ANOTHER HANDY GARDEN TOOL 



WII.I.IA.M WIvLSH. KIXCARDIXE, ONT. 



THE description which appeared in the 

 March issue of The Horticulturist 

 of Mr. R. B. W'hyte's flower garden in 

 Ottawa was an instructive one for amateur 

 flower growers. I was particularly inter- 

 ested in Mr. Wh}te's description of the two 

 handy garden tools he uses in weeding his 

 garden. A numlx^r of \cars ago I realized 

 the need for sonic such inipltniont as those 

 used by Mr. W'hyte, as 1 found it was diffi- 

 cult to keep ni)' garden free from weeds 

 either ^b}- puMing them l)y hand or I)}- using 

 a hand hoe. This led me to experiment, 

 with the result that I finall}- devised an im- 

 plement which has been of great assistance 

 to me and with which I find it possible to 

 weed my garden quickly and effectively .and 

 without stt>oping or soiling my hands, two 

 things to which so many people object. 



The first implement I made was rather a 

 crude affair^ as the blade I shaped myself, 

 but since then I have been able to improve 

 it considerably. It ma\- be used by pulling 

 or pushing for stirring the surface of the soil. 

 The trouble I found with a hoe was the con- 



tinued lifting and hacking. So satisfac-' 

 tory have the results been with the use of 



this imple- 

 ment that 

 I have in- 

 t r oduced 

 it to my 

 f r i e nds, 

 who have 

 been de- 

 lighted 

 w i t h its 

 use. Both 

 a m a teur 

 aujd pro- 

 f e s sional 

 f 1 o r i sts 

 who have 

 used it 

 have in- 

 f o r m e d 



This illusttration shows how Mr. Welsh, the mC that it 

 piesident of the Kincardine Horticultural Society, 

 uses his weeder. h a S bCCn 



of great assistance to them in not only 

 weeding their orchards and gardens, but in 

 stirring the soil as well. 



Death on the Weeds 



HYBRIDIZING CARNATIONS 



# 



J GROW" quite a 

 ohrysanthemum seedlings ever}^ year 

 and so far have met with some success. I 

 hope to get higher up the ladder before I 

 give up and should like to see more growers 

 take up this work. In Canada we should 

 be able to do something to hold up our end 

 and bring out a variety that will be a credit. 

 Raisers of seedlings must not be disap- 

 pointed if they do 'not get anything 'good the 

 first, the second or even thfe third year. 

 Alter that they should have some success. 



The plants raised the first year s'hould be 

 the foundation of the seedling stock. The 

 color of the flowers does not matter much, 

 provided the plants are strong, 'with thick 



GEORGE HOLLIS, BRACONDALE, ONT. 



few carnations and flower stems and an upright growth, the 

 cal}-x never bursting, and the flowers not 

 very full in petals. Select the plants you 

 mean to seed, and take the pollen from some 

 healthy strong growing plant, never 

 wek, puny ones. Nothing is gained by 

 getitng new ones to work with, unless some 

 new variet}- should give you some advantage 

 in vigor, size and bloom. With good judg- 

 ment and selection it is better to work with 

 seedlings. 



The dull days of winter are not so easy 

 to cross the flowers as the wami bright 

 weather of early summer. Many of the 

 varieties have no pollen till warm weather. 

 Having: selected the blooms vou wish to 



* Paper read before Toronto Gardeners' and Florists' Association, March 21, 1905. 



152 



