The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1879-03-28

We frequently hear it said, sOh, yes, the
flowers! they are beautiful, bat they are lux
uries and we cannot afford them" Such re-
marks have led us to consider whether or not
they are superfiuous, or are they necessitiesy
Have they been bestowed by kind Providence
for no purposey Are they in waste in the great
field of nature? We think not, but rather that
flowers have their place and their Office to per-
form Flowers are not trifers, as we may
know from the care which God takes OF them
-Consder the lilies of the field, etc" said our
Savior, and, although We do not know what par
ticular flower was alluded to- the remark is APP
plicable TO any flower. Let ms, therefore, prize
them and give them a place In our affections,
and small place in mother earth to grow.
II we are not able to secure an extended and
rare collection, it may not be without our reach
to have few plants, none the less beautiful be-
cause simple and cheap. There Is not boy or
girl in all this wide land, with 10 cents to bay
seeds of ANNALS, bit of ground to grow them
on, and love for the beautiful flowers, but
may stand on an equsl footing with those who
Speaking of sub-tropical plants, there is the
Castor Bean, dne, stately plant, very suitable
for lawns, Of very quick growth, in rich soil
Do not plant outside until quite warm
weather. Then there is the Gamma, which
spoke about in previous article. The leaves
BE sure and soak the seed thor
oughly before planting, and keep
it in warm spot The Gamma
will form tuber which can be taken mp and
kept over winter, for planting the following
spring, in the same manner as Dahiias. OF
snowy Annals, have in these letters already
presented Asters and Phlox Drummondii,
Pinks. Pansies and Verbenas. i purpose to
add few more words on the flowers for brill
liant show, and then, in another letter, have
something to say about the fragrant ones.
How many of my readers can go with me
back in memory to the days Of ld-fashioned
flower gardeningy mean the time prior to
the long lines of so-called ribbon gardening
which we see nowadays Way back in the
dim vista of the pact, we remember how proud
we were OF our Double Poppies. They got out
of fashion, but we kept them on for years, and
then there was Escholtzia, also called Californian
Poppy and that we admired for it's beautifully
cut foliage. Nor can we omit the Balsam
Common Lady-slipper," hear somebody say
but my friend. do you know there is a
variety as large and pure white as
The most costly Camella. Then there is the
EMMA, very snowy plant, running into every
| with everybody; ii delights in a warm sun and
a sandy soil, and the drought is never too
long, nor the heat too intense for this beautiful
little salamander; il makes beautiful bed upon
the lawn. Sow seed in the open ground early.
Ii is very easily transplanted and once started
grows very rapidly. Another, the 4-o'clock
lMirabilis); how eagerly we watched for these
blossoms to expand just as the sun was on the
wane. These have unique fragrance which we
love. If You want a Flora's Paint Brush COW
some Cacalia; the flowers resemble a tassel or
paint brush, and are quite striking.
MIR. RENNIE.
HIssDALE, Dupage county, III.