The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1873-12-26
LYON COUNTY HoRrICULTURAL
SOCIETY.


Society met in the secretary's Office
In the court house at the usual hour.
The secretary was made chairman
pro tenn.
An essay on flowers suited to the
climate of Kansas, written by Rev. w.
E. Copeland, was read by Mrs. F., NJ:
w. Jackson.
= Aslively discussion of the merits of
different varieties of flowers followed
the reading of this essay. The vaIie-
ties of flowers were taken up one after
another and their merits discussed.
The verbena was first in order. Rob-
ert Milliken recommended it, but had
failed with it when planted on highly
manfred ground; thought it required
poor land. Mrs. Slocum had expert
enced the same difficulty. Mrs. Wilson
thought any of our prairie land rich
enough for most flowers without ma
Rure. She never had better flowers
than on the prairie the first year. She
had 1t broken up and planted, and in
stanced Mrs. W. Il. Jones' success the
past season on similar soil. Mrs. Jack
son asked if Seeding verbenas were
better and would produce finer flowers
than cuttings. Mrs. Slocum did not
think them any better only the plants
might be produced from seed cheaper
than they could be bought from flor
lists. Mr.. Milliken had tried both
kinds and could see no difference in
favor of seedlings, besides, from seed
you do not know what colors you will
have until they bloom, while from cut
tings you will. have the same rs the
original plant. The wild variety (ver-
bena montanal was unanimously rec
commended. PhloX Drumhondii' was
not generally considered as reliable
further north, as it dries up and
fails to" cover the ground closely
during the hot dry summer
weather, and does not bloom all
the time. Portulacca praised by all,
will grow anywhere and is always
bright and snowy. Miss Gussie Slo-
cum did not think the double varieties
any better than the single, all are
bright and good. In answer to the
question as to how to get double flow-
ers OF Portulacca, Mr.. Milliken said he
would let no single Ones go to seed and
the seed OF double ones would produce
large per cent. of double flowers.
Petunia, decided to be the best annual
there Is for bedding, enduring all the
yicissltudes of our climate with impun-
lily, unanimously recommended. Zin-
nia-Mr, Copeland's idea that the zin-
MIA Is superior to the dahlia was not
very favoratly received. Mrs. Slocum
did not think much of either. The
dahlia requires too much care and is
too uncertain, while the zinnia is
coarse and not 1T for cutting for bo-
quets.' Mrs. Wilson did not care to
cultivate any flower that would not do
for boquets; thought there were enough
good kinds that could be cut and
ut the same time make good show as
bedding plants. The following kinds
were recommended as always success
full: Petunia, portulacca, mignonette,
zinnia, snapdragon, sweet alyssum
pinks of all kinds, escholtzia. agera-
tuu,, morning glory, cypress vine, YER
bena, gomprena, sweet william and
llpomoPsis or tree cypress. The fol-
lowing under certain circumstances
Sweet peas, II planted early and deep
lafkspur, If sowni in the iah; phloz
drUmmondii In favorable seasons, ant
the pansy If shaded and watered dur.
ing the hot weather of summer. Ma
nv others arc more or less successful
: according to season, location and cul
ture. Amongst hardy kinds, aquilegia
carnation and garden pinks, swee
williams, decintra or bleeding heart
peonlas, iris and perennial phloX ar
always to be relied upon.
A short essay on osage orange rs
timber tree was read by Robert Mill
ken, which opened the question @
shade treOs in general, for remarks
Isaac Criley has been thinking favor
c ably OF the Usage orange for some tins
e and believed it good tree had nc
Il ticed that neither stock nor insect
s molested it.
d The secretary read the list of tree
K adopted by the State horticultural Sc
it ciety at its recent meeting, and calie
e attention to the fact that the soft map
Ie had been left out, and that the cotton
lie wood was placed first on the list. All
y an extract from a letter. by Samu
y Miller in the Rural World, of st. L.oHl
recommending the black locust al