THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



heart's longings and give him as much 

 true pleasure as the rich man's exotics 

 give to him, A collection can be made 

 and much pleasure derived from it with- 

 out any knowledge of Botany ; but a 

 study of Morphology in such a book as 

 the High School Botany (Spotton), car- 

 ried far enough to make use of the key 

 to the Families and Orders, is not a 

 very serious undertaking and will be 

 found very useful, particularly in the 

 identification of the different varieties. 



The dried specimens of the botanist 

 always have an attraction for the true 

 flower lover, but they cannot be com- 

 pared either in scientific or ornamental 

 value with the living plants grown under 

 favorable conditions. 



Our Canadian wild flowers that are 

 worth the care and attention usually 

 given to foreign varieties, are more 

 numerous than is generally suppostd. 

 Many of them are very beautiful and 

 nearly all are ornamental in cultivation. 

 Naturally they will be found hardy and 

 the most favorable conditions for their 

 culture can be easily ascertained and 

 understood. Nearly all of the best and 

 most decorative are perennials, so that 

 a collection once obtained would be 

 permanent with a little care. 



A good rule for transplanting would 

 be to remove the spring-blooming plants 

 in the fall and the summer and autumn 

 flowering ones in the spring, but most 

 of them can be transplanted easily and 

 successfully at any time, even when in 

 flower The flowers which the children 

 carry home from the woods and plant 

 when in bloom, nearly always take root 

 and grow, and are lost only through sub- 

 sequent neglect. 



Generally, a rich friable soil will be 

 found the most suitable, and if a winter 

 covering be desired, there is nothing 

 better than their own dead foliage, or 

 the leaves of trees. 



The method of arrangement will vary 

 according to the taste of the cultivator, 

 the place where the plants are to grow, 

 and whether they are grown in a mixed 

 collection or occupy space by them- 

 selves. As a general rule it is better to 

 have the tallest growing plants in the 

 centre of the bed, or back of the bor- 

 der, and the low growing ones at the 

 edge, with the others arranged between 

 according to size ; but there should be 

 an occasional slight break in this ar- 

 rangement to prevent stiff"ness, and care 

 ought to be taken that, throughout the 

 season, no considerable part of the plot 

 would be left without bloom. Many of 

 our common native flowers are among 

 the best of the spring bloomers, as wit- 

 ness the Hepaticas, Trilliums, Canada 

 Columbine, Wood Anemone and Spread- 

 ing Phlox. Others, as the Willow Herb, 

 Cone Flower, Flowering Spurge, Rose- 

 flowered Yarrow, Pennsylvanian Ane- 

 mone and Canada Violet, are in flower 

 nearly all summer : while the Asters 

 and Golden Rods, with their many 

 varieties, come in at the end of the 

 season 



The Dandelion would create a sen- 

 sation in the floral world, if previously 

 unknown, and introduced as a novelty 

 from Terra del Fuego, or some other 

 country far enough away. The Wild 

 Mustard (or Charlock), and the Corn 

 Cockle, so unsightly in the eyes of the 

 thrifty farmer, have claims to admira- 

 tion ; and the Viper's Bugloss, a pest 

 difficult to eradicate and rapidly spread- 

 ing, makes a fine appearance when seen 

 in masses with its purplish-blue flowers. 

 The Toadflax also has claims to beauty ; 

 the Wild Chicory (or Succory) has pret- 

 ty blue, rayed flowers; the Teasel, which 

 has given us our English word tease, 

 has prickly flower heads, which are used 

 for winter ornaments ; and the despised 

 Canada Thistle has a fine flower and 



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