e that bloom in the fall. Nothing
is gained by setting iris or peonies in the spring, for nine times out
of ten they will not bloom the same season they are set, while if set in
the fall nearly all varieties of either the iris or peony will bloom the
next year. On the other hand, phlox set in the spring scarcely ever
fails to bloom in the late summer or early fall, and keeps it up until
freezing weather. The phlox, however, should be taken up and divided
every two or three years to obtain the best results.

After planting comes the cultivating, which should be kept up all
summer. Especially after a rain should the ground be stirred to keep it
from baking. In exceedingly dry seasons by keeping a dust mulch around
the plants one can avoid having to do much watering--for unless you
water thoroughly at such a time it is better not to water at all.
However, if it finally becomes necessary to apply water, the dust mulch
has kept the ground in condition to absorb all the water that is used.

In the fall after the ground has frozen a light covering of some kind
should be thrown over the plants. This is to protect them from the
thawing and freezing that takes place from time to time during the
winter and early spring. After the first year, when the foliage has
increased so as to be some protection, it is not as necessary to cover,
although no doubt a little more covering would be beneficial. Some
growers of the peony, however, advocate cutting off the leaves in the
fall, and in such a case a covering would be necessary.

We found a very satisfactory way for both covering and fertilizing was
to throw a fork full of dressing around each plant in the fall and work
it into the ground in the spring.

IN MEMORIAM--J. F. BENJAMIN.

PASSED JULY 15, 1916. AGED 59 YEARS.

"John Franklin Benjamin was born at Belvidere, Illinois, May 6, 1857.
That same year his parents moved to Hutchinson and he, at the age of
five years, was one of the two score of little children who spent hours
of terror in the stockade when it was attacked by the Indians on
September 4, 1862. As he grew up he attended the Hutchinson school, his
boyhood being spent on the farm. He was married in October, 1889, to
Minnie L. Walker. The following year they moved to Pierce county, Neb.,
where Mr. Benjamin purchased and for ten years managed a large ranch. In
1890 they returned to Hutchinson and proceeded to open and improve
Highland Home Fruit Farm, which was