THE 



Canadian Horticulturist. 



Vol. XXI. Toronto, 18 9 8 



June. 



No. 6 



NEW CREATIONS IN THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 



REATIONS is here used not 

 in the sense of bringing into 

 existence something out of 

 nothing, but by new combina- 

 tions of that which exists to produce a 

 new object. Doubtless there are limita- 

 tions to man's power to create even in 

 this sense, but as yet we do not know 

 where they lie. Confining ourselves to 

 what man has produced in new plants, 

 we shall see wonderful creations which 

 open to us a vista of possibilities to 

 which we dare not set a limit. Space 

 at our command will only admit of a 

 few examples, and with only one excep 

 tion we will confine our attention to 

 what has been done in this Province of 

 Ontario, where every statement can be 

 fully verified. 



The late Charles Arnold of Paris, per- 

 ceiving that the dwarf peas of our 

 gardens were sadly lacking in the rich 

 delicious flavor of many of our tall- 

 growing varieties which required the 

 often inconvenient care of being fur- 



21 



nished with support, set himself to pro- 

 duce a dwarf pea having all the desira- 

 ble sweetness and flavor of the tall- 

 growing sorts. The result of his work 

 was the well-known dwarf pea, the 

 "American Wonder," which was bought 

 by a seedsman who felt himself so 

 greatly benefited by his purchase that he 

 subsequently presented Mr. Arnold with 

 a valuable gold watch. One more of 

 his creations, and this in the line of our 

 cultivated fruits ; he undertook to 

 produce an apple having many of the 

 good qualities of the Northern Spy and 

 the early bearing habit of the Wagener. 

 His labors have given us the " Ontario " 

 apple, to the value of which our ener- 

 getic Director, Mr. Thos Beall, of Lind- 

 say, and our fruit experimenter, Mr. 

 Walter Dempsey,of Hastings, can testify. 

 Mr. H. H. Groff, of Simcoe, has given 

 us many very beautiful creations in 

 gladioli and cannas. His gladioli are 

 widely known and highly prized by 

 growers of this late summer flower, 



