Kansas Horticultural Society

The friends of pomology met at Lawrence, Dec. 11, 1867, and organized under the name of the Kansas Horticultural Society, and adopted a constitution and by-laws. Officers were elected as follows:

President - Wm. Tanner, Leavenworth.

Vice-President - C. B. Lines, Wabaunsee.

Secretary - G. C. Brackett, Lawrence.

Treasurer - S. T. Kelsey, Ottawa.

The next meeting will be held at Leavenworth, at which time the following Committees will report:

Apples - G. C. Brackett. Pears - Dr. Housoly. Plums and Peaches - W. E. Barnes. Cherries and Small Fruits - William Maxwell. Grapes - Dr. Stayman and W. E. Barnes. Evergreens, Forest Trees, and Hedges - S. T. Kelsey.

We rejoice to note these movements in horticultural progress. The West is alive, and the expansion of the subject there has no restriction, but is rapidly swelling and developing a rich harvest of instructive knowledge.

Keep Souse Plants Clean

The London Cottage Gardener thus relates the advantage of keeping artificially grown plants clean:

Two orange trees, weighing respectively eighteen and twenty ounces, were allowed to vegetate without their leaves being cleaned, for a year; and two others, weighing respectively ten and twenty and one-half ounces had their leaves sponged with tepid water once a week. The first increased in weight less than half an ounce each, while of the two latter, one had increasd two, and the other nearly three ounces.

Keeping Flowers Fresh

.A Young Read-er, (Charleston.) Flowers fade so soon because the juices of the leaves evaporate through the pores - and the dryer and warmer the room, the more rapidly the flowers fade. If you wish to keep them fresh for a long time, keep them under a glass shade; or shut up a favorite bo-quet at night, in a covered box, sprinkling the flowers plentifully before hand. In the morning you will find them quite fresh - they having taken up moisture through the pores of both leaf and flower.

Keeping House Plants Clean

The London Cottage Gardener relates an experiment showing the advantage of keeping the leaves of plants free from dust. Two orange trees, weighing respectively eighteen and twenty ounces, were allowed to vegetate without their leaves being cleaned for a year ; and two others, weighing respectively nineteen and twenty and one-half ounces, had their leaves sponged with tepid water once a week. The first two increased in weight less than half an ounce each, while of the two latter, one had increased two and the other nearly three ounces. Except the cleaning, the plants were similarly treated.

Keeping Sweet Potatoes

C. W., of Fairhaven, Kentucky, will find that Sweet Potatoes may be kept till April, by packing them when dry, carefully, and without the slightest bruise in barrels. Place the barrels with the heads loose, in a kitchen or an equally dry and moderately warm room. If any symptoms of decay are observed, sort them over carefully and remove the injured potatoes. We keep them in this way with entire success until spring. There are no monthly or weekly papers devoted to architecture exclusively.