474 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



cotton sprinkled with mica or coarse salt 

 (which is cheaper by far and more satisfac- 

 tory) are often used to represent snow, and 

 if the trees are to be lighted with the candles 

 the effect is more pleasing to the small folks. 



Wreaths of Christmas greens are still 

 seen in the windows of rich and poor alike 

 for many days before and after the all-im- 

 portant day which they are to celebrate. 

 The fashion, if such it may be called, is in 

 some localities on the wane, but it is still 

 popular in many sections. Many persons 

 decorate these wreaths with large scarlet 

 bows which, if deftly tied and of the right 

 kind of ribbon, add much to the decoration. 



'1 here are many ways of tying these bows. 

 For a wreath of evergreen, which is less ex- 

 pensive than one of holly, much more trim- 

 ming may be used. The ribbon chosen for 

 the purpose should be the exact shade, or as 

 near as possible, to that of the holly berry. 

 The soft louisine ribbon is the easiest to 

 manage and produces the most graceful ef- 

 fect when tied. A large bow of two loops 

 and one end, placed at the top of the wreath, 

 and extending in one piece of ribbon, over 



to about an angle of 45 degrees, where it 

 ends in another similar bow, is perhaps a 

 novel way of tying. A large bow of 

 four or five loops and two ends of the same 

 length, tied to the lower part of the wreath 

 and let hang in their own way, and a round 

 bow of five or six shorter loops, with two 

 ends, one to each side of the wreath, are 

 each in themselves well adapted for ever- 

 green wreaths. One medium sized bow for 

 a holly wreath is sufficient. It is easier and 

 more satisfactory to fasten the ribbon to the 

 wreaths after the bows are made, sewing 

 them on from the underside of the wreaths 

 with a wire or black thread. 



The wrapping of Christmas gifts, in white 

 paper, tying them with narrow silk ribbon 

 or fancy cord, and placing a small sprig of 

 holly in the ends or loops of the bow, wrap- 

 ping the whole in a heavy paper for trans- 

 portation purposes, is now almost univer- 

 sal. The more dainty effect secured 

 and the more the individuality of the sender 

 is conveyed to the recipient, the nearer we 

 will have come to the blessedness of giving, 

 rather than of receiving. 



CAULIFLOWERS AND THEIR GROWTH 



.\. MMEAXS, BRANTFORD^ ONT. 



U 1 WAS asked to select a subject to 

 1 subject to speak on at this conven- 

 tion, and I selected the cauliflower, because 

 I have been growing it for the last 10 years. 

 You have heard Alfred Herbert's definition 

 of a cauliflower, ' A cabbage with a college 

 education.' 



" Men's ideas change. Ihe grower who 

 a few years ago was disposed to sneer at 

 books and ' book farmers ' now turns for 

 information to the printed page. How 

 easy it is to tell in a few short sentences that 

 which we have been years in finding out. 



Knowledge comes slowly and laboriously 

 from the fields, and yet the -closest observa- 

 tion of the character of a plant, its habits, 

 likes and dislikes, and the habits of its ene- 

 mies seldom goes unrewarded. ]\Iuch has 

 been written on the cauliflower, and yet it is 

 a stranger to many a garden and is almost 

 unknown in some markets. 



" To grow cauliflowers successfully it is 

 necessary to have good loam or sandy loam 

 with loam predominating. It should be 

 made as rich as we know how to make it. 

 Where it is obtainable, I know of nothing 



* Extract from an address delivered at the tirst annual convention of the Ontario Vegetable Growers' Association, he'd in Toronto at 

 the time of the Ontario Horticultural Exhibition. 



