June, 1918. 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



1S6 



ciety and the city would be &ligh,t, as would 

 be the cost of the extra press work and 

 paper, which would be all the expense that 

 would be involved. Our leading societies 

 might well assi&t some of the smaller so- 

 Ijeties in this way. 



LThe Ottawa booklet contains a surpris- 

 |g amount of useful horticultural Informa- 

 bn. There are articles dealing with the 

 iking and care of lawns; the making and 

 eeping of a prize winning garden; a plani- 

 fcg scheme for a front lawn thirty-three feel 

 |ide and for one fifty feet wide; a plan 'for 

 garden of flowers, flowering shrubs and 

 egetables in a lot thirty-three feet by one 

 jndred feet; a list of the best hardy peren- 

 Elals; articles on the care of bulbs, lilies, 

 veet peas and other flowers, as well as 

 fcuch similar information. The booklet la 

 llustrated and printed on high class paper. 

 ft is a most creditable publication. Would 

 I we had more of them. 



MS 



SOCIETY NOTES 



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Winnipeg 



The announcement by the British iColum- 

 bia Department of Agriculture that the 

 duties of Mr. R. M. Winslow, Provincial 

 Horticulturist, have been extended to in- 

 clude the inspection of fruit pests, is an 

 indication that the department recognizes 

 •he very capable work that has been ac- 

 omplished for the fruit growers of British 

 Columbia by Mr. Winslow. Mr. Winslow's 

 thorough knowledge of the fruit industry, 

 combined with his energy, ambition and 

 tact, mark him as one of tlie most efficient 

 provincial officers connected with the horti- 

 cultural departments of any of our pro- 

 vinces. 



Now is a good time to fix up the tool 

 room so that (he tools will be handy for 

 use. Perhaps a few should be made or 

 purchased. 



The effort to interest the school children 

 of Winnipeg in the protection of bird life 

 has proved so successful, the following ac- 

 count ,by W. J. Waters, 'Director of Techni- 

 cal Education in the Public 'Schools of Win- 

 nipeg, of how it was conducted is of interest. 

 'Mr. Waters writes: "It was only last year 

 that we first attempted anything of this 

 kind, and although unorganized the partial 

 success met with inspired us to greater ef- 

 fort. In January last I issued a circular ask- 

 ing the manual training' teachers to give 

 ample notice to their pupils that the first 

 week in iMarch would be devoted to the pro- 

 vision of bird houses to be constructed from 

 material entirely provided by themselves. 

 Two simple plans were shown and explain- 

 ed, but the adoption of these was not en- 

 couraged. The object of the proposed house 

 was fully explained and the boys were asked 

 to practice their ingenuity and skill in pro- 

 viding such a nesting home as would prove 

 irresistible to a father or mother wren when 

 they were searching tor weather-proof quar- 

 ters in which to bring up a family. It must 

 be decorated to attract the bird, no gaudy 

 colours, but just a simple little home that 

 seems to belong to the natural surround- 

 ings, in which it was proposed to place it. 



"The resulting accumulation of materials 

 showed excellent judgment, and bark, 

 mosses, twigs, s-plit willow branches to be 

 afterwards used in all kinds of design and 

 usefulness were quickly stored. The birch, 

 oak and jack pine in the local cordwood 



yards were stripped of their outer covering, 

 the dealers entering into the spirit of tha 

 game, in many cases assisting to obtain 

 suitable materials. Whole logs of pine and 

 tamarac were sawn and split, the centre 

 scoop-ed out and suitable roof and flooring 

 provided to restore it to its woodland ap- 

 pearance and make it a comfortable resi- 

 dence for a Taird family. 



"lOne half day proved all too short for the 

 busiest period ever experienced in our 

 rooms, and the houses were eagerly carried 

 home to be finished. At least l.'oOO of these 

 liave been brought back for the approval art 

 the teachers. lExhibitions were arranged in 

 some of the schools where the manual train- 

 ing centre is situated and great enthusiasm 

 was aroused among the younger children, 

 many of whom, both boys and girls, brought 

 houses constructed at home, showing not 

 only exceptional skill in construction, but 

 wonderful ingenuity in providing such a 

 home as would be attractive to a bird. 



"Much remains to be done to meet the 

 possibilities presented iby the needs of bird 

 life. Birds, other than those that r»st in 

 covered spaces, might be provided for; 

 boys and girls encouraged to study their 

 habits, developing an attitude towards them 

 of untold value in the preservation of bird 

 life of the future. Some of our authorities 

 on bird life might well devote thought and 

 time to devising shelter pockets and hang- 

 ing receptacles suitable for particular va- 

 rieties and thus giving new impetus to a 

 movement still in its infancy. 



'II am arranging to cibtain photographs of 

 as many of the houses as possible after they 

 are occupied, and I hope by this means to 

 discover what form seems most desirable 

 from the birds' point of view and to arouse 

 a new 'interest to push forward our effort 

 of next year." 



A view or the twelfUi annual rose exhlibltion held toy the .St. rnthnririe" Horticultural Society in the Armoury, St. Catharines. Dnt.. June 22. 1915, 



Such exhibitions are a successful feature of the work of many horticultural societies. 



