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THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



December, (013 



Small Space Used to Good Advantage 



Residence of Mr. Winterburn, Walkerville, Ont. 



wise to take the best only, and if the 

 purse is limited, reduce the quantity ra- 

 ther than the quality, and on no account 

 tolerate any of the artificial plants or 

 fake colored flowers in your home. No- 

 thing lowers the tone of refinement in 

 your home as much as the use of such 

 absurd imitations. 



The following is a short list of plants 

 and cut flowers in their order of merit : 



Palms — Kentia, Areca, Phoenix. 



Terns — Bostoniensis, Whitmanii, 

 Pteris, in variety, Cibotium, Schiedei, 

 Adiantum, Farleyense, Pandanus 



Veitchii. 



Dracaena, Lindeni, Cooperii, and Ter- 

 minalis. 



Aspidistra, small sized crotons, As- 

 paragus Plumosus, Spengerii. 



Poinsettias, Ardisia, and Solanum, 

 well berried. 



Azaleas, cyclamen, Primula obconica, 

 and Sinensis. 



Begonias, Gloire de Lorraine, and Cin- 

 cinnati. 



Pans of white Roman or miniature hy- 

 acinths. Cut flowers : Roses, carna- 

 tions, violets, lilies, orchids (in many 

 varieties), valley, and late white or yel- 

 low chrysanthemums. 



Treatment of House Plants 



p. D. Powe, Cainsville, Ont. 



DURING the winter months no house 

 should be without at least a few 

 potted plants. The attendance and 

 labor required is trivial in comparison 

 to the cheer they bring to any home. 

 If you have not a well prepared soil 

 at hand, it will pay you to buy from 

 a local florist all you will require. But 

 to those who would prepare their own, 

 I recommend the following: One-third 

 friable loam, one-third leaf mould, and 

 one-third sharp sand. This will be 

 found good for most plants. 



Re-potting should be done at least 

 once a year, and with most plants from 

 two to three times is best. 



Watering is a point on which many 

 house growers fail. They generally try 

 to follow greenhouse rules and most al- 

 ways come a cropjjer. Never allow the 

 water to stand in the saucer. Always 

 water thoroughly so that the whole pot 

 is soaked, but do not water too often. 



The plants need water if the pots give a 

 clear ring when tapped with the knuck- 

 les. Usually house plants need water 

 about once a week. 



TEatPBRATUEE REQUIREMENTS 



The proper heat for the room contain- 

 taining plants is from 60 to 70 degrees, 

 though some plants demand a higher 

 temperature. Almost any kind of heat- 

 ing will do so long as an even tempera- 

 ture is maintained. Where gases are 

 present a vessel of water placed under 

 the shelves will do much to remedy the 

 evil. 



Great care must be exercised in the 

 ventilation of the room. If a cold, 

 frosty draft strikes your plants you are 

 done. The best plan is to air from the 

 top by letting down the upper sash of the 

 window, at the same time covering over 

 your plants with a sheet of newspaper. 



Each week the leaves of plants should 

 be sponged as follows: Get a pan of 



warm soapy wafer (not hot) and a soft 

 sponge. Take a leaf in your hand and 

 gently sponge both sides. This spong- 

 ing removes many pests such as the 

 aphis, red spider, lice and mealy bug. 

 It also keeps the plant healthy in the 

 same manner as a bath does the human 

 body. 



At this season insects breed rapidly, 

 because the conditions that generally ex- 

 ist in the house are extremely favorable 

 to their development. Make sure that 

 your plants are perfectly free from them 

 and it would be well to treat them to a 

 bath in an infusion of fir-tree oil. If one 

 aphis is found fumigate the whole collec- 

 tion. Precautions are never useless, for 

 eternal vigilance is the price of freedom 

 from insects even among house plants. 



Flower Gardens of Walkerville 



W. H. Smitk, Stc'j, Walktrrill* Horticaltarel Socitty 



The window boxes of Mr. Montrose, 

 of Walkerville, whose home is one of the 

 attractive ones of our town, and whose 

 garden was illustrated in the April issue 

 of The Canadian Horticulturist, are filled 

 to overflowing with trailing vines, coleus, 

 geraniums, petunias, and hanging fuch- 

 sia, the whole making one mass of color 

 from the ground half way up the win- 

 dows. 



The illustration here shown reveals the 

 residence of Mr. Winterburne, Argyle 

 Road. The vases are filled with bloom- 

 ing plants, the pyramids of boxwood, 

 the tripod with its load of fragrance, 

 the palms and hydrangea in the shade 

 of the porch ; the masses of geraniums 

 along the walk ; the border in front of 

 the house a riot of color, containing ger- 

 aniums, coleus, salvia, heliotrope, lock- 

 spur, and the two clematis, one the large 

 purple Jackmanii and the other Clematis 

 Coccinea, with its small red Japanese 

 lanterns — all colors blending to make 

 one perfect picture. 



Peony Culture 



J. H. Bennett, Bairic, Ont. 



The peony is practically if not absol- 

 utely immune from disease. If the grower 

 secures healthy plants to begin with he 

 will have nothing to fear. 



The only insect which even slightly 

 injures the {>eony is the Rose Chafer, 

 which is sometimes found eating the 

 petals of the flower. However, the 

 peony, with the exception of the very 

 late varieties, has usually done blooming 

 ere this pest appears. It would be wise 

 where the chafer is annually very trouble- 

 some to omit the later sorts. Even if 

 attacked by this insect the bloom is so 

 very large and has such dense petalage, 

 that inasmuch as the bug usually buries 

 itself deep in the petals it does not dis- 

 figure the bloom as it does a rose or 

 other flower. 



