The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1901-04-06
n DOCTOR R
N wks.s PAsraas.pssls Are Bsss-
rauvs asa Aasy ouAsr Use
fer LarkspuF.


The cid Doctors eyes twinklst 81 he
saw upon Mrs. Esrly's bondoir table
some long. plumsy. rich blue sprsyh,
set delieately ia = cut glass vase. The
flowers were worthy their setting.
beautiful a. the nersiae. graceful "
self. What amused hin was their esn,
trast with Mrs. Early's mental attitude
she said she simply could not endure
spything common or useful, says the
Washington Star.
-LArkspur coming In iaahion-shr'
he said, noddingH to the lowers Mrs.
Early began 10 say; why, mol Del
phinium-"h but Aersh on ALTHOUGH she
had not spokeni "Bless my soul the
Aowsrs take me back &o-odd year,. All
my patisnts had iArkspur patches
pink. blue, purple and rlngatreakedy.
In fact 1 believe they would hardly
have tried 10 keep house without It's
. pretty flower. and hardy"
"oh, cid they decorate with ~"
Mrs, Early asked. The doctor grlnnsd.
Enthusiastically = when other
flowers were scarce" he said. "But
they didn't like 70 wasteit-it was TOO
useful. you ses. Possibly you doa't
know II, but larkspur is among the
hnsst insecticides-and my old friends
had heaps Of vsrmin to hght. DO they
raised enough 10 make larkspur straw
for nests when 9 ken got broody, and
isrkspur soap to wash cats and dogs
yes, and Eve pigs. Maybe you will
like 10 hear about the soap-an armful
Of fresh larkspuF was boiled in a big
kettle until there was a.stroag aeeoc-
tion. The stslhs we're akinmsd cut and
the liqnor boiled down s~ironRsr-in-
deed, IL could not well be TOO s,rsng.
Then hard soap wss shaved into I, and
stirred until " dissolved. The mixture
was cooled cad cut 10 cakes. Dogs and
eats were washed with the soap to rid
them 81 Aeas snd image The latter
had 10 be well rinssd Of or the ami.
mals, licking themselves, might get
sick.
Bird cages scai&si In boiling lark.
spur soapsuds came out clear Of yer.
min. A cake Of the soap dissolved In
Ave gallons Of vhitswasA was a mighty
1ns thing for sspoultry hsnss or cattle
shed. A fresh eoAt Of such whitswash
every three nsnths put mites aad lice
10 rout, Indeed, the paint seems 10 BE-
. spscially-dedgned antidots for every
Sort Of b~loodsncking parasite. The
leavss Of II dried and powdered answer
nearly ~ well IL thu soaP-witA the
Advantage that they can be used where
the sosp IL out Of the qu~sstion."
II repeat this 10 DslDhinium-Ds-
Dhinium Fermosum.- Mrs. Early said,
with . touch Of aspsrity, laying Der
hand Is she speks upon the blue
plumes. They may lock hks your lark
spur, but ! N you that they sre
not--they came out Of . dollhouse, and
are all the fashion, now that blue
flowers ara so much cut Of season"
IAN the lArkspur are Delphiniums,"
the doctor rstorted, "Your~ fowersars,
] admit, the sristeerats Of the class, In
that II takes them two years 10 flower.
They are also more double, with richer
blooms and longer sprays, than their
old -fashionsd annual co~usins--but
seurus non the less. There IL . wild
purple larkspar. also 4 pink one, which
blooms In early spring. But neither
the wild flower nor that which the
florists force can put out Of court the
hardy, l~aos-lsafsd sfsterhood, which
will spring mp and bloom year after
year, seeding Itself by chance. ripening
and ~blossomtug ehserily, IN the most
unpropitiovs places, Indeed, you can
hardly kill Il, once II Is well seeded
II Erows like a weed, with ever halfa
chance. Everybody ought 10 give II
chance. A packet Of seed may be had
for nye cents. GIVE the seed q we. cor
ntr In the back yard. or even a big box
% earth, and you may have larkspur
for use all he year round. twill grow
NO matter how thick 1t Staads. The
most part Of the stalks should se pulled
up Just a. they come into bloom, 6tlseI
In the shade and put away In = paper
bag. II sown very early the aew seed
VIII produce a second crop. A single
PLAT left standing win furnish much
more thaa enough SEED for next years
sowing"