274 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



of varieties, but for practical purposes, 

 for the early crop, Early Dwarf Erfurt, 

 Early Paris, and Lenormand's will be 

 found quite as satifactory as any. — 

 W. H. White, in Country Gentleman. 



THE CLEMATIS. 

 The wonderful improvement in these 

 beavitiful plants, combined with their 

 easy culture, and the many uses to 

 which they may be employed, has 

 created a popularity and demand for 

 them unequaled by any other clinxbers. 



In answer to several readers about 

 the hardiness and culture of the Cle- 

 matis, we may safely state that5 all the 

 best and most beautiful varieties are 

 perfectly hardy in the Northern States, 

 and of the easiest culture. Yet, as 

 with most plants, to obtain best results, 

 a certain amount of care and attention 

 has to be given. Even throughout 

 Canada they are now grown extensively 

 and satisfactorily. Mr. Wellington, 

 who has given much attention to their 

 culture, stated before the Fruit-growers' 

 Association of Ontario that he consid- 

 ered them thoroughly hardy in Canada, 

 capable of the finest results, and that 

 there is scarcely any place where they 

 are inappropriate. '' They are excel- 

 lent upon the lawn as pillar or stake 

 plants, or growing upon stumps of 

 trees ; in beds or borders, in the garden, 

 they cover the surface with the richest 

 carpet of brilliance and beauty ; for 

 trailing upon verandas, or trellises and 

 arbors, there is nothing so effective and 

 pleasing ; over mounds of rock-work, 

 with an intermingling of varieties of 

 different colors, they present an appear- 

 ance of marvelous beauty, and as pot- 

 plants, trained upon w ire frames of any 

 desired shape, they have few equals." 



In the Middle and Southern States, 

 Clematises will grow in almost any 



situation if the soil is of moderate fer- 

 tility, and if the roots of other plants 

 do not rob them of their proper share 

 of nutriment. To insure success in 

 northern latitudes, more care is re- 

 quired, however, Mr. Wellington says 

 in this regard : *' Our own experience 

 would lead us to say success depends 

 upon high culture. It transplants well, 

 but is a gross feeder ; you can scarcely 

 overfeed it. Select a good, rich soil, 

 in the first place, and then annually or 

 oftener supply heavy dressings of rich, 

 well-rotted manure, thoroughly incorpo- 

 rating with the soil. Frequent appli- 

 cations of liquid manure will be found 

 very beneficial, and amply repay time 

 and trouble. The perpetual qualities 

 of the plant are not fully brought out 

 unless kept constantly growing, and to 

 do this it is necessary to supply unfail- 

 ing nourishment. In the fall, before 

 freezing weather sets in, mulch heavily, 

 from four to six inches deep, with well- 

 rotted compost, spading into the soil in 

 the spring before the plants begin to 

 start. We do not know of any better 

 system of culture than this. It has 

 never failed to produce the most satis- 

 factory results with us. Should the 

 soil become heavy, we would loosen it 

 with an application of sand or sandy 

 loam." 



They carry and transplant easily, and 

 with any fair usage the plant is sure to 

 grow. If liberally fed, the plant each 

 year increases in strength and number 

 of its shoots, and consequently the 

 number and size of its brilliant blos- 

 soms. They generally flower the first 

 season, and it is not uncommon for 

 them to give grand results when well 

 cared for, growing vigorously and pro- 

 ducing a profuse mass of flowers. The 

 introduction of the C. coccinea, with its 

 bright scarlet flowers, adds a new and 

 brilliant shade to their already unsur- 

 passed galaxy of colors. — The American 

 Gardener. 



