THE CANADIAN H0ETICULTUKI8T. 



191 



this way than to make men repulsive 

 and diseased. 



CONTINUOUS DAYLIGHT AND 

 VEGETATION. 



Dr. Schubeler, of Christiana, who 

 has been studying the effect of continu- 

 ous daylight on vegetation, finds that 

 flowers growing within and about the 

 Arctic circle are larger and deeper in 

 color than corresponding species grow- 

 ing further south. This is the case 

 with garden flowers and such plants as 

 field peas, beans, etc. Not only have 

 the size and colors of flowers thus de- 

 veloped by the continuous sunlight, 

 but their aroma is also intensified. 

 This applies to all parts of the plant. 

 The intensification of the flavor of 

 savory garden plants renders some of 

 them almost uneatable in Scandinavia. 

 All the wild and cultivated fruits that 

 can be ripened at all in Norway have 

 more aroma and characteristic flavor 

 than those which are grown further 

 south. The strawberries, chen'ies, bil- 

 berries, and other wild marsh and wood 

 berries, all exemplify this. 



Yet the increase of aroma and height- 

 ening of flavor are accompanied with 

 diminished sweetness in going north. 

 The golden-drop plum and greengage of 

 Christiana or Trondhjem, although 

 large, well colored and rich in aroma, 

 are deficient in sweetness. In like 

 manner, the Rheinish, and other north- 

 ern vineyards produce wines of finer 

 aroma and flavor than those of Spain 

 and Portugal, but they are less alcoholic, 

 on account of the smaller quantity of 

 sugar which, by its fermentation, pro- 

 duces the alcohol. Therefore, it is 

 inferred that the light produces aroma, 

 and heat produces sweetness. Another 

 theory is that the difference is all due 

 to time ; that in the north the con- 

 tinuous daylight, and the day-heat also, 

 develop the fruit so i-apidly that there 

 is not sufficient time for the convei*sion 



of the starch and woody fibre into sugar 

 to be fully effected. The same fact is 

 seen in the ripening of pears. Many 

 of these when gathered in the autumn 

 are hard and sour, but become lusci- 

 ously sweet by merely storing them 

 away until December or January, or 

 even later. Oranges and other fruits 

 sweeten in like manner after they are 

 gathered, without the help of any no- 

 table amount of either light or heat. 

 The summer in Norway begins so late 

 and ends so early that the snow often 

 falls upon the cherries before they are 

 gathered. — Florida Dispatch. 



HOUSE PLANTS. 



A correspondent writes : — I will give 

 you the benefit of my experience in 

 keeping house plants just received from 

 the greenhouse. It may be of benefit 

 to some one who is not able to have a 

 glass case for their plants. 



I had a frame made of lath, three 

 feet long, two feet high, with a shallow 

 tray in which the frame just fitted. I 

 set out my plants in pots, placed them 

 in the tray, then watered my plants, 

 but not so that the water leaked into the 

 saucers. I then paste newspapers on 

 the frame and place it over the plants, 

 and they need no more attention for a 

 week, except sprinkling the plants once 

 a day. After I have kept them covered 

 for a week, I remove the frame for an 

 hour each day, extending the time until 

 they get used to the temperature of the 

 room ; and the frame is very serviceable 

 to place over them at night, or when we 

 are sweei)ing, or when the room gets 

 too hot or too cold, — the best way I 

 have ever known to preserve even tem* 

 perature. I placed them in the sun at 

 the south window ; they never wilted. 

 I had twenty-five plants — Daphnes, 

 Geraniums, Pelargoniums, Fuchsias, 

 Heliotroj^es, Lantanas, Bouvardias, 

 Abutilons. I have not lost one. — 

 Western Horticulturist. 



