94 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



Floral Edition 



Turn the unsightly board fence Into a source of profit by covering it with tomato, grape and 



similar vines. 



If your strawberry bed is two years 

 old, take the runners in late August 

 and make a new bed. Four years is 

 the life of the strawberry patch. For 

 the hills of cucumber, squash, marrows 

 and pumpkins, dig a hole fifteen inches 

 square and deep, and tramp in ten or 

 twelve inches of well decayed manure 

 in the bottom, covering over with three 

 or four inches of rich soil. Keep the 

 roots moist and the tops dry, and you 

 will have good results. It is not neces- 

 sary to grow these on little hills or 

 mounds; in fact, from my experience 

 the reverse is the best method. Try it. 



You will notice that no space has 

 been allotted for tomatoes. They are 

 very accommodatihg, and will grow in 

 any old place except full shade. I get 

 the best results from planting them up 

 against the fence on the north side of 

 the garden, tying them to chicken wire, 

 which is stretched on the fence from 

 one end to the other. Prepare the 

 place for each root the same as for 

 squash and pumpkins, allowing a space 

 of four feet for each plant. The fruit 

 ripens quicker, and by proper atten- 

 tion a greater yield is attained, besides 

 helping to keep the garden cool in the 



hot days. Full cultural directions for 

 onions, cabbage, tomatoes and celery 

 wi'll be given in later editions. 



The May issue of The Canadian Hor- 

 ticulturist Avill contain an article de- 

 scribing the preparation of the garden 

 for planting, and necessary precau- 

 tions to be taken to combat the insect 

 pests. Prepare the celery trench a 

 couple or three weeks before planting 

 time in the following manner and see 

 if you cannot have celery this year as 

 sweet as a nut and fit to set before the 

 King. The plan shows six feet for this 

 purpose, so mark off the required 

 width and length, then throw into 

 ridges on each side nine inches of the 

 soil, then put six inches of decayed 

 manure and dig that in as deep as pos- 

 sible, throwing three inches of fine soil 

 on top. Level it off, and let it settle 

 till June 1st. Order your plants now 

 if you are not grooving them, allowing 

 eight inches to a plant in rows eighteen 

 inches wide. The accompanying photo 

 will show you how to cover up an un- 

 sightly board fence. All the pumpkins 

 in the foreground were grown on the 

 fence, besides grapes and tomatoes 

 galore. 



Early Work in the Flower Garden 



Mrs. E. V. Nicholson, St. Catharines, Ont. 



A DESCRIPTION of how one ama- 

 teur starts planting seed for early 

 spring flowers may be of interest 

 to beginners. In the first place, I pro- 

 cure the best seed that can be bought, 

 and then prepare the ground. The soil 

 is placed in the oven and .well heated so 

 as to kill the seeds of weeds. The rea- 

 son I like to kill the weed ,seeds is be- 

 cause they always grow much more 

 quickly than the other seeds, and by the 

 time the flower seeds are up the weeds 

 crowd out the smaller plants. 



Next I secure some four or five inch 

 pots and fill them until within three 

 inches of the top. I then take a small 

 sieve and sift some earth on the top and 

 sow the seeds. A little more earth is 

 then sifted on them. A small board that 

 is perfectly smooth, so that nothing will 

 stick to it, is next placed over the top 

 of the poty' Some seeds are so small they 

 will cling to a piece of wood if it is at 

 all rough. 



Seeds of scabiosa, marigold, and other 

 similar flowers that are large do not 



require so much care in planting. 1 

 cover them thoroughly, for they grow 

 lietfer, and then have a pan of more than 

 lukewarm water and set the pots in it. 

 letting the water come up as far or far- 

 ther up on the pots than the earth in the 

 pot. When the earth begins to look 

 moist, I take them out and drain them 

 well. Then, if I have a hotbed ready I 

 put them in there. If not, I put them 

 on the top of the furnace and watch 

 them carefully to see that they do not 

 become too hot. 



I have had petuniiis up in two days by 

 following this plan. I cover them with 

 a piece of glass or some brown paper, 

 the paper being just as good as the glass. 

 The reason I like planting seeds in pots 

 instead of boxes is that we are not rais- 

 ing plants for sale, and if you plant them 

 in boxes you will have phlox, stocks, 

 single nnd double petunias, plumed and 

 dwarfed celosia, marigolds, asters, etc., 

 all together, and I do not like that. Some 

 seeds are long, some fine, some have a 

 fine leaf, and some are large, and when 

 watered they are apt to get washed to- 

 gether, and then again some are so 

 much longer than others in germinating 

 tha.t they keep the others back. 



Transplanting. 



When the plants are the right size 1 

 take a fish box and transplant them about 

 three inches apart. After transplant- 

 ing them I always keep them out of the 

 sun for a day or two in order to let them 

 stand up a little before putting them in 

 the window or hotbed. I also start my 

 perennial seeds the same way. Asters 

 I do not start until May. I plant them 

 in a similar manner. I always have the 

 best of luck when using pots, and they 

 do not take up so much room as boxes 

 on the furnace. W^hen I water them I 

 always put them in a pail of warm water. 



I put my plants on the furnace in order 

 that I may have early flowers and be 

 cause our hotbed is not ready. That, 

 therefore, is the only way I can do. A 

 furnace is not very hot at this time of 

 year. I find it really a good idea, as it 

 is a bother to have a lot of boxes around 

 the kitchen. Our cellar is light aid warm 

 and is almost as good as a hotbed. Last 

 April the seeds that I started on top of 

 the furnace were out by about the middle 

 of the month and transplanted into pots, 

 and did well. 



Plant enough fruit trees and bushes 

 so that you can share with the robin 

 and other birds. It pays to have them 

 around. 



The Rex begoitia is one of the most 

 attractive house plants. Its variegated 

 foliage always adds color and attrac- 

 tiveness to the window garden. 



Don't make bird house openings 

 larger tha)i will easilj' accommodate the 

 inhabitant. They prefer small open- 

 ings as they are easier to protect. 



