December, 1912. 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



289 



PUBLISHER'S DESK 



It's a Happy New Year we wish you. 

 and many of them. 



This issue completes another year, the 

 thirty-fifth, in the history of The Canadian 

 Horticulturist. It has been the best year 



An Absolute Guarantee 



When The Canadian Horticulturist, 

 some years ago, adopted its protective 

 policy, with a view to protecting its 

 readers against the dealings of unre- 

 liable avdertisers, by publishing 

 only such advertisements as its pub- 

 lishers believed were thoroughly reli- 

 able, it was one of the first Canadian 

 papers to take a stand of this nature. 

 There are even yet comparatively 

 few publications in Canada which 

 have gone as far in this direction as 

 The Canadian Horticulturist. 



Now we are going one step farther. 

 Hereafter it will be cur policy not 

 simply to publish only such adver- 

 tisements as we believe are reliable, 

 but TO POSITIVELY GUARANTEE 

 to our readers EVERY ADVERTISE- 

 MENT which appears in The Cana- 

 dian Horticulturist from now on, and 

 to MAKE GOOD ANY LOSS to read- 

 ers who, through dealing with any 

 advertiser whom we thought to be re- 

 liable when accepting his advertise- 

 ment has, however, defrauded any 

 of our readers. 



The following is a copy of our 

 guarantee, which, from now on, will 

 appear in every issue of The Cana- 

 dian Horticulturist, and which will 

 take the place of our old protective 

 policy: 



"WE GUARANTEE that every 

 "advertiser in this issue is reliable. 

 "We are able to do this because the 

 "advertising columns of The Cana- 

 "dian Horticulturist are as careful- 

 "ly edited as the reading columns, 

 "and because to protect our read- 

 "ers we turn away all unscrupu- 

 "lous advertisers. Should any ad- 

 "vertiser herein deal dishonestly 

 "with any subscriber, we will make 

 "good the amount of your loss, pro- 

 "vided such transaction occurs 

 "within one month from date of 

 'this issue, that it is reported to us 

 "within a week of its occurrence, 

 "and that we find the facts to be 

 "as stated. It is a condition of 

 "this contract that in writing to 

 "advertisers you state: 'I saw your 

 "advertisement in The Canadian 

 "Horticulturist." 



"Rogues shall not ply their trade 

 "at the expense of our subscribers, 

 "who are our friends, through the 

 "medium of these columns; but 

 "we shall not attempt to adjust 

 "trifling disputes between subscrib- 

 "ers and honourable business men 

 "who advertise, nor pay the debts 

 "of honest bankrupts." 

 Our readers and advertisers will 

 appreciate the advanced stand which 

 we have taken for clean, reliable ad- 

 vertising, and we look to see even a 

 greater bond of confidence and good 

 will existing between our advertisers 

 and readers than in the past. 



we have ever had. We have published more 

 reading- matter, enjoyed a larger subscrip- 

 tion list, carried more advertisements, and 

 in many respects accomplished more than 

 ever before. We are mow on the threshold 

 of "Still better things. Next year the read- 

 ing matter of The Canadian Horticulturist 

 will be still further increased, our special 

 magazine issues will be improved in vari- 

 ous ways, more and better illustrations will 

 be used, and a still higher class of articles 

 obtained. We believe that the publication 

 which does not improve goes behind. There 

 is ino standing still in the publishing or 

 any other business. For this reason, if for 

 no other, therefore, we intend that 1913 

 shall set new standards of excellence for 

 The Canadian Horticulturist. 



Just a word to our advertisers. Those 



who find it possible to do so will confer a 

 favor and at the same time ensure their 

 advertisements receiving the best possible 

 attention when making up our pages if 

 their advertising copy and instructions 

 reach Peterboro not later than the 20th 

 of each month. In making up our adver- 

 tising pages we of course try to arrange 

 the advertisements so that each will com- 

 mand the best attention from the persons 

 most likely to be interested. But when ad- 

 vertisements reach us after most of our 

 pages are made up we frequently are ob- 

 liged to place them on other than the best 

 locations or perhaps le^ve them out altoge- 

 ther. For instance, we had to refuse over 

 two and a half pages of advertising order- 

 ed for our October number as the orders 

 reached us too late to allow us to arrange 

 additional space for them. 



Ontario Horticultural Association Convention 



The increasing interest being taken in 

 the work of the Ontario Horticultural As- 

 ■'ociation has been well shown of late years- 

 by the increasing number of local horticul- 

 tural societies that have affiliated with the 

 provincial organization. Reports present- 

 ed at the annual convention of the Associa- 

 tion held in Toronto. November 14th and 

 15th, showed that a larger number of local 

 societies joined the association this year 

 thnn ever before. The number of societies 

 represented by delegates at the conventiou 

 was large. 



OFFICERS ELECTED 



The officers elected for the ensuing year 

 were as follow: Pres., Rev. A. H. Scott, 

 Perth: first vice-pres., .T. P. Jaffrav, Gait; 

 second vice-pres., W. J. Diamond, Belle- 

 ville: treasurer. H. B. Cowan. Peterboro; 

 secretarv and editor. T Lockie Wilson. Tor- 

 onto ; directors :F. R. Bowden, Vankleek 

 Hill.; J. H. MooTcraft. Bowmanvilk ; Mr. 

 Dockray, Toronto: J. H. Bennett, Barrie ; 

 T. O. McCuUoch, Hamilton; Thomas 

 Cottle. Clinton: Geo. W. Tebbs, Hespeler ; 

 Dr. Bennett, St. Thomas; H. J. McKay, 

 Windsor. 



Del'-q-nte to Canadian National Exhibi- 

 tion. Major H. J. Snelgrove, Toronto. 



Delegates to Convention of American 

 Civic Associntion. Pres. .Srott, Secy. Wil- 

 son, and W. B. Bur'rovne, of St. Catharines. 

 president's address 



The president. Rev. A. H. Scott, of 

 Perth, in his address traced the growth of 

 gardening from earlv times to the present. 

 The onportivnities for working out ideals 

 in horticulture and gardening in this coun- 

 try were great, and he asked the members 

 of the association to bend every effort to 

 the evolution of what is best in nature. 



The renort of the treasurer, H. B. 

 Cowan, of Peterboro, showed a balance on 

 hand of $94.73. 



sttperintbndbnt's report 



Supt. J. I.ockie Wilson in his report re- 

 ferred to a change in the act whereby now 

 in cities having a population of over one 

 hundred thousand a second society can be 

 organized, but the grant to pach society 

 cannot exceed five hundred dollars. 



The Legislative grant to societies is now 

 twelve thousand dollars. The excellent 

 work done in Minneapolis by public spirit- 

 ed citizens in conducting vacant lot gar- 

 dening was mentioned with approval. Over 

 one thousand lots were utilized in 1912, be- 

 sides a number of home gardens. In 1910 

 there was only one vacant lot garden. 

 Nearly every one who took pnrt in the gar- 

 dening in 1911 took it up again this year. 

 The frontage of gardens is over eleven 

 miles. Those gardens have kept the prices 

 of vegetables in Minneapolis far hejow 



what they were in previous years, amd 

 lower than in other cities. 



CITLTrrRE OP PEONIES 



An excellent paper on peonies was read 

 by J. H. Bennett, of Barrie, who pointed 

 out that the modern peony is very different 

 from the old style plant, and has a beauty 

 and fragrance of its own. This paper will 

 be published in detail in The Canadian 

 Horticulturist. 



INTERESTING ADDRESSES 



Prof. A. H. McLennan, O.A.C., Guelph. 

 spoke on the best varieties of vegetables 

 for amateur gardens. A list of the varie- 

 ties recommended will be published in The 

 Canadian Horticulturist. 



In an address on "Horticultural Societies 

 and Their Relation to Parks and Private 

 Grounds." W. Bilger, of London, Ont., 

 showed the beneficial effects that result 

 from the work and influence of societies. 

 F.xtracts from this paper will also be pub- 

 lished in later issues of The Canadian Hor- 

 ticulturist. 



Hon. .Tames S. Duff, Minister of Agricul- 

 ture, referred to the pleasure he took in 

 the increasing tendency to improve private 

 homes now so manifest in Canada, includ- 

 ing the country districts. Beautiful flow- 

 ers and vines may be seen in the gardens 

 and on the houses of thousands of homes 

 where a few years ago very little attention 

 WPS paid to such beautification. 



The growing of gladioli was described 

 by A. Gilchrist, of West Toronto, whose 

 remarks will be published later in The 

 Canadian Horticulturist. 



VACANT tOT GARDENS 



The trreat work that has been accom- 

 plished in Minneapolis in the cultivation 

 of vacant lots was described by Mr. Leroy 

 T. Boughner. Editor of the Minneapolis 

 "Tribune." Mr. Boughner explained in 

 detail the workings of the garden svstem in 

 Minneapolis, and of the community farms 

 at Philadelphia and Detroit. He gave both 

 of the schemes credit not only for the bene- 

 fits resulting socially, financially, and 

 economically, but for their effect as beau- 

 tifying agents in the cities named. The 

 cost of membership in the Minneapolis 

 clubs is onlv one dollar, and this secures 

 the privileges of a lot. He claimed that 

 rich and poor entered on the work on ex- 

 actlv the same footing, and the same good 

 results accrued to each. He deplored the 

 fact that even such worthy schemes as the 

 ones cited often fail owing to certain 

 causes which might be removed. The rea- 

 sons for the failure of such schemes he 

 named as follow : The handing out of lots 

 as "charity," which defeats its own end; 

 the fact that many consider such schemes 

 ((7ontinife(J on page tx.) 



