June, 1909 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



127 



Aster Seeds for the Saving 



Max Moineau, Toronto 



HAVING noticed the difference of 

 opinion existing between Mr. W. 

 Norman, of Elmira, Ont. , and 

 Mr. Charles J. Fox, of South London, 

 regarding the saving of aster seeds, I 

 should like to give my own experience, 

 from the amateur point of view. I in- 

 variably save my own seeds, but only 

 from flowers that particularly please 

 me. I select a few of my very best 

 blooms, strip the plants of all but three 

 or four buds, and these I cover with 

 cheese cloth to prevent cross fertiliza- 

 tion by insects. The flower attains full 

 development before the pollen is ripe, 

 and I can easily pass judgment upon it 

 before there is danger of accidental 

 cross fertilization. 



I'f I wish to cross a variety, I cover 

 the two varieties which I have selected 

 for the purpose, and when the anthers 

 burst and shed their pollen, I use a 

 camel's hair brush, filling it with the 

 pollen of one flower and dusting it over 

 the stigma of the other ; the one I have 

 crossed I keep covered with cheese cloth. 

 My flowers always come true, and I 

 have originated several new varieties, 

 which I consider as fine as any that I 

 have seen. 



This year I have in my hotbed some 

 beautiful plants, the greater number of 

 which were started from my own see'ds. 

 I have others, however, which I bought. 

 I always buy the newest varieties with 

 which to experiment, but at present the 

 best looking plants I have are from my 

 own seed. I quite agree with Mr. Fox 

 that, if flowers are not protected, the 

 bees will cross them ; but, by covering 

 them as I do, I get them true to type. 

 Besides, after gathering the seeds, I 



make a careful selection, keeping those 

 only that are the best developed. Among 

 the many that I have bought, I have 

 never seen as uniform a collection as I 

 get from my own gathering and selec- 

 tion. 



I maintain that if one is careful 

 enough, he can have finer seeds, and 

 better flowers from his own collection 



cent, of good plants and well developed 

 flowers. 



What the aster really needs, for the 

 proper development of seeds, is the best 

 of attention with the cultivator and plenr 

 ty of fertilizer. Hardwood ashes, admin- 

 istered about the end of July, makes a 

 wonderful improvement. * 



I have practiced saving my own seed 

 for several years and, whenever I cover 

 the flower in time, I have not been dis- 

 appointed. This covering must be done 

 before the pollen ripens, or it will be of 



than can be secured from many of those 

 that he buys. I have bought seeds 

 which, from a whole package, have pro- 

 duced only six or seven plants, and per- 

 haps only one of them true to type. My 

 own seeds have produced ninety-five per 



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A Pond of Natural Origin That Hat Been Beantified by Artificial Means 



On grounds of Mrs. Donnelly, Cobourg, Ontario 



no avail. I do not know what method 

 the commercial grower adopts, but I 

 should think that where large fields of 

 asters, of many varieties, are grown in 

 the open, the danger of cross fertiliza- 

 tion would be greater than where an ama- 

 teur protects his seed by covering. Mr. 

 Fox states that "Each color is grown 

 separately. Every plant showing the 

 slightest signs of a wrong color is de- 

 stroyed." This method may be neces- 

 sary among commercial growers, but if 

 the amateur, after making his selection 

 of a seed flower, uses the covering meth- 

 od, he can have true seeds, and better 

 seeds, at a smaller cost, with less dis- 

 couragment, and without the ruthless 

 destruction of other varieties. 



For amateurs, I am an advocate of 

 saving seed from the best of their fav- 

 orites, but I would not confine them to 

 this method alone. Look the catalogues 

 over for the latest novelties, secure only 

 the best from the most reliable grow- 

 ers, and study the improvement, by cross- 

 fertilization, of old favorites. Herein 

 lies the greatest fascination. 



Old Englith Landscape Art Applied to the Adornment of a Home in Canada 



" Hamilton House," Cobourg, Ont,, the summer residence of Mrs. C. B. Tr&cy, New York City, and formerly of 

 Hon. Sidney Smith, a postmaster general of Canada in pro-confederation days. Here, King Edward VII (then 

 the Prince of Wales) lived during his threc'days stay in Cobourg in 18B'>. The gardens are laid out In formal 

 stylo with terraces, sunken flower bods, hedges, arbors, closely trimmed evergreens, and so forth. 



As a general rule, it is best for ama- 

 teur gardeners to steer clear of fancy 

 flower beds. Unless given great care and 

 attention, they will not be satisfactory. 



