THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



climate well fitted for growing sub-tropi- 

 cal fruits. Bananas are a staple produc- 

 tion ; the Natal pine apple is a superior 

 variety ; lemons and oranges are both 

 commonly grown, the latter coming into 

 bearing in the fifth year, and continuing 

 until their thirteenth. 



we have been noting Black Victoria at 

 Maplehurst, and this year especially it 

 is showing up well in productiveness. 

 The same good quality is also shown by 

 plants growing at Mr. Peart's, Freeman, 

 who is experimenting with all varieties 

 of currants. Branches sent us for putting 



Fig. 1716. — The Garden City Apricot. 



The Garden City Apricot is a new 

 variety, which has recently originated at 

 St. Catharines, and is very promising, 

 both by reason of its beauty of appear- 

 ance, excellent quality, and fine size. 

 The cut shows the natural size of some 

 of those apricots, which were sent in to 

 this office last summer. They seem to 

 be also hardy and productive. 



Black Victoria. — Black currants 

 have been planted quite largely for 

 profit in the Niagara district, chiefly of 

 the Naples and Lee's Prolific variet)', 

 because their rarity in our markets 

 made them a good price. But alas ! 

 they are usually so unproductive in this 

 section that there was nothing in them 

 for the grower, and they have been 

 rooted out. The black currant is one 

 of the fruits that seems to succeed well 

 in the north, if we may judge by what 

 we saw in 1898; for on St. Joseph's 

 Island we found garden rows of Lee's 

 Prolific, that were loaded down with 

 magnificent fruit. For two years now 



508 



up in bottles were heavily loaded, and 

 the bushes seem to be very vigorous. 

 The bunches appeared three and four at 

 each node, and measured from i^ to 

 13^ inches in length, and the berries y^, 

 by Yz inch in diameter. The season is 

 from July 15th to 30th. 



The Boston Fern, which is on our 

 list for distribution in the spring of 1900 

 is a valuable house plant. Its long 

 gracefully drooping fronds hanging 

 down on all sides from a jardiniere 

 stand are a real source of satisfaction, 

 and although we can send only a small 

 plant by mail, it will soon grow to a 

 thing of beauty. The Florist says of 

 it : — " The Boston fern owes much of 

 its popularity to the ease with which it 

 adapts itself to house culture. Fre- 

 quently we see in sitting-room windows 

 specimens equal to the finest conserva- 

 tory-grown plants and of better color 

 than the average greenhouse product. 

 This would indicate that this plant pre- 

 fers the deficient light of the dwelling 



