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.