74 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



or less affected with a round spot as if stung by the 

 blister beetle. A. B. O. 



An excessively rich soil is not good for 

 geraniums as it induces a soft sappy growth 

 and few flowers. Take out a portion of the 

 top soil of the bed, and substitute some 



light loamy soil that has not been enriched, 

 mix the two soils well together when fork- 

 ing the bed over. Planting the same varie- 

 ties year after year will sometimes account 

 for plants not flowering. If this is the case, 

 plant some other varieties. 



LARGE FLOWERED MOCK ORANGE 



A WELL-KNOWN shrub that is almost 

 indispensable in any collection, is the 

 Mock Orange or Sweet Syringa. In 1899 we 

 showed our readers a spray from a bush at 

 Maplehurst, which we reproduce. The large 

 flowered variety is so superior to the com- 

 mon one grown in Canadian gardens, that 

 when this plant first came into bloom it seemed 

 almost a new species, it is so much larger and 

 more showy. Dr. Saunders wrote of this var- 

 iety in one of his reports as follows: " There 

 are several species belonging to this genus 

 which are beautiful and interesting when in 

 bloom. Grandiflora is one of the best of them. 

 The flowers are large, pure white and sweet 

 scented, and are produced in great abund- 

 ance during the month of June. The bush 

 is a vigorous grower, and if not interfered 

 with will, under favorable conditions, reach 

 the height of eight or ten feet. Since the 

 flowers are produced only on the wood of the 

 previous year, this may be cut away when the 

 flowering period is over, which will give 

 more room to the new shoots and they will 

 become better ripened. In this way these 

 shrubs may be kept smaller and made to 

 produce flowers in greater prolusion. The 

 syringas will, however, do very well without 

 any pruning beyond the occasional removal 

 of dead wood and flower freely. The large 

 flowered species is fairly hardy and usually 

 comes through the winter without much in- 

 jury, especially when partially protected by 

 hardy trees and shrubs, but in seasons of 



Fic. 2538. Syr[nga. 



unusual severity the shoots are often partly 

 winter killed. 



