CENTRAL EXPERIMENTAL FARM NOTES. 



Fig. 1762. Group of Conifers in the Arboretum at thf. Central Experimental Farm, 



Ottawa, 1899. 



CENTRAL EXPERIMENTAL FARM NOTES— No. ^. 



LTHOUGH it is now late in January 

 there has been comparatively little 

 severe weather so far this winter, 

 t^jjjj^ A few days before Christmas it be- 

 came very mild, and nearly all the snow dis- 

 appeared, but on the 24th there was a fall of 

 four and a half inches, which prevented us 

 from having a green Christmas. The week 

 beginning with December 30th and ending 

 with January 5th was cold. On six succes- 

 sive days the temperature fell below zero, 

 the lowest temperature recorded so far, being 

 that of December 31st, when the thermome- 

 ter registered 1 7.9 degrees fahr. below zero. 

 There has been comparatively little snow 

 so far, and up to the middle of the month 

 there were not more than ten inches of snow 

 on the ground. 



PINES. 



When the ornamental grounds are large, 

 no trees are better adapted for giving char- 

 acter to a landscai)e and adding to the ap- 

 pearance of the buildings than pines. They 



are stately and graceful ; typical of strength, 

 yet swaying and bending their branches 

 with every breeze that blows. They are 

 always green, and when the species are 

 judiciously mixed or intermingled with other 

 evergreens, the effect in winter is very fine. 

 They afford considerable protection also, 

 and partly on this account they are more 

 suited for a northern exposure than any- 

 where else, giving a home an air of greater 

 comfort. Pines are more difficult to trans- 

 plant than many other trees, and the care- 

 less manner in which a maple or even an 

 arbor vitae may be handled should not be 

 taken as an indication that all trees will sur- 

 vive under this harsh treatment. Pines 

 have few fibres on their roots, and what 

 there are are easily destroyed, for this rea- 

 son the roots should be kept well protected 

 until planted. 



Pines are very varied in their form and 

 the color of their leaves, some being also 

 much more graceful than others. Our na- 



