194 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



August, 1914. 



A Modern Pargola in the Garden of Mrs. MacLaurin, Ottawa, showing a Blaze 

 of Annuals in the Front 



meat. By it one can save at least a 

 year or two in the attainment of a satis- 

 fying; mciisiire of success in tjnrrlcninp. 



Late varieties of celery can be safely 

 blanched with soil. They do not rust as 

 readily as the early varieties. Allow no 

 soil to fall into the crown of the plant. 

 Keep hilling the plants up gradually as 

 they grow. 



Treatment of Calla Lily 



F. Wise, Peterboro 



My Oa'Ua Lily ia a young plant and ia growing 

 nloely, but baa not flowered. New learee are 

 thrown up oonstantly, but the old leaves con- 

 tinually tixm yellow and wither »p. so that it 

 nerer has more than three or four leaves on 

 it at onoe. I have had the plant a little more 

 than a year. I often stand It In hot water, and 

 Bometlmee water it with fairly hot water, al- 

 ways with warm. It was re-pottcd in the early 

 fall, and I oocasionally give it sterlingworth 

 plant food. It looks very well, if it were not 

 for the yellow leaves — MJi?s 0. M. 



You are probably killing your lily with 

 kindness. The treatment for calla lilies 

 after they are potted up in the fall is to 

 give them a good position in a sunny 

 window and water them with tepid 

 water ; this does not mean hot water. 

 Give an occasional fertilizing with some 

 good plant food. Be careful not to over- 

 do the latter. Do not give any fertil- 

 izer until you are sure that the plant has 

 good root action. 



The hot water treatment you have been 

 g'iving may have caused a soft, un- 

 healthy growth, or this may be caused 

 by worms in the soil. If the latter is 

 the case, it would be better to turn out 

 the pot and stick a hatpin through the 

 soil here and there, when the worm or 

 worms will make their exit. Another 

 plan is to give lime water occasionally, 

 as this Is helpful to the plant. 



It is a good test of the quality of a 

 garden bed to be able to dig in it with 

 your hands quite easily. — H. M. Speech- 

 ly. Pilot Mound, Man. 



Gardening With a Lead Pencil 



H. Gibsan, Tuxedo Park 



AUGUST is a month when a good deal 

 of useful gardening may be done 

 with a notebook and pencil. Many 

 amateur gardeners start activities in 

 early spring by ordering their packages 

 of seeds from the seedsmen's catalogues 

 without having any knowledge of what 

 the resultant plants will be like. In 

 making up the garden list the beginner 

 often bases his choice on the fa.scinating 

 illustrations and romantic names of the 

 plants. Thus it is that many plants of 

 less value and beauty remain compara- 

 tively unknown. 



There is, however, a more practical 

 way than depending upon the seeds- 

 man's catalogue. It is by the notebook 

 and pencil method. The time to get 

 acquainted with the future inhabitants 

 of the garden is during the flowering 

 sea.son. In your own neighborhood 



there are gardens containing treasures 

 with which you can become acquainted. 

 Visit them with an open eye and an in- 

 quiring mind, notebook in hand. 



Rule the pages with column spaces 

 for common and botanical names, 

 height, color, flowering period, location 

 as to sun or shade, annual or perennial 

 character, planting time, and cultural 

 methods. Your neighbor's experience, 

 coupled with your own, will help to fix 

 the information in your mind. 



Should your own locality not off'er 

 ample scope, visit a nearby nurseryman. 

 There you will find a wealth of material 

 for your notebook, with the additional 

 advanta,ge that you may order plants or 

 seeds on the spot. 



The adoption of such a scheme will 

 avert many a mistake and disappoint- 



Iron Sulphate for Dandelions 



In the iune issue of The Cinadian 

 Horticulturist some methfxJs of destroy- 

 ing dandelions were given. During th" 

 summer of 1913, Prof. J. E. Howitt, of 

 the O.A.C., conducted spraying experi- 

 ments with the use of iron sulphate. 

 Commencing early in May, one-eighth 

 of an acre of lawn was sprayed before 

 the first of .August. In all two hundred 

 and sixty-four pounds cf the sulphate 

 was used at a cost of one cent a f)ound. 



This portion of the lawn was quite 

 weedy and after the six sprayings had 

 Ix'cn given, fifteen hundred dandelions 

 were spudded from the one-eighth of an 

 .'lore. But from an adjoining square 

 yard which had not been spra)-ed, three 

 hundred and fifty plants were taken, in- 

 dicating that the iron sulphate did good 

 work. The data shows that the initial 

 outlay for material is fairly large, twenty 

 dollars an acre, but a satisfactory job 

 would be cheap even at that price. 



Supports for Sweet Peas 



A. V. Main, Ottawa, Ont. 



The question of what is the best sup- 

 port for sweet peas deserves some 

 thought. Supports that are good, cheap 

 and effective, and that will ensure econ- 

 omy in labor, will appeal to most of us. 

 The oldest method of all, the use of 

 branches, is almost obsolete. The best 

 substitute is wire netting five to six 

 feet high. It is cheap, durable, and can 

 be stored away easily. 



Where wire netting is used no per- 

 manent fixture is essential. The net- 

 ting, when necessary, can be cleared 

 away easily and free access to the 

 ground be secured for fall preparation. 

 As the peas climb, strands of binder 

 twine can be run up and down the row 

 to keep them to the netting. 



Cement Flower Bed Border 



T. J. O'FljsB 



The following plan for making a ce- 

 ment border around a flower bed has 

 worked well with me. Take a hose or 

 rope and place it on the sod with the 

 desired curves. Then, with an axe or 

 any sharp instrument cut a trench four 

 inches by four inches to conform with 

 the desired shape. Use cement and 

 gravel in the proportion of one to four, 

 and fill in the trench, being careful not 

 to have it quite as high as the sod. Dig 

 the sod on the inside of the trench when 

 the cement hardens. 



This will reduce the labor of keeping 

 the edge of the bed looking nice, as the 

 lawn mower can be run around on the 

 cement. The cement need not appear. 

 A little earth can be drawn over it. 



