Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1888-05-11

on the outside of the package Now,
under the huctuating influences of ire
spOnsible isotherms, phlegmatio
springs, rare June weather. and over
done weather IN August, lind is almost
impossible to produce a plant or veget-
able which IN any way resembles its
portrait. Is it my fault or the fault Of
the climate? I wish the club would
take hold of this at It's next regular
meeting
first noticed the change In the sum
mer of 1872, / think. / purchased q
small package of early Scotch plaid
curled kale with beautiful picture on
the outside. 1t was as good a picture
OF Scotch kale as / ever saw. / could
imagine how gay and light hearted it
was the day it went up to the studio
and had its picture taken for this pur-
/ pose. A short editorial paragraph
under the picture stated that should
/ plant IN quick, rich soil, IN rows four
inches apart, to a depth of one inch.
/ cover lightly, and then roll. I did 50.
! No farmer of my years enjoys rolling
/ any better than 1 do.
In a few weeks the kale came up, but
I turned out to be a canard. then
/ waited two weeks and other forms OF
/ vegetation made their appearance.
| A small delegation of bugs which deal
mostly with kale came into the garden
! one day, looked at the picture ON the
discarded paper, then examined what
had erawled out through the ground,
and went away. 1 began to fear then
that climatic influences had been at
work on the seeds, but L had not fully
/ given up all hope
At first the plants seemed to waver
and hesitate over whether they had
] better be wild parsnips Or--Lima beans,
Then L concluded that they had de-
cided to be foliage plants or rhubarb.
But they did not try to live up to their
portraits. Pretty soon 1 discovered
/ that they had no bugs which seemed to
go with them, and then I knew they
were weeds. Things that are good to
eat always have bugs and worms on
them, while tansy and castor oil go
through life unmOlested.
1 ordered a new style of gladiole
eight years ago of man who had his
portrait in the bow of his seed catalogue.
If he succeeds no better in resembling
his portrait than his gladioles did in re-
sembling theirs, he must be a human
onion whose presence may easily be de-
tected at great distance.
Last year planted the seeds of a
watermelon which 1 bought of a New
York seeds man who writes war articles
winters and sells garden seeds in the
spring. The portrait of this water
melon would tempt most any man to
climb nine rail fence in the dead Of
night and forget all else in order to
drown his better nature and his nose In
its cool bosom. People came for miles
to look at the picture of this melon and
went away with a pleasant taste In
their mouths.
The plants were a little sluggish
/ though I planted in hills far apart each
way in a rich warm loan enriched by
5 everything that could make a sincere
7 watermelon get up and hump itself
l The melons were to be large indeed.
( with q centre like a rose. According
f to the picture, these melons generally
grew so large and plenty that most
everybody had to put side boards on
} the garden fence to keep them from
} falling over into other farms and an
? moving people who had all the melons
they needed. I fought squash bugs.
cut worms, Hessian flies, chich bugs.
Z curculio, mage, pip, drouth, dropsy,
caterpillars, and contumely till the
= latter part of August, when a friend
from India came to visit me. decided
: to cut a watermelon in honor of his
arrival. When the proper moment had
e progressed to the point of fruit, the
I tropical depths of my garden gave up
d their seasons wealth In the shape of q
r low proved citrOn about as large and
&, succulent as hot ball.
D have had other similar experiences,
j and think we ought to do something
= about it if we can. I have planted the
b seed Of the morning glory and the moon
J. flower and dreamed at night that my
g home looked like a florists advertise
s ment, but when leafy June came &
T bunch of Norway oats and a hill Of corr
o were trying to climb the strings nailed
s up for the use of my nonresident vines
IS I have planted with song and laughter
l. the seeds of the Ostensible pansy and
Y carnatiOn, only In tears to reap th.
l. bachelors button and the glistenine
IS foliage of the sorghum plant. hav,
d planted In faith and deep warm sol
q with pleasing hope in my heart and
d dark red picture on the outside of th,
d package, only to harvest the low vuIga
n jimsOn weed and the night blooming
n bull thistle.
d Does the mean temperature or tn
average rainfall have anything to q.
Is with it? If statistics are WORKING
Il these changes they ought to be stopped
l. For my own part, however, I am led &.
8 believe that our seedsmen put SO mucF
.e money into their catalogues that the,
.e do not have anything left to use in TIA
2 purchase of seeds. Good religion an,
1. fair cookies may be produced withou
y the aid Of caraway seed, but you canno
-e gather nice, fresh train figs of thistle
s. or expect much of a scotsman who's
" plants make no effort whatever to re
re semble their pictures.