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QUESTION AND ANSWER DEPARTMENT 



Lowland Raspbcrry~Rcd 

 Canada 



1. In a recent issue, I saw the apple, 

 Lowland Raspberry, recommended by an 

 Ontario reader. In British Cplumbia, this 

 variety is known as Liveland Raspberry, 

 sometimes as Lievland Raspberry. Which 

 is correct ? 



2. The variety known here as Canada 

 Red seems to be known elsewhere as Steele's 

 Red Winter, Pomme de Fer, Roseau, etc. 

 I would like to know by whom the latter 

 name was given. — Pommier, Okanagan Val- 

 ley, B.C. 



1. The Lowland Raspberry is the 

 name for this variety that is recognized 

 by the American Pomological Society, 

 whose decision is taken as authoritative. 

 It is accepted also by Beach in the "Ap- 

 ples of New York." Woolverton's 

 work, the "Fruits of Ontario," gives 

 preference to the name, "Livland Rasp- 

 berry." Like most varieties of apples, 

 this one has a number of syonymous 

 names. 



2. According to Plumb in The Cana- 

 dian Horticulturist, for 1895, and to 

 Beach in the "Apples of New York," the 

 Canada Red of Ontario is distinct from 

 the Red Canada of western New York 

 and some other fruit districts of the 

 United States. The latter is known also 

 as Steele's Red Winter. Plumb calls the 

 Canada Red of Ontario, "Baltimore," 

 and Beach, "Roseau." Beach describes 

 Roseau as "A variety, known in por- 

 tions of Ontario under the name of Red 

 Canada or Canada Red, which is said to 

 be quite different from the Red Canada 

 of western New York. Waugh identi- 

 fies this variety as the Roseau of Down- 

 ing, and remarks that it is really an 

 important apple. He states that it is 

 known in some parts of Vermont as the 

 Winesap and that it is the Pomme de 

 Fer of Quebec. Plumb gives Flushing 

 Spitzenburg as its correct name and calls 

 it identical with the variety described by. 

 Downing under the name Baltimore. We 

 have not had an opportunity of verifying 

 the conclusions of either Waugh or 

 Plumb with regard to this matter." 



The following notes have been received 

 from Mr. W. T. Macoun, Horticulturist, 

 Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa : 



"We have adopted the name Lowland 

 Raspberry, following the nomenclature 

 of the American Pomological Society. It 

 is one of the best summer apples, if not 

 the best, we have grown, and being very 

 hardy, is especially desirable in the colder 

 districts. Following are descriptions of 

 Lowland Raspberry and Canada Red ap- 

 ples made by the writer: 



" 'Lowland Raspberry (Livland Rasp- 

 berry). — This variety is a native of Rus- 

 sia, and has been grown at the Central 



Experimental Farm since 1888. The tree 

 is very hardy, and is a strong, moderate- 

 ly upright grower and a medium to good 

 bearer. Fruit medium to large ; round- 

 ish to oblate conic, angular; cavity med- 

 ium depth, narrow; stem medium length 

 to short, moderately stout ; basin shal- 

 low, narrow, slightly wrinkled ; calyx 

 closed or partly open ; pale yellow, waxy, 

 more or less blotched, splashed and 

 washed with bright red ; dots few, pale 

 yellow, indistinct ; skin moderately thick, 

 tender; flesh, white tinged with red, 

 crisp, tender, juicy ; core, medium to 

 large, open ; subacid, pleasant, good flav- 

 or ; quality very good ; season mid to late 

 August. One of the best summer apples, 

 especially for home use, but drops badly 

 and ripens unevenly. Preferable to Red 

 Astrachan in colder districts. 



" 'Roseau (Canada Red, Pomme de 

 Fer). — Origin unknown. Fruit medium 

 to large, oblate, slightly conical ; skin 

 yellow, well splashed and washed with 

 deep, rather dull red ; dots fairly numer- 

 ous, large, yellow, prominent ; cavity 

 deep, narrow ; stem short, slender ; basin 

 narrow, shallow, slightly wrinkled ; calyx 

 small, partly open ; fle.sh yellowish, ten- 

 der, moderately juicy, mildly subacid 

 with a pleasant but not high flavor; core 

 of medium size; quality good; season 

 midwinter to late winter. Tree a strong 

 grower and has proved productive in 

 some places, while a shy bearer in 

 others.' " 



Medicinal Plants 



I wish to secure some information about 

 medicinal plants t'nat may be grown success- 

 fuly in Ontario. Can Belladonna or Hyos- 

 cyamus be grown here? They are grown in 

 Great Britain and Germany. How about 

 Rosmarinus, Sassafras, Hamanlelis, Lactuca, 

 Mentha viridis, Artemisia, Valeriana, Con- 

 ium and Sambucus?— J.E.K., Lanark Co.. 

 Ont. 



Atropa Belladonna grows in Europe 

 and in Asia as far as India. It can be 

 grown in Ontario. Hyoscyamus niger 

 grows wild in Europe, Western Asia 

 and the Himalayas. It has been natural- 

 ized in America and may be grown from 

 seeds. The rosemary (Rosmarinus of- 

 ficinalis) is a shrub indigenous to the 

 Mediterranean region and will grow in 

 Ontario in well drained soil if protected. 

 The tree. Sassafras officinalis, grows 

 from Ontario to Florida and may be pro- 

 pagated by seed, suckers or root cut- 

 tings. Witch Hazel {Hamamelis Vir- 

 giniana) also grows from Canada to 

 Florida. It prefers a moist sandy or 

 peaty soil and is propagated by seeds 

 which germinate the second year or by 

 layers. Spearmint (Mentha spicata), 



m 



formerly known as M. viridis), is native 

 to Europe and Asia. It will grow in 

 Canada and is propagated by perennial 

 root stalks. The question does not speci- 

 fy the species of Lactuca. The one that 

 gives the sedative, lactucarium, is Lac- 

 tuca virosa, native to Europe. Some 

 wild American species also are gathered 

 for medicinal purposes. The common 

 garden lettuce belongs to this genus. 

 The shrubby herb, wormwood (Arte- 

 misia Absinthium) is native to Europe. 

 It is found here in old gardens and is 

 propagated mostly by division. The 

 medicinal Valeriana is extracted from the 

 roots of the Valeriana officinalis. It 

 is native to Europe and northern Asia 

 but it will grow anywhere. Conium 

 maculatum is a European herb that has 

 run wild in eastern North America. The 

 European elder (Sambucus nigra) is a 

 small tree and may be grown successfully 

 in this province. 



Yucca Pilamentosa 



Kindly give some information about the 

 the care of the yucca. — W.M., Oshawa, Ont. 



We presume that the yucca referred to 

 is the Yucca filamentosa, which appears 

 to be one of the hardiest species. The 

 plants at the Central Experimental Farm 

 bloom almost every year and it is rather 

 surprising that the one in question has 

 not bloomed. Yuccas require a rather 

 warm soil, well drained. A sandy loam 

 soil should be suitable if there is good 

 drainage. It is a good practice to throw 

 a few evergreen boughs over the yuccas 

 in autumn to protect them from changes 

 of temperature in winter. A box turn- 

 ed over them is also a good thing as it 

 will often save many of the leaves and 

 the plants will be stronger and more 

 likely to bloom. We notice that some 

 of the plants of the yucca do not bloom 

 as freely as others, and it is possible 

 that a new plant would bloom in a 

 reasonable time. — W. T. Macoun. 



Broad Beans 



Why are my broad beans always a fail- 

 ure? They grow to be large plants, blossom, 

 and then the leaves blight and become black. 

 The pods never form.^R. T. W., Thorndale, 

 Ont. 



The broad bean or horse bean is af- 

 fected with a blight disease in some 

 parts of Canada. It is more injurious 

 in the drier parts of Canada than in the 

 maritime provinces where the air is 

 moister. In some parts of the country 

 the horse bean is not at all reliable on 

 account of this disease. So far as I 

 know, no remedies have been tried for 

 controlling it. — W. T. Macoun, Central 

 Experimentaf Farm, Ottawa. 



