The Canadian Horticulturist. 191 



seed. This year they appointed wholesale agents for the sale of it in Great 

 Britain, Australian Colonies, India, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Russia and 

 other continental countries. As a pot plant it received an award of merit (the 

 highest honor that can be conferred on a new variety) at the Royal Horticul- 

 tural Society, held in London, England, last year. From what we read of it, it 

 comes true from seed, grows 5 or 6 inches high, the flowers are borne on long 

 stems, the color white. I have started some in pots, two seeds in each pot, and 

 intend to plant it in the open ; I hope others of this Society will give it a trial. 



New Branching Aster 



As a rival of the Chrysanthemum. Chrysanthemums are rarely brought to 

 perfection by amateurs, and are best left to the professional florist. Asters are 

 easy of culture, and in the new Branching, introduced in 1893, we have a flower 

 closely resembling it in form and color. Many will remember seeing them 

 offered for sale in the flower stores last fall, and a great many might have mis- 

 taken them for Chrysanthemums. The flowers have broad wavy petals, grace- 

 fully curled and twisted ; the season for blooming is earlier than the Chrysan- 

 themum, but later than any other variety of the Aster tribe. This gives it a 

 special value for a late fall flower ; the flowers are borne on long stems and are 

 particularly suitable for cutting, as they will keep a long time and the flowers 

 expand in water. If arrangements can be made for covering the plants on 

 frosty nights, the blooming can be extended considerably past the time of other 

 outside flowers. They are also admirably adapted for pot plants to flower in 

 the house in the Chrysanthemum season. One grower writes of them in their 

 last fall trial : " I have a dozen pots of the Branching Asters, loaded with flowers, 

 that are the admiration of every one, and many say they must be Chrysanthe- 

 mums. I think them a fine pot plant every way." The colors are white, pink, 

 crimson, purple ; the time for starting and transplanting is the same as for all 

 other varieties of Asters. 



The OrehaPd Fence.— It is time that the farmers of Ontario began to pay 

 greater attention to the tidy appearances of their farms, and especially of their 

 orchards. The old rail fence with its snake like curves is fortunately disappear- 

 ing from our road sides ; now let us have a fence which is as nearly invisible as 

 good service will permit, that will neither favor the growth of weeds nor even 

 serve as a shelter for mice. One of the members of our association, Col. Roger, 

 of Grafton, Ont., has put up such a fence around his orchard and we have pleasure 

 in showmg our readers a view of his place in apple har\-est, as an example worthy 

 of imitation. 



Fallow crops are the best for orchards, potatoes, vines, buckwheat, roots. 



Indian corn, and the like If we desire our trees to continue in a 



healthy bearing state, we should, therefore, manure them as regularly as any 

 other crop, and they will amply repay the expense. — A. J. Downing, The Fruits 

 and Fruit Trees of America, ist Edition, 1845. 



