THE 



Canadian Horticulturist. 



Vol. XXI. Toronto, 18 9 8 



lULV. 



No. 7 



RAMBLES ROUND TORONTO. 



Tji^^ ANY pleasant holiday 

 hours may be spent 

 in and about To- 

 ronto's parks, gar- 

 dens and conserva- 

 tories by the horti- 

 cultural enthusiast, 

 and if he be a lover 

 of uncultivated na- 

 ture also, he will 

 find much beauty 

 and charm in the 

 rolling and pictur- 

 esque country that 

 girdles the mono- 

 tonously level site of the town on 

 allits landward sides. Turning first to 

 the eastern suburbs, we may note as a 

 place of interest the grounds of Leslie 

 Bros., the pioneer nurserymen of the 

 Province Toronto's employment of the 

 horse chestnut as its principal tree for 

 avenue planting, was due to the acci- 

 dent that Leslie Bros, had a large stock 

 on hand, and were willing to furnish it 

 at a lower rate than other trees. A 

 glimpse of Queen Street Avenue or 



2 



Sherbourne Street at the end of May, 

 when the trees are a mass of snowy 

 spikes, will do much to reconcile one to 

 the arrangement, though the stately 

 American white elm or one or two 

 varieties of the maple such as the sugar 

 or the silver-leaved with their pleasing 

 symmetrical shapes and their color ef- 

 fects are perhaps to be preferred for 

 ornamental street planting. Further east 

 lie the trim trial-grounds and extensive 

 greenhouses, for palms, cut flowers and 

 decorative plants, of the Steele, Briggs 

 Seed Co , and Munro Park, where the 

 Street Railway Co. as a speculation, is 

 building a pavilion and making other 

 improvements? Victoria Park is be- 

 yond this again. From Munro Park, 

 winding ways lead up the wooded Nor- 

 way heights and on through a pictur- 

 esque old orchard to a grand old 

 place, Httle known to the general 

 public, but interesting to [.us for its 

 trees. This is Blantyre Park, and the 

 Gothic Mansion in the centre is where 

 Archbishop Ryan seeks the quiet and 

 repose of country life during the heat 



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