112 



THE C^lNADIAN HORTICULTUKIST. 



trees of the same variety lost their fruit. 

 The plums were about the size of peas 

 when the Pai-is green was applied. He 

 used three ounces of Paris-green mixed 

 with forty gallons of water, and sprayed 

 the trees with one of Field's orchard 

 force pumps, which he found to be an 

 excellent instrument for the purpose. 

 If any other readers of your valuable 

 magazine have any experience in the 

 spraying of fruit trees, will they not 

 have the kinduess to communicate it to 

 their fellow fruit growers through the 

 columns of tlie Canadian Horticulturist. 



C. 



THE CULTURE OF PANSIES. 

 The pansy yearly grows in favour 

 with amateur as well as professional 

 gai-deners, and no garden or lawn can 

 afford to be without it. The florists of 

 England, Belgium, France, and our own 

 States, vie with each other in produc- 



A Basket of Pansies. 



ing lai'ger and more delicately tinted or 

 marked varieties. The standard shape 

 of the flower should be nearly or quite 

 a circle, and the size should equal a 

 silver dollar. Pansies are easily grown 

 from seed, and if they are planted early 

 in the season, in boxes, placed in a hot- 

 bed, they will be large enough to make 

 a beautiful edging or bordering for beds 

 of geraniums, I'oses or petunias. Tlie 

 seeds should be sown in sandy soil, 

 mixed with an equal portion of very rich 

 compost, and when the plants have five 

 or six leaves, transplant them into the 

 beds or borders where they are to bloom, 

 placing the plants four or five inches 

 apart. 



Very large flowers can only be obtain- 

 ed by the most liberal use of fertilizers. 

 The pansy is a gross feeder, and will 

 not grow to perfection if its needs are 

 not consulted. The beds should be pre- 

 pared as richly as for asparagus or 

 celery, and when they begin to flower 

 give tlieuT a plentiful showering every 

 night, when rain has not fallen. Hot, 

 dry weather will pi-event their making 

 a fine display, if the beds are not well 

 moisteneJ and shaded from the noon- 

 day sun. In the hottest weather, water 

 the beds both morning and evening. 

 When the young plants have begun to 

 flower, a weekly watering with liquid 

 stimulants will be found very beneficial, 

 and if yard manure is not at hand, 

 soluble Pacific guano will make an ex- 

 cellent suVjstitute. Dissolve two table- 

 spoonsful of the guano in a gallon of 

 warm water, and pour it freely about 

 the roots, but not upon the leaves. I 

 find it the best stimidant for all my 

 flowfsr beds. When the blossoms ap- 

 pear, if they are small and inferior in 

 color and shadings, pull the phints up at 

 once, and do not let them remain in the 

 bed to spoil its effect. As the seedlings 

 were planted closely, their absence will 

 not be noticed. If, however, all have 

 fine flowei'S, and are too crowded, trans- 

 plant some of them into another richly 

 prepared bed or border, in a damp and 

 cloudy .day, towards night. They will 

 not wilt if taken up between seven and 

 eight o'clock, after they have been 

 thoroughly watered. They should be 

 shaded for a day or two. 



Pansies can be quickly raised from 

 cuttings of the fresh young shoots which 

 spring from their roots, by planting 

 them in sandy soil in the shade. Tliey 

 will make fine plants for autumn flower- 

 ing, as young plants always bloom the 

 finest. If all straggling branches and 

 seed pods are removed from the plants 

 raised for early spring flowering, they 

 will also bloom luxuriantly in the 



