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  January Contents

                                             PAGE

  Editorial Notes                               5


  =THE ASTER=

  _By Lora S. La Mance_

  History of the Aster                          6

  The Modern Aster                              6

  General Culture of the Aster               7-11

    About Seed, 7--Time to Start Asters,
    8--Preparing an Aster Bed, 8--Mulching
    and Watering, 8--Insect Foes of Asters,
    9--Other Cultural Rules, 11

  The Aster as a Cut Flower                    11

  Leading Varieties of Asters              12, 13

  The Winter Woods (Poem)                      13

  The Live Oak (Poem)                          13

  Information Box                          14, 15

  Communications                           16, 30



ISSUED BY THE =MAYFLOWER PUBLISHING CO.= FLORAL PARK, N.Y.

       *       *       *       *       *

[Illustration]

  Childs' Giant Cyclamen.

  Our new strain of Cyclamen is the finest in the world.
  Enormous flowers, delicate colors, superb foliage. Each
  bulb produces scores of flowers at once, and each flower
  keeps perfect about two months before fading. As easily
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  Colors range from dark red to white, delicate blush and
  pink shades prevailing. Often flowers will be spotted.

  The foliage is very beautiful, being variegated, with different
  shades of green, and helps to show off the flowers which
  rise above it, to a remarkable degree. In fact, a plant in
  bloom always looks like a tastily arranged vase of flowers
  and foliage. We offer bulbs for blooming at once, and seed
  which soon makes flowering plants.

  =BULBS.=

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  _Bulbs, 30c. each; the 4 for $1.00._

  =Giant Mixed=--All colors, tints and shades, some being finely
  spotted. 25c. each; 5 for $1.00.

  =SEED.=--Of above sorts and colors separate or all of them
  mixed, at 20c. per pkt.; 3 pkts. for 50c.

       *       *       *       *       *

  =Seeds--Bulbs--Plants--Fruits

  OUR 1905 CATALOGUE.=

  30th Anniversary Edition. 148 pages,
   plates and hundreds of superb cuts.

  _SENT FREE TO ALL WHO APPLY._

  Among our great Novelties and Specialties are the
  following:

  Ivy-leaved Moonflowers, New Asters, Carnations, Geraniums,
  Coleus, Petunias, Verbenas, <DW29>s, Primulas,
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  JOHN LEWIS CHILDS, Floral Park, N. Y.

[Illustration]

       *       *       *       *       *

_THE MAYFLOWER MAGAZINE_

_Sent for 3 years for only 30c. together with 10 fine Flowering Bulbs
Free._

For twenty years THE MAYFLOWER monthly magazine has been the most
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one subject and this subject is treated fully and concisely, being a
perfect treatise. Some of the leading articles for next year will be as
follows: Dahlias, Sweet Peas, Nasturtiums, Carnations, Violets, Asters,
etc. Besides these leading articles each issue contains many more which
while not so lengthy are none the less useful and interesting. Each
issue also contains two important and useful departments, namely:

=The Information Box:= What our Readers Want to Know, by Lora S. La Mance.
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Thousands of Women Have Kidney Trouble and Never Suspect It.

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  Didn't Know I Had Kidney Trouble

I had tried so many remedies without benefit that I was about
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[Illustration: MRS. A. L. WALKER]

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  Gratefully yours,

  MRS. A. L. WALKER,
  21 McDaniel St., Atlanta, Ga.


=WOMEN= suffer untold misery because the nature of their disease is not
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=Why Swamp-Root Gives Strength=

Not only does Swamp-Root bring new life and activity to the kidneys, the
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on every bottle.

  _To Prove What SWAMP-ROOT, the Great Kidney, Liver and Bladder
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=EDITORIAL NOTICE=--No matter how many doctors you have tried--no matter
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yourself, and to your family, to at least give Swamp-Root a trial. Its
strongest friends to-day are those who had almost given up hope of ever
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the most distressing cases, that to prove its wonderful merits you may
have a sample bottle and a book of valuable information, both sent
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you read this generous offer in THE MAYFLOWER. The proprietors of this
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fifty-cent and one-dollar size bottles at all drug stores everywhere.

       *       *       *       *       *

[Illustration]

VOL. XXI. FLORAL PARK, N. Y., JANUARY, 1905. No. 1

THE MAYFLOWER,

PUBLISHED MONTHLY AT FLORAL PARK, N. Y.,

----BY----

The Mayflower Publishing Co.

JOHN LEWIS CHILDS, President.

_Subscription Price, 50 Cents for 3 years_.

Foreign subscribers must send two shillings extra for postage.

Devoted to the cultivation of Flowers and Plants, Gardening and Home
Adornment in general.

_Copyrighted 1904 by the Mayflower Publishing Company_

Entered as Second Class Mail Matter at Floral Park P. O., N. Y.

_The principal subject of this issue is The Aster, by Lora S. La Mance.
Read it and preserve the copy. It is worth keeping and you are quite
likely to need it for future reference._

Complete volume of THE MAYFLOWER for 1904, now ready, price 25c.
postpaid. Any volume from 1894 to 1904, inclusive, 25 cts. each.


Editorial Notes

=Our Attractive Offer for 1905=

We would refer our readers to one of the foregoing pages for complete
information regarding our club premiums for 1905. As usual, we offer a
good premium, (one that is well worth working for,) to the club raiser
for every subscriber he or she sends us. Here is a chance for all our
readers to add materially to their collection of floral treasures, as it
is the simplest thing in the world to go out among one's friends and
neighbors and get subscribers to THE MAYFLOWER. So good a floral
magazine, at only 25c. for 3 years, together with 10 beautiful summer
blooming bulbs for only 5c. extra, is a proposition that people are
likely to accept, when it is brought to their attention, especially if
they are the least bit interested in flowers or gardening.


=The Warbler=

If you are in the least interested in the scientific study of birds and
bird protection, you surely need THE WARBLER magazine, which we publish
at $1.00 per year, and which is advertised elsewhere in our columns.


=Imitation Gardenias=

The gardenia flowers now so much favored for wearing are expensive. All
the dames beautiful enough to deserve them in profusion, do not receive
them, perhaps. Clever imitations of the sprays are sometimes made up of
the large shining leaves of the Japan Euonymus and the flowers of the
Double Poet's Narcissus, N. alba plena odorata. Unfortunately, the
difference in odor does not lend itself to the illusion.


=Two Favorite Bedding <DW29>s=

These are Emperor William and Lord Beaconsfield. One is light blue and
the other yellow, so that, en masse, they are effective at a distance.
The rich, dark, velvety <DW29>s are really more beautiful to look at,
but we must stand close by them or hold them in the hand in order to
enjoy them. In photographs the flowers of dark varieties hardly show at
all. A good example of the handling of <DW29>s for effectiveness is
shown in the planting of the six solid beds usually devoted to them in
the grounds of Girard College, Philadelphia. The beds chosen for them
are those that have been planted with Tulips the autumn beforehand. From
seed sown in August grow thrifty young plants that are wintered in a
cold-frame. As soon as the Tulips show leaves above ground young <DW29>
plants are set between them. When the Tulip flowers begin to fade the
<DW29>s are opening their buds, and when the faded bulb-stems are cut
away, lo! <DW29> beds in full bloom!

       *       *       *       *       *

THE ASTER

BY LORA S. LA MANCE, MO.

_History of the Aster--The Modern Aster--General Culture of the
Aster--About Seed--Time to Start Asters--Preparing an Aster
Bed--Mulching and Watering--Insect Foes of Asters--Other Cultural
Rules--The Aster as a Cut Flower--Leading Varieties of Asters._


HISTORY OF THE ASTER

Starworts or Aster-like flowers of the Compositae family are found in
many parts of the world. In far-off China a flower-loving Catholic
missionary noted a showy flower of late summer and early autumn. That
was nearly two hundred years ago. The flower was what is botanically
known as Callistephus, a Greek term meaning beautiful crown. From a
scientific standpoint it was not an Aster at all, though closely related
to that family. This wild Daisy-like Callistephus bore many graceful
single flowers about the size of our largest wild Asters. The flowers
consisted of a single row of light bluish-purple ray petals surrounding
a golden disk-like center. In 1731 the Jesuit missionary sent seeds of
it to France. It was liked from the first, and its early French
cultivators politely named it _Reine Marguerite_--Queen Daisy.

In due time the plant reached England. Here it was re-named. In allusion
to its origin and to the star-like spread of its bluish petals, they
called it China Aster, =i.e.= China Star. Even in our mother's day it was
still called the China Aster. It became popular, especially as it soon
sported into different colors. Otherwise there was little change in it
until a little after 1840, when the first double flowers were produced.

From that time its development was something marvelous. French, English,
German and American hybridizers have vied with each other in bringing
out new forms. It must be considered now as one of the few flowers that
has all but reached perfection. There are three or four marked types of
flowers, and it would seem impossible in any of these types to add to
their beauty of form or to improve their colors, unless it would be to
add a really deep yellow to the list of shades. Nor is anything lacking
in size or doubleness of bloom.


THE MODERN ASTER

Our Asters of to-day range in size from the dwarfs, 6 to 12 inches high,
to half dwarfs, 15 to 18 inches tall, and tall sorts, 20 inches to 2
feet in height. There are three leading types of flowers. (1)
Rose-flowered, shaped and imbricated like a blooded rose, the outer
petals reflexed or rolled back, and the inner ones slightly recurved.
This type of flower is much prized by those who like regularity of
petals. They are as perfect as though moulded and shaped out of wax. (2)
Peony-flowered, large blossoms with incurved petals, making a
globe-shaped flower. (3) Chrysanthemum-flowered, with closely arranged,
informal petals, sometimes curled and feathered to a high degree. Beside
there are quilled, ball, and tassel Asters, etc., modifications or
sports of the types mentioned.

The Aster is a showy flower, and grows well for those who treat it well,
in any climate or country. They come into bloom in late midsummer and
last until frost, one of the scarcest times in the year for really good
flowers. It is fine for exhibition at flower shows, and is useful as a
cut flower. For all of these reasons the Aster would be a standard
flower. Their great popularity is based, however, on two qualifications
not mentioned above, and both of which they possess in a superlative
degree. These qualities are great beauty of flower and a wonderful
diversity and perfection of coloring.

A well grown Aster is simply magnificent. The Chrysanthemum is
acknowledged to be the queen of autumn. Nevertheless more than one
unscrupulous florist has palmed off great fluffy white blooms of Asters
as those of Queen Chrysanthemum herself. Size, form, color and substance
go to make up a superbly beautiful flower without a trace of coarseness
or gaudiness about it. In poetical language their flowers symbolize both
bounty and cheerfulness in old age.

No one but an artist should attempt to describe an Aster's colors. There
are nearly thirty shades in Truffaut's Peony-flowered Asters. Victoria
Asters can be purchased under twenty-four separate colors. Other
sections show still other shades, to say nothing of those with white
crowns and  borders, and those with striped and silver-tipped
flowers.

[Illustration: A BED OF MIXED VARIETIES OF ASTERS]

Only the drifted snow can compare with the purity of a white Aster. It
has those spotless flowers that bring thoughts of heaven. Asters have
many blue and lavender tints. None of them are muddy, or metallic, or
dingy, as are too many blues and lavenders. They show the blue of a June
sky, or the blue of the amethyst, or the color of the lilac of spring,
together with soft lavenders, pale blues and deep indigo. Sulphur and
primrose tints are the nearest yellow, but in reds they run the gamut
from rosy flesh and palest apple-blossom through shell pink, peach,
rose, carmine, scarlet and blood red to deepest crimson. Many of the
pink shades are exquisitely beautiful. Only the pure whites can surpass
them.


GENERAL CULTURE OF THE ASTER

I would like to say that a six-year old child can raise good Asters, and
that they will grow in any kind of ground from a clay bank to a sand
pit, or stand any kind of treatment. I can't truthfully say those
things, however, for my Lady Aster is a fastidious dame. She wants
plenty to eat and plenty to drink, and requires her insect foes kept at
bay. Those who are not willing to do this had better let her alone.
James Vick, that good old seedsman now gone to his reward, was an Aster
enthusiast. His experience concisely summed up amounts to this:

     _Never let them flag from seed-leaf to time of full bloom. Give
     deep, rich ground, plenty of sunshine, and mulch with coarse
     manure. Stake the tall varieties so as to prevent their blowing
     over._

That's a good rule for those who want everything in a nutshell. It may
be summed up in another way. The way to have fine Asters is to do these
six things: (1) Get the best seed; (2) start in a seasonable time; (3)
give rich, mellow ground; (4) never allow them to parch; (5) keep
insects down; and (6) stake when necessary.

[Sidenote: About Seed]

There are many kinds of seed that may be home grown year after year and
the strain suffer no deterioration. Aster seed is not one of these
kinds. If they were given high culture so as to bloom their best, and
only a few of the very choicest individual flowers allowed to seed, they
would of course come true from seed year after year. The trouble is
that home saving is generally from all the flowers as they run, culls,
off- specimens and all. Our best Asters represent very high
breeding indeed. It is well known that highly bred plants quickly run
out unless kept at the same high standard. Therefore never trust to
haphazard seed if you desire first class Asters. Do not depend either
upon cheap seed. Choose a reliable seed house, one that takes a pride in
keeping the choicest strains of all the leading flowers and has too much
regard for its reputation to send out inferior seeds under some
high-sounding title.

[Illustration: DWARF BOUQUET ASTER]

[Sidenote: Time to Start Asters]

A great many people start Aster seed in the house or greenhouse as early
as February. There is not only nothing gained by this--for the Aster is
a late flower and does not come to its best estate before August, start
it when you will--but an actual disadvantage. Like James Vick, I would
emphasize the importance of never letting the plants get a check if the
finest flowers are wanted. Now the Aster is not naturally a hothouse
plant. It needs in its young stage plenty of fresh air. Without it, or
without sufficient light, or in too warm an atmosphere, the young Aster
plants become tall and spindling, or, as florists express it, are drawn.
A drawn Aster invariably makes a weak, sickly plant, and never bears
large or handsome flowers. Sow the seed thinly and cover lightly. They
should germinate in from 5 to 7 days.

In the middle states the best growers make a practice of sowing the
seeds in boxes about the last of April or first of May. Some make a
couple of later sowings between that date and the first of June, sowing
these in carefully prepared seed-beds in the open ground. This is to
keep up a succession of flowers. So many sowings are scarcely necessary
now that there are both early and late varieties to be chosen in the
first place. The period of first sowing will allow for all, if kinds
that flower at various times are chosen. In the Southern states a June
sowing is recommended. A lath frame will keep the plants from parching.

Late Asters may be lifted for the house. It is a good plan if one wishes
several of them for pot plants to sow seed of them in July, under a lath
frame where they will be shaded somewhat and protected from drying winds
until up and of some little size. These will come into bloom before the
first Holland bulbs are ready for the window, and will remain in full
beauty for several weeks. An August sowing will give late winter and
early spring flowers.

Asters are easily transplanted and should never be allowed to become
cramped for room, or to be grown in the shade of other plants. If
carefully done, an Aster in almost full bloom can be taken up and
replanted without injuring it in the least. So there is no excuse for
letting them be crowded in either seed-box or seed-bed.

[Sidenote: Preparing an Aster Bed]

There is no use trying to get good Asters from plants in poor ground.
They are gross feeders. They dislike sandy soil the most of all. Clay
ground is better for them than sand, and loamy soil the best of all. If
the soil is sandy, plant Asters so as to leave a little depression
around each plant. The water will thus sink about them and more moisture
be retained. Sour, undrained soils where the water stands should be
raised a little above the level of the lawn, if for Asters, so that
excess of water may drain off. They like moisture but not stagnant
water. Whatever the character of the ground, spade it deep so that it
may be mellow, and make it very rich. If the ground is to be spaded a
foot deep, a 3-inch layer of rotted manure is about right to dig in.
Rotted manure does not mean fresh or lumpy manure. It means that the
fertilizing element shall have been rotted until ready to drop to
pieces. Stable manure is too fiery. Cow manure over a year old is best.
Many expert Aster growers scatter an inch of unleached hardwood ashes
over the bed before it is broken up and spade it in with the manure.
They claim it both suits the Aster and helps to keep off root-lice.

It is usual to plant tall or half dwarf varieties in the center of the
beds, and use some of the dwarf Asters for an outside row or border. The
tall kinds should stand 10 to 12 inches apart in the row. The dwarf ones
about 8 inches apart. Asters make a sightly bed because of the uniform
height of each class and because of their blooming at the same time.

[Sidenote: Mulching and Watering]

Hot dry soil quickly spoils Asters. About July mulch them well.

Two inches of coarse manure spread out well over their roots is the best
mulch of all, as every rain washes nutrition from it down to the roots
below. Chip dirt, pine needles, or grass clippings will do, or anything
else that is light, yet will let the rains or waterings leach through.
No one who has not actually tried it can know of the help a mulch really
is to Asters. I doubt whether first-class flowers can be obtained in
dry, windy countries, or in hot, sun-scorched valleys without its aid.
Asters love the sun, nevertheless unless their feet are kept cool and
moist they inevitably burn and wilt. A mulch keeps the ground cool, and
it keeps it moist also.

I know of Asters that gained the prizes at county fairs that were
regularly soaked once a week with the suds from the weekly washing. In
most climates a thorough drenching of the ground once a week will
promote a luxuriant growth of the plants. There is nothing gained by
watering in dry weather unless the ground is mulched. Without this
protection the ground will bake as hard as a brick and the plants suffer
more than if no water had been given. In some sections hot dry winds
prevail through August and September. This is most trying to Asters. If
there is a tank, or system of water works, a good sprinkling, not only
to the roots but of the foliage as well, will revive them wonderfully.
Use the hose about sunset. By morning the plants will be entirely
revived.

[Sidenote: Insect Foes of Asters]

The red spider and aphis have no special fondness for the Aster. They
get after it when it comes in their way, as they do anything else. But
the Aster has two implacable enemies that by their ravages have done
more to discourage people from growing these plants than all other
causes combined. These two foes are blister beetles and root lice.

RED SPIDER bothers in hot dry weather. Water is their foe. When the
familiar thin, half-dying foliage appears, grey on the under-side and
showing a few fine webs underneath, there is no mistaking the signs. It
is the red spider. If a hose is used in the garden, turn the water on
under a full head, directing it to the under-side of the leaves where
the invisible pests have their colonies. Never mind if it does bend the
plants by the force of the stream. They can be straightened afterwards.
Play up and down, under and all around. If well done, and the deed
repeated a couple of days after, they will have been killed. If no hose
is available, use a sprinkler, dashing the water on with all the force
possible.

APHIS is the common plant louse. Some use tobacco stems as a mulch about
Asters instead of manure. Tobacco factories and dealers in florist's
supplies sell these at low prices, as it is the refuse material left
after manufacturing tobacco for smoking and chewing. Where these can be
obtained it is a sure preventative not only against aphis but almost any
other insect.

Other remedies for aphis are spraying with a hard stream of water. Two
or three thorough applications will finish them. Kerosene emulsion will
kill them. So will insect powder if it has not become stale, and if used
on a still, calm day when there is no air stirring to revive its
suffocated victims.

THE BLISTER BEETLE or aster beetle comes along when the plants are in
bloom or in bud. They are half to three-quarters of an inch long, black
with grey stripes down their back. Oh! how they devour all before them!
Out of the unknown they come, hordes of them. They tarry but two or
three days, and leave but bare stalks behind them, every bed, every
flower, and every leaf eaten off.

The remedy is to fight them.

When the lytta, _alias_ blister beetle, arrives, prepare to give a warm
welcome to him and all of his kind. There are several methods of doing
this. Any of them must be repeated two or three times a day, for there
seem to be successive waves of the beetles. In a few days the danger is
past.

My own method is to get a helper, and, taking one plant at a time, knock
the beetles off and kill them with a stick. It is a joy to look upon the
heaps of slain when all is done. Whenever the plant upon which it is is
jarred in the slightest, this beetle falls to the ground exactly as
though it were dead. Only for a second, however, then it runs for dear
life. That is why it takes more than one person, for it's no child's
play to kill a score of scampering bugs in a quarter of a minute.

[Illustration: QUILLED GERMAN ASTER]

My other half's way is to get a fresh supply of insect powder
(Dalmation, Persian, Bubach, etc., whatever name it may be sold under)
and squirt it thickly over the bugs by the use of one of those 10-cent
powder guns that all druggists keep. It is effective if the insect
powder is fresh.

[Illustration]

Other remedies are to put netting over the bed; to spray the plants with
poisoned water, made by stirring 1 teaspoonful of Paris green into 2
gallons of water; and to use kerosene emulsion. The last is made after
this formula: 1 tablespoonful of kerosene beaten up with half a cupful
of milk. Dilute with 2 gallons of water.

Do not forget that any remedy must be used two or three times a day
while the raid is on.

ROOT-LICE, BLUE APHIS, etc., is one of the most common enemies of the
Aster. When the plants are almost at their best the tops turn a peculiar
sickly green, or they wilt, or become brown. They die quickly unless
something is at once done. Pull one up and the roots are found alive
with a little insect that looks like a plant louse. Insecticides poured
on the soil rarely kill the pests. A bed that has been ashed, or had a
mulching of tobacco stems, as has already been advised, will have
escaped.

Where the root lice have already commenced, Rexford recommends drawing
the dirt away until the roots are exposed, then sifting tobacco dust
thickly over them replacing the soil afterwards. Others recommend
flooding the bed with kerosene emulsion in the same way. While some have
success, others claim failure by either of these methods. Here is a way
of dealing with root lice, however, that is always sure.

Heat a lot of water. Then pull up every affected plant, shake the dirt
off their roots, and dip them quickly into scalding water. Leave them in
but a second, but dip their roots two or three times to make sure every
bug gets its dose. Pour boiling water into the ground where the Asters
had been. That settles the fate of every root-louse in the ground. As
soon as the ground has cooled a little, plant the Asters back, stake
them so as to hold them up, and shade lightly for a day or two.

Will it not kill the plants? No, it will not injure them. Of course the
plants should have been taken up very carefully so as not to break off
the roots. The Aster will stand more in the way of lifting than any
other plant I know. Mature plants may be washed out by the roots in a
severe storm, but if promptly planted again will be all right in a day
or two after. I know a lady who had to move some distance in August. She
had a fine bed of Asters. She made the ground soaking wet, then took
them every one up, putting them as close as they would stand in ordinary
soap boxes. They never minded the transfer in the least, and bloomed so
handsomely in their boxes as to call forth many compliments. I give
these instances to convince doubting Thomases that pulling up Asters
and scalding the root-lice on them is not so desperate a remedy as it
sounds. And it is a sure remedy.

[Sidenote: Other Cultural Rules]

Until it is time to mulch Asters, stir the ground, or hoe the bed once a
week. In some climates, particularly in warm ones, tall Asters sometimes
take on a tall, thin growth. These leggy plants are not beautiful, nor
do they bear many flowers. Whenever plants show a disposition to run up
this way, pinch out the tops. Repeat the pinching two or three times if
necessary, until a disposition to branch shows itself.

The tall sorts are the better for a support. Otherwise hard winds uproot
them. Stakes should be used that when driven will be about two-thirds
the height of the plants. Tie with soft string, with a sort of a
slip-knot so that a half dozen of the main branches have a band
supporting them, yet are not drawn up so hard and tight as to cut into
the branch.

If a display of Asters are wanted for a flower show make the ground as
wet as mud. Then lift each plant with a spade or mattock slowly and
skillfully. The roots, dirt and all, will come up in a solid mass. Pot
at once, before any of the earth is shaken off. They will not wither in
the least if kept out of direct sunshine for a few days. If enormous
blooms are wanted, disbud, leaving but one bud to each tip. Trim off the
small side branches also, to throw the strength of the plant into these
chosen blooms. Most people prefer more flowers and less size.

There are generally a few promising late Asters that are not yet in
bloom when frosts come. Lift these in the same careful manner for the
house. They do not do well in hot rooms. In cool rooms, not above 60 to
65 degrees by day, they thrive. They like some sunshine, but will get
along with little of it if they have good light beside. They do finely
in halls and bedrooms where the temperature is almost to the frost line
at night, and no fire heat at all during the day. An Aster will not
bloom all winter. Its period of bloom is quite long enough, however, to
make it a welcome guest in the plant window, and when through blooming
it can be thrown away.


THE ASTER AS A CUT FLOWER

An Aster is at its very best as a cut flower, and remains in good
condition for two weeks. It comes in the late summer season before
Chrysanthemums are ready and after Lilies are gone. It is a time of
dearth of really fine flowers. Florists are growing it more and more for
their sales, and to use in decorations for August and September weddings
and parties. White Asters are much used for funeral wreaths also.

Amateurs cannot make up elaborate floral pieces like florists, and it is
not wise to attempt it. But it is well enough for us all to remember
that a simple spray of white Asters in a setting of green Ferns, or of
lace-like Asparagus plumosus, is a gift of remembrance that no loving
hand need be ashamed of placing on the coffin of a friend. A loose,
careless nosegay of Asters, bright with its pretty pinks and blues, and
a deep crimson one or two to bear its white companions company, will
cheer up a sick friend. Always remember the touch of color in flowers
for the sick. They need cheer and brightness, and sunny flowers give
them both.

[Illustration: NEW ROSE ASTER]

The taller Asters are fine to cut for vases and for pulpit bouquets, if
the longest stems are chosen. Use plenty of pretty greenery, and arrange
the flowers so that each stands out airily by itself, not wedged
between its neighbors. Asters can be over-crowded in a bouquet until
heavy and clumsy looking. It is the one fault to avoid. The remedy is to
use more foliage with them, and to put fewer flowers in the bouquet.
Enough is better than a surplus in arranging cut-flowers.

[Illustration: ASTER AS A POT PLANT]


LEADING VARIETIES OF ASTERS

NEW ROSE. This has been a standard sort for many years. Nearly or quite
2 feet in height. Handsome flowers of regular form, imbricated like a
rose. Many shades.

TRUFFAUT'S PAEONY-FLOWERED. For more than a generation this has been a
standard. It is sometimes shown at exhibitions in a fourth of a hundred
distinct shades. It is tall, with a profusion of very large globular
flowers. An old but showy variety.

VICTORIA. Esteemed by many the very best Asters in existence. Fine for
pots, bedding or flower shows. Flowers are three or four inches across,
or even larger, and these are perfection as to form. There are over a
score of shades, among them colors as rare and as lovely as the cloud
tints of sunrise.

[Illustration: ASTER SHAKESPEARE]

COCARDEAU OR CROWN is another old but not superseded sort. The center of
the flower is of small quilled petals, pure white in color. This center
is surrounded by a wide ring of flat ray petals of bright color. 18
inches tall. Pretty, odd and showy, but by no means as superb a flower
as some of the others.

QUILLED GERMAN. Another oddity, of about equal value with the Crown
Asters. 2 feet high and branching. The flowers are quilled like those of
some Dahlias.

DWARF BOUQUET. One of the smallest of all. Only 6 to 8 inches tall, very
uniform, each a pyramid of pretty flowers. About a dozen colors are in
this strain. Used for edging.

SHAKESPEARE. A fine sort for borders. About 6 inches tall, a solid mass
of large globular flowers from top to bottom. There are several colors.

SNOWBALL. 10 to 12 inches high, of a symmetrical habit and bearing
exquisitely beautiful flowers of the large Chrysanthemum type. The color
is a pure white.

[Illustration: TRUFFAUT'S PAEONY-FLOWERED ASTER]

VICK'S BRANCHING ASTERS. The Vicks have always been famous for their
Asters, and this is the triumph of their skill. These grow the tallest
of all Asters, and require more than ordinary space because of their
wide branching habit. Largely grown by florists. It is a late variety,
and its magnificent, large and informal flowers are often mistaken for
the finest Japanese Chrysanthemums. The flowers are of extraordinary
size and are long-stemmed. It comes in snowy-white, pink, lavender,
crimson, and purple shades. Pure White is esteemed the finest of the
lot, with Daybreak, a lovely sea-shell pink, as a close second. Daybreak
is earlier than the type.

JAPANESE. Known also as the Ostrich Plume Asters, a name which exactly
describes them. About 15 inches tall. The curled flowers are of enormous
size, 5 to 6 inches across. About 10 colors, some of them most unusual
ones.

GIANT SILVER-TIPPED. These are of dwarf habit, but have blossoms of the
largest size. These beautiful flowers, whatever their color, are tipped
silvery white. An exceptional good pot variety.

SEMPLE'S MARVEL. This is another favorite with professional growers.
They are 20 inches to 2 feet tall, and of branching habit. This is
rather a late Aster. The flowers are of much substance, and are perfect
in form and rich in color.

COMET. The best known of the curly Chrysanthemum-flowered type. There
are two or three strains of this, varying a little as to habit. They
range from 14 inches to 2 feet in height, and bear those large, loose,
feathered flowers that find so many admirers. The broad outer petals are
reflexed. The inner petals are shorter and curve and curl toward the
center. These grand flowers come in several beautiful shades.

[Illustration: ASTER "DAYBREAK"]

       *       *       *       *       *

THE WINTER WOODS

  How patiently they wait--the bare brown trees
      Through winter's sullen gloom,
  With arms outspread as if in suppliance
      Of vanished leaf and bloom!

  Till Nature's voice shall sound its clarion call
    Waking the earth from sleep,
  These monarchs shorn of all their treasure stand
    In silence long and deep.

  O learn a lesson from the winter woods!
    Hope on O troubled heart!
  In patience wait! The blessing thou dost need
    God will at last impart!

  _Alice Jean Cleator, Ohio._

       *       *       *       *       *

THE LIVE OAK

(_In the South_)

  On the gray outside of the year
    Fluttered its leaves of cheer;
    They reached to my winter window
  And I thought that spring was here.
  They reached out mistily
  When dawn was on the tree,
    But through the rainy mornings
  How bright they gleamed and clear.

  When other trees are bare
  Oak banners glad the air,
    And through the Southern summer
  Its branches great and fair.
  In all their splendid strength,
  To all their living length,
    Emparadise in shadow
  The meadows everywhere.

  _Ethelwyn Witherald, Canada._

       *       *       *       *       *

THE INFORMATION BOX

What Our Readers Want to Know

_In this department Mrs. Lora S. La Mance will answer the inquiries of
those asking information about plants, their culture, etc. The subject
of inquiry will be touched upon in a general way, instead of being made
a personal matter, in order that the information conveyed may be useful
and interesting to the greatest number. We will forward to Mrs. La Mance
for answering such inquiries as our readers may send in.--Editor_

NOTICE. Correspondents will please observe these rules: Give with every
letter your name, town and state. They will not be published. If you
wish an immediate or personal answer, enclose stamp for reply. Do not
ask for greenhouse plans. The space cannot be given. In reporting a
failure with anything, tell what treatment you have given it.

AGAPANTHUS. In early housekeeping days, when as yet I was ignorant of
the A B C's of floriculture. I bought an Agapanthus. No pains were taken
with it, but it grew right along and blossomed freely. I was much
astonished afterwards to learn that the Agapanthus is considered an
obstinate plant that can neither be coaxed nor driven to bloom. Poor
Agapanthus! It has been unjustly censured. Be liberal with it in the way
of providing a rich potting soil, and giving plenty of water while it is
growing. With autumn, let it have a taste of adversity. Put the pot on a
back shelf. Keep the earth in the pot decidedly on the dry side, giving
plenty of water when you do water, but making the intervals between long
enough for the soil to dry out well. The plant can even be placed in the
cellar to winter, provided this absolute rest is not unduly prolonged.
After three months of inaction give light, warmth and moisture.
Agapanthus will at once respond, and flowers usually follow.

TRAINING A RUBBER PLANT. A tall, straight stemmed Rubber tree finds more
admirers than branched specimens, which are more squat in shape. Those
who like the bush form best can make their Rubber Plants branch at any
desired height by cutting off the end of the stem. The part cut away may
he rooted in heat in damp sand. The best time to cut them is in late
winter, just before the time for spring growth. Branches will soon be
sent out after the top of the main stem has been cut away.

MOLES. A lady piquantly relates her trials with an army of moles that
she cannot "catch, kill, or drive away," although she has tried
everything she has ever heard of. It is a bad case when mole traps will
not catch, or corn soaked in Fowler's solution of arsenic and dropped
along their runways will not finish them. In this case I can only refer
her to other said-to-be cures that other people have tried and have
faith in. A dozen witnesses testify that the seeds of Ricinus (Castor
Bean,) dropped here and there in their tunnels will make them leave. A
Connecticut lady says a sure remedy is to drop handfuls of salt here and
there in their runways. Others put ball potash or concentrated lye in
their runs but that is cruel, for it burns wherever it touches. Some use
sawdust soaked in tar, or with a stick punch holes here and there along
their tunnels and drop in each hole a small quantity of kerosene (coal
oil). These two last substances will kill choice plants if used close to
their roots, so use caution. An ingenious soul, rightly conceiving that
the mole is highly sensitive to smells made a number of stiff pasteboard
tubes and put in the center of each a stinking moth-ball. Buried in the
runways there was a dearth of moles directly. I heartily approve of the
mole's judgment in leaving moth-ball-scented premises. I have felt like
it myself.

TROUBLE WITH LILIUM CANDIDUM. Some of our friends have had trouble with
Lilium Candidum. They purchased fine, large bulbs, potted them, and had
only leaves for their pains. That was because they were procured too
late. They are not nearly so tractable as Lilium Harrisii. It is their
natural disposition to start to growing early in autumn. If kept dormant
beyond this period their flower-buds blast. Get them if possible in
August or the first half of September. There is no difficulty in getting
them to blossom then.

BADLY SHAPED PLANTS. Every little while someone asks what to do with a
one-sided or badly shaped pot plant. Plants, and particularly pot
shrubs, ought never to be allowed to get in bad shape. It is an easy
enough matter to correct a bad or awkward tendency at the first. It is a
difficult matter to remedy it later. When a plant begins to grows
coxcomby, or develops a long, switchy growth, or twists about in an ugly
crook, begin _at once_ to overcome it. One-sidedness is usually arrested
by turning that side away from the light. A crooked, knotted limb can be
straightened by tying to a stout support or trellis, tying it every two
or three inches to take the kinks out. Long, leggy, or whip-like shoots
need the ends pinched off. If done at an early stage no sap will waste.
It is old wood that bleeds when the knife is put into it. I always
hesitate to advise re-shaping an old specimen if it is so contorted that
over half of the old wood must be cut away. It is a great shock to a
growing plant to lose half or more of its wood. It sometimes kills it,
particularly if injudiciously watered. If severe cutting is required do
it while the pot shrubbery is nearest at rest, and a little before
renewed growth may be expected again. Usually this is about the close of
mid-winter. Such shrubs as Rubber Plants, that bleed profusely, should
have grafting wax or paint daubed on the end of cut branches. If nothing
better is at hand paste a jacket of clay over the cut end until the
wound can heal. Water with much moderation until new growth appears.

SPOTTED CALLA FROM SEED. Spotted Callas are easily grown from seed if it
is sown as soon as ripe. Plant out in garden rows like dwarf peas, and
hoe them and keep weeds down. After frost dig the little tubers up and
keep in dry sand in the cellar. Plant out in the garden the next year.
Some will bloom the second season, the rest will require another year.

SOIL FOR VARIEGATED SHRUBS. Do not manure the ground for golden or
variegated leaved shrubs. The color is not as clear where fertilizers
are used. Very rich ground means a quick, lush growth. Green is the
normal color of leaf vegetation. Any departure from this rule is an
abnormal one. Whatever imparts vigor to a plant tends to make it throw
off its acquired markings and revert to its original stage. Abundant
plant food supplies more chlorophyll or green coloring matter to the sap
also.

ABOUT BROAD-LEAVED EVERGREENS IN WINTER. A lady asks, "Is it the summer
sun that is harmful to Rhododendrons, Andromedas and Mahonias, or is it
the winter sun they should be protected from?" It is the winter sun. The
reason broad-leaved evergreens are such a hard class to bring through
the winter in good condition is because the sun shines upon their
foliage while it is frozen, blistering, and searing it. It is not the
winter's cold but the winter's sun that does the mischief. Plant all
such evergreens on a north <DW72>, or at the north side of a building
where they are protected from a glare of sunshine on their frozen wood
and leaves.

SNAILS AND SLUGS. Where they are numerous enough to do injury, get after
them. I believe a hand to hand killing is the best remedy for all such
pests. They are sluggish and cannot run away from one. They usually take
a siesta during the heat of the day under <DW29>s or similar low matted
plants. Some trap them by placing slices of cabbage or raw potato about.
Others kill all the slugs in a bed, then make a ring of salt all about
it to keep them out. Lime dust powdered over the plants helps to keep
them away.

WORMS BORING INTO PLANTS. A couple of cases are reported of worms boring
into the stalks of Asters, Dianthus and Carnations. Of course the tops
die, and the damage is great. There is no insecticide that can be used
against these canny worms which snugly hide themselves in the plant
stalks where not a drop of liquor can reach them. The only remedy is to
keep a sharp outlook for affected plants, cutting away each
worm-infested top and burning it. This kills the worm and cuts off
future crops of worms. It seems a hard method of ridding the plants of
their enemies. However, the plants branch out again and develop a later
crop of flowers.

HOW ANNUALS RUN OUT. "Last year I purchased the very best grade of
seeds, and my flowers were lovely. I saved from these flowers, expecting
a similar treat this year. But my <DW29>s, Carnations and Petunias are
nothing near as large or as finely marked as they were last year, and
the last two flowers are all single, not a double one in the lot. What
is the cause of this?"

Deterioration in the quality of bloom is what our mothers used to call
the "running out" of plants. There is no mystery about it. It is
confined to those favorite flowers that have been highly bred and
hybridized. Everyone knows highly bred stock, be it animal or vegetable,
will not stand roughing it. If the flower grower would use the nerve of
the seed-grower and pull up every inferior plant or poor flowered one;
if she would keep the ground as clean as a market garden; if she would
allow only the finest flowers to go to seed, cutting the others off as
they fade, she would have good seed for next year's flowers. Petunias
are artificially hybridized to get a double strain of seed, and this the
amateur cannot well do. It pays most of us better to buy <DW29>, Petunia,
Carnation and Ten Weeks Stocks seed than to try to save it ourselves.

FAILURE OF PEONIES TO BLOOM. Everyone says the Peony will endure
anything, heat, cold, rain or dry weather or any kind of soil. It is
true the plant is tenacious of life. It is just as true that it knows
when it is not well treated. It evens up matters many times by refusing
to bloom. Any one of the following reasons may cause it to be barren of
bloom. (1) Poor, hard ground. (2) Deep shade, as when grown under
evergreens or behind thick shrubbery. (3) Spring planting in hot
climates, or (4) clumps allowed to get too dry in droughty summers.

BRUGMANSIA. I admire this plant when in bloom. Its magnificent ivory
trumpets are a grand sight. It is a fine thing for piazza decoration
during summer, and may be grown in a greenhouse or warm plant room in
winter. It is not, however, suitable for ordinary window culture. It
needs good care and freedom from dust, and moreover chills easily. If
placed in the cellar in November it will winter there safely. Bring up
as early as possible in the spring, water with moderation until new
shoots start from the root, then give abundance of water.

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 <DW29>s 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._

       *       *       *       *       *

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
 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._

       *       *       *       *       *

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.

       *       *       *       *       *

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
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This $25 is in addition to the regular commission he receives week after
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Harry is a hustler. The long strip of paper he holds in his hand is
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him to deliver THE POST for four consecutive weeks.

He persuaded several prominent business men to sign at the top of the
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This is one of the many ways we have suggested to help boys to sell THE
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cents each. This will supply capital for the next week's order.

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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
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[Illustration: I Have Demonstrated That Deafness Can Be Cured--Dr. Guy
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After years of research along the lines of the deeper scientific
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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
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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.

       *       *       *       *       *

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 (_Crataegus 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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  _THE UNIVERSITY SOCIETY
  78 Fifth Avenue New York_

       *       *       *       *       *

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._

       *       *       *       *       *

  Fifty Dollars in Gold
  _for Three Cents._

Send us on a postal card the address of ten farmers. We will send each a
copy of the "Agricultural Epitomist" and solicit their subscription. We
will send you the paper three months free for your trouble.

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.

The "Agricultural Epitomist" is the only agricultural paper edited and
printed on a farm. Our six hundred and fifty acres are devoted to
practical agriculture and fine stock and we are offering hundreds of
thoroughbred pigs and fancy poultry as premiums for subscription work. A
pig or a trio of poultry easy to get under our plan. Write for
particulars.

  AGRICULTURAL EPITOMIST,

  SPENCER, IND.

       *       *       *       *       *

EYES BOTHER YOU?

Do not trifle with so serious a matter. With our improved apparatus,
sent FREE upon request, you can EASILY test your own eyes. If they
require attention we will fit them to meet your INDIVIDUAL NEEDS by the
latest scientific method known to expert oculists. Our system secures
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one-fourth the usual charge. Thousands suffer from headache,
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eyesight and do not realize the cause of their trouble. Write to us at
once for immediate relief and certain cure.

U. S. OPTICAL CO., Dept. 20, Chicago.

       *       *       *       *       *

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._

       *       *       *       *       *

  SEEDS $1.50 worth to Test
  Free to Everybody.

I want every reader of this paper who plants a garden to send for my
=Free Trial Complete Garden Collection=, consisting of the following 15
Grand New Varieties of Seed.

  Beet, Perfected Red Turnip, earliest, sweetest, best.

  Carrot, Yellow Giant, monstrous size, great cropper.

  Cabbage, July Wonder, wonderful early, solid heads.

  Cabbage, Winter Header, large, fine, sure to head.

  Celery, Winter Giant, large, crisp, finest winter sort.

  Cucumber, Family Favorite, best for eating or pickling.

  Lettuce, Crisp as Ice, early, tender, heads finely.

  Musk Melon, Luscious Gem, fine flavor, best known.

  Onion, Prizetaker, wt. 3 lbs., 1,000 bush, per acre.

  Parsnip, White Sugar, sweet, long, smooth roots.

  Radish, Striped Triumph, handsome, early, crisp.

  Tomato, Early Tree, early, large, red, tree shaped.

  Turnip, Sweetest German, large, sweet, keeps well.

  Sweet Peas, 1-2 oz. California Giants Mixed, grand colors.

  Flower Seeds, large packet, 500 sorts mixed together.

I WISH to give you the above 15 packets as a Free Trial of my superior
Seeds, believing that after one trial you will always buy of me. To
prevent people sending who have no use for seeds, I ask you to enclose
10cts. as a guarantee that you will plant seeds and when received show
collection to your friends. I will promptly mail the 15 packets (well
worth $1.50) and enclose a due bill for the 10c., which you can return
to me at any time with an order for 25c. or over of seeds, and get your
selection of 10c. worth free. _Thus this trial is absolutely free._
Catalogue free. All warranted, tested seeds supplied at about wholesale
prices.

  J. J. BELL, Deposit, N.Y.

       *       *       *       *       *

TEXAS

  _Editor Mayflower:_

During the hot months here in Central Texas we pass a great deal of our
time on the gallery, which is a very necessary part of a Southern home.
If it faces a public road it has its drawbacks, and sometimes, by reason
of arid soil or large trees near the house, vines will not flourish. To
such a gallery one or two movable screens will be of great use. Mine,
last year, was made of a rather deep, narrow, long box, about 18 inches
deep, 12 inches wide and 36 inches long. Can be mounted on casters or
not. If hard winds prevail, two short cross strips on the ends of the
box will prevent tipping over. My screen was four feet square, made of a
light frame work of narrow laths and wire netting, fastened securely to
the box. The box was planted with Madeira Vine tubers, and was ready for
use in six weeks. I kept it clipped all summer to induce new growth. It
was very pretty, and behind the green bank I sewed or read, secure from
the public gaze. Behind this screen I placed my afternoon tea table, and
sometimes in the cool of the afternoon enjoyed a social chat. This year
I shall make one of blooming vines, to stay out of doors till buds set.
I have a two year old Empress of China Rose I expect to use the same
way.--_Mrs. W. J. Standlee._


VIRGINIA

  _Editor Mayflower:_

What Emma Odell says in the October issue of the Mississippi <DW64> is
equally true of his brother, or rather sister, in Virginia. Poor as this
shiftless class usually is, many a cabin of rude logs nestles amid
dainty trailing vines and bright hued blossoms, well worthy to adorn a
far more pretentious mansion. I never knew any member of the <DW52>
race here to boast a pit or greenhouse.--doubtless because they can
usually beg enough cuttings of tender plants from white neighbors in the
spring to fill their tin cans. Little care they for flower pots; any old
broken pitcher, rusty bucket, water pail or teapot, it matters not, so
it will hold dirt. It is the plant they are after, not a pretty pot to
hold it. Their "luck" with Chrysanthemums amounts almost to magic
sometimes. They can make almost any plant thrive and blossom, though
seemingly in their daily round of toil they have but scant time to work
over their flowers.--_Roe Ann Oke._

       *       *       *       *       *
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(_Management established 12 years on Broadway_)

One or more packets of SKALPO at 10 cents each will be sent on receipt
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  FREE TRUSS

I have a truss that's cured hundreds of ruptures. It's safe sure and
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       *       *       *       *       *

  CONSUMPTION

  Cured by New

  LUNG DEVELOPER

  I gladly send it to all who answer this advertisement to

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I want every one who has catarrh, bronchitis, a cough, "lingering cold,"
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_Dr Hill's Ozonized Lung Developer._

This remarkable Developer enables you not only to build new cell tissue
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If you have the hacking cough or any of the throat and lung weaknesses
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splendid book (in colors) on pulmonary diseases comes free with the
treatment. If you enclose 15 cents I will also prepay all express
charges. Write now--there's risk in delay.

_In writing please mention The Mayflower._

       *       *       *       *       *

VERMONT

  _Editor Mayflower:_

It is only an old paint keg, but it contains things of beauty, which are
"a joy forever." In December, the weather being unusually mild, with no
snow on the ground, I visited the woods on the last botanizing
expedition of the year. Most of the plants were curled up for their
winter sleep, but a little search brought to light undeveloped Ferns of
some species and others that were still green with last season's growth.
They were carefully taken up and set out, and have been kept in a
northeast window through the winter. Now they are rested and for several
weeks have been waking up. Let me tell you what spring reveals in that
limited space, as some unlooked-for plants were hidden under the moss
and Ferns. Above all the rest rise delicate fronds of the Maiden Hair
and more of the reddish crooks are unfolding. The common Polypodium
shows both the fruited fronds of last year and the lighter green of
recent growth. Rarest of all is the Walking Leaf, also fruited, with its
long feet reaching nearly across the keg. They will find a foothold, and
so form new plants. The tiny Asplenium Trichomanes, which has never
before flourished when transplanted by me, is sending up fresh fronds,
already fruiting. A few fronds each of the Buck Fern and Cystoptiris or
Bladder Fern, with at least three kinds of moss complete the list of
"Flowerless Plants." Three little clumps of Violets are sending out new
leaves. There are a few leaves of Partridge-berry vine, a yellow Oxalis,
an Orchid called Rattlesnake-Plantain, having lovely velvety leaves
veined with white, a few sprigs of Mouse-ear Chickweed, and, last of
all, a leaf of a Jack-in-the-Pulpit plant, the corm of which was
doubtless hidden among the roots of the Ferns. So, while the cold winds
are blowing, snow is yet on the ground, and the thermometer registers
several degrees lower than the freezing point, I have a little bit of
summer where, at my leisure, I may study the development of fifteen
species of plants, at the same time admiring their delicate beauty and
inhaling the odor of the woods.--_M. A. L._

       *       *       *       *       *

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Send us your name and address, we will mail you postpaid and TRUST YOU
with 20 of our fast-selling jewelry novelties to be sold at 10c. each:
send us the $2.00 and we will send you the same day FREE AND WITHOUT
CHARGE an AMERICAN camera with complete developing and toning outfit.
This camera is made by the well-known firm The American Co., N. Y., and
every camera delivered by them is guaranteed to take a perfect picture.
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us $2.00 and can prove we do not send the Camera and outfit.

  GEM JEWELRY CO.,
  Dept. 11, No. 196 Broadway, N. Y.

_In writing please mention The Mayflower._

       *       *       *       *       *

  RHEUMATISM

  Cured

  Through the Feet

  Thousands Are Being Cured at

  Home Every Month by This

  New Discovery, Which is

  Sent to Everybody to

  TRY FREE--PAY WHEN SATISFIED.

Don't neglect rheumatism. The Acid poisons accumulate day by day until
joints become solidified in horribly distorted shapes and relief from
the indescribable suffering is beyond the power of man to give.

[Illustration]

Heed the warning pains of rheumatism and rid your system of the cause
while you can by wearing Magic Foot Drafts. Don't take harmful medicine.
The Drafts draw out the acid poisons through the great pores of the
feet, where the capillary and nerve systems are most susceptible,
reaching and curing rheumatism in every part of the body.

[Illustration]

If you have rheumatism send your name to-day to the Magic Foot Draft
Co., 134N. Oliver Bldg. Jackson, Mich. You will get by return mail a
pair of the celebrated Magic Foot Drafts, which have made a record of
curing nine out of ten cases in Jackson, where the discoverer lives, and
have already become a household remedy all over the world. No other
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booklet in colors and many testimonials comes free with the drafts.
Write to-day,

_In writing please mention The Mayflower._

       *       *       *       *       *

WASHINGTON

  _Editor Mayflower:_

I ordered all my flowers from Floral Park and my flower garden is
lovely. Every one who sees it wonders how I can have such nice flowers
when the soil is so poor and the season so dry; but almost any one, who
loves flowers as I do, can have a nice garden with a little work and
seeds from Floral Park. Will some one please tell me if English Ivy can
be started from slips? I have been trying for some time to start one
from a slip a lady sent me, but for some reason it does not seem to take
root, but stays just as green as the day it was cut. [It may be rooted
in a bottle of water.--Ed.] I bought, from a neighbor's little boy, a
package of mixed seed and among them was only one nice flower, but I do
not know what it is, and no one around here knows what it is, or have
ever seen any flower like it before. I planted the seed last year and
when the flowers were good size I found this plant almost in bloom, so I
took it up and planted it over near the house. Then before the frost
came it had forty blossoms and a lot of buds, so I potted it for the
house, where it bloomed until it froze down while I was away from home
but I had saved some of the seed, which I planted this spring and had
sixteen healthy plants. But it seems they are hard to raise for now I
have one left, which will soon bloom. The flowers are light pink when
they first come out, but the longer they are bloomed the brighter they
get. Does any one know what it is? The leaves are smooth and long in
shape, while the stock is a dull red and grows from two to three feet
high; the blooms are something like the Rambler Rose but not quite so
large. I have been a subscriber only a short time but could not be
without THE MAYFLOWER now; it has helped me in many ways, and the
cooking recipes are fine.--_Mrs. A. E. W._

       *       *       *       *       *

  Beautiful Hair

  No Longer Any Excuse for Dandruff,
  Falling Hair, Gray Hair
  or Baldness.

  A TRIAL PACKAGE MAILED FREE.

[Illustration]

A grand discovery has been made that quickly removes dandruff, makes
hair grow long and beautiful even on heads that have been bald for
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package of the remedy so that all may test it for themselves. As it is a
pure vegetable product you need have no hesitancy in using it freely, as
it cannot harm the most tender scalp. Write to-day to the Altenheim
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2-cent stamp to cover postage, and they will forward the free trial
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       *       *       *       *       *

  FREE BOOK ON EYE DISEASES

  A Message of Hope to the Blind

I want every one who has any form of eye trouble to have my book.

A postal card will get it free of charge.

It illustrates and describes a majority of Eye Diseases and gives
valuable advice on the care of the eyes.

Tells how to diet, bathe, exercise, etc.

It tells all about the Oneal Dissolvent Method and what I have been able
to do in the most serious, chronic eye troubles.

It tells how you can cure yourself in your own home easily and at small
expense.

I WILL also diagnose your case, and advise you free of charge. I am
interested in every case of eye disease.

I often receive letters from people who have been cured by following my
advice and instructions given in my book which did not cost them one
penny.

If I can cure you without expense I will gladly do so.

My treatment is harmless and painless; my patients treat themselves in
their own homes.

ALL Eye Diseases are dangerous. No matter how slight or insignificant
your eye trouble may seem.

It may result in blindness unless treated now.

Don't neglect your eyes a moment if they are bothering you in the least.

Consult a competent oculist _at once_.

Do not be like thousands of others who have failed to heed this warning
till too late.

I have restored sight to thousands of people in all parts of the world
who sought my aid as a last resort.

Many of them had been given up as hopelessly "incurable" by others yet I
cured them.

I can do as much for you.

The publisher of this paper will vouch for my entire reliability.

[Illustration]

THESE people wrote me as I am asking you to do, treated themselves at
home under my direction and were _cured_.

Most of them had been given up as "hopelessly incurable" by other
oculists:

  "Though I am 81 years old you cured me of cataracts
  in three months after I had been afflicted for years."--Col.
  J. O. Hudnutt, Station F., Grand Rapids, Mich.

  "At 70 I had been practically blind with cataracts for
  years. You cured me in three months."--Mrs. A. P.
  Rifle, 78 Niagara St., Buffalo, N. Y.

  "Blind 20 years from cataracts caused by a shell explosion
  during the civil war cured by you in three
  months. It's marvelous,"--Albert J. Staley, Hynes, Cal.

  "I suffered everything with optic nerve paresis and
  granulated lids for 22 years, tried everything in vain, wrote
  to you as a last resort and was cured in two months."--Mrs.
  E. I. Carter, Tenstrike, Minn.

  "Almost blind for 10 years with cataracts: cured by
  the Oneal Dissolvent Method in two months. Thank
  God I heard of you."--Mrs. H. S. Spencer, Northport,
  Mich.

  "Dr. Oneal cured me of glaucoma in two months
  after New York oculists had failed to help me."--Washington
  Irving, Box 183, New Paltz, N. Y.

  "You cured me of a bad case of cataracts in two
  months."--F. H. Nye, 247 Columbus Av., Suite 9,
  Boston, Mass.

My book and advice will in no way obligate you to take my treatment, nor
cost you one penny. Address

OREN ONEAL, M. D., Suite 954, 52 Dearborn St., CHICAGO, U. S. A.

       *       *       *       *       *

Husband and Wife Both Benefited.

  Bryan, Okla.

The Doctor said I had Kidney and Bladder trouble, and it was with me for
four years. I took lots of medicine of different kinds, but got no
relief until I obtained and used Vitae-Ore. I had lost all hope of being
cured, rented my farm and given up. But thanks to Vitae-Ore I now feel
like a new man. My wife has been troubled with Rheumatism for several
years, and when she saw what Vitae-Ore had done for me she commenced its
use also with very satisfactory results. B. T. Conley.

       *       *       *       *       *

  Don't Pour Oil on the Fire!

  IT'S JUST AS FOOLISH

to attempt to quench the fires of disease to check its onward spread, by
using a stimulant, a medicine preparation, tonic or treatment that
depends for its effects upon an artificial stimulant, either from
alcohol or other drugs, as it is foolish and fool-hardy =to pour coal oil
upon a fire to quench the flames. You wouldn't be so foolish--you would
pity a person who would=--yet that is just =what you and thousands= of
others are doing every day that you pour into your stomachs, that you
put into your system, the drugs, tonics, tablets, powders and compounds,
=made to sell=, and to sell only. =They only serve to feed the fires, not
to quench them.=

Vitae-Ore. =Nature's own remedy=, offered on thirty days' trial to every
reader of this paper, =is not a compound=, =not a drug=, =not a
stimulant=! It is manufactured in a laboratory, man neither controls nor
directs--=Nature's Laboratory=--under the supervision of =THE MASTER
CHEMIST=--Nature. It was and is intended by her for the stomachs of men,
=to cure all the ills of mankind=. It does not depend for its power upon
a stimulating ingredient--does not build up temporarily, and then, when
its effects are worn out and off, leave the system =worse off, more
a-fire= than before. It builds up =a permanent cure= by first laying a
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after stone, layer upon layer, until the structure is complete and the
body is delivered over to the owner's possession--=firm, sound and
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If you are sick and ailing, if you are all run down, if your organs,
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the doctors cannot and do not tell you, cannot and do not help you, =you
ought to give this wonderful, natural, mineral remedy a trial= and the
chance it needs =to prove= all this to you. It won't cost you a penny! =The
owners take all the risk!= What doctor, what hospital, what sanitarium,
has ever offered to treat you this way? What other medicine has ever
been so offered? =You are to be both judge and jury, to pass upon it.= You
have the entire say-so. If it helps you, you pay for it--if it does not
help you, you do not pay for it. One package, =ENOUGH= for a month's
trial, is all that is necessary to convince you. How can you refuse? If
you need it and do not send for it, =what is your excuse?= You are to be
the judge.


READ THIS SPECIAL OFFER!

WE WILL SEND to every sick and ailing person who writes us, mentioning
THE MAYFLOWER, a full-sized =One Dollar= package of =VITAE-ORE=, by mail,
=postpaid=, sufficient for one month's treatment, to be paid for within
one month's time after receipt, if the receiver can truthfully say that
its use has done him or her more good than all the drugs and dopes of
quacks or good doctors or patent medicines he or she has ever used. =Read=
this over again carefully, and understand that we ask our pay only =when
it has done you good, not before=. We take all the risk; you have nothing
to lose. If it does not benefit you, you pay us nothing. =Vitae-Ore= is a
natural, hard, adamantine rock-like substance--mineral--=Ore=--mined from
the ground like gold and silver, and requires about twenty years for
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Ailments, Stomach and Female Disorders, La Grippe, Malarial Fever,
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End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Mayflower, January, 1905, by Various

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