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The Canadian Horticulturist. 



BULBS AND TUBERS. 



HE principal cause of loss of bulbs and tubers, such as dahlias, 

 cannas, gladioli, etc., is that they are not sufficiently ripened 

 before being stored away for the winter. Those who have a 

 greenhouse can ripen them under the stage, but those who have 

 not will find it the best way to put a hot-bed frame on a dry spot 

 in the garden, facing the sun, and lay the bulbs or tubers inside 

 of it. Put the glass on and give a little ventilation, except when it rains, when 

 the glass should be pulled shut. The tops should be cut down to two or three 

 inches from the ground after the first freeze, and they may be left in the ground 

 if you like till the middle or end of October — according to the locality — and 

 kept in the cold frames until there is danger of their freezing through the boards 

 and glass. They can then be kept in a cool cellar till spring — tlie gladioli in 

 small baskets, say lo lbs., so as not to have too many together, and hung up 

 out of the way. Dahlias and cannas keep best, I fancy, in dry sand. It is 

 better not to split up the bunches of tubers till the spring, when the eyes can 

 be readily distinguished. 



A good many people are growing the little hybrid tea roses sent out at 25 

 for one dollar by the Websters of Hamilton, and other firms, and are finding 

 them very satisfactory. I wintered a lot of these last winter by pulling them up 

 and planting in boxes and keeping in a cold cellar, watering perhaps once or 

 twice if the ground got very dry, but they don't want to grow any. Mr. Webster 

 advised me to build a little shanty of rough boards, four feet high in front and 

 three feet in rear, over the rose bed, and fill in to the top with dry leaves, then 

 cover over with boards to shed the rain. He says nearly all the plants will 

 winter and come out fresh and good in the spring. The shanty could be built 

 any time, but I would not put in the leaves and cover them over till hard winter 

 sets in. This looks reasonable, and I intend to try it. One thing is certain, 

 these little roses give infinitely more satisfaction than the hybrid perpetuals or 

 remontants, as they bloom from May to November, while the old kinds give a 

 wealth of bloom for a few weeks and then are about done, and are too often 

 unsightly, untidy objects for the bulk of the season. The teas, too, do not seem 

 so susceptible to the attacks of insect pests of various kinds. If they can be 

 successfully wintered, the problem of rose culture is pretty near settled. 



It may have escaped your notice that the original Mcintosh Red apple tree 

 has been destroyed by fire. Mr. Allan Mcintosh's house at Dundela, in Dundas 

 County, was burned the other day, and the tree along with it. The tree was 85 

 years old, of immense size, and still bearing fruit. The Mcintosh Red is one 

 of the most h'ghly esteemed varieties in Eastern Ontario, being superior in looks 

 and flavor to the Fameuse. 



The crop of apples in this vicinity is unusually good, both as to quantity 

 and quality. The show at Cornwall fair this week was larger than ever before, 

 and included some of the best winter varieties. The first prize Spys were 

 perfect in every way. It used to be thought that Spys and such hard apples 

 could not be grown here, but that was evidently a mistake. 



Our local grape king, W. A. Roys, of Maple Grove, has marketed over 10 

 tons of grapes in Cornwall, including some of the choicest varieties. 



Cornwall, Out. C. W. YouNG. 



