32 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



Kloral Edition. 



Although Hailey.bury, Ont., is some throe huiid;>,u i....^., north of Toronto, it has numertms 

 fine gardens. A portion of on« and of a lawn facing the lake are here sJiown. 



in a partially shaded part of the border, 

 this pretty little hardy dwarf primula 

 will give splendid results. It repro- 

 duces itself from seed quite readily in 

 the border. Its white and carmine 

 flowers produced in successive whorls 

 or tiers are a source of delight to all 

 flower lovers in early summer. 



Primula malacoides. Twelve inches. 

 One of the best new flowering green- 

 house and window plants introduced 

 for several years. Both the white and 

 pink types^;he latter in various shades 

 of pink — -are very dainty, graceful 

 looking, decorative pot plants. 



1913. Chrysanthemum Arcticum. 

 Three to four feet. One of our best 

 autumn flowering hardy ox-eye, daisy- 

 like chrysanthemums. A plant of this 

 covered with its white flowers helps 

 to brighten the border very materially 

 in early autumn. It propagates readily 

 from seed or divisions, and is of a hardy 

 enduring nature. Not a new plant, but 

 not as well known as it deserves to be. 



Pentstemon laevigatus digitalis. 

 Three feet. Given a good, rich garden 

 soil, this hardy pentstemon makes a 

 good showing with its foxglove-like 

 flowers. The dwarf type often sold as 

 Pentstemon gracilis, that grows about 

 a foot in height and gives a profusion 

 of white and purple flowers in late sum- 

 mer and autumn, is a very free flower- 

 ing, attractive little border plant. 



Scabiosa Caucasia. Eighteen inches. 

 This perennial type of the well-known 

 "Pin Cushion" plants (taking the com- 

 mon name from the similarity the 

 flower heads bear to a pin cushion), 

 gives to flower lovers its lavender-blue 

 flowers late in the season, when few 

 blue flowers are to be seen in the 

 garden. 



1913. Dietamnus or Gas Plant. Two 



feet. A good hardy border plant with 

 attractive deep green foliage that 

 makes it a decorative feature, even 

 when not surmounted with its sweetly 

 perfumed, showy spikes of white or 

 purple flowers. It is also suitable for 

 forming a lawn hedge. 



Salvia globosa. A specimen plant of 

 this salvia, makes a great showing in 

 the border in early summer. Its sil- 

 very, pubescent foliage, surmounted by 

 its profuse branches of creamy-white 

 flowers, together with its globular habit 

 of growth, make it a very noticeable 

 plant among the more sombre green 

 foliage of most occupants of the border. 

 To get the best results, this plant should 

 be treated as a biennial, as the old 

 plants do not flower so well the second 

 year, and oftentimes get weakened 

 down if not killed altogether. A light 

 protection of garden trimmings such 

 as old flower stems is advisable during 

 Mdnter. Avoid covering it up with 

 heavy, close, protective material. 



The Work of Earth Worms.— Early 

 last June I put a good coat of manure 

 on my asparagus patch, first loosening 

 the surface of the soil a little. The 

 manure was left lying without being 

 dug in, as the roots of the plants would 

 otherwise be seriously injured. On cut- 

 ting down the dead stalks in November, 

 I could find no trace of the manure ; 

 there was only a soft, even spongy, 

 layer of fine soil over the whole patch. 

 The earth worms, favored doubtless by 

 the heavy growth of the asparagus and 

 by the damp cool weather, had brought 

 up the soil from below and thoroughly 

 incorporated it with the manure above. 

 I had never before seen so fine an illus- 

 tration of Darwin's statement about the 

 work of earth worms. — H. (,'. 



Flowers—Rubber Plants 



B. C. Tillelt, Hamilton, Ont. 



The rubber plant, (Fecus elastica) is 

 probably the most popular of all house 

 plants. At least part of the secret of 

 its success lies in the fact that — almost 

 literally — you cannot kill it. But that 

 is no excuse for abusing it, as there is 

 all the difference in the world between 

 a well-cared-for symmetrical plant and 

 one of the semi-denuded, lopsided, spot- 

 ted-leaved plants one so frequently 

 sees, and that which, as far as orna- 

 mentation is concerned, an empty pot 

 would be far more decorative. 



The rubber requires, and deserves, a 

 good rich soil, and in the spring, sum- 

 mer and autumn, all the water the soil 

 will keep absorbed. Give less in winter, 

 as an excess at this time causes the 

 leaves to turn yellow and droop. 



As the rubber is more difficult to 

 propagate than most house plants, and 

 since specimens will not get too large 

 for several years, it is best to get the 

 plants from the florist. It frequently 

 happens, however, that an old plant 

 which has been grown up to a single 

 stem becomes unwieldy and bare at the 

 bottom. In such cases the upper part 

 may be removed by "topping," and 

 the main trunk cut back to within six 

 to eighteen inches of the pot or tub. 

 Water should then be partly withheld 

 until new growth starts. 



The old stem may thus be transform- 

 ed into a low bush plant. Frequently 

 it makes a very handsome specimen. 

 The topping should be performed by 

 making a deep upward slanting cut 

 with a sharp knife, at the point you 

 want in the pot for your new plant. In 

 the cut, stuff a little sphagnum moss; 

 remove this after a few days, and wash 

 the cut out with warm water, removing 

 the congealed sap. Insert fresh moss, 

 and with strips of soft cloth tie a good 

 handful over the wound. Keep this 

 moist constantly until the roots show 

 through the moss, which may be several 

 weeks. Then pot in moist earth, not 

 wet, and syringe daily, but do not 

 water the pots for two or three days. 

 Sometimes pots cut in halves and the 

 bottoms partly removed are used to 

 hold the moss in position. August is 

 the best month to propagate. 



To renovate lawns that have become 

 worn out the whole surface should first 

 be scratched over with a sharp steel 

 rake. After stirring the surface without 

 unduly injuring the grass roots lawn 

 grass should be sown on the surface, 

 on*" pint for every three hundred square 

 feet. Now rake over so as to cover 

 seed. The seed should then be rolled 

 or beaten down. 



