32 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



February, 1910 



sward, besides materially reducing the 

 cost as compared with sodding. 



In 1908, 29,948 square yards were 

 graded and .'feded by day labor, at a 

 cost of 10.67 cents per square yarcf ; 

 21,385 square yards were graded and 

 sodded by day labor, at a cost of 12.71 

 cents per square ya^^d ; 21,865 square 

 yards were graded and sodded by con- 

 tract, at a cost of 13.53 cents per square 

 yard; making a total of 73,198 square 

 yards, at an average cost of 12.12 cents 

 per square yard., or 18 cents per front 

 foot, this area having a total frontage 

 of 49,229 feet, or a little over nine miles. 

 This rate, however, was very low, the 

 average cost of construction during the 

 last three years being about 25 cents 

 per front foot, for a fifteen-foot boule- 

 vard. • 



The cost of tree planting for 1908 av- 

 eraged 2.5 cents per front foot, over a 

 frontage of 79,302 feet, about 51% cents 

 per tree. This may seem a very low 

 rate, explainable by the fact that we 

 plant trees dug from the bush by the 

 farmers, and for which we pay about 

 thirty-five cents per tree. This plan was 



adopted when it was found that nursery 

 grown trees from the .south or east, 

 would not thrive in our rigorous climate, 

 but almost invariably winter-killed. 



We use American elms, white ash, 

 and basswoods, the former being the 

 most satisfactory. Some Russian pop- 

 lars are being experimented with. VVe 

 have also a number of box elders; this 

 tree, however, is not reliable, and no 

 more are being planted on the streets, 

 though we find it very useful as a filler 

 in park work, owing to its rapid growth. 



The system of maintenance is very 

 simple. The city is dviided into dis- 

 tricts, with a foreman in charge of each. 

 Tool boxes are placed in convenient lo- 

 cations, and the mowing, watering, tree 

 spraying and pruning is carried out 

 with an unvarying uniformity over the 

 entire system. 



The total cost of maintenance for tMe 

 year 1908, was $14,982.50 for a fron- 

 tage of 404,728 feet, or 76/i miles, giv- 

 ing an average of 3.7 cents per front 

 foot over the entire city. This was also 

 a very low rate, owing to local condi- 

 tions, the average yearly maintenance 



rate being about five cents per front foot. 



This cost need not be very largely ex- 

 ceeded in any city, as our hot summers 

 demand a maximum amount of attention 

 to the grass, which would be, to a con- 

 siderable extent, unnecessary in a moist- 

 er climate. The expenditure for policing 

 in winter, is also large, as much damage 

 is caused to the trees by horses, and to 

 the grass, by short cuts over the snow- 

 covered boulevards. 



The amount charged for maintenance 

 against the individual street or lot, is ar- 

 rived at by taking the area in square 

 feet of all the boulevards. The amount 

 charged against any street, will be in 

 the same ratio as the boulevard is to the 

 entire system, so that each lot owner 

 pays for the actual area fronting on his 

 property, and no more. 



This system seems to give general sa- 

 tisfaction to the citizens, and the only 

 change we have in view, is that of ob- 

 taining power to strike a flat rate for 

 , maintenance so as to obviate the great 

 amount of clerical work now required in 

 making up the assessment schedules. 



What Amateur Gardeners Can Do in February 



As there is not much to do in gar- 

 dening indoors or out this month, 

 spare time can be utilized to ad- 

 vantage in planning for the garden that 

 is to be. Recall the weak spots of the 

 garden last year and plan to remedy 

 them. Was there not some fence or out- 

 building that should have been covered 

 with vines, some corner of the lawn 

 or some place in the border where one 

 or two shrubs would have improved the 

 effect, some parts of the vegetable gar- 

 den that were not occupied by plants, 

 or something else that was neglected last 

 year? A little forethought exercised 

 now will do more for these places than 

 can be done on the spur of the moment 

 when time for action comes. 



Do not wait until the last minute be- 

 fore ordering seeds and plants for next 

 spring's use. Secure catalogues from 

 seedsmen and nurserymen and make se- 

 lections early. Even though you may 

 not intend to buy it is worth while get- 

 ting these catalogues. They are inter- 

 esting and contain much practical ad- 

 vice on the culture of the plants listed 

 therein. As a first choice of seeds and 

 plants, select those kinds that are well- 

 known and well-tried. As a rule these 

 are given the shortest descriptions in 

 the catalogues. After satisfying your 

 needs from the standard sorts, then 

 choose a few novelties for experimenta- 

 tion and curiosity. All leading and re- 

 liable seed and nursery firms advertise 

 in The Canadian Horticulturist. Con- 



sult their advertisements on other pages 

 of this issue. 



Towards the end of the month sow 

 seeds of verbenas, lobelias, cockscombs, 

 double petunias, sweet sultan, schizan- 

 thus, and mignonette in pots or boxes in 

 the window. These will come in useful 

 in early spring for window boxes and 

 hanging baskets. 



About the same time or the first of 

 March sow a few sweet peas seeds in- 

 doors for planting outside when the time 

 comes. Put six seeds in each five-inch 

 pot. By the time you would be sowing 

 seeds outside you will have strong plants 

 three inches or four inches high. When 

 the time comes these plants may be 

 placed ten inches apart in trenches. 

 When planting knock the ball of earth 

 out of the pot carefully, and do not dis- 

 turb the roots. 



WINDOW PLANTS 



With the increasing heat of the sun, 

 insect pests on house plants will become 

 troublesome. Keep all growing plants, 

 such as fuchsias, geraniums, calla lilies, 

 and so on, well moistened at the roots. 

 The foliage should be sprinkled or 

 syringed two or three times a week with 

 luke-warm water. Some weak tobacco 

 water placed in the solutior> once a week 

 will help to hold these pests in check. 



Take proper precautions against ex- 

 treme cold weather at night. The hot 

 sun of some winter days often gives the 

 amateur a feeling of security that makes 

 him negligent in this matter. Should 



the plants become frozen, keep them 

 away from the heat, cover them care- 

 fully and keep them in the dark for 

 twenty-four hours or until the frost is 

 out of them. Do not place them in 

 bright sunlight for a week or two after- 

 wards. 



Keep the leaves of house plants free 

 from dust. Wipe them with a wet sponge 

 once a week. Give them fresh air oc- 

 casionally, but do not allow direct drafts 

 to strike them. 



Start fuchsias into growth. Prune 

 back the tips of last year's growth so as 

 to make a shapely plant. Give the plants 

 more water than they had when resting, 

 and place them in a warm position. 

 When young leaves appear re-pot the 

 plants into the same sized pot, first shak- 

 ing them out from the soil in which they 

 have been growing. When re-potting 

 them, use soil composed of two parts of 

 rich light loam and one part each of 

 sand and leaf soil, mixed well together. 

 Provide plenty of drainage. Water well 

 when potted and not again until the soil 

 shows signs of dryness. For red spider, 

 a bad pest of the fuchsia, syringe the 

 plants daily. 



Fall propagated geraniums should be 

 shifted into three and a half-inch pots 

 and potted firmly in rather heavy rich 

 soil. Cuttings may be taken from these 

 plants in from three to five weeks. 



A few tuberous-rooted begonias may 

 be put in moss or sand to start them off 



