XIV. 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



February, 1913 



Northern Grown Trees 



Apple. Pear, Plum, Cherry. Peach, Orapee. 

 Small Pruita. Ornaments, EveritreenB. Koees, 

 Flowerinif Shrubs, Climbers, Et«. Everything 

 In the Nursery line. Catalogue free. Bend 

 list of your want* for prioea. 



NnnBerymau, 

 Port Elgin, Ont. 



j. Wisn\er, 



Straivberry Plants 



Sample, Dunlop, Splendid, Poconkoke 



We havo lar^o quantitieH of Kxtra Strong^ 

 Plants. It will pay you to write ub for 



prices. 



JAS. E. JOHNSON & BROS., ■ SIMCOE, ONT. 



Sprayers 



Sulfur Dusters 



For Fighting Every Disease of Cnltivated Plants 



Knapsack, Pack Saddle or Horse Drawn 

 Power Sprayers 



!:r::,?r"; vermorel 



(Rhone). FRANCE 



Manofactnrer, 

 VILLEFRANCHE 





Big Ben — Two Good Alarms in One 



Take your choice in Big Ben. He 

 rings either way you wish — five 

 straight minutes or every other half 

 minute for all of ten minutes unless 

 you switch him off. He's two alarms 

 in one. 



If you're a light sleeper, turn on 

 the half minute taps before you go 

 to bed. If you sleep heavily, set the 

 five minute call. You can slumber 

 then without the get-up worry on 

 your mind. 



When morning comes, and It's an- 

 nounced by Big Ben's jolly bell, you 

 can't help getting up at once, for Big 

 Ben never fails to get you wide awake. 



Big Ben is really three good clocks 

 in one, two excellent alarms and a 

 fine time-keeper to keep in any room 

 and tell time all day by. 



If you have got to get up bright 

 and early, if you have to get your 

 help in the field on time, ask for Big 

 Ben at your dealer's and try him 

 for a week. You'll never want to be 

 without him afterwards. 



Big Ben stands seven inches tall. 

 He is triple nickel-plated and wears 

 an inner vest of steel that insures him 

 for life. His big, bold figures and 

 hands are easy to read in the dim 

 morning light. His large, comfort- 

 able keys almost wind themselves. 



He rings five minutes steadily or ten intermit- 

 tently. If lie is oiled every other year, there is no 

 telllns how lone be will last. 



He's sold by 6.000 Canadian dealers. His 

 price is SJ.OO anywhere. If you can't find bim at 

 your dealer's, a iltoncy order mailed to U-^titclax 

 La SalU, Iltinoii, will send bim anywhere you say 

 duty charges prepaid. 



stroying: insect pests and noxious weeds. 

 What avails it if one faimer ketps his land 

 (lean and his neighbor leaves his dirty 

 with weeds and a breeding^ place for in- 

 sects. I am strongly in favor of compul- 

 sory spraying, for what is worth planting 

 is worth caring for. 



A great many of our farm implements 

 are very expensive, and im many cases 

 used only for a day or two and them put 

 away for another year. What a saving it 

 would be if growers would cooperate in 

 their purchase and use. I ref.er especially 

 to power sprayers, ditching machines, and 

 even in manure spreaders, potato planters, 

 and potato diggers. Cooperative associa- 

 tions should assist in thei/ purchase. 



A Word for House Sparrows 



R. Walter Brocks, Brutford 



The common house sparrow has been 

 condemned as being a dirty, useless, mis- 

 chievous bird that is not insectiverous. 1 

 wish to defend him, as I have been taking 

 observations for some time, having had 

 several sparrows nest in the cornice of my 

 barn. , 



A few years ago we could not raise any 

 grapes owing to the ravages of the steel 

 bug. Now I have not seen one for three 

 or four years. Last year I saw a sparrow 

 catch a yellow (cabbage) butterfly, take it 

 to the ground, pull off both wings, pick 

 up the body, and fly away. Another day 

 I saw a sparrow with what I took to be a 

 large Empress Moth. I tried to get closer 

 to it, but it flew away. 



I also saw several sparrows catch June 

 bugs and eat them. Last summer, while 

 sitting on my lawn, I noticed some spar- 

 rows flying and catching something. Up- 

 on making investigation, I found a nest of 

 flying ants, which were flying straight up 

 into the air. The sparrows were waiting 

 for them, and catching every one. A worm 

 also has been ravaging the Boston Ivy. 

 I have seen the sparrows catch them. 

 Now I cannot find one. The wasp (Yellow 

 Jacket) is also a despised insect. I saw 

 one attack a green cabbage worm, eat 

 part of it, and fly away with the remainder. 



Items of Interest 



The Toronto Nurseries, at 1167 Quoen St. 

 East, Toronto, is conducted by Mr. J. McP. 

 Ross, the well-known contributor of articles 

 to The Can.^dian Horticulturist. Mr. 

 Ross's many years of experience in the nur- 

 sery business "should ensure good results for 



the customers of this firm. 



The Farmers' Club at Rednorvilte, Prince 

 Edward County, Ontario, recently went on 

 record to the effect that it did not consider 

 the Dominion €rcvernment was exercising 

 sufficient care in the selection of fruit in- 

 spectors competent to judge of the proper 

 packing of fruit. The club advocates 



growers grouping themselves in sufficient 

 numbers to be able to furnish buyers with 

 several carloads of goods packed ready for 

 shipment. 



Parks Commissioner Chambers, of To- 

 ronto, recently outlined at the annual meet- 

 ing of the Toronto Civic Guild an immense 

 boulevard system extending for forty-two 

 miles along the outer edge of greater To- 

 ronto, and involving an expenditure of 

 $7,000,000, the plans for which have been 

 prepared. When ocmpleted it will be one 

 of the finest on the continent. The light- 

 ing system will be a feature of these boule- 

 vards, which will link up the city's parks. 



