FLORICULTURE. The increasing taste for •the cultivation of flowers not only in our city and village gardens but at our rural homesteads, is evidence not only of progress in refinement and material wealth, but also of correct appre ciation of the beautiful in nature, and the goodly influences they bring in education to a higher human nature. With the explosion of the dogmas of the old gardeners that each species of plant must have its special soil, and in some cases mixed with the minutest care from many different sources, and that each plant should have a particular degree of heat and moisture, has come the abandonment, in a measure, of the practice, from the fact that the plants usually cultivated at our homes do well in ordinary soil, if well enriched—heavy soils, with a compost of rotted sods and decayed horse manure; and light soils, with rotted sods and decayed cow manure. Thus we may bring both these soils, the first to a light, friable condition, and the last to a state sufficiently compact to stand ordinary drying. For pot plants, for instance, rotted sods from a loamy pasture, one-half, rotted cow manure, one-quarter, and leaf mold, one-qua• ter, will answer for the majority of plants. cultivated, and with proper watering they may be kept in vigorous health. With both pot plants and the garden flowers usually cultivated it should be remembered that fuchsias, begonias, and even geraniums, gladiolus, etc., do not like hot sun, and also that no flowers should be exposed to sweeping winds Another dogma, now exploded, that house-plants are injurious to health, should have been known long ago. The perfume of certain flowers is unpleasant to the senses of nervous individuals. Let them be avoided, but do not fear that the emanation of the plants ordinarily kept in rooms are detri mental to health. This misstatement has been accepted, and harped upon, by those wha grudged the time and care necessary to this god like means of enjoyment. There are no more healthy nor long lived persons than florists, who• spend their days, and sometimes nights, in the atmosphere of green houses crowded with plants. It is the lack of fresh air that is fatal to health, and plants can not thrive without plenty of air. There is another class of persons, and here, among the class who cultivate flowers, who make the mistake of grudging the cutting of flowers. for table and other indoor adornment. The true human mission of flowers is to be cut, and really nearly all that class, useful for indoor decoration, bloom better for moderate cutting at least. Da not, therefore, raise flowers merely to look at out of doors. If the housewife and children are the cultivators, leave them alone to follow their natural instincts and tastes in cutting flowers for use. If the master of the house be the cultivator, give the family full liberty in the matter of cutting, only designating certain specimens that must he reserved for the judgment and discretion of the master. The family will soon learn to discriminate between those that may be freely cut and those not so free in their bloom, but nevertheless worthy a place at the home, or in the green-house, for some rare peculiarity or grace. One other mistake, often made in the
cultivation of annuals, is in sowing them too early. The hardy kinds should not be sown until just before corn (maize) planting time, or about the time of sowing flax. The tender varieties are better reserved until corn is above ground and growing. The most economical way with all varieties of plants, that will bear transplant ing, is to sow them in a cold frame of nicely prepared' soil, and transplant at the proper sea son. Thus China and other garden pinks may be biought into bloom by July 1st ; and balsams, candytuft, mignonette, nasturtiums, phlox, sweet alyssum zinnias and, in fact, all anneals may be forwarded fully three weeks before bloom may be had where they are sown outside. The labor of sowing and transplanting is, in reality, far less than that of watching and waiting for, and weeding the tiny things when young, to say nothing of the vexation often arising from loss. Of the varieties mentioned above, nasturtium and mignonette should be sown in small pots, allowing three plants to each pot, and turned out with the balls entire, since they do not bear transplanting well. In transplanting plants arc often killed by too much fussing with. Make a place sufficient to receive the roots, set the plant, press the earth firm about the roots, leaving a little depression; fill this with water, and when it has settled completely away, draw dry earth over all, and few plants will ever wilt to harm them. A little practice will soon ena ble any one to perform this work quickly and well. Much taste may be displayed in the for mation of the beds, and by the exercise of tact in planting, by the selection of suitable varie ties. The tasteful arrangement of cut flowers in bouquets, baskets, vases, and designs for dec orative purposes, is an art worthy of study. The arrangement of color, mapping of designs, the grouping, and the added spray of leaves and tendrils, and the blending of perfumes, is a most fascinating study to all who have flowers. Iu the formation of floral designs, especially bouquets, as a rule, beginners crowd the flow ers too much together, and do not use green enough. The filling up, as the adding of spray is called, and the arrangement of the ground work of green, and the preservation of individ uality of color and character, may be called the fine art of decorative arrangement. For instance, we may easily see that heliotrope and alyssum, when combined, lose their individu ality. Combined with other distinct flowers -their charm. is heightened. Flowers borne in long spikes, as lillies, gladiolus, etc., are best for vases, but individual blooms may be taken, wired to splints, and introduced with effect in flower pieces of considerable size. For articles on special flowers, see the several names as treated. See also landscape gardening for form_ of beds and planting.