May, 1914 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



»<7 



Value of Bees in Wet Weather 



The following extracts from an ad- 

 dress entitled "Beneficial Results from 

 the Fertilization of Fruit Blossoms by 

 Bees" in the British Bee Journal, will 

 be of interest : 



Rain during the blooming season is 

 a frequent cause of unfruitfulness. Con- 

 tinuous rain may wash away the pollen, 

 and it may lose its vitality, but the prin- 

 cipal cause of unfruitfulness at such 

 times is due to the fact that insects, 

 and particularly bees, which promtjte 

 cross-fertilization between varieties are 

 absent. 



Unfruitfulness may be due to a scar- 

 city of bees. I could mention several 

 instances where orchards had proved 

 unprofitable until bees were introduced. 



One in particular, a forty acre block 

 of Alexander peach trees, had never 

 borne profitable crops and the owner 

 was about to cut them down. When 

 asked where the nearest bees were kept 

 he said five miles. Those bees were no 

 use to him at all, and I advised him to 

 give the. trees another season's trial, 

 and to get some bees at once. He ob- 

 tained two colonies of bees, which he 

 placed in the centre of his orchard. Of 

 course, by that time more than half the 

 blossom was over, but for all that he 

 got a fair amount of fruit, the trees 

 nearest the hives having the most on 

 them. The next year he bought more 

 bees, with the result that the trees were 

 so laden with fruit that, although they 

 had been thinned, the branches had to 

 be supported by strong wooden props. 

 Needless to say, there were no more 

 complaints, for here was ample proof 

 that all that was required to make the 

 trees fruitful were bees to fertilize the 

 blossoms. 



Another fruit grower found that when 

 he brought his hives into the orchard 

 the first year's yield showed a fourfold 

 increase of fruit, independent of the 

 honey crop, showing the importance of 

 having the hives near the trees. Apples 

 this year in his district had been very 

 scarce, excepting his own orchard and 

 tho.se immediately adjoining it. 

 ■ Cross-fertilization produces very 

 much larger and better flavored fruit 

 than the self-fertilized does. This cross- 

 pollination is almost entirely dependent 

 upon in.sects, the chief of which are 

 bees. There should be a sufficient num- 

 ber of bees in vicinity, that no matter 

 how unfavorable the weather, the blos- 

 soms would be visited often enough to 

 fertilize them perfectly. 



BEES PREVENT FE08T DAMAOE 



If bees are plentiful fertilization takes 

 place as soon as the blossom is ready, 

 and the blossom is the better ready to 

 stand a hard frost. If through lack of 

 bees or bad weather fertilization is de- 

 ferred, a frost may come in the mean- 

 time and result in great loss to the 

 fruit grower. 



A Corner Where Spring Flowers Bloom in All Their Sweetness 



This glimpse of a corner in Miss Blacklock's sarden, Toronto, shows a Polyanthus in bloom. Next 



to it, at the extreme left, is Snow-in-Summer, then Moss Pink and behind it Phlox Amoena (Lovely 



Phlox). The large clump to the right of them is the double Arabis (Rock Cress). 



A Pica for the Spring Garden 



Miss M. Blacklock, Toronto 



a magenta tint but decidedly pretty, 

 make their debut with the daffodils and 

 narcissi. Golden Tuft (Alyssum saxa- 

 tile) is always in time to spread its golden 

 mantle beneath the tulips and to consort 

 with the double Arabis. 



The Leopard's Bane (Doronicum) is 

 the first of the daisy-like flowers to bloom. 

 The variety named Harper Crewe (D. 

 plantagineum excelsum) is the finest one 

 and goes on blooming throug'b a great 

 part of the summer. The flowers are a 

 bright yellow and about the size of our 

 wild oxeye daisy. They last well when 

 cut, which is probably why one sees so 

 many little bunches of them at the street 

 flower stalls in London in the spring, 

 and every house that has a foot or two of 

 eartih in front of it boasts at least one 

 plant inside the little iron palings. The 

 plants grow quite tall and are very 

 showy. 



The low-growing phlox (P. subulata), 

 often called moss pink, gives great 

 masses of color. There are some new 

 varieties, notably the one named Vivid, 

 that are a purer pink than the type, and 

 some very fine white ones. The Lovely 

 Phlox (P. amoena) is a beautiful rose 

 pink, and as it forms cushions, about six 

 inches high, it is even more striking 

 fhan the moss pink, which is of prostrate 

 growth. They bloom about the same 

 time and are both very desirable. The 

 Dwarf Iris (see illustration number one) 

 is another early flower that deserves sp>e- 

 cial attention. There are a number of 

 varieties differing greatly in size, colour, 



AFTER the snov/drops, squills, hya- 

 cinths and other spring flowers of 

 March and April have gladdened 

 our hearts by their sweetness or wealth of 

 bloom, primroses and bunch primroses 

 (Polyanthi), the well beloved of all Eng- 

 land's children, begin to add their quota 

 of delight about the end of April. The 

 primrose, which reaches perfection here 

 during May, comes now in nearly all the 

 shades of crimson and yellow that the 

 polyanthus does, but it seems sweeter and 

 more appropriately dressed in its old- 

 fashioned primrose gown. 



The polyanthus is most attractive in 

 the rich, velvety crimsons that it delights 

 to don, although it is beautiful in the rich 

 yellows, creams, and many "art" shades 

 of pink also. It is a very showy flower, 

 and one that is perfectly hardy and easily 

 grown, provided it is kept sufficiently well 

 watered and sheltered from the blazing 

 midsummer sun. It is easily raised from 

 seed, and a strain known as Dean's Hy- 

 brids is excellent. 



One of the daintiest Barrenworts (Epi- 

 mcdium rubrum) joins the happy throng 

 the first week in May. It is difficult to 

 decide which to advise most, its quaint 

 little cream and crimson flowers, spring- 

 ing from the axils of the leaves, or the 

 beautifully tinted leaves themselves. 

 Both are quite unique. Corydalis nobilis 

 (the Noble Fumitory), with its stout 

 flower stalk, closely packed with yellow 

 and black blossoms ; C. bulbosa, with 

 smaller flowers of a somewhat dull ma- 

 genta-crimson ; and C. rubrum, also of 



