3o8 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



park that man has only to clear the way, 

 make roads and plant flowers. 



The numher of flowers and shrubs that 

 can be used for park purposes is almost un- 

 limited. Much depends on tlie locality, the 

 size of the park, and other conditions. This 

 should be left to the taste and judgment of 

 the superintendent. For solid, bold ef- 



fect nothing equals geraniums and can- 

 nas. A great deal depends on the loca- 

 tion of the beds, their size, the arrangement 

 of colors of bloom, foliage, etc. The suc- 

 cess and appearance of beds, shrubbery, 

 etc., depends altogether on the good taste 

 and judgment of the superintendent or city 

 gardener. 



TROPICAL PLANTS WITHOUT A GREENHOUSE 



HORTICULTURAL enthusiasts in dif- 

 ferent lines take great pride in pro- 

 ducing something extraordinary. The or- 

 chardist frequently prides himself in hav- 

 ing one tree bear many different kinds ,'f 

 fruit. The market gardener, by use of hot 

 beds or greenhouses, thinks he has done 

 well if he catches the early market and 

 big prices with his cucumbers or tomatoes. 

 Florists with their huge greenhouses filled 

 with the latest heating appliances, rejoice 

 if they mature some of the tropical fruits. 

 But for genuine enthusiasm in plant grow- 

 ing the work of Mr. Walter T. Ross, secre- 

 tary of the Picton Horticultural Society, 

 shows something positively beyond the 

 hopes of an ordinary horticulturist. 



Without the aid of any extra heat except 

 what he has in his house and cellar, Mr. 

 Ross has grown with success numerous 

 tropical plants. It would take too much 

 space to enumerate them all. A repre- 

 sentative of The Canadian Horticulturist, 

 who called on Mr. Ross recently, saw a 

 typewritten list of plants, which filled three 

 or four pages. 



" The last two or three seasons," said 

 Mr. Ross to The Horticulturist, "have been 

 poor ones for work with tropical plants. It 

 needs a very warm summer to ensure suc- 

 cess. It is no more difficult to grow tropi- 

 cal plants than any other kind. The only 

 extra care that is required is to protect them 

 from frost. Conditions as near as possi- 

 ble to their natural conditions in the south 



must be maintained. The greatest trouble 

 I have is with the fruit falling off when it is 

 quite small. Too much moisture or too 

 much drought causes that. 



" Those are my fig trees," said Mr, Ross, 

 as he pointed to four fine healthy specimens 

 in a row in his garden. " I always kept 

 them in my cellar in tubs until last winter, 

 but I thought I would try covering them 

 outside. They were buried three or four 

 feet deep and then brush was piled on top 

 to hold the snow. When I took them out 

 early in May they were quite healthy. The 

 experiment was a success. I have four 

 varieties which produce fruit of different 

 sizes. There is no apparent flower but 

 one fig comes in the axil of a leaf. I have 

 promise of a fair fig crop this season," re- 

 marked Mr. Ross, as he pointed to numer- 

 ous miniature fruits just forming. 



" I handle the pomegranate in the same 

 uay," continued Mr. Ross. "The wood is 

 soft like basswood and can be bent down 

 readily when covering for winter protection. 



" Sweet potatoes are also grown, as you 

 will see by these vines. The young plants 

 are secured from the south and set out in 

 my garden when about five inches high. 

 The potatoes are larger and whiter than the 

 ones we buy in the stores and the flesh is 

 firm and very white. 



" Peanuts are easily grown. I plant the 

 nuts in sandy soil. As the plants grow 

 yellow blossoms appear low down on the 

 stem. I pull the earth up around them 



