The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1886-07-24
Ssarrn, 9tnne and Garden.
WHYf


come caloused on the wound?
Why do plants lose their poisonous
when taken northward?
Why do cuttings of the yew require
two years in which to root?
Why does the sassafras lose much of
its characteristic aroma when grown in
England?
Why do some plants take from hard
wood cuttings and others only from soft
wood cuttings?
Why do some seeds require two years
in which to terminate?
Why do leaves of the Purple Egg plum
escape the leaf-killing fungus more than
those OF most other varieties?
In short. why do plants grow?
A Wild or Native Garden. - We
wish we could get the children in
terested in a wild or native garden; a
garden composed wholly of such plants
and shrubs as they can find about the
fields and woods. Once begun, the task
OF collecting these plants would be a
most pleasant One. We have growing
wild roses, which are to us more lovely
than the great flowers on our hybrid per-
petuals; bitter sweet, Virginia creepers,
clematis, lilies, and dozens of other wild
plants that cost us nothing but the
labor of getting them. Last year de-
spised mullen took up it's habitation
there, and it showed everybody that it
was not without some graces of it's own.
What is offered by seedsmen as "wild
garden seeds" are not seeds of wild
flowers, but mixture of many varieties
of garden seeds. Children, 90 to work
and see what charming garden you
can make out of the plants you can find
growing about the farm. You can have
a little horticultural society of your own
and it will afford you much pleasure and
profit. Try it.-American Agriculturist.
A CLOCK Composed Of Fovers.-The
Judges house was over in the French
quarter of New Orleans; unattractive
outside, but as soon as you got into the
broad hall cool breeze struck you,
laden, without exaggeration, with the
balm of thousand flowers. The hall
led right through the house, and opened
into regular fairyland of flowers, a gar
den the like of which had never dreamed
OF. 1t was surrounded by high wall,
and had plants in it from every country
under the sun. The white haired old
gentleman and the group of grandchil-
dren hanging about him took us about,
and the first thing we stopped at was
large oval plot set out with small plants
around the edge. "This," said the Judge,
" is my clock. What time is it, Clara?''
he asked of one of the children. The
girl ran around the plot and said it was
A o'clock, and SO it was. The four o'clock
was in bloom. "In fact" said the story
teller, g. the clock was made up of flow
ers." In the center was pair Of hands,
OF wood, covered with some beautiful
vine, but they had nothing whatever to
do with the time-telling. The plan was
this: The Judge had noticed that at al
most every hour in the day some plant
bloomed. and working on this principle,
he had selected plants of different hours
and placed them in circle, twenty-four
in number, one for every hour. For ex-
ample, at the top of the earthen clock,
at IL o'clock, was planted the portulaca,
and he told me it would bloom within ten
minutes of IL, and rarely miss. At the
hours of l, q and 8 he had different vari.
cites of the same plant, all of which
bloomed opposite the hours to which
they were planted. At four o'clock he
had our common plant of that name, and
yon all know how you can depend on that.
At the garden niotago came out, at 6
the geranium triste, and at Z the evening
primrose. Opposite 8 o'clock he had the
bona nox, and 9, the silent noctihors-all
these blooming at or near the time given.
At 10 o'clock, if 1 remember rightly, he
had cactus, at IL another kind, and at
IL the night-blooming cereus. Half the
year some of the plants don't bloom at
all. The plants opposite and in the
morning were cacti that bloomed about
that time; at was planted the common
satisfy, at the chicory, at the snow
thistle and at 6 the dandelion.-Sa
Francisco Call.
KEEP THE DOOR YARDS TRIMMED UP.
Do not neglect to NOW the door-yards
early. Not every farmer needs to keep
lawn mower to be run over the front
door-yard every week, but every farm
door yard should have early and fire.
quent cuttings of the grass along the
paths to the stable and other out door
buildings. Then the clothes yard needs
to be kept we'll in hand 80 that the wo-
men can hang out the clothes or spread
them on the grass to whiten without get
ting their skirts bedrabbled with the
morning dews. Never let bad weeds run
up to seed about the buildings, but kill
them or keep them down by frequent
moving. One should also NOW the road
side along his own premises and keep it
in condition SO it can be moved with
safety to the scythe. Never make the
highway the catch all for old rubbish,
such as broken vehicles, refuse lumber
and frewood, old tin and broken crock
cry. Keep all these out of the highway
and NOW the borders two or three times,