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._
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._