236 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



October, 191 1 



Garden Cultivation in the Fall 



Dr. H. M. Speechly, 



IN the fall the use of the spade is par- 

 ticularly important as it secures the 

 proper preparation of the various 

 beds and plots of ground under cultiva- 

 tion and that useful stirring of the soil 

 around perennials so essential to their 

 welfare. There is nothing like good 

 spade work throughout a garden whe- 

 ther of vegetables or flowers. Dig deep 

 whether you want to grow celery or sweet 

 peas. In fact, no effort of gardening 

 can be really successful unless the soil 

 is deeply dug and turned not once nor 

 twice. 



Loosen the soil thoroughly. Break 

 up the clods. Allow no solid masses of 

 earth to exist when you prepare a bed. 

 What a splendid exercise, too, is this 

 digging. How it warms up the blood 

 and opens the pores of the skin in heal- 

 thy wise. Accustomed as I am to vigor- 

 ous spading it seems strange to see able- 

 bodied men just spooning the ground 

 with a long-handled spade and an injured 

 air as who should say, "After all, why 

 not do this with a plough?" Quite a 

 number of men seem to think that dig- 

 ging for the purposes of a flower-garden 

 is not the part of a man at all. But our 

 gardener who digs well and truly is no 

 dude nor dandy. He rise.« early and 

 thinks, as he digs, deeply ; stout boots 

 and rough clothes are his choice. 



DISCOVER THE WORMS 



If you know anything of such roots as 

 the paeony or perennial phlox, ;< ou will 

 know that worms entwine themselves so 

 securely between the roots and the ad- 

 hering soil that the worms will sooner 

 break than allow themselves to be pulled 

 forth from their retreat. Fall digging in 

 October reveals these worms as dried- 

 up reddish objects quite shrivelled and 

 still, and not more than a foot to 18 

 inches below the ground. Thus they 

 will remain frozen solid until spring re- 

 turns when from the end of May they 

 swarm in my garden — preferring the 

 clayey soil rather than the black humus 

 common to our prairies. The American 

 robin will follow the spring digging to 

 catch the worms though with less friendly 

 confidence than the real robin of the Old 

 Country, which will often stand on the 

 very clod just about to be turned in its 

 eagerness to catch the worms thrown 

 up by the spade or fork. 



USE OP THE RAKE 



After careful digging it may or may 

 not be desirable to use the rake. Per- 

 haps you desire to leave the soil rough- 

 cast and open to the cleaving action of 

 the frost or to help to hold the desirable 

 snow-blanket, and therefore you do not 

 rake. But perhaps you have planted 

 tulips and other bulbs in the fall and 

 intend to leave a prepared surface well 



Pilot Mound, Man. 



pulverized. Then the rake comes into 

 use, and so you rake the surface thor- 

 oughly both before and after planting 

 your bulbs, knowing that such doings 

 will save part of the spring rush of work. 

 Or perhaps you are aware that the seed 

 of annual poppies, sown in the fall, will 

 spring and bloom nearly two weeks ear- 

 lier than if cast in the spring. Say you 

 wish to have a nice bed of the Shirley 

 poppy. You pulverize the bed thor- 

 oughly in the fall and allow it to settle 

 well. Then you broad-cast the seed all 



White Heither, Grown in Picton, Ont. 



White heather is said to be very difficult to 

 transplant. Nevertheless the roots of the plant 

 here shown were dug up from the hills in Scot- 

 land, in the Highlands, near Nairn, and sent 

 to Mr. Walter T. Ross, the secretary of the 

 horticultural society at Picton. Ont.. by mail. 

 That Mr. Ross has been successful in grovfing 

 it is shown by the fact that the plant wa« in 

 bloom when photographed last July. Mr. Ross 

 has had unusual success In growing numerotis 

 novelties, especially tropical plants. 



over the prepared surface and holding 

 the rake vertically pack the surface with 

 moderate firmness. For a spring sowing 

 of seed such as mignonette I use both 

 the rake and the sole of my foot to press 

 the seed firmly into a well-raked sur- 

 face. For the edges of my beds, which 

 are always a little raised, I use the rake 

 as a firm packer and to rub off the weeds 

 which are inevitable. 



The Asparagus Beetles 



My young asparagus plants have been at- 

 tacked by speckled beetles, which have 

 caused considerable damage. What are they 

 and what will destroy them? — H. M., Lon- 

 don, Ont. 



The "speckled" beetles are probably 

 one 'of the well-known Asparagus 

 Beetles. The common asparagus beetle 

 is about a quarter of an inch in length, 

 and is conspicuously marked with six 

 white blotches on the back. This species 

 appears in early spring and eats into 

 the young shoots, upon which it lays 



its eggs. The twelve-spotted asparagus 

 beetle often occurs with the above, and 

 is about the same size but broader, and 

 of a reddish-orange colour. On the 

 wing cases it has twelve black spots. 



A remedy which has given probably 

 the best satisfaction in destroying the 

 grubs of these beetles is to dust the 

 plants frequently with fresh air-slaked 

 lime. This adheres to their slimy bodies 

 and kills all with which it comes in con- 

 tact. A simple remedy which has often 

 given satisfaction is to simply brush 

 the grubs from the plants with a stick, 

 in the middle of a hot day. When the 

 beetles first appear in spring, chickens 

 and ducks, if allowed to run in the beds, 

 will destroy large numbers. — A. Gibson, 

 Assistant Entomologist, C.E.F., Ot- 

 tawa, Ont. 



Doorweed for Dry Places 



Mr>. Anaie L. Jack, Cktteaifaay Batia, Qie. 



During the past summer, so trying to 

 lawns on account of the excessive heat 

 and drought that caused the grass to 

 shrivel and turn brown, a strip of 

 ground along the north side of the house 

 was the admiration of all comers, being 

 vividly green, and showing the line 

 plainly where it ended and other grasses 

 began. It is "Polygonum aviculare," a 

 small leaved perennial, properly named 

 a weed, that grows along walks, and in 

 dry hard soil where it makes a mat-like 

 appearance, if kept regularly cut with 

 the lawn mower. 



It is a plant closely allied to .the 

 "dock" family and also to the buck- 

 wheats. So, though of humble origin, 

 it is well connected. It proved this sum- 

 mer a friend in need, and has gained the 

 name of "Doorweed." The object of 

 bringing it into notice is that it might be 

 useful where other plants cannot resist 

 the dry hot weather, but it must be kept 

 regularly and closely cut and not be al- 

 lowed to straggle. Properly managed, it ■ 

 presents a velvety appearance that was * 

 very interesting by contrast this sea- 

 .son. 



In the good old days it was the custom 

 of merchants to advertise their wares 

 "by the power of man." The lungs of 

 apprentices were developed, and the ears 

 of passersby were deafened by strident 

 cries. The apprentice boy has made way 

 for the bill board. The ear is relieved, 

 but the eye suffers grievously owing to 

 these monstrosities. We must not only 

 wipe out the bill board with all its hid- 

 eousness, but we must get after the man 

 who owns the vacant lot on which it is 

 erected. If we cannot prohibit, we can 

 at least put them under proper taxation 

 and restriction. — Major H. J. Snelgrove, 

 Cobourg, Ont. 



Geraniums should be firmly potted to 

 promote strong growth ; loose potting 

 has the opposite effect. 



