Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1882-05-25

but the friend who picked it could not
show us the plant, and we have often
looked in vain for another double ble
bell.
One species of our wild phloxes-
Phlox pilosa-shows so much inclina-
ton to vary in color, and is withal 90
pretty, that it is strange some one has
not taken it in hand to see how much
this tendency to vary may be improved
upon.
This tendency of varieties to change
indicates the necessity for great care
in maintaining the standard of the best
kinds intact.
As rule plants wEicn are most like
ly to vary from the parent the soonest
run out or revert to the original type.
This is noticeably so with the Pansy
and Petunia. If we depend on self
sown Pansies or Petunias, and make
no careful selection, we must soon OBJ
tain new supply of seed or content
ourselves with poor quality and limited
variety.
We have sown this spring several
packets of an expensive strain of
Fancy German Pansies,' and we
know by past experience that some
must be rejected as not worthy place
in an ordinary collection.
To keep up or improve the standard
of quality of these flowers, the seed
lings should be transplanted to nur-
sery bed, whence selections of the best
may be made as soon rs they bloom to
e II M, IN a uonoral npl1aofion
Petunias should be transplanted into
the bed where they are to remain, two
or three times, as close together as they
should finally grow, so that the poorest
may be pulled up and thrown away,
which will mostly De the first to flower.
When seeds of striped and blotched,
also double petunias, are sown, care
fully save the smallest and most back
ward plants, for they will often produce
the best flowers.
Most of us have been disappointed in
finding that some choice variety OF
melon, or garden vegetable, is no longer
produced from the seeds we purchase
with the qualities it possessed when
first introduced. We are fortunate if
leading dealer makes specially of
oolllC ClloiCt hllu VI llOWcIS VI NtS6ld-
bles.
We always liked the ice cream water
melon, but were never sure of obtain
ing it true to name. Now we always
feel certain that Fcrry's Peerless" will
give us the best qualities of that choice
variety. No one is likely to furnish us
so pure a strain of Japan Coxcomb as
Wick, and we always send to Gregory
for some varieties of cabbage. But we
cannot depend on the professional
growers to keep up all OF the varieties
that are worthy of a place among es-
tablished standards of excellence.
About twenty years ago we grew a
variety of poppy sent out by the deal
ers as Chinese poppy. 1t was almost
free from the disagreeabe odor Pc
culiar to pOppies and the flowers were
very large, round, and full, double, of
pure white color, except an irregu-
lar dash of crimson on one side max
ing the flowers to appear to be stained
with some bright dye. We can find
nothing of it now in any ofthe cata-
logues; but perhaps it will yet be dis
covered in some old fashioned garden,
rescued from oblivion by conserva-
| tive lover of flowers, to yet be sent out
as recent introduction from Japan.
A number of years ago there was
distributed throughout the west vari-
ETY. of white ruta baga turnips known
as white Russian" We lost track OF
of it for time, and wishing to obtain
the same variety, sent to several deal
ers who KEY the name on their cata-
logues, but found that none of them
kept the true variety. We have since
found that the old White Russian tur-
nip has been kept up in its purity by
few of the farmers in Wisconsin.