2IO 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



the few exceptions in this particular are the 

 Cycas family of palms — a photo ot one of 

 these, Cycas revoluta, can be seen in the No- 

 vember number, 1899, of The Horticulturist, 

 which shows the difference in habit ; the 

 leaves of the Cycas developing from the 

 crown of the plant, somewhat similar to the 

 development of the fronds of many species 

 of ferns, notably the Tree Ferns, instead of 

 from the leaf blade as in the case of the 

 Areca family of palms. 



The Caryota, Seaforthia or Ptychosperma 

 palms, amongst others, develop their leaves 

 by means of a leaf blade that often attains a 

 length of five or six feet before commencing 

 to open, this habit being more noticeable in 

 these larger growing species than in some of 

 the smaller species, and as the plants attain 

 to a greater age this peculiarity is still more 

 noticeable than in younger plants. 



The plant mentioned in the question will 

 doubtless develop the side segments of the 

 leaf blade in due time if the plant is healthy ; 

 heat and moisture, especially syringing, will 

 greatly assist the development of the leaf, 

 but do not attempt to hurry the process in 

 any other way. I consider the gradual de- 

 velopment of the leaves of those mentioned, 

 and similar species of palms, to be one of 

 their most pleasing and attractive features, 

 as the network of brown fibry filament that 

 adheres to and connects the numerous term- 

 inal segments of the leaves with each other, 

 until the whole leaf is fully developed, gives 

 the plant a beautiful and unique appearance, 

 and gives pleasure and delight to those who 

 study the wonderful construction and growth 

 of these useful and ornamental plants. 

 Hamilton. W. Hunt. 



Orchard on Limestone Ridge. 



1 1 51. Sir, — We are the owners of a farm lying 

 towards the northern portion of the County of 

 Huron, Ont., through the centre of which runs a 

 limestone gravel ridge, elevation being somewhat 

 above the other parts of the property. On this 

 ridge the soil is shallow, so much so that it would 

 not pay for the cultivation of other crops upon it . 

 This part of the farm is grown over with a thick 



coat of wire or June grass. We are just now con- 

 sidering the question of planting ten acres of this 

 ridge to winter apples. We have been advised to 

 summer fallow this the first season, then the fol- 

 lowing spring plant trees forty feet apart each 

 way, and cultivate by ploughing under pease or 

 some green crop for a season or two. The trees 

 to be of the Talman Sweet variety, and when two 

 or three years old, graft on three or four of the 

 best winter fruit varieties. Your opinion would 

 be regarded as valuable as to the soil mentioned : 

 cultivation, planting, grafting and staking; also 

 the names of three or four of the best winter va- 

 rieties of apples adapted to this section, or any 

 suggestion from you would be appreciated by us. 



" Amateur." 



We have no experience in planting apple 

 trees on a limestone ridge, in shallow soil, 

 but would fear two difficulties : First, that 

 the trees would suffer from drouth and be- 

 come stunted, and second, that the soil 

 would lack fertility. If, however, these two 

 difficulties can be overcome, possible suc- 

 cess might result. The advice given our 

 correspondent regarding treatment of the 

 soil is good, and the Talman Sweet is a 

 first-class stock for top grafting. In plant- 

 ing we would advise drawing as much good 

 soil, with as large a proportion of humus as 

 possible, and use it to fill in about the trees; 

 cultivate thoroughly every year, either add- 

 ing manure, or ploughing in clover or some 

 such crop, and thus the best conditions will 

 be afforded. 



Some good winter varieties of apples are 

 Ontario, Wealthy, York Imperial, Ben 

 Davis, Pewaukee and Canada Red, 



Best Single Geraniums. 



1152. Sir, — Will you be kind enough to give 

 me the names of the six (6) best single geraniums 

 for bedding out. I refer to those having the 

 largest stems and trusses. You can send the an- 

 swer through the Horticulturist, if you wish. 



C. HiRSCHMILLER. 



23 SimcoeW., Hamilton, Ont. 

 We have been testing over 260 varieties 

 of geraniums at the College, and where 

 there are so many excellent varieties to 

 choose from, it is difficult to narrow the list 

 down to half a dozen. Among the scarlet 

 varieties there is a great range for choice, 

 while among the whites the really first class 



