524 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



more general dissemination of horticultural 

 literature in the shape of mag^azines, illus- 

 trated catalogues, etc., have also been of 

 great benefit in creating a desire for an im- 

 proved and more varied selection of plants 

 and flowers. 



Very few varieties of plants that even 

 forty years ago were thought to be the acme 

 of perfection can be found under cultivat- 

 ion at the present time. The old fash- 

 ioned single geraniums of that date, such as 

 Stella, Pink Cristine, Madame Vanchre, or 

 even the first introductions of the double 

 varieties a few years later, such as Madame 

 Lemoine, Gloire d'Nancy and others of a 

 similar type, are entirely superseded by the 

 improved and semi-double varieties of these 

 plants so popular with the flower-loving 

 public of to-day. 



The older types of the canna, coleus, 

 fuchsias, etc., of half a century ago cannot 

 be seen in our gardens or greenhouses at 

 the present time. One exception, amongst 

 others, may be noticed in this respect, viz. : 

 that of the Verschafeltii variety of coleus 

 that still stands in the front rank as a bed- 

 ding Coleus, after being under cultivation 

 nearly or quite half a century. A few des- 

 cendants of the original varieties of Persian 

 lilacs, Philadelphus (mock orange), etc., 

 still hold a deservedly popular place 

 amongst the newer species and varieties of 

 these useful plants that have been introduced 

 more recently. Some varieties of the lilac 

 have been cultivated in European gardens 

 for over two centuries. 



So far as we are concerned here in Can- 

 ada, floriculture has made very rapid pro- 

 gress, more especially during the last thirty 

 years. Prior to that time there were very 

 few plants, except a few of the commonest 

 geraniums, fuchsias, pansies, etc., off"ered 

 for sale in our markets. The growth of 

 floriculture, and the demand for a better and 

 more varied selection of plants and flowers 

 during that time has been very noticable. 



The beautiful specimens of plants such as 

 palms, exotic ferns, begonias and even 

 Orchids, natives of far-away lands, exhibited 

 by amateurs at the numerous floral exhibits 

 held under the auspices of our affiliated hor- 

 ticultural societies, is ample evidence of the 

 growing taste of Canadians for all that is 

 rich and beautiful in the floral world. 



There are, however, several methods that 

 would probably assist the more general 

 adoption of floriculture than now exists, one 

 of which is to try and induce our young 

 people, even the school children, to interest 

 themselves more in the culture of plants 

 and flowers. A step in this direction has 

 already been taken in several places, with 

 very favorable results. The executive of 

 the Hamilton Horticultural Society made a 

 commencement in this direction during the 

 past season. About 300 geranium plants 

 were distributed in May to the scholars 

 attending the public and separate schools. 



In October an exhibit of the plants was 

 given in the Queen Victoria School, and 

 premiums, consisting of plants, awarded for 

 the best plants grown by scholars individu- 

 ally, as well as similar premiums for the 

 collective exhibits from each school. A 

 great deal of interest was taken by the 

 scholars and their parents in the exhibit, 

 and the directors were well satisfied at this, 

 their first attempt to encourage the love of 

 horticulture amongst the young folks. 



Photography might also be made useful 

 as a feature, not only of our public exhibits 

 of plants and flowers, but also at the winter 

 meetings of our societies. 



A description of an exhibit of this nature 

 was given in a recent number of the " Agri- 

 cultural Economist," a London, England, 

 publication, edited by E. Owen Greening, 

 Esq. , who was the originator of the Society 

 under whose auspices the exhibit was held. 

 The title of the Society is a decidedly appro- 

 priate and suggestive one, viz.: the "One 

 and x\ll " Society. The exhibit of photo- 



