DITTKION OF HORTICULTURE 363 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



the result that they supplied a continuous display of splendid flowers from Christmas 

 until April. The soil for potting was made up of rich, black prairie mould and coarse 

 sand in the proportion of one of each. The condition of the bulbs in the cellar is 

 carefully watched, and as the soil begins to dry they are watered. There is no other 

 method as good of obtaining inexpensive and satisfactory winter-blooming house 

 plants as with bulbs. 



ERUITS. 



APPLES. 



Of about seven hundred apple trees received in 1909, 1910 and 1911, from various 

 sources, nearly three hundred were in good condition in the spring of 1912, and, with 

 the exception of the winter-killing of some of the tips, showed prospects of continued 

 development. Two thousand nine hundred year-old seedlings were planted one foot 

 apart in the spring of 1912. These were seedlings of Anis, Antonovka, Beautiful 

 Arcad, Charlamoff, Duchess, Hibernal, Tetofsky, Yellow Transparent. 



Tn the autumn of 1912, four boxes of apples were received from Mr. A. P. Stev- 

 enson, Dunstan, Manitoba, the varieties being Antonovka, Blushed Calville, Charl- 

 amoff and Hibernal. The seeds of these were sown and mulched, and the seedlings will 

 be used with the possibility of developing a variety hardy to this district. 



A number of varieties of native plums, gooseberries, raspberries, and black, red 

 and white currants have been planted and are all doing well, but have not yet started 

 to bear fruit. 



TREES AND SHRUBS. 



Toward the end of 1911 forty-one spruce trees varying from 12 to 30 inches in 

 height were secured about seven miles north of Duck lake. The trees were promptly 

 planted, and occasionally watered through the summer. In 1912 forty of these trees 

 were alive and doing well. Early in June, 1912, 157 more trees were secured. Up to 

 the approach of winter only two of these had died and the remainder sbowed good 

 prospect of continuing to thrive. The success with these native-grown spruce has 

 been much better than that with similar trees obtained from nurseries. There is one 

 groat advantage in securing trees locally in this way, that they are planted the day 

 following their being dug, whereas trees received from a nursery are oftentimes more 

 than two weeks out of the ground. 



An insect pest was discovered on spruce trees last year, the spruce budworm, which 

 is doing considerable damage throughout the district. It was found that spraying 

 with any of the common insecticides is quite effective, but the spraying is considered 

 to be quite an expensive operation for large ornamental trees. 



A quantity of maple, ash and caragana seeds was sown in the spring of 1912 

 and the seedlings attained good growth during the season. These ought to develop 

 into good plants for transplanting by the spring of 1914. 



Plum stones obtained from local orchards and planted in the fall of 1911 did not. 

 do so well, but cuttings from Russian poplar obtained locally made growths in some 

 cases of two feet. This supply of nursery stock will constitute the first ornamental 

 material for distribution, and will be ready in the spring of 1911. 



