SEASONABLE NOTES FOE JULY 



BY 



WM. HUNT 



O. A. C, GUELPH, ONT. 



FLOWER GARDEN.— Constant sur- 

 face stirring of the soil in flower 

 beds or borders will not only de- 

 stroy weed crops, but will also materially 

 help the growth of all kinds of bedding 

 plants. Deep stirring of the soil is not 

 necessary, if the ground was properly pre- 

 pared before planting. A very small three 

 or four-toothed rake, or a light scuffle hoe 

 are the best tools for this work, which should 

 be done when the soil is fairly dry and before 

 it has had time to crust over very hard on 

 the surface. 



Staking and Tying. — These operations are 

 often left until the plants are badly dam- 

 aged by wind or rain storms, or perhaps 

 entirely ruined by not being attended to 

 earlier. It it always a good plan to have 

 stakes for such plants as dahlias, ricinus, 

 etc., driven in near the plants requiring 

 support. Many a fine plant has come to 

 grief because a stake could not be found 

 handily just when the plant needed tying. 



In the matter of tying up plants always 

 endeavor to stake and tie plants so that 

 they are as natural looking as possible after 

 the operation is performed. Avoid the close 

 bunching process of tying that makes the 

 plants look more like bundles of stems and 

 foliage, than growing plants. Another 

 point deserving attention when tying plants 

 is to endeavor to place the stakes in such 

 a position that they will be hidden from 

 view as much as possible by the foliage. 

 Use soft twine for tying purposes, so as to 

 prevent as much as possible damage from 

 friction, and use neat sizeable stakes. 



Decayed Flowers. — These should be kept 

 picked off regularly, unless required to re- 

 main on the plants to help produce seed. 

 Decayed blossoms are not only unsightly, 

 but also exhaust uselessly the vitality of the 

 plant. In this respect do not forget that 

 daily picking of sweet-pea blossoms, and 

 not allowing them to go to seed, not only 

 improves the size and depth of color of later 



