264 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



November, 191 4. 



and can be brought into the room, where 

 its sweet fragrance will soon reveal its 

 presence. All they need is a well-drain- 

 ed light soil, to which a little well de- 

 cayed manure and a handful or two ot 

 leaf mould has been added. They can 

 be readily multiplied from seed. The 

 cut flower is much in demand for de- 

 coration. The freesia was originally 

 only an exotic, and its introduction from 

 South Africa is one of comparatively 

 recent date. 



THE GEBANITJM 

 It will greatly benefit stock geran- 

 iums to give them a good pick over, as 

 those lifted and potted when clearing 

 the beds will have lost a good deal of 

 foliage. Cut back any decaying shoots 

 into the older wood. To keep geran- 

 iums alive during the winter months in 

 a greenhouse without heat, the plants 

 should be kept moderately dry, especi- 

 ally when the weather is frosty and 

 should have all the light possible. Also 

 remove all faded or mouldy leaves. In 

 very sharp weather remove the plants 

 indoors or warm the greenhouse, as the 

 frosts must be kept from them. 



A Question About Shade Trees 



Several ot my neighbors and I want to plant 

 maple trees. I ordered Norway Maples, but some 

 of the others thousrht it best to stay by the 

 Canadian maple and I changed the order. The 

 nursery firm informs me that they have discon- 

 tinued Browingr the Canadian marile because the.v 

 say that it ia too slow a grower. They recom- 

 mend the Norway or Silver Maple. Tour opinion 

 will be appreciated.— W. J. K.. Gait. Ontario. 



The Norway Maple is particularly use- 

 ful as a shade tree for a city street, as 

 it withstands street conditions remark- 

 ably well. The Sugar or Rock Maple 

 — sometimes called Canada Maple — 

 is also a jwpular street tree, but it does 

 not thrive in cities so well as the Nor- 

 way Maple, as its foliage is sensitive to 



dust and smoke. Experiments at the 

 Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa, 

 indicate that the Norway and Canadian 

 Maples both make about the same rate 

 of growth yearly. The wood of the 

 Silver Maple is soft and brittle and the 

 limbs are easily broken off in sleet or 

 wind storms. It should not be selected 

 except for some special pu.rpose. A 

 bulletin entitled "The Planting and 

 Care of Shade Trees," by F. E. Buck, 

 B.S.A., No. 19, has been issued by the 

 Department of Agriculture of Ottawa. 

 We should advise you to write ^or it. 



Protecting Trees from Mice 

 and Rabbits 



W. T. Macoon, Dominioa Horticultorist, OtUwt, Ont. 



Every year thousands of fruit trees 

 are injured in Canada by mice, and, in 

 the new districts, a large number of rab- 

 bits also. There could be nothing more 

 discouraging to a fruit grower, or 

 would-be fruit grower, than to see his 

 orchard which he had cared for, perhaps, 

 for five or six years, ruined by mice ; 

 and yet this frequently happens. All this 

 could be prevented if the farmer or fruit 

 grower would use the information avail- 

 able and protect his trees from mice. 

 Somes years there is less injury than 

 others, and this fact leads to careless- 

 ness, and when a bad year comes the 

 trees are unprotected. 



While the depredations from mice and 

 rabbits in winter vary from one year to 

 another, depending on the scarcity or 

 abundance of food, the number of mice 

 which are in the vicinity and the char- 

 acter of the winter, the injury is always 

 greatest when the orchard is in sod, and 

 when there is rubbish lying about; 

 hence the latter should be removed be- 



fore the winter sets in. In most cases 

 it is not necessary nor advisable to have 

 the orchard in sod, particularly when 

 the trees are young, although it is high- 

 ly important to have a cover crop, which 

 also may sometimes become a harbor 

 for mice. As mice may be expected in 

 greater or less numbers every winter, 

 young trees should lie regularly protect- 

 ed against their ravages. 



Mice usually begin working on the 

 ground under the snow, and when they 

 come to a tree they will begin to gnaw 

 it if it is not protected. A small mound 

 of soil from eight to twelve inches in 

 height raised about the base of the tree 

 will often prevent their injuring the tree, 

 and even snow tramped about the tree 

 has been quite effectual, but the cheap- 

 est and surest practice is to wrap the 

 tree with ordinary building paper, the 

 price of which is merely nominal. Tar 

 paper is also effectual, but trees have 

 been injured by using it, and it is well 

 to guard against this when building 

 paper will do as well. After the paper 

 is wrapped around the tree and tied, a 

 little earth should be put about the lower 

 end to prevent the mice from beginning 

 to work there, as if they get a start the 

 paper will not stand in their way. It 

 may be stated, however, that although 

 several thousand young trees have been 

 wrapped with building paper for years 

 at the Experimental Farm at Ottawa, 

 there have been practically no instances 

 where the mice have gnawed through 

 the paper to get at the tree. The use of 

 a wire protector, or one made of tin or 

 galvanized iron, is economical in the 

 end ,as they are durable. 



There are a number of washes and 

 poisons recommended for the protection 

 of fruit trees and the destruction of the 

 mice and rabbits, but none of these is 

 very satisfactory, as if the mice or rab- 

 bits are numerous the poison has not 

 sufficient effect upon them to prevent 

 injury altogether. The following method 

 of poisoning has been found fairly suc- 

 cessful for mice, but rabbits are very 

 difficult to deal with. 



Make a mixture of one part by 

 weight of arsenic with three parts of 

 corn meal. Nail two pieces of board, 

 each six feet long and six inches wide, 

 together so as to make a trough. In- 

 vert this near the trees to be protected 

 and place about a tablespoonful of the 

 poison on a shingle and put it near the 

 middle of the run renewing the poison 

 as often as is necessary. 



Just before snow comes cover the lawn 

 with well-rotted manure. Rake this lit- 

 ter off in the spring after the rains have 

 worked the manure into the soil. Better 

 sod will result. Weeds will be kept 

 in check more easily by the grass. 



