THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



January, 1914 



Bagnell Hall Looking We»t, Showing Ribbon Border and Cut Flower Bedi - Fig. 3 



equal parts of loam and leaf soil. Never 

 use all rank manure. 



The roots of cyclamen proceed from 

 the fleshy rootstock or corm, and this 

 should be about half-covered in potting, 

 leaving the top roots, whence the leaves 

 develop, clear. The after-culture con- 

 sists of keeping the plants at all times 

 in a light, airy place, and as near the 

 glass as possible to prevent drawing and 

 consequently weakening. Shade in 

 bright weather only and syringe on fine 



days to keep the plants clean and en- 

 courage growth. 



Cyclamen may be grown on a second 

 year by drying moderately and resting 

 for a time, afterwards reducing the soil 

 about the roots anid repotting. They 

 should receive similar treatment as that 

 suggested for young plants, but the 

 flowers are generally earlier and smaller 

 the second year. It is not advisable to 

 save plants after this age, as young 

 stock is far more satisfactory. 



My 



Favorite Flower — The Sweet Pea* 



J. H. Wills, Mitchell, Ont. 



EACH year I plant my sweet peas in 

 the fame place along by a wire 

 fence on the west side of my gar- 

 den. The ground is clay loam and well 

 drained. In the fall, after the old vines 

 have been pulled up, I throw out the 

 earth about ten to twelve inches wide 

 and one foot deep. I then put in fresh 

 earth, giving it a good coating of well- 

 rotted manure and mix it thoroughly. 

 Later on, before ti freezes for the win- 

 ter, I throw this earth outside of my 

 trench into a ridge, keeping it as lumpy 

 as possible so as to let it get full the ad- 

 vantage of the frost. 



My experience has taught me that the 

 earlier you get the seed planted the 

 better bloom you have, and the flowers 

 bloom for a longer period. As soon, 

 therefore, as the ground is ready to 

 work, I clean out the trench and put in 

 about two inches of good manure. This 

 is dug into the subsoil. On top of this 

 I put about five inches of the prepared 

 earth and then plant my seed, planting 

 them in double rows. The seed is sown 

 four to six inches apart and covered with 

 about two inches of earth. This is 

 pressed down with the hoe. As the 

 vines grow up I gradually draw more 

 earth around them till it forms a slight 

 ridge about two inches higher than the 

 surrounding earth, leaving a shallow 



•This article won the third prize in the eeaa.y 

 oompetitiooi on "Ity FavoriU Flower ajid How I 

 Otow It." 



trench along the row for watering pur- 

 poses. 



My sweet peas are planted where they 

 get lots of sunshine and plenty of fresh 

 air, and I try to keep the soil cool and 

 moist, but not wet and heavy, as this 

 would cause a weak, yellow vine, and 

 they would not get a good growth. As 

 mine are well drained I always have a 

 strong, healthy, tall vine. 



For supporting the vines I prefer for 

 a trellis a six foot wire netting. The 



netting is put in place when the vines 

 are two or three inches high so that the 

 vines can get early support. The net- 

 ting is left about two inches from the 

 ground. 



To help retain the moisture, keep the 

 soil around the vines fine, and especially 

 after heavy rains. Cultivate about two 

 inches det-p. This lets in the air and 

 helps keep down the weeds. You can- 

 not have the best flowers and weeds. 



If the plants need watering give them 

 a good soaking at least once or twice 

 a week, as that is better than a sprinkl- 

 ing every night. I always water at night 

 as I am away early in the morning. 

 Water with a rather weak liquid man- 

 ure, putting the liquid in the trench 

 along the vines. 



If the weather keeps dry and hot, 

 spray the under part of the foliage with 

 cold water or soap suds to keep down 

 red spider and aphis. 



When cutting the flowers pick them 

 every day. Pick every flower that has 

 all the flowers on the stem in bloom. 

 Do not allow seed-pods to form if you 

 want long continuance of bloom. Select 

 certain plants for seed purposes. 



To prolong the season of bloom, pick 

 off the tops of the plants. They will 

 then branch out again. If after a long 

 period of blooming the flowers become 

 small and the stems short, prune the 

 vines. This brings longer stems and 

 larger flowers. 



If you decide to save your own seed, 

 pick out the sturdiest vine, cut the poor- 

 est flowers, and save the seed from vines 

 having a long, strong stem with three or 

 four flowers to a stem. When they are 

 ripe pick the pods and save the largest 

 seeds. The smaller seeds are at the 

 end of the pods. Discard these. By 

 this method I have had stems sixteen 

 to eighteen inches long and flowers two 

 inches across. 



Bagnell Hall : The Inner Court— Fig. 4 



