iDecember, 1922 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



239 



QUESTION BOX 



W. E. GROVES 



Dividing Dahlias 



Should dahlia clumps be divided before plant- 

 ing in the spring? I have a number of clumps 

 which I lifted this fall and they will be sufficient 

 for my requirements without dividing. Will 

 t)etter results be obtained by dividing? — J.G.H., 

 Hamilton, Ont. 



Unless the roots are too large for con- 

 venient handling it is not really necessary 

 to divide. If, however, they have a 

 number of stems it is perhaps best to re- 

 duce a little, even if the roots not re- 

 quired are thrown away. Dividing the 

 roots generally induces flowers that are a 

 little larger than would otherwise be the 

 case. 



Seed of Chrysanthemum 



T wish to obtain seed of a hardy double peren- 

 nial chrysanthemum which comes in various 

 colors, yellow, bronze, etc. Can you advise me 

 the name? — J.G.H., Hamilton, Ont. 



The chrysanthemums named belong to 

 a race of small early flowering varieties, 

 frequently used in the more sheltered 

 parts of the garden. The most popular 

 shades are yellow, bronze and white, 

 though there are also one or two red 

 varieties. A much better plan than 

 raising from seed is to buy a few plants 

 in the spring and these quickly increase. 

 The objection to seed is that it is difficult 

 to get the true varieties and quite a 

 number are worthless for the hardy 

 garden . 



Qub-root on Cabbage 



What I: •■;.e cause ol club-root on cabbage 

 and allied vegetables? I have tried every 

 Tj-j- ns o- oradicaiing his disease Irora my 

 garden out have not succeeded — j. t., 

 Sydney Mines, C. B. 



Club-root disease is a fungus one 

 which lives in the soil for many years. 

 I have found after twelve years with no 

 cruciferous crop being grown that the 

 f\ingus remains alive in the soil. The 

 only thing to do is to give a heavy 

 application of lime about every three 

 years and grow no cauliflower, cabbage, 

 radish or any of a similar family on the 

 ground for about 15 years. This disease 

 •in be carried from place to place, on 



fden tools, on which particles of soil 

 adhere. These particles drop in a new 

 place and the disease begins. 



Dahlia Buds Dropping 



What is the cause of dahlia buds dropping off 

 before the flower develops and sometimes before 

 the bud is scarcely formed? What is the remedy? 



!•;. J. C, Brockville, Ont. 



Insect attack, root trouble or the in- 

 fluence of the atmosphere are three 

 causes, each of which may cause the 

 trouble. Are the buds being partially 

 eaten off by earwigs, a troublesome 



dahlia pest? If so, trap them by placing 

 a little moss, or something similar, in a 

 small pot and either put the pot some- 

 where amongst the foliage of the plant 

 or inverted on the stake to which the 

 plant is tied, if a stake is used. This will 

 attract the little enemies and they may 

 easily be removed and destroyed. A 

 sudden spell of hot weather just about 

 the time blooms are developing will some- 

 times completely check their develop- 

 ment and cause the buds to drop off. A 

 wrong condition of soil may be brought 

 about by too strong feeding with fer- 

 tilizer or manure water. E. J. C. may 

 probably be able to locate the trouble 

 with these suggestions. 



Making Rubber Plant Branch 



" My rubber plant has grown tall and spindly. 

 \ friend advised me to cut it off about half way 

 and seal over with wax with a view to making 

 it grow bushy. Is this the proper method and 

 when would be the best time to cut it down?" 



Cutting back the rubber plant will 

 certainly make it branch out. The ob- 

 ject of the wax is just to keep the plant 

 from bleeding. If you have a good top 

 to the plant you could easil}' root it be- 

 fore cutting right off. Cut the stem 

 where you wish to root it about half way 

 through making a diagonal cut rather 

 than one straight across. Pack a small 

 bunch of moss around the place tjnng 

 it firmly on with string. Keep this damp 

 and the stem will root out into the moss. 

 When there are a few roots the top may 

 be cut right off and potted. The plant 

 could then b^ cut back as low as you 

 wish when ydu will get the branching 

 out as suggested above. 



Tulips 



What is the distinctive growth and character- 

 istics of the various varieties of tulips, such as 

 Darwin, Cottage, Breeder, Rembrandt and 

 Parrot?"— D. J. Thornhill, Ontario. 



Tulips, their history and classification, 

 is an interesting subject, and one about 

 which all the authorities do not agree. 

 Briefly it may be said that in 1702 one 

 of the writers enumerated by name over 

 forty varieties of Tulipa praecoces, or 

 early flowering tulips, one hundred and 

 forty varieties of Tulipa medias, or 

 middle flowering tulips. To these were 

 added a score of French Bizarre and 

 Modes Tulips. Up to this time the late 

 tulips were but few in number. 



At the present time the section known 

 as early flowering, comprise those that 

 bloom earlier than the May flowering or 

 Darwin varieties. Belonging to no par- 

 ticular section botanically they are 

 marked with this characteristic and 

 cover a number of both single and double 

 varieties. In bulb catalogues they are 

 always listed as early flowering. The 

 May flowering or florists' tulips are sold 

 as Bizarre and Bybloemen. The former 

 have a yellow ground color striped with 

 purple, crimson or white. The latter 

 have a white ground striped or blotched 



with blue, violet, black or purple. These 

 are also sub-divided into flamed or 

 feathered. Tulipa gesseriana is by far 

 the most popular of the May flowering 

 section, covering a number of fine 

 varieties suitable for the hardy border. 



Parrot tulips are curious and their 

 origin not very clear. The petals are 

 laciniated and the form before the flower 

 opens something like the beak of a 

 parrot. They are not certain as to 

 flowering and are not used freely on this 

 account. Darwin tulips form a distinct 

 class of late flowering self colored tulips 

 of great substance. They were raised by 

 a Dutchman who sold the collection to 

 a Mr. Krelage, who in turn after making 

 a selection named them after Professor 

 Danvin. There are a number of other 

 species and varieties but this probably 

 supplies the information sought. 



Grass for Golf Courses 



WITH the ancient game of golf be- 

 coming more widely played and 

 the number of courses increasing 

 rapidly, the United States Department of 

 Agriculture, in connection with its general 

 work on grasses, is giving attention to 

 the selection of special strains of grasses 

 adapted to the requirements of the links. 



A great deal of effort has been wasted 

 in the building up of golf courses because 

 of a lack of understanding of the dif- 

 ferent kinds of grasses and the methods 

 of establishing a turf. Many men inter- 

 ested in the game have been the victims 

 of seed fakers and self-styled experts. 

 As a result golfers have welcomed in- 

 formation on the subject from the de- 

 partment, and clubs in many parts of the 

 country have called on the department 

 for advice and information. 



The best results are obtained by .the 

 department with pure strains of creeping 

 bent, a grass of uniform color and texture 

 and resistant to wear. These strains 

 have been selected and increased on the 

 department experiment farm at Arlington 

 Va., and are now grown commercially by 

 two or three companies. These strains 

 of bent grass are grown by the vegeta- 

 tive method instead of from seed — that 

 is, the stolons, or runners, are cut up and 

 spread upon the ground where a turf 

 is desired. The grass is lirst grown in 

 nursery rows to obtain the increase 

 needed for planting the greens. 



If celery has begun to rot, the plants 

 should be gone over and diseased parts 

 of plants removed. When replanted 

 see that the tops are kept dry as long 

 as the plants last. If there is room have 

 a small space between the top of each 

 plant. To keep celery in good condi- 

 tion during the winter, the tops should 

 be dry but the roots in moist soil. 

 Hence if watering is necessary great 

 care should be taken not to wet the 

 tops. 



