42 



CANADIAN FARM YEAR BOOK. 



water from the latter being In the 

 form of a spray which may be com- 

 pared to dew or fine rain. This is 

 most efficacious in the case of mildew 

 and insect attacks, and when mixed 

 with chemical preparations. Water 

 should not be directed with strong 

 force to plants, otherwise bruises will 

 result. 



Tying Up. — This is a common prac- 

 tice in gardens. It means tying up 

 plants with string, raffia or bast or 

 other material, with the help of neat 

 sticks and stakes. The lettuce called 

 "Cos" is thus treated to solidify the 

 heart o^r centre, celery, dahlias, chry- 

 santhemums and roses, the last three 

 familiar instances among plants. 

 Never make the tie so. tight that the 

 plant's development is impeded. It 

 should be made secure, but no more. 



Watering. — Tholigh an apparently 

 simple ope-ration this needs judgment. 

 Never give water unless the soil is in 

 real need of it. An old gardener's ad- 

 vice is: "Plants in pots are best when 

 occasionally allowed to become root 

 dry, but only for a, moment, as the 

 drying of the soil sweetens it, then 

 the soil should be well saturated." If 

 the soil seems moderately damp do 

 not give more moisture. Never water 

 in driblets, but always give a good 

 soaking so that every fibre receives 

 benefit. 



Scarlet Harmonies. — Here are gen- 

 eral rules: Scarlet and rose colors, 

 the tints respectively of the Oriental 

 poppy and many of the herbaceous 

 poenies should never be allowed in 

 close proximity, but scarlet and crim- 

 son merge agreeably with orange and 

 yellow, and the latter with straw col- 

 or, ivory white and white. The dif- 

 ferent shades of purple and blue form 

 in themselves quite a color gradua- 

 tion, the lighter blues associating 

 through pale yellow with white, while 

 blue and mauve also harmonize with 

 soft yellow. The latter color may 

 also be used in juxtaposition to pink 

 and rose tints. In this manner, 

 though discordant colors may be re- 

 presented in the same flower border, 

 they may be disposed in such a way 

 by surrounding them with allied col- 

 or tones, melting by infinite degrees 

 into others that by gentle graduations 

 eventually harmonize with the oppos- 

 ing hue, as to produce a delightful ef- 

 fect. 



Budding. — An operation which ap- 

 plies to one form of tree and shrub 

 propagation. It consists in removing 

 with a proper knife known as a 

 "budding knife," a dormant leaf with 

 a small piece of the bark attached 

 and transferring it to the shoot or 

 stem of the plant to which it is to be 

 attached. The rose is frequently the 

 subject of budding, and fruit trees 

 may be treated in the same way. The 

 stock, that is, the shoot or stem on 

 wbich the bud is to be inserted, 

 should be opened, and the latter plac- 

 ed just underneath, with only the 

 bud germ exposed, then tied firmly 

 in position. 



Orchid. — A genus or family of 

 plants, sometimes terrestrial or living 

 in the soil in the way of most plants, 

 and epiphytal, or living on trees, 

 nourishment being derived from mois- 

 ture in the air; these are tropical. 

 Orchids are found in almost all quar- 

 ters of the globe, and are not, as is 

 often surmised, simply wild flowers of 

 tropical jungles. A vast majority are 

 easily grown. 



Chrysanthemums. — The name giv- 

 en to a significant class of flowers, 

 some perennial, others annual. They 

 add greatly to the beauty of the 

 greenhouse and conservatory in the 

 fall months, when the more modern 

 varieties are in full beauty. The par- 

 ent of this modern race first flowered 

 in the British Isles in 1790, plants 

 having been sent from China, the 

 home of the chrysanthemum, and also 

 Japan, to a French nurseryman at 

 Marseilles, named Blanchard. 



Shrubbery. — A place in which flow- 

 ering and other shrubs are grown for 

 deco'rative effect. 



Deciduous. — Signifying a tree or 

 shrub that loses its foliage in the fall 

 and remains bare until spring. 



Evergreen. — A tree or shrub that 

 keeps its leaves throughout the year. 



Compost. — A name given to a mix- 

 ture of soils and manure. The soil 

 usually used for plants to be grown 

 in pots consists of fibrous loam, well- 

 decayed leaf-mould, old hotbed man- 

 ure, such as is obtained from a mush- 

 room bed, and sharp silver sand, the 

 major portion consisting of the first 

 named. 



Frames. — A small, usually wooden, 

 contrivance for the sheltering and 

 propagation of plants. It is of the 



