Any word of praise spoken for the lovely cosmos is fully merited, and its late period of bloom only adds to its value in my estimation. Late in the spring I get my stock of cuttings rooted, and as early as possible plant them out in ordinary soil, having found that rich soil causes a too rank growth. During the summer close attention is given to keeping the plants closely cut back to induce a compact growth, otherwise it forms a long-legged and ungainly plant. Each time that five or six inches of growth is made, it is cut back to the first joint above the previous cut, two shoots being nearly always thrown out from each joint on plants so treated. Along in September the plants are lifted and put in good-sized pots. With a little care, they scarcely wilt, and a month or so later they begin to bloom, lasting for a long time. I have had many plants two feet high and nearly the same in diameter, covered with the pink or white blossoms, and this at a time when bloom was very scarce. - E. E. Summey, New York.