SOUTHERN FRUITS A AD FLO I VERS. 



309 



gradually covering the blossoms and thus 

 developing the peanuts underground. They 

 need a warm sheltered place." 



A Fig Tree Grown in Canada 



One of the fig trees, seven or eight years old, grown by Mr. 

 Walter T. Ross, of Picton Ont., is here shown. There are 

 about five dozen figs on the tree. The variety is the Celestial 

 or Sugar Fig. 



Besides these Mr. Ross matures lemons 

 and oranges and has some large specimens 

 in preservatives which are better than most 



of the specimens of those fruits which ap- 

 pear in the shop windows of our towns and 

 cities. A fine coffee plant stands in his 

 office window and is as nice an ornamental 

 plant as could be desired. Several curiosi- 

 ties in the form of carnivorous plants, 

 known as Venus Fly Trap, which catch flies, 

 are also very interesting. ThePapaw Tree, 

 which has the property of rendering flesh 

 tender, is also grown with success. 



Among the many specimens not yet men- 

 tioned are pineapple, persimmon, ginger, 

 cinnamon, vanilla plant and tapioca. 



? I have never had a greenhouse," con- 

 cluded Mr. Ross, " but there is an old say- 

 ing that ' Nothing succeeds like success,' 

 and perhaps my success on the start was the 

 cause of my attempting so much. I always 

 study the plant and find what conditions suit 

 best. If I had a greenhouse I believe I 

 could mature almost any of the tropical 

 fruits." 



When such success has been attained 

 without glass structures what should we ex- 

 pect from some of our up-to-date amateurs 

 and florists with their huge houses and per- 

 fect systems of regulating heat and mois- 

 ture. Even the most sceptical would be- 

 come an enthusiastic lover of plants after 

 spending a half hour with Mr. Ross. 



AN AMATEUR'S EXPERIENCE WITH TREE PEONIES 



THE Tree Peony (Peonia moutan) is 

 found wild in China and Japan and 

 attains in its native haunts a height of 40 

 feet. The appearance of a tree of this size, 

 covered in the early spring with thousands 

 of enormous single flowers of a faint rose 

 lilac color, is surpassed in beauty only by 

 the great magnolia of the Southern States. 

 So remarkable a flowering tree must have 

 attracted the attention of Chinese and 

 Japanese gardeners. In the Flowery King- 



dom the Tree Peony is called the King of 

 Flowers. It is said to have been cultivated 

 there for more than 15 centuries, and plants 

 of choice varieties sold for more than their 

 weight in gold. The first Jesuit mission- 

 aries who visited China sent plants to 

 Europe, which attracted immediate atten- 

 tion and attained great vogue. Those who 

 planned the stately gardens of France, 

 which are now the delight and despair of 

 new world visitors, contended for the dis- 



*A paper read at the July meeting of the Ottawa Horticultural Society by Hon. R. R. Latchford, of Ottawa, who has been very suc- 

 cessful in the growing of these beautiful and rare flowers. 



