158 



THE CANADIAN HOETICULTURIST. 



great and very general evil. A tree 

 overloaded with fruit can neither per- 

 fect the fruit nor ripen its wood pro- 

 perly, and in a severe climate is quite 

 likely to succumb to a degree of cold, 

 which, under proper treatment, it could 

 have resisted perfectly. It is safe to 

 say that millions of trees are annually 

 ruined in this country by over-crops. 

 The grape is very sensitive in this re- 

 spect ; if overloaded, the fruit will not 

 color, nor will the wood ripen. It is 

 not uncommon to hear people complain 

 of their grapes not ripening and their 

 vines being killed, and ascribing the 

 trouble to every cause but the right 

 one, over-cropping. This is an error 

 committed not by novices only. A 

 great many trees and plants are killed 

 by kindness, too. New plants, costing 

 a high price, are very apt to be stimu- 

 lated by manure and water, so that, 

 instead of making a moderate, well 

 ripened growth, they are forced, as it 

 were, and come out dead in the spring. 

 I have seen many such cases. I will 

 only refer to one on our own grounds 

 as 



A FAIR EXAMPLE. 



There was a large bed of the new 

 Hydrangea paniculata on the lawn ; 

 the plants were set close, and it was 

 thought that a surface dressing of 

 manure and plenty of water would 

 assist their flowering, which takes place 

 late in the season, and generally when 

 it is dry. This treatment was well 

 enough, but they got too much of both 

 manure and water. They did not ripen 

 either roots or tops, and nearly all were 

 dead the following spring, while those 

 in other parts of the ground left to 

 themselves were not injured in the 

 slightest degree. I will mention aiv- 

 other instance which has frequently 

 arrested my attention, . as showing the 

 importance of well-ripened wood. The 

 varieties of Gk)lden Arbor Vitse have 

 proved so liable to be injured in winter, 



that their culture with us has been al- 

 most abandoned. Four years ago a 

 couple of them were planted on a piece 

 of rock work, and these have escaped 

 the slightest injury, even during the 

 last severe winter. They make a 

 moderate growth, but it is healthy ; 

 the color is perfect, and they seem quite 

 at home. In every other situation they 

 have failed. It is because the roots 

 running among the rocks, free from 

 stagnant moisture, acquire perfect ripe- 

 ness, as do the whole plants. I believe 

 that by special means of this sort we 

 may do much to increase the hardiness 

 of many beautiful trees and plants only 

 half-hardy. Much injury is done in 

 city gardens by the excessive use of 

 water, not only to the lawns, but to 

 trees and plants, and to health as well. 

 Ripeness, then, is essential to hardi- 

 ness, is 



THE SOURCE OP HARDINESS, 



and the cultivator should never lose 

 sight of this. Thanks to our climate, 

 it is not so difficult to secure ripeness 

 here as it is in some parts of our 

 country. In readiog a report from 

 Minnesota, a few days ago, the writer 

 stated that they had scarcely any 

 autumn, but passed at once from the 

 season of growth to severe frosts. Here 

 our autumns are splendid, with rarely 

 frost enough to kill flowers until about 

 the 1st of November. The early frost 

 is the exception, and it is generally so 

 light as to do little harm, so that gener- 

 ally it is our own fault if our trees and 

 plants are not well ripened. The gen- 

 erally acknowledged superiority of nur- 

 sery trees grown in Western New York 

 is due mainly to the perfect ripeness 

 they acquire. The means to be em- 

 ployed to secure ripeness and hardiness 

 may be very briefly summed up as fol- 

 lows : — 



First — A dry soil, absolutely free 

 from stagnant moisture. 



