March, 1908 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



59 





soil and prevent too hard freezing or up- 

 heaval of the plants. 



All the plants mentioned may be 

 grown from seed sown as soon as ripe, 



ut this takes trouble and is, more 

 properlyspeaking, the business of the pro- 

 fessional florist. They are all so easily 



rown by division that it does not pay 



orthetroubleof growing them from seed. 

 In conclusion let me advise the 



mateur to love his garden and also to 

 cultivate patience at the same time 



he or she is cultivating the plants. As 

 amateurs grow in patience, skill and 

 love, so will their success be. The 

 quality of happiness is not governed by 

 the size of the garden, but rather lies 

 in the heart of the grower. A solitary 

 plant in an old box may yield more 

 pleasure to its owner than extensive 

 lawns and conservatories may to an- 

 other. Seek to cultivate in yourself 

 a delight in your flowers and all the 

 other joys will be added unto you 



Daffodils Singly in Pots 



G. A. Chase, Toronto 



NOW that the blooming season for 

 home-grown plants has come, I 

 would like to make a plea for in- 

 dividual daffodils in small pots. Our 

 city dealers rarely have any other than 

 the cut blooms, and if by chance they 

 have a few pots, they are large, each 

 containing five or six plants, in strict 

 accord with the rule in the seedsmen's 

 catalogs, "plant five or six bulbs in a 

 pot." 



I have no fault to find with those 

 who, in buying daffodils, look only to the 

 mass of rich bright color that a bunch 

 of cut blooms or a crowded pot will 

 give. But to the lover of daffodils, 

 mere color is not enough; he wants the 

 flower itself to fill the eye, its loveh 

 form and delicate tracery, as well as 

 its color, standing out full and clear 

 against the dark, rich foliage. This he 

 cannot have in a bunch of cut blooms 

 or in a crowded pot, for in these, the 

 single flower is lost in the mass and 

 foliage is either absent or scanty and 

 sickly. 



I would urge the professional growers 

 of daffodils to try the experiment of grow 

 ing some single bulbs in four-inch pots. 

 It certainly will pay; for while a six 

 inch pot or a pan with its six bulbs in 

 bloom sells in the shops for twenty 

 five cents, the smaller pot, with its one 

 bulb, will readily sell for eight or ten 

 cents, a price that will give a much 

 greater profit, all differences in growing 

 being allowed for, than will the six-inch 

 pots. 



The bulbs grow well in these small 

 pots and throw up a fine body of foliage ; 

 and when, as is usually the case, there is 

 a secondary bulb (sometimes two of 

 them) attached to the main one, two 

 blooms will be produced, the one from 

 the main bulb usually being on a some- 

 what larger stalk and opening from two 

 to three days earlier. A flower such as 

 this, sitting in a jardiniere, makes an 

 effective, though unobstrusive centre- 

 piece for the family table, and a very 

 pretty ornament for the mantel or elst-- 

 where; and when placed a few inches 

 in front of a mirror, the effect is beauti- 



ful. To the home grower, who, like 

 myself, has no other greenhouse than 

 the window and its attached shelf, the 



A Home-grown Daffodil 



When grown singly in puts fine largo blooms are secured. 

 The one illustrated is about two-thirds natural size. 



small pot needs no recommendations. 

 Nor need any lice be feared if only the 

 simple precaution be taken of half-boil- 

 ing and half-baking the earth before 

 the bulbs are potted. 



Trouble with Rubber Plant 



What is the mailer willi my rubber plant, 

 and what can I do to get rid of the trouble and 

 make it a clean, healthy plant? It is about 

 two and a half feet high.' The lower leaves are 

 cracked, and where they crack they turn brown. 

 On other leaves there are brown spots which 

 keep getting larger, also a mass of little brown 

 spots like scale or blisters. On some others 

 there are black spots, a little larger than a pin's 

 head. — Subscril)er, Orillia, Ont. 



The cracked leaves and brown spots 



on leaves are caused probably by im- 

 perfect root conditions, or perhaps the 

 soil has been allowed to become too dry 

 at some time or other. If the pot is 

 full of roots, repot the plant into a one or 

 two sized larger pot, using a little lump 

 charcoal, broken flower pot, or coal 

 cinder for drainage, and a soil composed 

 of one part sand and five or six parts 

 of enriched loamy potting soil. Imper- 

 fect drainage or sour soil would also 

 cause the trouble mentioned. Re- 

 potting and removing some of the old 

 soil is the remedy for the last named 

 trouble. A blister-like substance on 

 the leaves is sometimes caused by either 

 of the above conditions, or exposure to 

 the sun in very hot weather. The small 

 black spots probably proceed from im- 

 perfect root conditions. Re-potting 

 into fresh soil is the remedy, unless these 

 spots and the mass of little brown spots 

 are really scale. If they are, they can 

 be easily removed by washing the scale 

 off with a strong solution of common 

 soap and water, applied with a brush or 

 sponge. The leaves should be sponged 

 with clear tepid water after using the 

 soap solution. Sponging the leaves once 

 a week with clear tepid water, or spray- 

 ing with the same, is good for the rubber 

 plant at any time. A small, thin, 

 almost black insect, about a quarter of 

 an inch in length, called "thrip," often 

 attacks the under side of the leaves of 

 the rubber plant. Where attacked, the 

 leaves assume a whitish appearance. 

 Washing the affected parts with a 

 strong solution of soap and tobacco 

 water is a good remedy for thrip. A 

 too dry atmosphere induces the thrip to 

 appear.— Wm. Hunt, O.A.C., Guelph. 



A.sHes for Vegetables 



Are wood ashes good to use for all kinds of 

 vegetables? Are they good for clay and loam? 

 How much should be used per acre? I have the 

 chance of buying about 1,500 bushels at five 

 cents a bushel. Will it pay? — Arthur T. Smith, 

 Hartington, Ont. 



Wood ashes contain potash, phosphoric 

 acid, and lime, all of which are useful in 

 the growing of vegetables. The ashes 

 are usually valued more for the potash 

 which they contain than either of the 

 other two constituents, for vegetables 

 require potash more than lime or phos- 

 ])horic acid. On clay soils, lime has an 

 additional advantage in that it liberates 

 potash from the soil. Thus the ashes 

 will supply potash direct and lime will 

 liberate it from the insoluble combina- 

 tions in the soil. If you can buy wood 

 ashes that have not been leached, and of 

 which you know something of the his- 

 tory, for five cents per bushel, they will 

 make a verv cheap form of fertilizer. 

 I'^or vegetable crops you may safely 

 apply these at the rate of a ton to a ton 

 and a half per acre. — ^Prof. R. Harcourt, 

 O.A.C., Guelph. 



