January, igii 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



to dry off gradually and the bulb placed 

 in dry sand or soil and kept in a cool 

 place until spring, it might be planted 

 in the open ground, where possibly it 



might recover in the course of a year or 

 two. As a rule, however, they scarcely 

 give returns to repay for the trouble. — 

 Wm. Hunt. 



The Classification of Trees and Shrubs 



H. J. Moore, Queen Victoria 



WHAT promises to be a really sys- 

 tematic attempt to name and ar- 

 range the trees and shrubs in 

 their natural orders in the Queen Vic- 

 toria Niagara Falls Park will be made in 

 the near future. The naming of the 

 various subjects has already commenced. 

 This most important phase of park work, 

 although of great value, has been neglect- 

 ed hitherto in Queen Victoria Park and 

 in many park systems. 



It is of great advantage to people who 

 visit our public parks to be able to ascer- 

 tain the names of any trees or shrubs, 

 which they may desire for planting pur- 

 poses in order to beautify their own 

 homes or property, without their having 

 to take the trouble of enquiring the names 

 from the superintendent or his assistants, 

 whose services at that time may not be 

 available, or of asking some of the em- 

 ployees who may give a wrong name, 

 thus sending the enquirer away with er- 

 roneous information. 



From a nurseryman's standpoint, also, 

 the naming of trees and shrubs in our 

 parks will be of great advantage. In 

 many instances customers, when order- 

 ing from the nursery submit names or 

 descriptions which are very vague and 

 cause a great deal of trouble to define 

 and select the subject desired. Thus if the 

 trees and shrubs in the public parks were 

 named correctly this unnecessary worry 

 could be largely avoided. 



As an educational feature, this line of 

 work is worthy of serious consideration, 

 as to students of botany, or others who 

 desire information upon the subject, the 

 proper classification of the subjects which 

 beautify our parks will prove of incalcul- 

 able value. It will prevent the unnecessary 

 spending of valuable time in looking up 



Park, Niagara Falls, Out. 



references which are in many cases ob- 

 solete. 



The system that has been adopted in 

 Queen Victoria Park is similar to the one 

 in vogue in the Royal Botanic Gardens of 

 Kew, The Edinburgh Botanic Gardens. 



Aa loiipcDsiTC Type of Label 



A Simple Label (or Use on Trees 



and I believe also at the Glasnevin Botan- 

 ies in Ireland. A sheet lead label, five 

 inches by three and one-quarter inches ;s 

 used and bold type letters, one quarter of 

 an inch in height, are stamped into the 

 surface of the lead by means of steel dies, 

 causing depressions into which white lead 

 is rubbed with a piece of cloth, the letters 

 thus showing up white upon a dark back- 

 ground. The label being almost the color 

 of the bark of a tree, is hardly noticeable, 

 but the letters stand out in relief and are 

 easily distinguished even at a distance of 

 six or eight paces. 



The label itself is practically indestruct- 

 ible and only requires cleaning every 

 second year. This operation is not dif- 

 ficult as the letters simply need repaint- 

 ing. This can be done while the label is 

 attached to the tree, or it can be removed 

 and the necessary painting done in winter 

 when it is too cold or wet for outdoor 

 work. All the materials necessary are a 

 quantity of white lead and a piece of cloth 

 or a sponge. It is also desirable to oil 

 the labels at the same time. The accom- 

 panying illustrations show the different 

 methods of attaching the label, lead or 

 aluminum wire being used for this pur- 

 pose, and also the manner in which the 

 Natural Habitat, Natural Order, Genus, 

 .Species, and common names are printed. 

 The method of fixing the labels to iron 

 stakes for use in beds and borders, is 

 also illustrated. 



While passing through several city 

 parks, I have noticed the unsightliness of 



the labels which sometimes are attached 

 to the trees. Some of them being so 

 large they gave the impression that the 

 •tree was planted purposely to support 

 the label, instead of the latter being in- 

 tended to indicate the name of the tree. 

 The whole arrangement is almost as hid- 

 eous as the advertising signs one notices 

 nailed to the trees on the highways at 

 the various city aproaches. It is just as 

 easy to procure a neat label, that costs no 

 more than the glaring enamel signs which 

 are not only unsightly but in many cases 

 so attractive that they furnish an excel- 

 lent target for the average small boy 



The Care of Tulip Bulbs 



R. G. Ya(r, Toronto, Ont. 



In the November issue of The Cana- 

 dian Horticulturist I noticed a short 

 article entitled "The Cultivation of Tu- 

 lips." I do not agree with the writer 

 when he states that tulips should not 

 be grown two years in succession on 

 the same piece of ground. I claim that 

 no injury will result from letting the 

 bulbs stay in the ground year after year. 



The authorities of the Nashville, 

 Carolina, Mission School grow the finest 

 of tulips. I have seen photographs of 

 beds there the flowers in which had not 

 been raised for four years. The bulbs 

 in the long beds in front of the Parlia- 

 ment Buildings, Toronto, are not chang- 

 ed as the writer says they should be. 

 And yet there are no finer tulip beds to 

 be found than the Queen's Park beds. 



.Some of the finest tulips I ever had 

 grew from one red tulip bulb I picked 

 up and planted five years ago last 

 spring. It was in the bed for five years 

 and I took out a capful of bulbs then. 



A Cedar »{ Lebanon 



At resldencerof Mr. S. A. Knight, Victoria, B.C. 



