EDITORIAL NOTES. 



Indeed, for best results, treeS seven years 

 out cannot easily be manipulated, nor can 

 they be cut back very severely without in- 

 jury. We would advise our correspondent 

 to begin with a light cutting about June ist, 

 topping back the tree to about the desired 

 height, and prune with hedge shears the rest 

 of the tree into the desired shape. This 

 must not be done too severely, but with 

 judgment, according to the size of the trees, 

 and be continued annually until the young 

 growth fills up all open spaces. In Eng- 

 land the shaping of the yew is begun in the 

 nurseries, while the trees are still quite 

 small, and continued for many years, until 

 the designs are perfected, when they are 

 sold at a fancy price. We do not commend 

 this shaping of trees unless in small yards 

 and near the house, where natural forms 

 would take up too much space. 



-The following clipping from the Agricul- 

 tural Economist, of London, England, will 

 give the view of topiary work taken in a 

 country where it has been much practised in 

 the past : 



The day has long since passed when the clip- 

 ping of shrubs and trees was considered the 

 highest form of garden art, and nowadays one 

 seldom sees the strange birds and beasts which 

 once delighted the eyes of a former generation. 

 Still there are one or two gardens to-day where 

 topiary is practised, and in not a few of the old 

 country pleasure grounds single examples are 

 yet to be found. In the days of the Romans the 

 formal garden flourished exceedingly, and Pliny 

 tells us among other wonders in his Tusculan 

 villa, of the forms of animals carved in box, and 

 the topiary figures keeping guard over the 

 strange scene. Almost every country adopted 

 the fashion for a while, and the yews at Ver- 

 sailles, long since neglected, were once among 

 the wonders of those gardens of folly. The in- 

 troduction of topiary work into modern gardens 

 cannot be desired for an instant, but one cannot 

 help feeling thankful that a few good specimens 

 still exist in various parts of England. Beau- 

 tiful they cannot be, but undeniably quaint they 

 certainly are, and serve to carry us back to the 

 days of the ruff and farthingale, when gardens 

 were appreciated more for their sentimental in- 

 terest, and horticultural • shows were unknown. 

 One of the finest topiary gardens is at Levens 

 Hall, "Westmoreland, and here may be seen a 

 cup and saucer, a judge's wig, a lion and crown, 

 an umbrella, and many other devices neatly 



tiimmed in living yew. At Elvaston there are 

 several peacocks, a Chinese pagoda and a hen 

 similarly treated, and in other gardens there are 

 tommoner forms, as trees clipped into pyramids, 

 cones and globes. Visitors to Haddon Hall can- 

 not fail to notice the clipped yews in the garden 

 facing the picturesque lodge, one, a peacock, 

 representing the Manners' crest, and the other 

 ■1 boar's head — though one would hardly realise 

 it without being told — that of the Vernon 

 family. These quaint emblems stand side by 

 side, and remind one of the old story of Dorothy 

 Vernon and her sweetheart, and the romantic 

 union of the two families. In spite of its be- 

 ing a deformity and a travesty of nature, we 

 should be sorry if the last of the old topiary 

 figures were to be swept away into the memo- 

 ries of the past. 



Much Pleased With an Ontario 

 Fruit Farm 



WE have an occasional inquiry from a 

 young Englishman of means 

 about the purchase of a fruit farm in On- 

 tario, and in several instances our advice 

 has resulted in a satisfactory settlement. We 

 never advise the purchase of a large farm, 

 because money would certainly be sunk in 

 such a case, but rather one from fifteen to 

 twenty-five acres in extent. Such a farm 

 always pays proportionately best on the in- 

 vestment, because less money is wasted on 

 ill-applied labor, and the most of the work 

 can be done by the owner, who is thereby 

 learning how best to manage his own oflfairs. 

 Just now we have a letter from a young 

 man of this class, who, in accordance with 

 our advice, purchased a well planted fruit 

 farm near Lake Ontario, of about twenty- 

 five acres in extent, with an old-fashioned 

 farm house, good, lawn, and old trees about 

 it, and a well-fitted barn, stable, and poultry 

 house, for about $6,500. He has now been 

 one year on the place, and writes : 



Sir : I must tell you that considering the 

 glut that has been this year (1903), I have had 

 a very satisfactory start. I had over 600 bas- 

 kets of Early Richmond cherries, 3,500 baskets 

 of plums, about 800 of peaches, and am now in 

 my grapes, which I think will yield about three 

 tons to the acre. 



The home spot is lovely here, and I am more 

 than satisfied, not only with this place in par- 

 ticular, but with farming in general. 



