THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



6s 



Experimental Work with Shrubs and Flowers* 



F. E. Buck, Experimental Farm, Ottawa 



used. Many of the hedges are over 

 twenty years old, while others are only 

 one or two. Most are in fine condition, 



March, 1914- 



At the very beginning of the experi- 

 mental farms syjstem in Canada, the 

 work of testing, recommending and m 

 some cases distributing hardy and de- 

 sirable ornamental trees, shrubs, and 

 flowers was undertaken on a fairly ex- 

 tensive scale. The wohk was under the 

 direct supervision of the late director. 

 Dr. Saunders, and the present Dominion 

 Horticulturist, Mr. W. T. Macoun, who 

 was at that time curator of the Botanic 

 Garden or Arboretum. In a young coun- 

 try like Canada, work of this character 

 undertaken by the Federal Government 

 on such a scale had an outstanding value. 

 In the first place it allowed reliable in- 

 formation to be issued in the form of 

 semi-popular bulletins, such as those of 

 "Hardy Trees and Shrubs" and "Her- 

 baceous Perennials Tested at Ottawa," 

 very large editions of both these bulle- 

 tins being now nearly exhausted ; and in 

 the second place the judicious distribu- 

 tion of such plants to the branch farms, 

 public and other institutions, where they 

 attracted the attention of the public, has 

 meant that for some years past, and at 

 the present more than ever before, the 

 possibility of beautifying the individual 

 home and making it a beauty spot has 

 appealed to a large number of people 

 who otherwise to-day might have homes 

 as unattractive as those of many districts 

 of the old world or the desolate homes 

 of new settlers in our own land. 



Countless shrubs have been tested and 

 discarded. Others have proved of great 

 value and the good results rewarding 

 the efforts put into this line of work 

 make it stand out surely as of large im- 

 portance in encouraging the strivings 

 after ithose things which develop the 

 moral and ethical phases of our life. 



This work is still going forward. Just 

 now, to mention but one of its phases, 

 we have under observation a number of 

 new shrubs and varieties of well-known 

 shrubs which were introduced a few 

 years ago from China and other coun- 

 tries by E. H. Wilson, of the Unite<l 

 States Department of Agriculture, as 

 well as other shrubs both donated and 

 purchased. We are also putting shrubs 

 to the test with regard to their suitabil- 

 ity for certain purposes around the home. 

 This is a phase of work rather new with 

 us. 



HEDGE PLANTS 



The test of plants for hedge purposes 

 is beiiig expanded and kept up-to-date. 

 Nowhere in the world, as far as I am 

 aware, is there such a coniplete and 

 thorough test of plants suitable for hedge 

 purposes as that which may be seen 

 under way at Ottawa. About 100 differ- 

 ent varieties of trees and shrubs are 



*Extra«t fTom on address delivered before the 

 Ontario Horticultural Association. 



and many are very handsome and at- 

 tractive. Visitors from all parts of the 

 world compliment the farm on this col- 

 lection, and inquiries are very numer- 



A Coantiy Driveway, Hamber Valley Park, Toronto 



ous about plants for this purpose. A 

 bulletin on the experiments will be pub- 

 lished before long. 



The following trees make almost per- 

 fect hedges: 



All of the hardy birches, namely, lutea, 

 populifolia, nigra, and lenta. 



The larches, both the American and 

 European. 



And several other trees ; while some 

 trees that might be expected to do better 

 when grown for hedge purposes are not 

 successful ; of these the elm, the Mani- 

 toba maple, and the Russian mulberry 

 are examples. 



It is always a source of disappoint- 

 ment to attempt growing any plant with 

 the dual purpose in mind of a floral effect 

 and a good hedge, because in pruning a 

 plant to keep it tx> a hedge form the 

 flower buds have to be sacrificed, con- 

 sequently several of the most handsome 

 shrubs make poor hedge plants. How- 

 ever, if a hedge with a distinctive char- 

 acter is required, any one of the follow- 

 ing might be used : 



Purple-leaved Barberry, Golden Nine- 

 bark, Red-leaved Rose, Cut-leaved Al- 

 der, Red-twigged Dogwood, American 

 Beech, and the following evergreens: 

 Douglas' Golden Arbor-Vitae, Silver- 

 tipped Arbor-Vitae, Irish Juniper, and 

 Swiss Stone Pine. 



Ordinarily we score a plant as perfect 

 for hedge purposes when it measures up 

 to the following requirements: It must 

 grow vigorously, but not too rapidly, 

 otherwise it will require too much prun- 

 ing. It must have an attractive appear- 

 ance throughout most of the year and 

 must regain that appearance quickly 

 after pruning. It must permit being 

 pruned to a symmetrical form and a 

 form which will not hold the snow on 

 the top in the winter. It must fill out 

 well at the base when planted in single 

 rows at eighteen inches apart in the 

 row. It must not winter-kill in places, 

 and must not suffer from attacks of in- 

 sects or fungous diseases. These are 

 the main paints of a good hedge. At 

 Ottawa we have many which meet these 

 requirements. 



WORK WITH PERENNIAL FLOWEHfi 



A few words only on jjerennial flowers. 

 Mr. Macoun's bulletin on "Herbaceous 

 Perennials," published in 1898, shows at 

 a glance the immense number of these 

 imporlant plants. This group has been 

 eulogized of late as being responsible for 

 most of the recent good work in Home 

 Beautification. 



Our most recent work with perennials 

 has been to test them for their effect un- 

 der certain conditions. All of the best 

 of these flowers previously tested for 

 other information, are now grown in a 

 border twelve feet wide and four hundred 

 and fifty feet long, prepared especially 

 for the purpose in 191 1. In this border 

 the five or six great season groups of 

 perennials are well represented. Such 

 being the bulbs as: tulips, narcissi, and 

 so forth, for the first effect in spring, then 

 the irises, then the paeonies, after which 

 come the great bulk of bloom which is 

 followed by the phloxes for late summer 

 effect, and the asters for autumn effects 



It should be mentioned here perhaps 

 that there are certain times during the 

 summer when the amount of bloom in a 

 perennial border is very small. One of 

 these periods is that which occurs just 

 after the bulk of the early summer plants 

 have bkxjmed. Since this is a time of 

 the year when a large number of people 

 are expecting the flowers to look at their 

 best, we are just now working to find 

 suitable flowers to fill in these gaps in the 

 floral year. 



Dahlias require good rich soil, good 

 uniform moisture conditions, and plenty 

 of sunlight, to do well. If the soil has 

 not been sufficiently enriched, or the 

 bed may be more shaded than it should 

 be, or the ground become too dry, the 

 bloom will be disappointing. The Dah- 

 lia requires moderately cool soil condi- 

 tions to do best, and both the applica- 

 tin of water and humus to the soil 

 brings these conditions about. — Prof. 

 W. S. Blair, Kentvile, N.S. 



