The National tribune., 1882-05-20

| it1iS4A t'tu IiiS otGtt5 btSJ aEONJ IOI UiS III
crease and preservation of their forests; how
| shall the General Government provide for the
! planting of forests on the public lands; what
is the precise extent of forest waste; what is
the comparative value of various timber
! trees; how shall we secure wind-bTealls on
the prairies; by what chemical process can
we preserve cur timber used in building and
fencing: and what forest trees are best
adapted to various localities"
This is the best recital of practical ques-
tions for consideration in the interest of for
| estry which we have seen presented; they
are all of direct interest, aud their intelli-
! gent discussion may lead to useful results.
So far our great forestry guns have been
! firing of tree rhetoric and tree statistics in
! an exceedingly vague and aimless manner.
SUMNER Towering BULBs.-The GIadi-
olus has become one Of the most popular of
| summer flowers Il has many commendable
qualities and requires but little of what may
be called skill in its management The
| bulbs may be planted as soon as the frost
leaves the ground in spring, and if 4 success
sion of flowers is desired, planting may be
made weekly until the middle or end of
June. The bulbs for late planting must be
kept in a very cool cellar TO prevent them
| from growing prematuTely. Like most other
bulbs, GIadiolus thrive best in sandy, or at
least light soil, and if the finest flowers are
TO be obtained, the soil must be well enriched.
In, y1-.r-
lived, but this can be materially counter
acted by mulching around the stems. This
Is preferable to watering, which sometimes
iDjuTes the bulbs. They ripen seed very
freely, but it is at the expense of the young
bulbs, and where it is not proposed to save
seed, the future Towering bulbs VIII be
greatly helped in growth by removing the
flower stem as soon as the flowers fade.
Each bulb VIII form two, bulbs fdn fEatnite
planting, and in addition to these, numerous
small DuIDIets VIII be found clustering at
the base Of the larger bulbs. These small
bulbs viii vary in size from marble to
pea. These should be carefully gathered
and sown in rows like peas when they viii
soon reach the size Of Towering bulbs. The
bulbs should be lifted in the fall, and after
being well dried in the sun, stored in dry
place where no frost can enter In drv soils
even in the middle States they can be plant
ed deep enough to escape injury from freez-
ing, but it is the safer plan to lift the bulbs
after the stems decay, and keep them dry
during winter
The TTgridiG or Tiger flower, is Mexican
bulb which produces tuhp-shaped flowers of
a scarlet color, spotted with yellow. The
flowers are very beautiful, but of short dura-
ton, lasting only one day but it continues
Towering for some time, several flowers being
produced from the same stalk. The bulbs
are small and appear almost worthless, but
if they are planted in q deep, light rich soil
they viii flower satisfactorily. They are
very tender, and viii not stand any frost,
consequently they shonld be lifted and kept
IN dry place where there is no frost. They
should not be planted until the ground be-
comes warmed il spring, otherwise the bulbs
viii be apt to decay.
FENCING.-The total length of fencing in
the United States is upwards of six millions
of miles, and the cost over two thousand
millions dollars. The cost Of fencing during
the last census year was nearly seventy-nine
millions.
WATERING HoRsEs.-The turner's Maqa-
zine says that horses require water a. much
as do men, and should have it every five or
six miles, if the weather is warm. If the
horse is very much oyer-heated just before
coming to a watering place, say a quarter of
a mile or SO before, slow upo to a walk, |
and when you get where you can give the
horse water, he Will have become cooled off
considerably; then, too, he should have his
mouth spongcd out, and about half bucket |
full OF water. Nothing refreshes a tired, |
jaded horse so much as q drink of water, and |
if he has it at regular intervals, he will keep !
up over a long distance. He can do much |
better for whole day, and over & long jour |
ney, without food than without wafer. If
this item Of watering was more carefully |
attended to we would hear Of fewer cases Of |
horses being overcome by the heat during
the warm summer months.
CYDoEIA JAP0NICA.-T early Towering |
shrub is III old favorite in gardens, and is per-
Laps better known under its earlier name Of
Pyru8 Japonjca. There are many varieties
in cultivation, and their flowers are Of |
various coloTs, from pure white to deep |
crimson. It's fruits are freely produced in |
this locality, and are very beautiful, adding |
greatly TO the ornamental value Of the plant |
They arc fragrant, make q delicious jelly, |
and are much priced by those who have |
utilized them in this way. Further north |
the season is too short to ripen them sulii- |
ciently for use. The plant is rather difficult |
to propagate; it is usually increased by cut
tings made Of short pieces Of roots, but |
where the fruits ripen the seeds can be saved |
and sown, ana thus plants can be produced |
in quantities; but individual varieties can
not be increased tSRe to their colors by seed, |
although some of the Seeding plants may
show finer flowers than those from which
the seeds were gathered. 1t is also fine |