Chapter II: Front Matter (2)

EUCHARIS. This is a beautiful flower worth taking a little pains to grow. It is more often seen in greenhouse than in a window, as it is easier in the former to secure a warm, moist, even temperature. Shortly after New Year Eucharis grow very fast. Keep them warm and moist until through flowering when they can be kept ten to fifteen degrees cooler and watered less freely. This gives them the needed semi-rest to enable them to get ready for bloom again. In summer they need plenty of water again. When fall comes keep them pretty dry for the next three months, supplying only enough water to keep them from losing their leaves. Pot them in loam and sand, with a small quantity of old crumbled manure and leaf loam.

A PLAGUE OF ANTS. A correspondent has suffered for years from annual raids of ants that literally swarm over everything and everywhere. "Last year," says this lady, "they killed ever so many plants, from Pansies to trees. All of our outdoor flowers were almost ruined by them. I have tried molasses and Paris green, but they only increase in numbers. They are everywhere, but I cannot find their holes or nest."

There is no use trying to depend on killing all these ants after they have taken possession. A bushel of pyrethrum powder would not pepper them all or a hogshead of kerosene emulsion last long enough to get them all. They must be killed at the fountain head, in their nesting places. A few years ago a certain set of our pear trees had their blossoms ruined year after year by hordes of ants. We could not kill them off, for there were always new ones to take their places. One day we found their nest, a very large one, but entirely underground. A speedy and therefore merciful death was decreed for them. Big pot, little pot, kettle and boiler were filled with water which was brought to the boiling point. We used it, _every day_, on that ant nest. That was 15 years ago, and there has been no recurrence of the trouble.

HOLY THISTLE. Some one asks about a curious plant of which no one knows the name. It blooms quickly from seed, making a plant several feet tall. It has long and wide leaves, waved along the margins, and very spiny. Along each vein is a wide milk-white band or mottling. The flowers are like a purple thistle. Strange how the wheels of time go round. This new (?) plant is so very old that hundreds of years ago it was a common garden ornament. It is Carduus Maritima, a near relative of the common thistle. Everyone notices it because of its odd milky splashes, and it every now and then enjoys a brief popularity again. Our superstitious forefathers believed that a drop of the Virgin Mary's milk fell on its leaves, which ever after bore milk-white markings because of it. The old names for it were Milk Thistle and Holy Thistle. The peasantry used to eat its tops as greens, and cook the roots in stews. Like all thistles this will become a weed if not kept down with a firm hand.

AN IMPOSSIBILITY. A lady asks us to give a list of the six best Roses. "I acknowledged to stand at the head of the Rose kind." It can't be done as long as the old adage holds true of

"Many men of many kinds,
Many men of many minds."

A correspondent wants a companion Rose to a Crimson Rambler, which she enthusiastically declares is the grandest Rose in the world. Side by side with her letter is one from an artist. "I don't like Ramblers," writes he. "An artistic Rose to my mind is like a jewel in a right setting. Too many jewels denote vulgarity." Every class of Rose has its enthusiastic devotees. The best Hybrid Teas come nearer combining all merits of a Rose, and nearer pleasing all standards of taste than any other; yet any florist will tell you that they are by no means the Roses most freely purchased. In other words, no one Rose suits all.

_Lora S. La Mance, Mo._

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CORRESPONDENCE

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

This department is open to any of our subscribers who may have anything to say that will be of general interest and usefulness. Questions may be asked or answered

ARKANSAS

_Editor Mayflower:_

I must tell you of an experience I had in transplanting a Dahlia, which was in bloom, the last day of July. Driving out one warm morning I saw a family moving out of a house. Seeing a clump of beautiful Dahlias I asked for one. The lady said she did not think I could do anything with it, but I knew I could try. She took it up with an old tuber attached and two young ones. I put it in a well protected place where it was cool and kept it well watered. It grew and continued to bloom. When taken up in the fall there were three tubers. That was two years ago. I still have some of it now.--_Mrs. Philetus Wakefield._

CAROLINA, NORTH AND SOUTH

_Editor Mayflower:_

When the world looks as if it were at the mercy of the wind and cold in winter. Sad indeed would be these hopeless days only we know that always, and always, it will be spring again. While the flowers are asleep under their blanket of snow we have a period for rest and reflection, and by thinking over the mistakes in the past we may improve. Of all times of the year spring is the season when everything seems to require attention at the same time. House-cleaning, sewing and gardening crowd upon us, when the bright days come, and one of the three is sure to be neglected by the busy women if plans are not made for each work beforehand. Let me beg all our flower-loving women not to deny themselves the comfort, rest and happiness that flowers alone will bring them throughout the long summer days because they feel the time cannot be spared to attend to the planting in early spring. What if the house _is_ left a little disordered while one works in the garden? It can be put to rights after the precious roots and seeds have been placed under ground to begin their work of beauty. We must all sew I suppose, but let us wear the last year shirt waists awhile, and take the time to plant flowers in the garden or window boxes, to cheer us when we are compelled to run the machine. By leaving off some of the trimmings, or doing

* * * * *

"HE THAT WORKS EASILY, WORKS
SUCCESSFULLY." CLEAN HOUSE WITH

SAPOLIO

* * * * *

THE WARBLER

JOHN LEWIS CHILDS, EDITOR

With 1905 =The Warbler= begins a new series which will contain many superb Colored Plates of rare eggs such as Kirtland and Olive Warbler, Carolina Paroquot, Clark's Crow, Ipswich and Rufous Crowned Sparrow, Yellow and Black Rail, Calaveras Warbler, etc. Also splendid illustrations of Birds and Nests, and leading articles by well known authorities.

Published Quarterly, 32 Pages & Cover

SUBSCRIPTION PRICE $1.00 PER YEAR. SINGLE COPIES 30c

Eggs of Kirtland Warbler will be figured in first issue (Jan. or Feb.) of the new series.

ADDRESS
THE WARBLER
FLORAL PARK, N. Y.

without some things altogether, the money will be forthcoming to purchase the plants we long for. Are they not worth the sacrifice?--_Prudence Plain, So. Car._

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CONNECTICUT

_Editor Mayflower:_

A friend of mine has a Winter Gem Rose, received as a premium with THE MAYFLOWER three or four years ago. This is put in the garden in summer, where it grows and blooms all summer. It is potted, cut back and taken in the house through the winter. It soon grows new branches and blooms nicely here. It is a favorite with the whole family. This same friend has the Bouquet Petunias, also a premium with THE MAYFLOWER. She has kept the old plant summer and winter, until this last summer it did not seem to do as well so she took slips. I planted mine in a flower-bed. They come up each year, some are mixed with some other kinds, but last summer there were some the same as the original.--_L. N. F._

CALIFORNIA

_Editor Mayflower:_

The Blue Palm is one of the very pretty varieties planted upon the choicest lawns. Its correct name is Erythea Armata, and it is a native of Lower California, that part of the country so little known. In the young plants, the blue "bloom" is very striking, and if the Palm is grown in the sun in sandy soil the "bloom" will always remain, but a shaded position and heavy soil destroys that beautiful color. It grows to about forty feet in its wild state, but does nothing like that in Southern California. It makes however a beautiful growth and adds to the beauty of a lawn, whether alone or arranged with other varieties.--_Georgina S. Townsend, So. Cal._

* * * * *

A Reliable Heart Cure.

Alice A. Wetmore, Box 67, Norwich, Conn., says if any sufferer from Heart Disease will write her she will without charge direct them to the perfect home cure she used.

* * * * *

A Household Necessity

The Kitchen Cabinet advertised on page 19 of this paper should be called the Woman's Friend. It is only 46 inches in length, 27 inches in width and 61 inches in height, but in this compact space may be stored 50 lbs. of flour, 50 lbs. of meal, 50 lbs. of sugar, with drawers and shelves for spices, knives, forks, spoons, pans, etc., etc., in fact a woman may do all her baking and scarcely move out of her tracks.

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This Boy won a $25.00 Prize selling _THE SATURDAY EVENING POST_ YOU can do the same

This is the "Champion Boy" of the State of Washington. His name is Harry Ireland. The smile on his face is due to the fact that he had in his pocket a check for $25 from THE SATURDAY EVENING POST.

This $25 is in addition to the regular commission he receives week after week for selling THE POST.

Harry is a hustler. The long strip of paper he holds in his hand is covered with closely written signatures of people who have instructed him to deliver THE POST for four consecutive weeks.

He persuaded several prominent business men to sign at the top of the sheet and their names influenced others to sign until the list became longer than he is tall.

This is one of the many ways we have suggested to help boys to sell THE POST. It makes the work so easy that thousands of boys have taken it up. Some are making $10 to $15 a week after school hours.

You can start in this business, at once, without capital. Send us your name and we will forward 10 free copies, which you can sell at five cents each. This will supply capital for the next week's order.

=$300 IN CASH TO BOYS Who Do Good Work EACH MONTH=

The Curtis Publishing Company, 215 Arch Street, Philadelphia

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DAKOTA, NORTH AND SOUTH

_Editor Mayflower:_

I believe the main trouble in growing Verbenas is in not getting them started early enough. They grow very slowly at first and if they are not good strong plants when set out are almost sure to die. If you get them started late do not think to hurry them by putting them out with the others that grow faster. Wait patiently until they are at least an inch and a half high and their quick growth will surprise you. And I will say to comfort some one who can not have flowers because the pigs sometimes get out, that I have never seen a pig touch a Verbena though I have lost Pinks and other flowers growing beside them. There is another flower that grows wild here that covered a quarter of our pasture last fail yet was not touched. The leaves resemble a Verbena some but are wider and not so thick; the main stalk is about two feet high when full grown and the branches run like a Verbena. The flowers are red and yellow mixed and about the size and shape of Rose Moss. They last one day and a hollow sphere-shaped seedpod takes their place. Can anyone tell me what the name is?--_Mrs. Nellie Fitzgerald, So. Dak._

FLORIDA

_Editor Mayflower:_

I thought that I would write an account of the curious freaks of Weigelia Eva Rathke received from Floral Park and transplanted to my grounds two years ago this winter. On the near approach of spring it began to grow rapidly, and soon bore its first crop of flowers. And such flowers as they were it was a rare treat to behold. Their five-petaled corollas, faultless in form, and each perhaps an inch and a half in diameter, were of the darkest and most intense red; a color that is almost unrivaled by any other, and which it retains till the last, is one of its attractions. About a month later it bloomed again, and kept up a continuous growth, which did not end till frozen down to the ground in the following December, after it had attained a height of over two feet. So I came to the conclusion that being a Northern shrub, and full of sap, it was undoubtedly killed out, root and branch. The next spring, when the ground had become well warmed up, I beheld two delicate, tiny looking sprouts from the root, which I immediately took charge of, giving them shade and an occasional watering. After awhile their growth became more vigorous; and after having attained a height of about eighteen inches they formed their terminal buds in early autumn, and ceased growing. At present both of them are alive along their entire length and all their buds are plump and dormant. I shall make a strong effort to push this shrub when warm weather comes again, as it looks as though under favorable circumstances it ought to thrive in the South. I also believe that Weigelia Rosea would likewise be at home here, as it is a thrifty large growing shrub in the North, and has every appearance of being an iron-clad.--_Joshua Morris._

GEORGIA

_Editor Mayflower:_

A well-grown Carnation cannot, in my opinion, be surpassed in elegance, beauty, or odor, by any other flower, yet we scarcely ever see it in perfection. Our summers here are too dry and hot for the full development of its beauties, but the young plants sent me from THE MAYFLOWER headquarters early this spring have so successfully overcome all difficulties that I cannot refrain from telling your readers that I think my success was due, first, to healthy young plants, and secondly, to ordering them _early_ in the season. Many years, for the want of this knowledge, I waited until the time for setting out tender plants in May before putting out Carnations, and thus deprived them of a season of six weeks well adapted to their growth. As Carnation plants are almost hardy, they may, with safety, be put out in the open ground in any section of the country as soon as lettuce, cabbage, etc., are planted. Of the dozen plants I received from THE MAYFLOWER only one has succumbed to our hot Southern summer, and the greater number are at this writing (Aug. 7,) growing beautifully. They are planted around the edge of a bed of Tea Roses, and have received no special attention except an occasional pinching out of the terminal shoots to produce a stocky growth. When the roses were mulched with grass clippings at the beginning of summer a layer was placed around the Carnations, and when the Roses are sprinkled with the hose every evening the Carnations come in for their share of the moisture. A single blossom of Gen. Maceo would amply repay me for all the trouble I have taken, as one flower of this variety remained fresh and bright for over a week.--_A. M. Stuart._

* * * * *

Deafness Can Be Cured

I Have Made the Most Marvelous Discovery for the Positive Cure of Deafness and Head Noises and I Give the Secret Free.

With This Wonderful, Mysterious Power I Have Made People Deaf for Years Hear the Tick of a Watch in a Few Minutes.

Send Me No Money--Simply Write Me About Your Case and I Send You the Secret by Return Mail Absolutely Free.

After years of research along the lines of the deeper scientific mysteries of the occult and invisible of Nature-forces I have found the cause and cure of deafness and head noises, and I have been enabled by this same mysterious knowledge and power to give to many unfortunate and suffering persons perfect hearing again; and I say to those who have thrown away their money on cheap apparatus, salves, air-pumps, washes, douches and the list of innumerable trash that is offered the public through flaming advertisements, I can and will cure you to stay cured. I ask no money. My treatment method is one that is so simple it can be used in your own home. You can investigate fully, absolutely free and you pay for it only after you are thoroughly convinced that it will cure you, as it has others. It seems to make no difference with this marvelous new method how long you have been deaf nor what caused your deafness, this new treatment will restore your hearing quickly and permanently. No matter how many remedies have failed you--no matter how many doctors have pronounced your case hopeless, this new magic method of treatment will cure you. I prove this to your entire satisfaction before you pay a cent for it. Write to-day and I will send you full information absolutely free by return mail. Address Dr. Guy Clifford Powell, 1592 Auditorium Building, Peoria, Ill. Remember, send no money--simply your name and address. You will receive an immediate answer and full information by return mail.

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IOWA

_Editor Mayflower:_

My Cineraria did no good except to keep alive until I removed the top soil and put in a mixture of garden soil, one-fourth well rotted manure, and one-fourth sand. It is now doing extremely well. I put my Tuberose in water and it remained there for six or eight hours, then I planted it in earth mixed like that for the Cineraria. I planted my Cyclamen in the same kind of soil. Both are doing nicely. I lost a number of Begonia slips by keeping the earth too wet. I now keep the earth moist and I have the plants in a cool place, which seems to be better for them. It takes a long time for a new growth to appeal. My neighbor asked me to care for five of her large Begonias. The flies and the dust had almost destroyed them. She told me not to give them a shower bath as that would 'cook' the leaves. I did it, however, and the Begonias were doing nicely when she took them home again. I was invited to visit an old fashioned flower garden a few days ago. I did so and found it old, old fashioned indeed. The flower beds were arranged here and there in the vegetable garden. Phlox seemingly four feet high, Hibiscus that would certainly measure ten feet around the largest part of the bush, and a few other plants of the same order. All the bloom was very scattering and very small and quite inferior to what up-to-date flower beds should be.--_Ursula._

ILLINOIS

_Editor Mayflower:_

So many advise if but one Begonia is kept to let it be a Rubra. Well, a well grown Rubra in full bloom is a gorgeous sight, but the President Carnot is more beautiful, is a more robust and more rapid grower. The foliage is beautiful, showing a sheen like changeable silk. Ours is now in a three-gallon pail, has four stems, one 27 inches high from top of bucket, has five large panicles of bloom, as large as man's hand, and has not been without bloom since the 20th of June. One bunch of bloom will hang on in fine condition for six weeks, if the plant is not disturbed. It is the admiration of all who see it. This specimen was 12 inches high when we placed it in the Begonia bed the 22nd, of May. There it grew and grew, until the first of September when it was placed in a pail, and since then it has grown and blossomed almost like the famous gourd. The soil is old swamp dirt, with one-fourth wood soot. No insects have ever bothered it. We spray the leaves with warm water to cleanse the lovely foliage and water the plant with very warm water. Try this Begonia, it is a fine one.--_E. Clearwaters._

KANSAS

_Editor Mayflower:_

Seldom you see anything written about the good old fashioned Zinnias. How our grandmothers prided themselves on their summer flowers as they called them. Then why should we push them off for something new because they have been cultivated so many years. They should be held up as the old songs of long ago are being sung to-day. Zinnias are easily grown. Make a bed of good rich soil and the last of April or the first of May plant your seed, then keep the weeds out, water in the dry season, and you will have a nice bed of flowers until frost. They are among the hardiest annual plants raised and any flower lover can raise them with but little care.--_Sunflower._

* * * * *

Cancer of the Breast--How Mrs. Elizabeth
Worley's Life Was
Saved.

Warnock, O., April 28, 1904.

Dr. D. M. Bye Co., Indianapolis, Ind.

DEAR DOCTORS--I will write you again to let you know I am well and doing my own work. There is no sign of the cancer coming back. You have cured me of a cancer that four other cancer doctors told me I never could be cured of. May God bless you in your good work. If I never meet you on this earth I hope to meet you in Heaven.

Respectfully,

ELIZABETH WORLEY.

All forms of cancer or tumor, internal or external, cured by soothing, balmy oil, and without pain or disfigurement. No experiment, but successfully used ten years. Write to the home office of the originator for free book.--DR. D. M. BYE Co., Drawer 505, Dept, 82, Indianapolis, Ind.

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KENTUCKY

_Editor Mayflower:_

There are few who think to take up plants for winter garnishing, yet if one has a pit, conservatory or greenhouse enough can be raised for any amount of entertaining, without missing either the time or space. There are two plants suitable for this purpose, the Parsley and Lettuce, but the Parsley will be found most valuable and will be much more easily grown than the Lettuce. The Parsley is as pretty as it is useful, and a few sprays of this dropped on a meat platter or on salad dishes adds much to the attractiveness of the table. There are florists who grow this profitably as a greenery for cut flowers, and when grown in partial shade is quite dainty and pretty enough for this purpose. The Curled Lettuce is best for this purpose, but if kept damp is almost sure to rot.--_Laura Jones._

LOUISIANA

_Editor Mayflower:_

Last winter a lady gave me some cuttings, among them a piece of green and white striped "Wandering Jew." I put this cutting in a pot with some hardy plant, and when the freeze came it was forgotten, and of course it froze. I dug it up and found one joint green, so planted it. It soon put out two shoots and it was transplanted to a two-gallon pan of well rotted manure and leaf mold, given an abundance of water, and how it did grow! It has covered the pan and hangs down, many of the vines being over a yard long,--one is 57 inches long. But when it first began to grow some of the shoots were perfectly green, and all branches from those shoots are green. Many other shoots were beautifully striped, and some nearly white. I also have a fine box full of purple striped Wandering Jew, but I prefer the green and white, for it hangs so much more gracefully. These common plants, if grown at their best, are lovely for small stands, hanging baskets, or any place where a trailing plant is desirable, I have grown delicate vines in pots very little, but a Kenilworth Ivy I have has encouraged me to add others to my gallery garden, and I expect to take great pleasure in training them.--_Mrs. L. B. R._

MAINE

_Editor Mayflower:_

If any of your readers want something odd and interesting in the way of plants let them try one of your Little Monarch Fern Balls. I have had rather hard luck with mine. I received the Fern Ball about a year ago, and every member of the family except myself condemned it at once as being "no good," but I kept it watered and in a few weeks it began to show signs of life and had several little fronds on it in April when we decided to move, and the Fern Ball was left with my other plants for a friend to care for. She kept them all well watered except that, and when I next saw it in May it looked a few degrees deader than it did in the first place (if possible), but it came to life again and then it got chilled in the fall so it died again apparently; but now it is starting to grow all over and if nothing new happens to it it will soon be very pretty. I think it has more lives than a cat.--_Mrs. F. M. Young._

MONTANA

_Editor Mayflower:_

While visiting the florist's near home this spring I watched him at his work repotting Boston Ferns and learned something new. They say there's a trick for every trade and I now believe it, for I found him putting three and four Ferns of the same variety into the same pot, making them all appear as one plant. If professional florists can do so why isn't it good enough to pass along to ambitious amateurs? I have always wanted some Ferns, but as we can't always regulate the heat at night and I find it necessary to be away from home sometimes in winter, I have decided to wait until I have a home in a more congenial clime than this,--not that Montana is not all right, but our home, at present, is high up in the mountains and winter is both long and severe. However, when I do buy Ferns I shall try and purchase at least three of every kind I decide on and pot them together, and then if in after years they are too crowded I can easily repot and divide them at the same time.--_Laurel._

MARYLAND

_Editor Mayflower:_

Outside all is snow and ice, the wind howls and rattles at doors and windows and I feel very sure Jack Frost is trying to get in to nip my few pretty, thrifty window plants, but I do not think he will succeed, for when I shut them up at night in tight boxes, and cover the tops, I do not believe he could reach them though a blizzard raged. I have been looking out at a bed where there are two dozen glass jars showing, or rather their tops are just sticking out, for they are well banked with old well rotted cowpen manure and coarse litter thrown over that--and all now covered over with snow, making little white mounds all over the bed. But I know that underneath these mounds are two dozen little Rose slips--some very choice varieties--and every chance I get to peep at them, which is every chance I get to go outside, they look fresh and green and bid fair promise of much pleasure in the spring and summer when, if they grow as those I raised a year ago under glass jars did, it will be a marvel to watch them. I think it a far more satisfactory way to raise Roses than to buy small rooted plants from a florist; at least, such has been my experience.--_Sister Belle._

MISSISSIPPI

_Editor Mayflower:_

Anyone who has never seen the Giant Browallia in bloom can never realize how very pretty and bright it is. Last summer I saw a lovely stand of Geraniums of various shades and among them was a pot of Browallia in full bloom. The contrast was fine. I think the shade is very much like that of the hardy Plumbago Lady Lapente, though I've never seen the two together. It is a lovely shade of deep blue. With me it has only one rival among blue flowers and that is Plumbago Capense. The latter is a lovely delicate blue while the former is a deep dark blue. I am unbounded in my admiration of both plants. The plants are cheap. I have never seen it only as a pot plant yet I believe it would make a most excellent bedding plant.--_Mrs. P. L. Young._

* * * * *

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* * * * *

MICHIGAN

_Editor Mayflower:_

In my order to Floral Park, two years ago, for seeds and plants, I included an order for one of the unique Acalyphas Sanderi. I had read somewhere that these plants would prove a disappointment to the amateur, and must have hot-house culture to develop their beauty, so of course I wanted to try one in my south window. The plant as received was about 5 inches high and beginning to blossom. I placed it in good rich soil, gave it plenty of warmed (not hot) water, and the very warmest, sunniest corner of the south window, so screened that the sun's rays were caught and held in the little nook where it stood. I persisted in the warmed water treatment and never let the soil get dry. The lustrous green leaves soon began to appear and at the stem of each leaf a bloom-tassel grew in crimson contrast. I am well pleased with my experience with this plant.--_Lillian McIntosh._

MINNESOTA

_Editor Mayflower:_

I wonder who first advanced that miserable theory that Begonias should be watered sparingly, be kept always in the shade and not a drop of water allowed to touch the leaves. No wonder that Begonias treated in that way drop their leaves and refuse to grow. I have grown a great many varieties--I have forgotten how many--and I find that they all like heat and moisture, and showering or spraying the leaves is a benefit to them if the sun is not allowed to shine on them while they are wet. While the rough or hairy leaved varieties will not stand hot sunshine they will do much better and be more sure to bloom if they stand where the early morning or late afternoon sun can shine upon them. B. Vernon and two or three other varieties will stand as much hot sunshine as Portulaca if given plenty of water at the roots and an overhead showering every day after the sun is gone, in dry weather. No Begonia will do well here on the prairie if bedded out, and plunging in pot is worse. I don't like earthen pots for them any way--the plants do better in wood or tin. I have a number of pots (?) made from gallon paint kegs; one keg makes two, which I use for my Tuberous Begonias. I use broken bones for drainage, a mixture of leaf mold and sand for soil, plant one bulb in a keg, and after the weather becomes warm I place the kegs on a bench which stands in an angle of the house, said angle being open to the north and east and gets the sun till 11 o'clock. I keep the soil moist and shower the leaves when I think they need it. And those plants do grow and bloom, the foliage is immense, some of the leaves measuring 8 by 12 or 14 inches, and the blossoms measure from 2 to 4 inches across. I have counted fifteen such blossoms on one plant at one time. Do they do much better than that anywhere? Mine are the finest I have ever seen.--_H. J. W._

NEW JERSEY

_Editor Mayflower:_

I "assisted" a few days ago at a tree-moving, if assisting means standing shivering in the snow watching eight men and four horses try to remove a White Thorn tree (_Cratægus coccinea_) from the frozen ground. The earth had been dug away about three feet each way from the trunk in order to preserve the root-ball intact, though truth to tell, one root went too deep and was ruthlessly cut. By means of skids, a stone-sled, a jack-chain and much audible exertion, the tree was finally started on its journey. Owing to bad management, a beautiful Tulip-tree was sacrificed to open up a road for the royal procession, but the men thought nothing of that--it was only a tree in the woods. In the yard a great hole was waiting, with a deep layer of manure in the bottom; and here, with more exertion, the tree was set, due regard being paid to the points of the compass. It was a low spreading tree and certainly worth the moving, and held in its branches a trim little nest. But "there are no birds in last year's nest"--no little bird to say whether or no this small tree will take kindly to its transplanting. So it will be watched with mingled hope and misgiving.--_Mrs. M. H. L._

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A knowledge of Shakespeare's plays is essential to the well informed man or women, but the ordinary edition is so defective in notes and glossaries that reading the plays becomes a difficult task instead of an enjoyable entertainment.

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is based on three centuries of searching criticism. It indicates the high-water mark of Shakespearean scholarship. All recognized authorities are represented in the notes and explanatory matter, among them being Dyce, Coleridge, Dowden, Johnson, Malone, White and Hudson. The sets are in thirteen handsome volumes--size 7-1/2 x 5-1/2 inches--containing 7,000 pages; attractively bound in cloth and half-leather; 400 illustrations--reproductions of quaint wood-cuts of Shakespeare's time, and beautiful color plates.

No Other Edition Contains:

=Topical Index:= By means of which the reader can find
any desired passage in the plays and poems.

=Critical Comments= on the plays and characters selected
from the writings of eminent Shakespearian scholars.

=Glossaries following each Play=, so that you do not
have to turn to a separate volume to find the meaning of every
obscure word.

=Two Sets of Notes:= Explanatory notes for the general
reader and critical notes for the student or scholar.

=Arguments:= Preceding each play is an analysis of the
play called the "argument," written in an interesting story-telling
way.

=Study Methods:= A complete method of study on each play,
consisting of study questions and suggestions,--the idea being
to furnish a complete college course of Shakespearian study.

=Life of Shakespeare= by Dr. Israel Gollancz, with critical
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really knows about Shakespeare.

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We have just completed =a new= and limited edition which will be distributed exclusively through our Shakespeare Club. =The= advantages of ordering through the Club are that you have the entire set shipped to you for leisurely examination without costing you a cent; you can retain it, if it proves to be what you want, at the low Club price, which is about half the regular price, and you may pay in easy monthly payments. The prices through the Club are =$24.00 for the half-leather= binding and =$20.00 for the cloth= binding--payable at the rate of $1.00 or $2.00 a month. The regular prices of this edition are $44.00 and $36.00. You are going to buy a good set of Shakespeare some day. Why not buy the best edition NOW, when you can get it at half price and on easy payments.

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Those who apply promptly will receive absolutely free of charge three valuable premiums. One is an attractive portfolio of pictures ready for framing, entitled "Literature in Art." It is a series of reproductions by the duogravure color process of great paintings of scenes from celebrated books. There are sixteen pictures, each 11x15 inches in size. Among the subjects are scenes from Shakespeare, Dickens' Novels, Dumas' Novels, Tennyson's Poems, etc. Every picture is a splendid work of art, full of grace and beauty. This portfolio alone sells for $8.00. In addition to the Portfolio we send the Topical Index and Plan of Study described above. The last two Premiums cannot be purchased separate from the set for less than $6.00.

_THE UNIVERSITY SOCIETY
78 Fifth Avenue New York_

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NEW HAMPSHIRE

_Editor Mayflower:_

Let me give you a peep at my flowers this cold day in January, with the mercury so far below zero as not to be neighborly and the wind blowing and snow flying as only new hampshire snows _do_ fly, making necessary constant intercourse with the stove, to replenish fuel, as on farms wood is used for that purpose and farmers have no dread of a "coal famine." A very large De Lesseps Begonia is loaded with immense clusters of white waxy flowers; a Woodstock Begonia is brilliant with large panicles of red blossoms, also Otto Hacker and Wetsteinii well filled with buds. I also have in blossom an Abutilon and three Obconica Primulas. I have six varieties of Rex Begonias, a magnificent boston fern, and an immense acacia which, although two years old, has never blossomed, though the foliage is lovely; can any one tell me why? through the columns of THE MAYFLOWER, where we find so much help in plant culture.--_Sunie Mar._

NEW YORK

_Editor Mayflower:_

Last spring I planted two bunches of the roots of Rudbeckia or Golden Glow. although it is what some might call a coarse flower yet its color is fine and very showy, and i know of no plant that blossoms so continuously as the Golden Glow, and it is a plant that never tires of growing and sending out new blossoms from early summer until autumn. They grow to be six feet high and must be staked otherwise the plant will topple over. But the glory of my small flower garden was a bed of Zinnias as they represented every known color, and was one blaze of color from midsummer until autumn, when Jack Frost closed the scene.--_Mrs. A. C. Buck._

OREGON

_Editor Mayflower:_

The best time for pruning Hybrid Perpetual Roses is in January or early February. Select the strong, well-matured, young shoots at sufficient distance apart to allow a free circulation of air and cut back to one and one-half to two feet, leaving from four to five canes. If, however, the Rose is an unusually strong grower it can be left from three to three and one-half feet. Even when left this way it will sometimes be found necessary to thin out the young shoots, for if they grow too close to each other they are liable to mildew. Tea Roses can he pruned during the same season with good results, though they do not require so severe a trimming down as the Hybrid Perpetuals. With the teas the important part is the cutting back and removing of all old and weak wood, dead twigs and unhealthy limbs. Spraying should be done just after the winter pruning, just before growth begins in the early spring. A careful spray at these times will remove all danger from insects and disease, mildew and black spot. The best spray can be made by taking four ounces of copper sulphate, four ounces of unslaked lime, and three gallons of water. For the green aphis, which attacks the young and tender shoots, spraying with quassia is the most beneficial as well as least harmful to the plant, using four ounces to one gallon of water, either soaking it over night or boiling for about 10 minutes.--_Dennis H. Stovall._

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To the person sending the best list of names we will present $25.00 in gold; 2nd best $15.00; 3rd best $10.00.

We will keep an accurate record of the number of subscribers we secure out of each list and the persons from whose list we secure the greatest number of subscribers by March 15, 1905, will receive the above Prizes. In case three or more lists produce equal results we reserve the right to divide the fifty dollars equally between them.

=Remember=--Send just ten names from one P. O. do not send names of children or people not interested in farming. We give away the $50.00 in order to get select lists and you cannot get your share of it unless you choose the names carefully.

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* * * * *

OHIO

_Editor Mayflower:_

We are trying to grow the giant white Narcissus in the house this winter, and they are doing nicely so far, having buds ready to bloom now. Are these bulbs like the Chinese Sacred Lilies, worthless after being once forced? We also have the Sacred Lilies in bloom with two pots coming on for a succession of blossoming. The latter are so easy to grow and are so beautiful with their sweet fragrance, that more people should grow them. We have also two pots of Hyacinths with 3 bulbs in each pot, which have just been brought up from the cellar, and are now beginning to show growth.--_Miss M. A. Graber._

PENNSYLVANIA

_Editor Mayflower:_

I usually keep but one plant of a kind, and in order to keep that one blooming at its best I have been in the habit of keeping the withered flowers cut off, and not allowing them to ripen seed, but there are many possibilities in this way of increasing plants. By exchanges with friends last fall I received several varieties of Geraniums, that were new to me. Among them was one named Albert Delarix; the flower is bright pink, shaded deeper in the centre, and plentifully dotted over with darker spots; it is very delicate and very beautiful. Another was Souvenir de Mirande, that reminds one of a cluster of Apple blossoms. Now one word about two flowers I received from Floral Park in May. Amaryllis Formosissima was in bloom in one week after I planted the bulb. It was just like the picture in the catalogue. Ismene Calathena bloomed in one month after planting. I have never seen any description of this plant that does it justice. I bought one on the recommendation that "it was sure to give satisfaction," and I can cheerfully recommend it where a white Amaryllis is desired. It is a flower not easy to describe.--_Mrs. M. C. Marshall._

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