1 62 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



Sow main crop of carrots, beets, salsify, 

 lettuce and radishes, etc. There is still 

 time for a few leeks, if sown at once and 

 transplanted later. Plant Dutch sets, sha- 

 lots, and gfarlic. Sow mustard and cress 

 outside. Sow herbs. Parsley should be 

 sown as early in spring as possible, it takes 

 several weeks for the seed to germinate. 



Sprinkle seed onions when about three 

 inches high with dry soot, do this early in 



the morning when there is a dew, or after a 

 rain ; repeat the application twice a week 

 for three or four weeks ; if the plants are 

 thoroughly dusted you will not be troubled 

 with onion maggots, as the fly that deposits 

 its eggs in the young onions to produce the 

 maggot will not go near the onion bed if 

 treated in this way. 



HORTUS. 



Hamilton. 



THE TUBEROSE— ITS CULTURE. 



;HITE flowers are, have been, 

 and always will be in demand. 

 They may be used with pro- 

 priety upon any occasion, being 

 alike suitable for the marriage feast and the 

 funeral ceremony ; the hall of amusement 



and the sick cham- 

 ber. No lover of 

 beautiful flowers is 

 ever in higher spir- 

 its than when he or 

 she is successful in 

 bringing to perfect 

 maturity some beau- 

 tiful plant and is 

 able to view with 

 admiration the 

 spikes or trusses of 

 >;s If ^ ^ perfect, snow-white, 



K V '^/^ ^^^^C^ sweetly -scented 

 ~ bloom. One of the 



finest white flowers 

 is the tuberose. 



The tuberose is 

 one of the most 

 beautiful of our summer-flowering bulbs, 

 and yet it is very seldom seen, even in the 

 collections of our most ardent floriculturists. 

 Such a state of affairs should not exist, for 

 its tall spikes of flowers of purest whiteness 

 and waxy texture, emitting, as they do. 



Fig. 1788. The Tuberose. 



their unrivalled fragrance, makes it a uni- 

 versal favorite. This beautiful flower was 

 brought from Mexico a good many years 

 ago. It was then introduced in a single 

 form, and from that has sprung our beau- 

 tiful double and other varieties in cultivation. 

 It is a belief among very many lovers of 

 floriculture, that to bring this flower to per- 

 fection is a difficult task for the amateur, 

 and no doubt this is the reason of its scarcity. 

 Many think that it must have a place in a 

 greenhouse and that the professional florist 

 only can hope for success with it. This is 

 not a fact, however, and tuberoses are more 

 easily grown than is generally supposed. 



If grown out of doors in beds the bulb 

 should be planted in a deep, very rich, sandy 

 soil, and in a warm location. The bulbs 

 should be planted four inches deep and a 

 foot apart, and have thorough cultivation 

 and an abundance of water. In this way 

 they will do well. The best way, however, 

 to grow tuberoses out of doors is to grow 

 . them in boxes. The grower then has them 

 more under control, can water them more 

 thoroughly, and in many ways the better 

 see after their requirements. 



In the first place it is important that fine, 

 large bulbs be procured if the greatest suc- 

 cess is expected. In many instances small 

 bulbs do not bloom at all and one's labor is 



i 



