218 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



September, 1907 



the designer becomes apparent. Two 

 objects must be kept in mind, the 

 harmonious arrangement of colors and 

 the placing of plants so that there will 

 be a continuous succession of bloom 

 in all parts of the border, new plants 

 coming into bloom as that of those beside 

 them disappears. Also, the taller plants 

 should, as a general rule, be placed 

 towards the back of the border, though 

 it would be well not to follow this rule 

 too rigidly. Anything like rigid uni- 

 formity produces a stiff effect, and in 

 every • way possible this effect is to be 

 avoided. Hence, plants of medium 

 height should be placed among the 

 taller ones, and occasionally a tall plant 

 might come well to the front, while low 

 carpeting plants should be throughout 

 the whole as well as at the front edges. 



COLOR EFFECTS 



Too much care cannot be taken in 

 placing the plants so as to produce a 

 harmonious blending of color through- 

 out the border. Colors that clash must 

 not be placed in close proximity, and 

 harmony rather than contrast must be 

 the rule. Also, colors should be massed 

 so as to produce a certain dignity, but 

 the masses 'should not be so large as to 

 become wearisome. A little study will 

 suggest a progression of colors, each 

 harmonizing with and running into 

 those next. Colors should not be ar- 

 ranged in geometric patches, but should 

 overlap, or run into each other, avoiding 

 anything like formal grouping and sharp 

 lines of cleavage. 



The following hints are from Kelway's 

 Manual of Horticulture, and are of 

 special value to any one laying out a 

 hardy border : 



"A progression of color in a mixed 

 border might begin with strong blues, 

 light and dark, grouped with white 

 and pale yellow, passing on to pink; 

 then to rose color, crimson, and the 

 strongest scarlet leading to orange and 

 bright yellow. A paler yellow followed 

 by white would distantly connect the 

 warm colors with the Ulacs and purples, 

 and a colder white would combine them 

 pleasantly with low-growing plants with 

 cool-colored leaves." 



Odd Han^in^ DasKets 



Many high-roofed verandahs seem 

 actually to demand hanging decorations 

 of some sort to relieve long stretches of 

 bareness; yet, owing to their elevated 

 and exposed positions, plants growing 

 in the pretty, open wire baskets sold for 

 such purposes dry out so speedily that 

 they are often worse than useless for 

 decorative purposes. There is no more 

 distressing floral decoration than a 

 dried-out hanging basket; the phrase 

 "hanging by the neck until he is dead," 

 admirably suits it. 



An odd hanging affair that is war- 



ranted not to dry out is made from an 

 "elbow" of stovepipe painted green and 

 suspended from the verandah roof by 

 wires. During summer, petunias, nas- 

 turtiums, lobelia, tradescantia (which in 

 real life is just wandering-jew) or oxalis, 

 will all grow nicely from the open ends. 

 I do not mean that all five should be 

 planted in the same stovepipe. One 

 kind to an elbow is all that is necessary. 



MarKeting Melons 



W. G. Home, Clarkson, Ont. 



To realize good money for melons 

 does not depend altogether on the qual- 

 ity. Often the inferior class of melon 

 brings the fancy prices. Take for in- 

 stance those shipped here from the 

 United States. I saw, also, some of our 

 own growing shipped last fall, by a 

 neighbor of mine, that were simply rub- 

 bish alongside of good melons. The 

 grower owned that they were no good, 

 but as long as he could get fancy prices 

 for them, which he was getting, he in- 

 tended to ship them. The getting of 

 good prices for such samples lies in there 

 being a demand for melons and few to 

 be had. Notwithstanding the getting 

 of good prices for such inferior fruit, no 

 one has any pride in shipping rubbish. 



A man that has a good article to sell 

 is proud of it. He is not afraid to meet 

 the person he sold it to. He can give 

 satisfaction in every way. To grow 

 good fruit is pleasure. To sell good fruit 

 is pleasure. To eat good fruit is 

 pleasure. Adding the three together 

 makes a three-fold pleasure, well worth 

 our while trying to cultivate and bring- 

 ing into effect. It is simply nothing 

 more or less than a man's duty to do so. 



Apples in Boxes 



(Concluded from page 210) 



It is often possible to pack a certain 

 size more than one way, and have the 

 box in each case look equally full and 

 appear equally tight. It will usually 

 be found that one of these ways will take 

 a few less apples than the others. In 

 such cases, choose the pack that will 

 take the most apples. This is not ad- 

 vised for the sole purpose of giving the 

 purchaser the full quantity of fruit, but 

 to ensure good carrying qualities. If 

 one style of pack takes 172 apples and 

 another 176 of the same size, which is 

 quite possible, it is certain that there is 

 space unfilled in the box for four apples. 

 This space in the case of skilful packing 

 may be so evenly distributed through- 

 out the box that the difference in the 

 size of individual spaces between the 

 different styles of pack will not be 

 noticeable. If the fruit does not stay 

 long in the box, all the styles of pack 

 may come out in good condition. But 

 if the conditions are not just favorable, 

 and the fruit is subject to excessive 



evaporation and rough handling, the 

 style with the most apples will stand up 

 much longer than the other. After the 

 apples have shrunk slightly, a very little 

 shaking, such as would be experienced 

 in passing over rough tracks or in shunt- 

 ing cars will cause the apples in boxes 

 with the fewer specimens to adjust 

 themselves into the spaces, and then 

 the box becomes decidedly slack, and 

 in due course wasty. 



GreenKouse Lettuce 



F. D. Ghent, Burlington, Ont. 



We sow lettuce about September 15 

 in a small greenhouse heated with hot 

 water. It is transplanted the first 

 time as soon as the second leaf ap- 

 pears. Place about two and a half 

 inches apart each way, and leave with- 

 out any artificial heat until about 

 December 15, when the furnace is 

 started. 



When large enough to move the sec- 

 ond time, it is transplanted into a 

 larger greenhouse, which is heated by 

 two hot water boilers. Some is trans- 

 planted to cold frames. It is planted 

 ten inches apart each way, and will be 

 ready for market at Easter. 



BlancHing Celery 



The oldest, and perhaps most com- 

 mon, method of blanching celery is 

 that of throwing earth around the 

 plants; but this method has been 

 done away by most growers because 

 it almost always causes considerable 

 rust, while, also, worms and insects 

 from the earth get into the stalks, 

 spoiling them for market. 



Darkness is all that is required in 

 order for celery to blanch properly. It 

 makes no difference whether this is 

 caused by earthing, tying paper around 

 the plants, or by setting up boards 

 along the row, so long as the space 

 around the plants is made dark. The 

 plan of setting up a board along each 

 side of the row is an excellent one, and 

 is probably in the most universal use, 

 where any considerable amount of 

 celery is grown, because of the ease 

 with which it may be performed. 



Where only a few plants are to be 

 blanched for family use, the plan of 

 tying heavy wrapping paper around 

 them is satisfactory. Another good 

 plan is that of making tubes of card- 

 board and setting them over the plants^ 

 when they are about a foot high, the 

 tubes being about eight inches in 

 length. As the plant grows, the tubes 

 may be raised and a little earth drawn 

 around the bottom of the plant. Two- 

 inch tile drains are even better, how- 

 ever, for this purpose than the paper 

 tubes and will last for many years. 



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