THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



Floral Edition 



viuder glass they are fine. In orange- 

 scarlets, Ed. Cowdy, The President, and 

 May Unwin, are fine, but they burn in 

 the sun. Grown shaded, the colors are 

 intense. Jean Ireland, as cream-ground 

 picotee, and Annie Ireland a, white- 

 ground picotee, are both nice flower 

 and worth growing. 



Hebe is a fine pink and has replaced 

 Hercules. It is a good grower with a 

 long stem. Daisybud is a beautiful pale 

 pink and should be largely grown. 

 Hawlmark. Pink stands alone in dark 

 pinks. A batch of this in the field is a 

 sight worth seeing. Unfortunately, it 

 broke badly this year, but by persistent 

 selection and conscientious ros;uing, it 

 can be kept fairly true, and is worth the 

 trouble. Unwin 's Pink is also a good 

 dark pink, but perhaps better on the ex- 

 hibition table than in the garden. 



There has been less improvement in 

 white sweet peas than in any of the 

 other colors. Mascot's "White and 

 Moneymaker are both good and Con- 

 stance Hinton, although it shows a tinge 

 of pink when opening its flowers, is, 

 nevertheless, a grand variety. 



With every grower striving to get a 

 yellow sweet pea, it is no wonder that 

 there are numerous creams on the 

 market. In color, they all look alike to 

 me. Felton's Cream, Unwin 's Cream 

 and Majestic Cream are all good 

 growers with long stems. 



In selecting the fifteen best varieties 

 in their respective colors as I have seen 

 them growing, I should place them as 

 follows: Mrs. Tom Jones, Elegance, 

 Royal Scot, Charity, Splendour, Gladys, 

 Hawlmark Pink, Doris, Constance Hin- 

 ton, Royal Purple, Felton's Cream, Pic- 

 ture or Cecily, Daisybud, King Mauve, 

 Mrs. Wakefield.— The Canadian Florist. 



Everbearing Strawberries 



L. M. McConnell, Port Burwell, Ont. 



THAT race of strawberries known 

 as the everbearing strawberries 

 is, to many people, a conundrum. 

 They canot understand how any vari- 

 ety of strawberries can produce two 

 crops in a season. This is true, never- 

 theless, as has been proved by hundreds 

 and thousands throughout the contin- 

 ent. They are becoming very popular 

 in many sections; are ideal for the 

 home garden, and -are planted exten- 

 sively by some as a commercial proposi- 

 tion. After eight years close study 

 and.'expenenee with the Everbearing 

 stravvljerries, i have found that they 

 are a fixed type of , berry and that they 

 .-are truly everbearing (that is, fruiting 

 ■fiom spring till fall;) 

 '■ :There is no ch'an'ce of the everbear- 

 ard-of June bearing sorts, but they are 

 very valuable .'in their place and are 

 well dfeservjng of extensive trial by all. 

 "The everbearing sorts are planted in 



the .si)riug, tiie ,sa.i.. ..j„i<:,.. ...,ii.g fol- 

 lowed as with the standard varieties. 

 Keep well cultivated and hoed 

 throughout the season. Plant on well 

 enriched soil which is well drained 

 and in a good state of cultivation. After 

 planting keep all blossoms picked off 

 until about the middle of July. Be- 

 fore the middle of August you can 

 commence to pick ripe berries in abun- 

 dance and continue to do so till hard 

 freezing weather. Last fall I picked 

 berries after the 15th of October. 



With regard to culture they can be 

 grown in the matted row system, but 

 the most popular way is the hill meth- 

 od. By the hill system no runners are 

 alowed to take root and, therefore, the 

 full strength goes into the plant, and 

 it is astonishing the berries that are 

 ■produced. It is nothing unusual for 

 a plant to bear from one to two boxes 

 of berries during the summer and fall. 



i .,c ..Lcoiid season, they will pro- 

 duce a heavy crop in the regular season 

 during June and July and after about 

 two weeks' rest will commence to fruit 

 again and continue to do so throughout 

 the balance of the season. 



The chief merits of the everbearing 

 strawberries are as follows : 1 — Their 

 remarkably long fruiting season, giv- 

 ing fresh berries practically all summer 

 and fall. 2 — High prices received for 

 the fruit during August and Septem- 

 ber. 3— Are not injured by late spring 

 frosts, for if the early blossoms are 

 killed by frost, they will imediately 

 put forth more blossoms. 4 — Will 

 grow suceesfully wherever standard 

 varieties are grown. Are very success- 

 ful in the western provinces. 



With regard to varieties, the Pro- 

 gressive is without doubt the best of 

 the everbearers. Other good sorta 

 are Americus, Superb and Peerless. 



Ordering Plants and Seeds 



W. T. Macoun, Dominion Horticulturist 



MANY persons leave the ordering 

 of plants and seeds until very 

 shortly before they are needed in 

 the spring with the result that there 

 are frequent disappointments as either 

 the variety desired is sold out or there 

 is not time to test the germinating power 

 of the seed received, before planting 

 time, and if, after it is sown, few plants 

 come up there may not be time to re-sow 

 and obtain a good crop. The early plant- 

 ing of most varieties is important if the 

 best results are to be obtained. It is 

 wise, therefore, to plan one 's garden sev- 

 eral months ahead and to order early. 

 Catalogues from t he most reliable seed 

 and nursery firms, which are usually 

 available in January, should be obtained 

 in good time and the order sent off 

 without delay. 



The best is none too good for one's 

 home garden, hence, when planning what 

 is to be ordered, lists of best fruits, 

 flowers, and vegetables should be con- 

 sulted. This information can be ob- 

 tained through the Dominion Experi- 

 mental Farms. 



There is a great difference in the 

 strains of the same varieties of vegetables 

 and flowers, and usually seed of the best 

 strains is more expensive than where 

 careful selection has not been made, but 

 the small difference between the cost will 

 be compensated many times over by the 

 superiority of the crop. This higher 

 priced seed does not refer to novelties, 

 which may be only old varieties under 

 new names or new sorts which are not as 

 good as the older ones. The testing of 

 novelties should be left largely to the 

 experimental stations. Some of the vege- 

 tables where good strains eounx iQUCh are 



tomatoes, cauliflowers, and onions, but 

 there is a great difference in the strains 

 or selections of other kinds as well. This 

 applies to flower seeds also, and it is 

 very annoying when one has ordered 

 seed of phlox, verbena, aster, or some 

 other annual of a certain color, to have 

 a mixed lot when the plants come in 

 bloom. 



It is desirable to mark "no substitu- 

 tion" on the order one sends as some- 

 times seedsmen will substitute other sorts 

 for those ordered, which the buyer does 

 not want. This substitution is not so im- 

 portant in the case of vegetables and 

 flower seeds unless on6 is growing these 

 on a large scale, as it only affects one 

 year's operations, but when one is deal- 

 ing with fruit trees which may remain 

 alive through the greater part of one's 

 life, it is very important not to have in- 

 ferior sorts substituted for good ones. 



It is better to receive trees and plants 

 a little too early than late, as provision 

 can usually be made for putting them in 

 a cellar for a few days if necessary before 

 the ground is ready for them. When 

 ordering, it is a good plan to ask for de- 

 livery of trees at the earliest date that 

 one is likely to be able to plant as it is 

 very unsatisfactory to receive tre^". 

 shrubs, or herbaceous perennials when 

 spring is far advanced. This applies 

 particularly to roses, many of which fail 

 to grow when received late in the spring, 

 but all trees and shrubs will suffer if 

 planted late. Small orders are liable to 

 be left by nurserjonen until large orders 

 are filled unless the order is received 

 early, before the rush, which is another 

 reason why one should not delay in 

 ordering. 



