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THE CANDIAAN HORTICULTURIST. 



GOLDEN ROD. 



Thft air is warm and balmy yet, 

 The meadows still are green ; 



Bnt Autumn's royal seal is set 

 Upon the smiling scene. 



For look ! along the wayside nod 



The tossing plumes of golden-rod. 



It seems but yesterday we found 

 The May flower on the hills ; 



And gaily were the gardens crowned 

 With June's first daffodills. 



We thought 'twas yet the opening year- 



Ah, golden-rod, what brings you here? 



We had so many things to do 



That scarcely are begun — 

 Say not that harvesting is through, ' 



And Summer days all done ! 

 With winged sandals were they shod. 

 And fled when you came, golden rod. 



"I care not for your greeting cold, 



September's child replies ; 

 "My livery of burnished gold 



Suits best autumnal skies. 

 No sighs T waste for vanished Spring, 

 I wait upon the Autumn's king. 



" For he, the king, has need of me. 

 Fringe on his mantle's hem, 



When gold and scarlet leaves shall be 

 His blazing diadem. 



Orieve not tliat days like these are near- 



They are the glory of the year ! " 

 -Portland Transcript. 



The Brandy Gage. — A new plum, one 

 of the strongest growers, and very hardy ; 

 fruit medium size, yellow, ripens early, 

 and equal to the true Green Gage in flavor ; 

 a great and constant bearer, which does 

 not affect the growth of the tree. — New 

 York Witness. 



Giant Zittau Oniont. — This is one of 

 the finest onions that has ever been culti- 

 vated. It is handsome in shape, clear yel- 

 low, and if sown in March and properly 

 treated many of the bulbs will weigh up- 

 wards of one pound by the end of Sep- 

 tember. Hitherto the seed has been 

 rither expensive, but when cheaper it will 

 doubtless be generally grown as a main 

 crop variety.— 77ie Garden. 



Ladiks' Cabbagk. — Boil a firm white 

 head fifteen minutes, changing the water, 

 then, for more from the boiling tea-kettle. 

 Wlien tender drain and set a.side until per- 

 fectly cold. Chop fine and add two beaten 

 eggs, one tablespoon butter, pepper, salt 

 and three tablespoons of rich milk or 

 cream. Stir well togetluir and bake in a 

 buttered puddingdish until brown. Nfarion 

 Harland says : •' I can safely r^jcoaimend 



this dish, even to those who are not fond 

 of any of the ordinary preparations of 

 cabbage, as being both palatable and di- 

 gestible." 



Decorative Tree Planting. — The 

 Commissioners of the Woods and Forests, 

 of England, are trying to plant a large 

 extent of crown lands in the lale of Man 

 with forests and ornamental trees. The 

 experiment, which is watched with inter- 

 est not only by those who follow sylvi- 

 culture as an art, but by the many who 

 regard with apprehension the gradual de- 

 nudation of forest and woodlands, leads 

 Land to comment on the growth of a taste 

 for planting ; for transforming into artis- 

 tic plois, grounds which are ill-favored 

 and uninviting ; for digging lakes and 

 forming cascades, resulting in magnificent 

 combinations of sylvan charms. — Ameri- 

 can Garden. 



Bagging Grapes. — A. correspondent 

 asks for advice on the propriety of bagging 

 grapes. The advantages are, protection 

 from insects and birds ; to some extent 

 exemption from rot when that disease pre- 

 vails ; but more particularly in the appear- 

 ance which the bunches present by free- 

 dom from external injury and with the 

 undisturbed bloom of the berries. Sorts 

 which sell at high prices pay for the ex- 

 pense of bagging : common grapes do not. 

 Where performed for profit, the work 

 must be systematized, the bags made by 

 wholesale methods, and the persons who 

 apply the bags must understand the busi- 

 ness of applying them rapidly. As the 

 bags retard somewhat the ripening, the 

 grapes keep longer and may be supplied 

 to purchasers a longer period, and the bags 

 afford some protection from autumn frosts. 

 To prevent rot, the bags should be applied 

 soon after the fruit sets, or before it is half 

 grown ; otherwise the operation may be 

 deferred till nearly the time for coloring. 

 Manilla paper is the best material, and 

 the upper fold should be drawn over the 

 bunch and pinned, so as to form a roof to 

 exclude rain. Sometimes bagged grapes 

 have been badly injured by long rains in 

 retaining moisture and causing cracking 

 of berries. Time will determine to what 

 extent the practice will ultimately prevail 

 in \'ineyard culture. — Country Gentleman. 



