TIMELY TOPICS FOR THE AMATEUR.-IX. 



fHE more frequent and intense visi- 

 tations of frost that usually occur 

 during November, accompanied 

 ^TJ perhaps by rain or snowstorms, will 

 make work in the garden less pleasant and 

 enjoyable than during the earlier days of 

 autumn. That delightful, but decidedly 

 fickle and uncertain period of late autumn 

 weather — Indian summer — does not always 

 materialize, especially in Southern Ontario. 

 Advantage must therefore be taken of every 

 fine day to straighten up all odds and ends 

 of out-door operations in the garden pre- 

 vious to winter setting in in earnest. 



The protection of tender plants, etc., will 

 be one of the most important items requir- 

 ing attention at this season of the year. 

 The too common method of applying a 

 heavy covering of perhaps almost rotten 

 manure indiscriminately to all kinds of 

 plants cannot be too strongly condemned. 

 This method is, generally speaking, very 

 successful in smothering and killing out 

 entirely many of the more tender varieties 

 of perennials and biennials, especially those 

 that are not strictly herbaceous in character. 

 Paeonies, Holland bulbs, lilies, etc., that 

 have little or no top growth to preserve, do 

 not object to a good heavy mulch of manure 



during winter. Japan lilies, such as 

 L. auratum, L. speciosum, and other varie- 

 ties even more tender than those mentioned, 

 are distinctly benefitted in winter by a good 

 heavy mulching. The hardier varieties of 

 lilies, such as L. candidum and L. tigrinum 

 (Tiger Lily), will also appreciate a slight 

 protection of this kind during severe 

 weather. Most of the border perennials 

 and biennials, a majority of which may be 

 very properly termed only semi-herbaceous 

 in character, would, however, oftentimes 

 succeed far better if left exposed fully to the 

 vagaries of winter weather without any 

 protection at all, than to have the life 

 smothered out of them by a too liberal 

 covering of heavy mulching material. 

 Perennial border plants, such as dianthus, 

 gaillardias, campanulas, aquilegias (Colum- 

 bines), perennial phlox, or more especially 

 biennial plants, such as holly hocks, cam- 

 panula pyramidalis, etc., would certainly 

 suffer very materially by the above men- 

 tioned treatment. Many fine collections of 

 the two last mentioned biennial flowering 

 plants have been killed out entirely in 

 winter, by a too liberal application of 

 unsuitable mulching material. This latter 

 evil, combined with attacks of the fungous 



