62 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



degrees at night. Be careful not to 

 have the leaves wet over night. 



Varieties of Rex begonias may be 

 propagated from mature leaves; or the 

 thick, fleshy stems, or rhizomes, can 

 be cut into lengths of about two inches 

 and struck in sand. 



Sow a packet of Primula obconica 

 grandifloia seed, and grow the plants in 

 the house all summer. They are easy 

 to grow and one of the best of the 

 primula family. 



Centaurea gymnocarpa will be found a 

 useful plant for window boxes, lawn 

 vases and in beds when a plant of light 

 foliage is desirable to bring out con- 

 trasts. Seeds of these should be started 

 now. Double petunia, verbena, lo- 

 belia, and other seeds that are slow in 

 germinating may be sown. A few 

 seeds of Cobea scandens, a quick-growing 

 climber, also should be started. Much 

 time is saved and the plants cover a 

 trellis more rapidly if they are of good 

 size when planted. 



Pruning Privet Hedges 



I ^Privet hedges sometimes become bare 

 at the base. To remedy them, it is well 

 to cut down the plants to within a foot 

 or so of the ground. Many old hedges 

 have been renewed in this manner. 

 There is no use in trying to make them 

 bushy in any other way. Cut the bushes 

 down, and at the end of the next grow- 

 ing season there will be the foundation 

 of a handsome hedge. This spring, 

 when the new growth has made the 

 length of a foot, clip off the tops at their 

 points. This will cause side shoots to 

 form and make a bushy base. About 

 midsummer or a little later, another 

 clipping of shoots should take place. 

 If the old hedge was strong when cut 

 down there should be, by fall, a fine 

 bushy growth of leaf-clad shoots of two 

 feet or more in height. Treated in like 

 manner the following year, the close of 

 that season will see a hedge four feet 

 high. 



In situations where the hedge is hiding 

 some unsightly object that renders its 

 cutting undesirable, there is nothing to 

 do but set some young plants where the 

 bare places are. Give them good soil 

 to start on. 



To increase your stock of privet, use 

 the cut-down branches of the hedge for 

 the purpose, taking preferably the 

 growth of the last season. If these 

 shoots are cut into foot lengths and set 

 out in early spring, every one should 

 root. It is better, however, to take 

 such shoots now and after making 

 proper lengths, to place them in sand in 

 a cellar until time for planting. 



S"weet Pea Culture 



James 'W. Nairn, Truro, Nova Scotia 



Liberal feeding is the best antidote 

 for weeds. Abundant moisture and 

 plant food furnish conditions for 

 luxuriant growth of grass, which will 

 crowd out almost all kinds of weeds. 



SWEET peas have attained wonderful 

 popularity during the past 15 years 

 owing to the great improvement 

 in size and form of flower, and wide 

 range of coloring. The greatest factor 

 in advancing the sweet pea to its present 

 great popularity, has been the wonder- 

 ful work of that famous Englishman, 

 Henry Eckford, who, by selection and 

 cross-breeding, so greatly improved this 

 lovely flower. While others are doing 



fine nozzle early in the mornings of 

 bright, hot days. 



Sweet peas succeed best in cool, moist, 

 well-drained soil, and we must not lose 

 sight of the fact that they will not do 

 well planted in the same soil two years 

 in succession. The rows should be so 

 situated that they will receive full sun- 

 light, and an abundance of fresh air at 

 all times. No faded blooms or seed 

 pods should be tolerated on the vines 



Countess Seedling Sweet Pea 



good work on the sweet pea, it was he 

 alone who blazed the way for others to 

 follow. 



To secure the best results in growing 

 this lovely flower, it will be found de- 

 sirable to prepare the ground the pre- 

 vious autumn by digging the manure 

 deep into the soil before the ground 

 freezes; then, as soon as the ground 

 thaws out in the spring and becomes 

 dry enough to work, open a drill with a 

 sharp hoe, and sow the carefully selected 

 seeds one and a half inches deep, and 

 at least three inches apart in the row if 

 you wish to have strong, good blooming 

 plants. As soon as the young plants 

 are well above the surface, say two 

 inches high, cultivation should begin 

 and should be continued regularly 

 throughout the season. Frequent loosen- 

 ing of the soil, and the application of a 

 little manure water to the roots, will 

 ensure a good season's bloom. It will 

 be found of great advantage to spray 

 the vines thoroughly with water from a 



and if we wish to have our bouquets of 

 this lovely flower look and keep well, we 

 cut the blooms early in the morning 



The finest white sweet pea I have 

 grown is "Dorothy Eckford," and the 

 best pink is from the seeds of that won- 

 derful orchid-flowered "Countess Spen- 

 cer." Both of these varieties produce 

 numberless giant blossoms on stems 18 

 inches long. The names of beautiful 

 sweet peas are legion, and it is useless 

 to give a list. 



Wash the sides of flower pots once a 

 month or oftener and they will look like 



In Victoria and elsewhere in British 

 Columbia Enghsh Ivy grows in all its 

 glory, covering walls, stumps, trees, 

 houses and so on. It came into bloom on 

 my grounds about the middle of Decem- 

 ber last. English and Portuguese laurel 

 and sweet bay all thrive in this climate. 

 Camelias are used as decorative plants 

 on our lawns. — M. J. Henry, Vancouver. 



