8 The Conservative *
JJEAUTIFUI. HOMES.
Do you want to bo rich ? If so , how
wonld you spend your money ? You
might do as the rich man does. In his
cnso , when he counts up his hundreds of
thousands or millions , he goes out into
the country nnd buys a piece of land ,
and then plants it for a summer home.
O. H. Tenny , a Now York millionaire ,
plunges into business in the great city ,
and then comes out to rest at his beauti
ful estate at Methuen , Mass. He has a
fine house , with every comfort on his
splendid grounds. But by far the rich
est and choicest things are his trees. He
has a Scotch gardener , who has the soul
of beauty , and has no patience with
sham. Said he : "there came a lot of
well-dressed fools along here one dny ,
and they 'ohed' and 'ahed' over the
house and barns , and never noticed these
trees , some of the finest in the world.
They were a set of donkeys. " The
cities said : "We are full of finer houses ,
mansions and palaces , but nowhere are
finer trees. " There were specimens
there that hundreds of dollars could not
buy. Finest among them were the sil
ver spruces and firs of the Rockies. It
seemed like home to be among them
again. I noticed that superior care and
high cultivation had given them far
greater beauty thaii in their own moun
tain homes. The silver sheen flashed
brighter , the needles were longer , and
they had more of thrift and grace.
I
Are They Expensive ?
Would these choice trees do well here ?
Yes. Are they very expensive ? I have
known $100 to be refused for one in
Illinois , and I have sent some to Massa
chusetts which sold at from $10 to $15.
They cost hero from twenty five cents
to ! ? 00. This is like sowing dimes and
harvesting eagles.
There are choice shrubs on this estate.
They cost but little at first , twenty-five
cents to $1.00 each , but priceless when
in a glory of bloom.
There is a large and beautiful family
of syriugas , which do well in Nebraska.
There are at least a dozen kinds of
honeysuckles , and as many more of
hardy spireas , which can be depended
upon.
A Large Family of Peonies.
And then there is a large and growing
family of peonies. I have a friend in
Massachusetts who had 60,000 of them ,
some of the common kinds and some
very choice ones that ho imported from
Europe , some for which ho paid as "high
as $3.00 apiece ! Year after year he
took the premium at the great Boston
show. A rich man from Illinois heard
of them , and sent his gardener to see
them. "What will you take for the
entire lot ? " " $7,000" was the answer ,
and the bargain was closed on the spot.
A letter from the largest nursery in Illi
nois informs mo that a collection nearly
as large was sold at a fabulous price , to
go East.
I have a collection of about thirty
kinds , secured from various sources. I
invite you to see them in bloom next
summer. Some of mine cost a dollar
each. What can be more interesting
than large beds of these charming
flowers ? Among them are early and
Into bloomers , prolonging the season for
six weeks.
Peonies need rich cultivation , plenty
of manure , the hoe , water or good
mulching , and often transplanting.
"Why don't my peonies bloom ? I never
have any success with them. " Perhaps
you have put them in grass and neglected
them. Perhaps they are under trees ,
and robbed of the moisture which belongs -
longs to them , or they may not have
been transplanted for years. This fall I
transplanted some which had been under
all these adverse conditions for twenty
years. They had not bloomed for five
years , and I didn't blame th m. In the
spring they would form buds , but abso
lutely had no strength to push them out
into bloom.
The Columbine Does Well Here.
Another perennial flower of great
merit , which does well here is the col
umbine. There are about thirty-two
kinds of this species , and as they have a
tendency to cross or hybridize , we shall
have many other varieties. The Rocky
Mountain early red is very attractive , a
free bloomer , and continues in bloom a
month. It is among our earliest flow
ers. I had them blooming this spring ,
though they had been set out but a few
weeks. The queen among the colum
bines , if not the queen among flowers ,
is the coerelia , from the high altitudes
of the Rockies. It is snowy white and
sky blue , the colors very clear and dis
tinct. These do well in our climate ,
and many came to see them in bloom.
They vary somewhat in size and color.
They are much used now in crossing
with other varieties , and some beautiful
specimens have been the result. This is
the state flower of Colorado , and there
is in Boston a columbine association ,
which is making a most persistent effort
to have it adopted as a national flower.
There is a great advantage of perennials
over annuals. The former are already
planted and prepared for business.
They are less affected by the drouth ,
being much bettor rooted. And the
whole race from peony to columbine
will be but little affected , except for
present blooming , by the most destruc
tive hail storms. Another perennial of
recent introduction is the oriental poppy.
All the other families are annuals. This
is a large and brilliant bloomer , in fact
so bright that when the sun is shining it
dazzles the eye. In color it is flaming
crimson.
Now Kinds of Phloxes.
Then we have the newer kinds of
phloxes , far preferable to the old. They
have a rich and gorgeous variety of
color , and they continue a long time in
bloom. They are better massed. Then
you have the various colors , deep red ,
crimson and snowy white. I secured
some of the finest foreign sorts , which I
feared might sunburn , but they went
through our sirocnos , which blew like
a blast of death at 106 ° in the shade ,
and they never winced under it. So we
are assured of this magnificent addition
to our floral treasures. This , like the
peony , .s a perennial , and will go four
or fi. o years without transplanting.
The I'u 111 OUR Hydrangea.
Then for full effect , to go along with
the phloxes , we have the famous hy
drangea , which will produce more bloom
for its size than any other plant on
earth.We need to know how to treat
this shrub. It wants rich ground , plenty
of water , and good cultivation. In the
fall , to make sure that it will not winter
kill , if in an exposed situation , cut it
down to the ground and cover the stump
with six inches of earth , which you may
rake off in the spring , and put plenty of
manure around it.
Marvellous Improvements in Lilacs.
What marvellous improvements have
been made in lilacs ! First , the old
sprouting kinds the purple and white.
Then come the Persian , three kinds ,
white , purple and dark purple. These
do not sprout , and now that horticulture
has hunted the earth over , we have 125
kinds , extending the period of bloom
from early spring till July. Some of
these kinds , like the old ones , have a
tendency to sprout , but this is obviated
by grafting them on the roots of the tree
lilac. The rear of this whole beautiful
procession is brought up by the two
giant lilacs of China and Japan , which
are the latest to bloom. Through the
month of June they are clothed with
great spikes of snowy white flowers ,
which peer out of their coverts of green.
These are trees. They grow from six to
twelve inches through , and are from
thirty to fifty feet high. Some of these
bloomed in York last summer , though
set out in the spring. Each kind is a
fine ornamental tree , aside from its
flowers. They do well in Nebraska. At
Franklin the Chinese lilacs stood four
years of awful drouth amid neglect and
weeds , and grew and bloomed through
it all.
Must llavo Care.
Now , does the farmer want to be rich ?
With $100 with his rich land he can
duplicate the grounds of many a million-
aire. You have better land than they
have , to begin with. If a rich man ,
East , could secure ten or forty acres ,
such as you own , there wonld be a pil
grimage for miles to see it. And many
of the trees and shrubs which he raises
would thrive well under your care , only
they must have care. It is the ever
lasting weed which is the deadly enemy
rti"