58 



CANADIAN FARM YEAR BOOK. 



with white paint, will serve admir- 

 ably. 



Wasps' Nests. — To destroy these 

 many ways are adopted, but a very 

 simple one is to get a strong stick 

 and wrap a wad of rag at the top of 

 it. Soak the rag in tar and thrust it 

 quickly into the hole of the nest at 

 night, after having lighted it. Then 

 stop up the entrance with a thick 

 piece of turf. 



Mowing Lawns. — This Is gardening 

 work that requires care. It is cer- 

 tainly not everyone that can use tha 

 lawn mower aright. Before any mow- 

 ing is done, roll the lawn well, if the 

 grass is poor, lightly, if not, with 

 more vigor; in the former case once 

 in ten days, in the latter, every two 

 weeks. 



Turfy Loam. — This term Is used to 

 denote a soil made up of loam of 

 grassy matter, such as from a pasture 

 and roots, their fibry character ren- 

 dering the material friable, that is, 

 neither too loose nor too hard and 

 sticky. When this pasture "turfy 

 loam" has decayed well it forms the 

 purest plant soil that it is possible to 

 obtain. A proportion of two-thirds 

 clay to one-third sand is perfect. 

 Stones, of course, should be elimin- 

 ated. 



Bulb. — ^This is frequently used in- 

 correctly. A tuber is often called a 

 bulb, and vice versa, but the true bulb 

 is made up of layers or scales which 

 enclose the germ. The hyacinth is 

 an excellent example of a true bulb. 



Scion. — The name of a graft or 

 piece of stem to be inserted in the 

 stem of a tree of which it is to be- 

 come part. 



Grafting. — This operation must 

 take place when the sap is on the 

 move, that is, in spring, and both 

 small and large stems may be select- 

 ed for the purpose. Many frylt trees 

 are grafted, and this is needful to ob- 

 tain abundant crops quickly, pears 

 and apples being particularly respon- 

 sive to this process. The writer ha;: 

 described this gardening practice be- 

 fore In the following words. It co^ 

 sists in placing a piece of stem of one 

 variety of fruit, that may be 6 inches 

 long and the size of a man's finger or 

 less, on to the crown of a small stem, 

 singly, or putting several on the sev- 

 eral stems of a large bunch. Grafts 

 are called scions. The graft should 

 be cut into a length of a few inches. 



On one side of the lower or base end 

 a slice of bark 3 Inches long is cut 

 off, leaving the base end with a point, 

 or wedge-shaped. Then the graft is 

 ready for insertion on the stock. The 

 head should be cut clean off, and cne 

 stem be quite free from any side- 

 shoots below. With a sharp knife a 

 slit has to be made down the back of 

 a large stem, and that being lifted at 

 the edges, the slit point of the graft 

 is forced firmly into the slit in the 

 stock, then tied round tightly, and 

 coated with either wax or clay to ex- 

 clude air. If a small stock, then a 

 slice is taken off the bark of that 3 

 inches long, and by an upward cut, so 

 when the sliced end of the graft *s 

 placed on it, an even fit results. The 

 edges of the bark on both stock and 

 scion must meet to effect a proper un- 

 ion. Tie round the two with bast or 

 raffia and coat the edges with graft- 

 ing wax, or the whole stem with clay, 

 the object of this being to exclude the 

 air from the portions united together. 

 This describes the general process. 



Blanching. — A term used frequen*^- 

 ly when describing some form of veg- 

 etable culture. It is necessary with 

 not a few vegetables to what is called 

 blanch them, that is, exclude the light 

 to render them edible. Asparagus, 

 celery and rhubarb will at once occur 

 to mind as kinds usually subjected to 

 this treatment. In these instances, 

 when the stems are given full expos- 

 ure to the air and light they are ren- 

 dered bitter and hard. Blanching is 

 effected by "placing the vegetables in 

 a dark place, such as under a green- 

 house stage or in specially prepared 

 pits, or when in the open ground cov- 

 ering up closely; the object is to ex- 

 clude the light. 



Division. — In reading text books 

 upon gardening the term "division" 

 occurs frequently, and all it means is 

 simply the operation of dividing the 

 roots of certain plants, of which the 

 perennial larkspur or Delphinium 

 may be given a& an example. The 

 original roots in due course become 

 too large and must then be divided 

 into portions when growth is begin- 

 ning in spring. Use a sharp knife or 

 spade for the purpose. 



Drainage. — Of course the general 

 use of this word is well known, but 

 in gardening it applies not only to the 

 soil, such as in the preparation o 

 paths, lawns, and so forth, but to 



