Try Improved Lilacs Next Summer 



"W. T. Macoun, Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa, Ont. 



NOW, when you are planning the 

 surroundings of your home for next 

 summer, do not overlook the claims for 

 attention made by the lilac. There is 

 no spring flowering shrub so popular, 

 and none so easily grown. In fact, the 

 old-fashioned variety establishes itself 

 so readily and suckers so much, that it 

 often becomes almost troublesome and 

 in small gardens takes up too much 

 room unless carefully watched. But no 

 garden should be without lilacs if there 

 is room for any flowering shrubs, and 

 the improved varieties that are budded 

 on lilac stocks are so fine that no one 

 who loves flowers will allow the suckers to 

 grow. Moreover, the varieties that arebud- 

 ded do not sucker as much as seedlings. 

 The improvement in Hlacs has been 

 very marked during the past 15 or 20 

 years, but comparatively few persons 

 in Canada have yet planted the im- 

 proved kinds. Unless the collection at 

 the Central Experimental Farm has been 

 seen it will be difficult to make anyone 

 believe that, when the census was taken 

 in the arboretum in the fall of 1904, 

 there were 162 varieties in the collection 

 doing well. 



Charles X, which is one of the oldest 

 of the improved varieties, is still one of 

 the best and freest bloomers of its color, 

 but the range in color now is so much 

 greater than it used to be and the double 

 and semi-double varieties, and those 

 with twisted petals, make so many com- 

 binations that there is a large list to 

 select from. The length of blooming 

 season also has been extended. At Ot- 

 tawa the blooming season of lilacs is 

 from about the middle of May to the 

 first week of July. By planting the 

 different species and having a good range 

 of varieties anyone may have lilacs in 

 bloom for at least six weeks. 



There are so many fine varieties of 

 the common lilac that it is difficult to 

 reduce the list to a few of the very best. 

 The most satisfactory single white is 

 Alba Grandiflora, a very free bloomer 

 with a large loose truss and pure white 

 flowers. (3f almost equal merit three 

 of the best double whites are Madame 

 Casimir Perier, Madame Abel Chatenay, 

 and Obelisque. Of single varieties in 

 the various shades the following are 

 very fine. Congo is about the best of 

 those of the darkest violet or purplish 

 red varieties, the panicles being of good 

 size and the flowers very large, Prof. 

 Sargent and Souvenir de la Ludwig 

 Spaeth are very much like Congo. Other 

 dark-colored single varieties of great 

 merit are Aline Mocqueris, and Charles X. 

 Furst Liechtenstein and Jacques Calot 

 are two of the best singles with rosy 

 Ulac flowers, and Lavaniensis is almost 

 a'pure pink. Dr. Maillot is a fine late var- 

 iety. Two of the deepest colored and 



best double varieties are Charles Joli and 

 La Tour d'Anergne, both being dark 

 reddish purple or violet purple. A 

 great deal of the charm of many of these 

 newer varieties is in the contrast of the 

 color of the flowers still in bud with 

 those fully open on the same panicle. 

 The varieties that are particularly at- 

 tractive in bud, the buds having a rosy 

 appearance are, Charles Baltet, Michael 



tioned last, at least one should not be 

 omitted from a general collection. Tak- 

 ing into consideration the range of color 

 we should select as the twelve best: 

 Alba Grandiflora, Madame Casimir Pe- 

 rier, Congo, Prof. Sargent, Furst Liech- 

 tenstein, Lavaniensis, Charles Joli, 

 Charles Baltet, Leon Simon, Avel Car- 

 riere, Linne and Emile Lemoine. 



In order to have a collection of lilacs 



Those Who Passed Stopped to Enjoy This Lilac Bush 



This Persian lilac stands on the lawn of Mr. T. W. Todd, of Toronto. Last spring the tree was simply a mass of 

 bloom. The blossoms were of a very delicate lavender, andthe flower spikes were of extraordinary length, many of 

 them being over two feet long. This beautiful bush was the admiration and wonder.iof Parkdale for many weeks. 



Buchner de Jussien, and Prince de Beau- 

 veau, all very fine sorts. The last 

 named variety has a bluish tint when 

 open making the contrast between bud 

 and open flower very striking. Two 

 varieties that are of particularly fine 

 shades of lilac are Leon Simon and 

 Comte Horace de Chisnel. Three other 

 excellent varieties that are bluish when 

 open are; Avel Carriere, Coudorcet and 

 Boussingault. Linne is a very fine var- 

 iety with twisted petals. 



Some of the best of the double varie- 

 ties of more or less pink or rosy color jn 

 bud or flower are Emile Lemoine and 

 Jean Bart, of which, although men- 



that will give the length of blooming 

 season already referred to, one should 

 have in addition to the varieties of the 

 common lilac, the following: Syringa 

 oblata, which comes in just before the 

 common lilac; Syringa Persica and S. 

 Chinensis or Rothomagensis, which 

 bloom at the same time as the common 

 lilac. Syringa Josikaea, closely follow- 

 ing the common lilac, S. villosa, bloom- 

 ing during the second week of June. 

 Syringa Amurensis, starting to bloom 

 about the beginning of the fourth week 

 of August, and Syringa Japonica, which 

 is not at its best at Ottawa until the first 

 week of July. 



