August. 1916. 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



199 



Night Mooming cactuvs, grrown by J. A, Cai-on, 

 Montreal, Que. Ndte aocompanying anticle. 



the plants begin to come through the 

 .soil, remove the dark covering and re- 

 place it with two thicknesses of 

 mosquito netting. This will furnish the 

 necessary shade and protect the little 

 plants from insects and heavy rain and 

 hail. Water daily through the netting, 

 and as soon as they have made two true 

 leaves transplant into rich soil six 

 inches apart. They can be wintered in 

 frames covered with cotton cloth or 

 with straw, as they ai-e hardy. They 

 will give quantities of early spring 

 bloom. 



Autumn blooming crocuses must be 

 planted in August, and will be in'bloom 

 in September. Spanish irises have to 

 make a leaf growth in the fall, so should 

 be planted in August. 



If your bulb order has not already 

 been sent, do not delay longer. Buy 

 named varieties, not mixtures. 



The garden can be kept blooming 



and beautiful in August by giving it 



plenty of water, constant cultivation 



— and an occasional feeding of nitrate 



soda or liquid manure. No seed pods 

 lUst be allowed to form if continuous 



com is wished. 



pie: 

 ui 



01 



A Fine Gloxinia 



The gloxinia sho^vn in the accom- 

 panying illu.stration was a fine crim- 

 son and milk white. It was grown in 

 a .seven inch pot and had about 

 twenty-five flowers on one centre. 



The soil was the average mixture 

 i-eeornmended by a garden magazine 

 and Bailey's Encyclopedia. It was 

 composed of two parts old leaf mould 

 sifted, one part good peat chopped up 

 fine, one part cow manure, old and 

 friable, one part clean coarse river 

 sand, three parts potting earth. 



Tlie Night Blooming Cactus 



J. A. Caron, Montreal, Que. 



I was fortunate enough recently to 

 have a night blooming cactus bloom, 

 and took advantage of the occurrence 

 to secure a photo. It was taken by elec- 

 tric lighj;, and required one and one-half 

 minute/ exposure. 



The plant is highly interesting from 

 the amateur gardener's point of view, 

 because it blooms rarely, and only at 

 night. On making my usual eavly 

 evening round of the green-house, I 

 noticed that the bud, which had formed 

 in the previous two weeks, had all the 

 appearance of opening. On my relnrn 

 home, after spending the evening with 

 a friend, I again went into the green- 

 house to see if anything had happened, 

 when to my great surprise I saw one 

 of the most beautiful flowers I had ever 

 seen. This is a strong statement, in 

 view of the fact that being an ardent 

 lover of flowers, I have visited many 

 fine gardens and conservatories in Eng- 

 land and France. 



I fear any attempt on my part to 

 describe it would be a failure, so con- 

 tent myself by saying that it was seven 

 inches in diameter, and of the purest 

 white. It was suspended from the side 

 of a leaf of the plant by a curved stem 

 about eight inches long, of a reddish 

 color. 



The petals were of a delicate texture, 

 beautifully formed, and the calyx con- 

 tained the most marvelous feathery 

 stamina I had ever seen. Its perfume 

 was exquisite, and different from that 

 of any other flower. It filled the green- 

 house, which is not very large, being 

 forty by sixteen feet. 



A friend gave me the plant about 

 twenty months ago, informing me at 

 the time that T might have to wait ten 

 years to see it bloom. I was fortunate, 

 however, in producing a flower in so 

 short a time, but am willing to nurse 

 it for several years more to have an- 

 other. It is worth the trouble. 



Floral Reminders 



August is the month for potting up 

 ai-mus, freezias, Roman hyacinths and 

 narcissus for early winter flowering. 

 It is also the time for lifting and potting 

 geraniums and other cuttings for the 

 winter window garden. This work is 

 generally put off so long that it is nearly 

 spring before the plants can be got to 

 blossom, 



In summer every window-box should 

 be watered at least once a day, in the 

 evening. Particular care should be 

 taken to pour the water freely in the 

 corners and along the sides, for it is 



there that the roots are most likely to 

 be injured. 



If j'ou sow or plant out seedlings of 

 biennials now, they should be good, 

 strong plants by autumn, and the pride 

 of your garden next year. 



Late tulips will have ripened off by 

 now, and ma.y be lifted and the dried 

 bulbs stored. The large ones may be 

 planted out again in the beds in the 

 autumn, and the small ones planted a 

 few inches apart in a month or two to 

 grow into size next year. 



Side shoot cuttings of many plants 

 in the borders, such as pentstemons, 

 antirrhinums, if inserted in pots of 

 sandy soil and stood in a shaded frame, 

 will soon be rooted. 



Don't forget to keep the compost 

 heap growing during the summer. 

 Throw the lawn clippings, vegetable 

 leaves and parings, weeds, etc., on the 

 heap and fork the material in every 

 once in a while. Add the scrapings 

 from the poultry houses, or the manure 

 from the stable, and on wash days see 

 that all the wash water is carried out 

 and thrown on the heap. During the 

 sununer use a fork and turn the whole 

 pile in, mixing the material thoroughly, 

 so that it will decay, or "compost," 

 evenly all through. 



Plants in window-boxes often suffer 

 more from drought than others. Not 

 only is part of each box actually within 

 the wall of the house, but also the whole 

 is overhung by the eave, so that no rain 

 can reach it, except such as is driven 

 inwards by the wind. The box also is 

 generally exposed to strong sunshine, 

 which dries up the soil rapidly. 



Azaleas may be kept for another sea- 

 son, although the flowers will not be so 

 good. Gradually reduce the water sup- 

 ply and keep in a cool place until next 

 May, when the plants may be put in a 

 shady place and rested until about Sep- 

 tember 1. 



This HloxiniB, a line crimson and milk white 



bore about 25 flowers on one center. It was 



jfn'wn by Mr. H. Irwin, We.itmount, Que. 



