230 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



Floral Edition 



perpetual and hybrid tea roses usually 

 are benefitted by some protection. A 

 good plan is first to tie the bush up in a 

 bunch, then before severe frosts bank 

 some soil around the plant to about 12 

 inches in height in the shape of a cone. 

 The base of the cone should be about 

 12 to 18 inches in diameter and run up 

 to a point near the stem of the plant at 

 the top. The soil should be patted down 

 firmly on the surface to pitch off the rain 

 and moisture. A forkful of strawy 

 manure thrown on the top of the cone of 

 soil around the plant will help it. Roses 

 grown on their own roots are hardier and 

 less liable to be winter killed than are the 

 budded or grafted plants. Own-root 

 roses are a little slower at first in giving 

 flowering results, but are much more en- 

 during than worked or budded stock. 



The more tender kind of roses, such as 

 hybrid teas, teas, and the polyantha and 

 soupert type of roses, require better pro- 

 tection than the hybrid perpetuals. Ty- 

 ing the tops of these in a bunch and 

 thatching them with straw, or first 

 covering the plants with leaves and 

 placing a sugar or flour barrel or some 

 boards over them, makes a good protec- 

 tion. A nail keg would answer for 

 small plants. Holes one inch in diameter 

 here and there should be bored in side of 

 barrel to admit air. A mulching of leaves 

 or strawy manure six or eight inches in 

 depth put on late in November around 

 bush roses also helps to protect them 

 materially. 



The great point in preserving tender 

 roses is the exclusion of moisture, sun 

 and frost as much as possible, and the 

 admission of air to prevent dampness 

 and mould or fungous diseases. Small, 

 tender-flowering shrubs can be treated 

 in the same way as roses. 



Climbing Roses 



Climbing roses, such as Crimson Ramb- 

 ler, Baltimore Belle and other tender 

 varieties, should be taken down from 

 the supports they have been growing on 

 and the growth tied or pegged down 

 close to the ground to keep the growth 

 below the snow line as much as possible. 

 Throw some straw or strawy manure 

 about three or four inches in depth over 

 the canes or growth so as to cover them 

 about the thickness mentioned. Burlap 

 or the rush matting used as a lining for 

 tea chests are also good materials for 

 wrapping around tender roses or shrubs, 

 instead of using the manure or straw. 

 Avoid putting the covering on too early 

 in the season, as this induces field mice 

 to make a home for the winter in the 

 covering, often resulting in the destruc- 

 tion of the plants from the mice gnawing 

 and eating, the growth of the plant. 

 Covering up too early also prevents the 

 growth from hardening and ripening, the 

 latter being a very essential point to pre- 

 vent the winter killing of plant life. 

 About the end of November is usually 

 early enough to cover climbing roses. 



Keeping Dahlia Tubers 



DAHLIAS are among the easiest roots 

 to keep and yet many growers find 

 diflSculty in the matter. At this 

 time they are generally blackened by 

 frost and may be lifted at once. The 

 stems should be cut down to about six 

 inches from the tuber. Carefully dig 

 round the roots, saving every tuber pos- 

 sible. More damage is done at this 

 handling than at any other time. To do 

 the work intelligently it is well to bear 

 in mind that the new shoots in the spring 

 do not start from the tuber portion of 

 the plant, but from the part called the 

 crown which really is part of the stem. 

 It naturally follows that if this is broken 

 off too low down there is a danger of 

 losing all the growing eyes. 



Another kind of damage to be avoided, 

 is the twisting of the tubers near the 

 stem. In lifting it will be noticed that a 

 large number of varieties are easily liable 

 to break or bruise quite near the stem, 

 causing what the Dahlia growers call 

 "broken necks." In dividing up the 

 roots for the following year these pieces 

 are useless and a knowledge of this will 

 make the work of harvesting easily under- 

 stood. If without much trouble it is 

 possible to dry out stem downwards for 

 a few days all the remaining sap that 

 rises in the hollow stems will drop out. 

 This is not absolutely necessary but it 

 helps. A frost proof cellar is a good 

 place to keep the roots. Where only a 

 small number have to be cared for, boxes 

 or baskets are wise to protect from damp. 

 With a temperature not falling much 

 below 40 degrees, there should with the 

 kind of treatment advised be few if any 

 losses. To be on the safe side, it is well 

 to look over occasionally during the 

 winter, removing any decaying tubers or 

 parts of tubers. 



Preparing the Garden 



W. S. Blair, KentviUe, N.S. 



PROBABLY no effort is so well repaid 

 as that given to the development of 

 a good vegetable garden. It is wise 

 to make preparation for this in the fall, 

 in order to realize the benefits accruing 

 from the early sowing of many vegetable 

 crops. Apply 10 pounds of stable manure 

 to the square yard, which is equal to 

 24 tons per acre. Plow or dig this six to 

 eight inches deep. The amount of 

 manure to apply will vary according to 

 the way the soil has been previously 

 manured. It is not wise to over-fertiUze 

 and if annual applications are made, pro- 

 bably five pounds per square yard will 

 be quite sufficient. 



Certain areas should be ridged or 

 mounded, to permit of ready drainage 

 and early drying out of the soil. In 

 these, carrots, beets and lettuce for very 

 early use are seeded. Here also cabbage, 

 cauliflower and celery are started for 

 planting out later. There is often diffi- 



culty in getting such plants in the spring 

 and this may be overcome by giving a 

 little thought now to the development of 

 a spot where seed may be sown just as 

 soon as the surface soil is dry to the 

 depth of one or two inches. It is quite 

 often possible to sow seeds outside on 

 such a plot about the middle of April. 

 The only reason why onions are so seldom 

 a success in this country is that the seed 

 is put in the soil the middle of May when 

 it should have been planted a month 

 earlier. For this early spring seeding, 

 surface work of the soil is all that is re- 

 quired, if the land has been fall prepared. 

 This can be done early if good drainage 

 is provided by mounding up strips three 

 to four feet wide as already indicated with 

 a slight surface slope to give drainage. 



For spring growth, in addition to heat, 

 a rapidly available food supply is neces- 

 sary. In old garden areas this is usually 

 present. If the garden plot is new it 

 may be necessary to use a little quick 

 acting fertilizer to give the crops a start. 

 One ounce per square yard of nitrate of 

 soda or other active fertilizer is equal to j 

 300 pounds per acre. This amount is 

 sufficient for any vegetable crop. It is 

 wise not to make the mistake, of applying 

 too large an amount without thoroughly 

 mbcing it with the soil. Surface applica- 

 tions of fertilizers like nitrate of soda 

 often kill the young plant just as it 

 germinates. For that reason it is much 

 better to depend upon an application of 

 stable manure well worked into the soil 

 the previous fall. 



Cannas 



C ANNAS should be cut down to about 

 six inches from the ground in the same 

 way as dahlias. The mechanical 

 work of lifting is much more simple and 

 little danger of damage is involved . To get 

 the best results, however, it is wise to try 

 and save a little of the soil on the roots, 

 allowing this to remain for a time. Where 

 the number is not large, boxes might be 

 used to advantage, packing the roots 

 closely in them. Cannas will not stand a 

 temperature as low as dahlias, for which 

 reason a warmer part of the cellar should 

 be chosen for storing. The remaining 

 portion of stem will gradually decay 

 right down to the tubers, and as this 

 occurs it should be removed to prevent 

 the decay spreading to the roots. Unhke 

 dahlias, Cannas do not begin to grow 

 from the stems but from eyes easily 

 seen on the rhizomes or tubers. As the 

 soil left on the roots dries up, it may be 

 removed, but it is well not to do this too 

 soon, the reason for leaving it being to 

 avoid a too quick drying up of the fleshy 

 roots. 



A single flower often looks better in a 

 vase than a large number tightly set. 

 Each flower should have a chance to 

 show its individuality. Never crowd if 

 you would have the best effect. 



