protected by some shade, it looks well to plant it with Ferns and Lycopodiums.

16.—FERNERIES.

Is it not, friends, very pleasant to have a bit of the summer woods in our parlors in midwinter? Such a pleasure is within the reach of us all, with but little trouble and expense. Those who live in cities, and cannot go into the country, surely must have some friend who can supply them, or the materials can be obtained at any public green-house. First you require a glass dome, or what is still better, take five panes of glass, any size you please, four to form the sides, one for the top; fasten the glass together with a light wooden frame, then take any tin dish, like a baking pan, or if round, a tin plate or jelly cake pan, or a tin dish can be made to fit it for a trifling sum of money; paint the tin green on the outside. Then collect some pieces of broken flower pots, or still better, bits of marble, granite, or any stone, and scatter them around the tin dish, placing in the centre some moss-grown stump or stick, and pile the stones around it; then collect from the woods ferns, mosses, partridge vines, with its bright red berries (indeed any plant will grow in these ferneries which can be found in moist places in the woods); take up a little of the leaf mould in which they grow (they need but little soil), arrange your plants, spreading the roots carefully over the stones, scattering a little leaf mould on them, and place your mosses around the whole. The tallest plants should form the centre, but in arranging even ferneries, it is more agreeable to exercise your own taste. Before placing your globe or glass frame over your fernery, sprinkle the plants thoroughly, then cover with the glass, and let it remain a few days in the shade. You can keep them where you please, but they grow better near a window; be very careful not to water them too often; once a month is generally sufficient; if too wet, they will mould and die; when there is but little moisture on the glass, it is well to raise the glass to ascertain if it is dry. Our fernery has been made four years; it has required but little care; now and then we add a new fern, some moss, or any suitable plant gathered from the woods, and remove any dried ferns or leaves. It often renews itself. Trailing Arbutus and partridge vines will blossom in ferneries. It is always pleasant to the eye, and no care after the first expense and trouble. Ivy and Lycopodium grow well in ferneries, but the rare ferns, &c., from green-houses do not flourish as well as those plants taken from our native woods.

17.—IVIES.

English Ivies are a great ornament to our rooms, and are hardy, and require very little care. After the first two years they grow quite rapidly, therefore it is well to procure two-year old plants; train them on your curtains, over your windows and pictures. Many make a mistake by changing the pots very often, thinking they require a very large pot, which is not so, for they do not require as much earth as many plants, only keep them moist, and have rich loam for the soil; it is well to water them every month with guano water, prepared according to the same rule given for flowers. The Poet’s Ivy is very pretty, the leaf being quite small. The most beautiful ivy we ever saw was one that never was removed from its place, summer or winter; it filled a large bay window, encircled the whole room, and wound around many pictures; now and then a gardener came and changed the soil, and the leaves were occasionally washed.

18.—PRESSED FLOWERS.

To press flowers, to be arranged on paper like a painting, you must take some plain white wrapping paper (in Paris you can obtain paper prepared by a chemical process to preserve the colors), and place your flowers or leaves carefully between two sheets of the paper. Then press them by placing a heavy weight over them (letter presses are excellent), and leave them a day or two, then change the paper; thus the juices of the flowers are absorbed. It takes a week or two to press perfectly, and in summer often longer. When dry, place them in a book or some air-tight box, ready for use. A year is required to make a varied and handsome collection, as each flower has its own season for blossoming. Wild flowers retain their colors better than cultivated; but experience alone will teach you what flowers will retain their color best. Many pretend to be able to preserve all kinds of flowers, but it is impossible. I will give a list of flowers which are known to retain their color by this mode of pressing.

All Geraniums (except the horse-shoe and sweet-scented) preserve their color. They are very essential, as their colors are brilliant and keep for years. All yellow flowers, both wild and cultivated, retain their color. The Violet and Pansy, Dwarf Blue Convolvulus, Blue Larkspur, Blue Myrtle, Blue Lobelia, Heaths, the small original Red Fuchsia, Wild Housatonia, and many tiny blue, and even white flowers press perfectly.

For green, Ivy, Maiden Hair, Ferns or Brake, Mosses, &c., retain their color best. Rarely a cultivated green leaf presses well. Autumn leaves, if small, and the youngest oak leaves, mix in well. Certain kinds of stems, such as Pansy, and others of similar character, are best adapted for pressing.

After your collection is made, take some card-board, without a polish if possible, and arrange your flowers as you design to have them. Gum them to the paper with tragacanth, using a camel’s hair brush, then press on the paper and flower with a cloth, carefully absorbing all moisture, as well as firmly pressing the flower on the paper. Geraniums and some large flowers look better if each leaf is glued on separately.

In forming your bouquet, it is better to arrange the stems first and work upwards. Baskets and vases of moss with flowers are pretty. To form these you must trace out with a pencil your vase or basket, and glue on the moss. Then arrange your flowers.

We have heard amusing criticisms on the coloring of such bouquets from persons who mistook them for paintings. Framed and covered with a glass, they make ornamental pictures.

It is a pleasant way of preserving mementos of friends, places, or events. Flower albums or journals are very beautiful. Wreaths arranged of different varieties of Pelargoniums, mixed in with any pretty green, and other little flowers, such as Lobelias, are very handsome, and the colors are durable. Pansies of different shades look well, and brilliant wreaths may be made of all the varieties of flowers that hold their color. The oval shape looks the best for wreaths.

There are innumerable varieties of Ferns, Lycopodiums, and Maiden Hair, both native and foreign, suitable for pressing. By pasting each specimen on a separate sheet, and interspersing specimens of our beautiful autumn leaves, also on separate sheets, and fastening them together, either bound as a book, or in a portfolio, you will possess a beautiful and attractive book with but little expense.

Crosses can be arranged with Ferns, and shaded to appear as if painted in perspective, and look like a cross standing on a mossy bank, with flowers, &c., growing around and over it. First draw and shade your cross, as a guide, then take the small leaflets of the darkest colored ferns you can procure, and glue them on carefully where the cross should be in shadow darkest, then take the brighter green Ferns (such as are gathered in spring), and end with the white Ferns (which can only be obtained in the fall), using them for the lightest shade; be careful to cover every part, and shade it with Nature’s colors as you would with paint. In a cross six inches high, and suitably proportioned, full two hundred of the tiny leaflets of the Fern may be used to good advantage before it is completed. Then take wild Lycopodium, if you can obtain it, if not, the finest of the cultivated, and arrange it on your cross to look like a vine growing over and hanging from it; also paste on to it tiny little pressed Lobelias, and arrange small Ferns, mosses, and any little flowers (wild ones are preferable) around the base of the cross, to look like a mossy bank. Different designs can be arranged in the same way.

Be very careful in pasting on flowers and leaves, that every part, however small, is firmly fixed to the paper; press them on after pasting with a dry cloth.

September is the time to collect the beautiful white ferns; the first slight frost turns the green fern white. They should then be gathered at once, and carefully pressed; when dry they resemble the skeleton leaves. A vase of these forms a beautiful winter ornament. If you defer gathering them till the heavy frosts come, they turn brown.

19.—STRAWBERRIES.

A few hints as regards the cultivation of strawberries may be useful to both boys and girls; for fine berries can be raised even on a small plot of ground, if the soil be rich. Plants for a new bed should be set out early in the spring; the roots will then grow strong, and the plants will be better able to bear the cold of winter. Some gardeners prefer to plant their strawberry roots in August, or even late in the autumn, and if the winter is mild, or deep snows cover the ground, the vines will live and bear fruit the next summer. Some prefer to raise strawberries in hills, but the most prolific vines are those planted in beds about three feet wide, with a path between, filled with straw, to keep the fruit from the ground; it is well to cut off most of the runners. Of course the beds should be kept free from weeds. There are many new varieties, but the old Hovey’s Seedling is as reliable as any, and very prolific. The Russell is easily propagated; vines planted in April will often yield fine strawberries in June. The Wilson is a profitable strawberry for the market because of its large yield, but it is hardly equal in flavor to the Hovey.

The Hovey will soon run out if planted by itself; it requires some other kind to be planted with it. The Pine is usually the variety selected for that purpose. It is useless to enumerate the several varieties, for nearly every locality has its favorite strawberry. Some kinds will scarcely bear a perfect berry in some locations, while in a different locality the same plant will be loaded with perfect fruit. Sometimes a healthy and vigorous-looking bed of strawberry plants will produce but few berries; then you must examine the blossoms, those which bear fruit will have the berry formed in the flower, while others will blossom freely, but do not bear fruit; these are the male plants, and it is better to leave but few of them in your strawberry beds. When you plant the new roots, dig a hole with a trowel and fill it with water, then spread out the roots and pack the earth close around them; but when they are fully rooted, and commence to grow, the earth should be kept loose around them.

Strawberry plants should be replanted every third year; it is best to change the location of the bed if possible, or at least to renew the soil. Boys or girls who raise and gather from their own little garden a dish of strawberries, will find great pleasure in presenting it to their friends as fruits of their own labor.

20.—GRAPES.

The care of the grape vine is a pleasant occupation. To gather the rich, ripe bunches of its delicious fruit is a grand enjoyment. Almost every one can command a spot of ground sufficient for the liberal support of a grape vine. It may be planted in any unappropriated corner about the house—a sunny spot is to be preferred; but a vine may do well with but little direct sunshine, if it is well sheltered and properly cared for. It may be planted at the foot of a tree, the branches of which are not near the ground, and it will find its way high up the tree, and will yield large crops of fine fruit, hidden among its own thick foliage and that of the tree, provided the ground immediately about its roots can be reached and kept warm by the sun’s rays.

As it grows, it will endeavor to adapt itself to the circumstances that surround it, and will take the direction your taste or convenience require it to follow. Its flexible branches are obedient to the gentle hand of the careful cultivator. You may train it upon stakes six or eight feet high, or upon a low trellis where the fruit will be within easy reach of your hand. You may have the fruit within a few inches of the ground, or by removing all the lower branches of the vine, you can cause the ripe bunches to hang in graceful festoons around and over the window of your chamber, high above the reach of accident and pilferers. The grape vine will do as it is bid, which is much more than can be said of some young people, whose eyes sparkle at the sight of its fruit.

In preparing the ground in which to plant the vine, reference must be had to the character of the soil. If the soil is clayey and cold, or if the neighboring surface is such as to turn an undue proportion of the rains upon the place where you propose to plant your vine, care must be taken to secure for the roots of the vine a sufficient drainage. If the roots of the vine are surrounded by wet and cold earth, the fruit will mature slowly, and will be endangered by the early frosts. You will secure a sufficient drainage by digging a hole three feet deep and five or six feet in diameter, and throwing into it small stones, fragments of bricks, or other like rubbish, to the depth of about eighteen inches, and filling to the surface with the soil. If the soil in which you propose to plant your vine is light, no artificial drainage will be necessary.

Dig over the ground, and mix with it some well-rotted manure or bone dust to the depth of your spade. The plan of trenching and deep manuring is of questionable advantage. The roots of the vine prefer to run near the surface, but they will seek the rich soil wherever it may be; and if they are drawn away from the surface of the ground and out of their natural direction to the colder soil below, the effect upon the fruit may be unfavorable, both as to quality and quantity.

In the ground thus prepared, set your young vine from the nursery. First, drive down a stake to which you can tie the young vine, then place the roots of the vine three inches below the surface of the ground, carefully spreading the roots so that they will be as nearly as possible in the position in which they grew in the nursery.

The beautiful operations of nature will then commence. The roots of the vine will at once begin to adapt themselves to their new home, and their delicate fibres will firmly clasp the particles of the well-prepared soil; the warm days of the early spring will draw the sap up through the whole length of the vine; the buds will open and exhibit their delicate tints, new shoots and broad green leaves will follow, and you can soon eat the fruit of your own labor, sitting beneath the shadow of your own vine.

21.—HOW TO ARRANGE SEA-MOSSES.

While our young friends are enjoying the pleasures of the sea-shore, there is no more delightful employment than gathering and preserving the beautiful flowers of the sea.

September is the time to collect the finest varieties of sea-mosses. Before you commence to arrange them, procure two pieces of deal board, about twenty inches long and twelve inches wide; some light-brown paper, and blotting paper, and white drawing paper. You will need camel’s-hair pencils, long, slender darning-needles (or common needles mounted on lucifer matches), a small piece of alum, and old cotton or linen cloth.

The best time for collecting the mosses is in the early morning, when, on your return, there is leisure for immediately laying them out. If you leave them until the next day, the chances are that one half of them will be spoiled. Do not collect many mosses at one time; for these flowers of the sea fade, and even decompose very fast, when roughly handled or carelessly gathered. If you cannot arrange them at once, put them either in an oil-skin bag, or a tin can, with sea-water. When you are ready to arrange them, take your drawing paper and cut it into large and small squares, or any size you desire. Get some soup plates, or any shallow dish; fill with fresh water; place a small piece of alum in each dish. Now have your camel’s-hair pencils and darning-needles, or needles mounted on matches, by your side. Then float a piece of sea-moss in fresh water. If very dirty or sandy, wash it first in clear water. Float it on a piece of paper, which must be placed under it with the left hand, while with your right hand you arrange the plant in a natural manner, using your camel’s-hair pencils and needles. Superabundant branches can be thinned out with small, sharp-pointed scissors. When the specimen is placed as you like it, cautiously raise the paper, that the position of the plant be not altered, and let it rest somewhere with sloping inclination, that the moisture may run off, while other specimens are treated in the same way. Do not leave them long thus, for they must be pressed before the paper is dry. In drying them, you must lay either old soft linen, or cotton over them, to prevent its sticking to the upper paper when pressing; as, in order to press it, you must first lay them in blotting paper, and then in brown, and place them, thus prepared, between your boards, and strap the two boards tightly together. The blotting paper and old cloth must be changed at least twice in drying large sea-weed. The second day place a heavy pressure on the boards used in pressing.

Sea-mosses are glutinous, and must be dried, and not pressed; and, when finished and dry, then moisten the under side of the paper, and press it gently. Others will not adhere to paper, and therefore, when dry, should be brushed over with a little isinglass, dissolved in gin, laid on warm; and they will then be fixed closely to the drawing paper.

Another preparation is one ounce of oil of turpentine, in which some gum mastic, the size of a nutmeg, has been dissolved. This gives a gloss to the specimen, and helps to preserve the color.

The finest and rarest specimens are found in the lowest tide pool, or cast up after a storm.

We have seen these sea-mosses, or sea-weeds, exquisitely arranged, representing flower painting.

Take the pink and green sea-weed, and with practice, moss-rose buds can be perfectly represented, also other flowers. Be careful and select fine-grained, at the same time strong paper.

Every lover of nature should always possess a microscope. Examine with it many tiny specimens, condemned as too small to arrange in your album; it will reveal to you such form and color, provision and harmony, as the Almighty Creator conceals from the unseeing eye, and reveals to patient and intelligent search.

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