THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



121 



with many growers because they treat 

 it too well, It seems to grow quickly 

 until about 8 or 10 inches high when it 

 _is in rich soil, but then the leaves die 

 "iown before any bloom is given. Most 

 pf the other lihums, however, do well 

 moderately rich soil. 

 "Bulbs should not be covered too 

 irly in the fall. I generally put on a 

 lulch about November 20, or after the 

 round is frozen hard enough to carry 

 person. If covered before the frost 

 fs in the ground growth starts and the 

 tops become heated. When this occurs 

 they do not mature satisfactorily." 



SPARROWS DESTROY CROCUS 



"Sparrows," said Mr. Case, "seem to 

 be very fond of yellow crocuses, but 

 they do not attack those of any other 

 color. I have experimented by sprink- 

 ling bitter aloes on the bloom, and this 

 has worked to perfection. The spar- 

 rows would pick at the bloom, but then 

 step back and shake their heads and 

 wipe their bills and fly away. Before 

 I appHed this remedy they had destroy- 

 ed the petals of many of my best speci- 

 mens. They seemed to want to get at 

 the very heart of the flower. I Hke to 

 harbor sparrows around my place, be- 

 cause they pick up many insects on 

 the roses and other plants, but Hke 

 many other beneficial animals, they 

 have their faults. A mere sprinkling 

 of powdered aloes on the petals of the 



Roses and Lilies in the same garden in July 



crocuses, however, prevents them from 

 doing any damage to these plants. The 

 aloes can be applied readily with a small 

 blower." 



The accompanying illustrations of Mr. 



Case's garden give but a faint idea of 

 what can be done with flowers by an in- 

 dustrious business man who has suffi- 

 cient love for nature's beauties to spend 

 a short time each day in his garden. 



Hew to Succeed wtK Roses 



No collection of shrubs and flowers 

 is complete without a few roses. 

 Many gardeners plant a few of 

 the common varieties, but lack of 

 care and want of proper soil and 

 attention results in a poor showing 

 after they are in the garden a very 

 few years. The rose-bed must be 

 specially prepared, and the soil should 

 be rich and mellow. Many of the varie- 

 ties are tender, and will not thrive in 

 northerly latitudes. Some of the half- 

 hardy specimens can be grown with 

 success if special protection is given to 

 Ihcm during the winter. Special care, 

 however, must be exercised in selecting 

 varieties for planting in the different 

 localities. At Tillsonburg, Mr. Geo. W. 

 Tillson has had a fine display of roses 

 for many years. 



"In preparing a place for planting my 

 roses," said Mr. Tillson to The Canadian 

 Horticulturist, "I dug a bed 12 or 14 

 inches deep and carted the soil away. 

 This was filled with a mixture of one- 

 third cow manure, one-third rich soil 

 from underneath a rich sod pasture, and 

 one-third rich sandy soil from an old 

 garden. In this way a permanent bed 

 was made, and the quality of the roses 



can be maintained for many years. 

 Fresh fertiUzers are not required every 

 season. I had a circular bed eight feet 

 in diameter, and a rectangular one 40 

 by 4 feet. The roses did well in these 

 beds for four years. A dressing of 

 coarse manure from the horse stable 

 was put on each fall. 



"With the average grower hybrid 

 roses give the greatest satisfaction. 

 They do not need so much manure, and 

 will give better results with less atten- 

 tion. Tea roses require liquid manure, 

 and soon play out. The hardy per- 

 petuals run out in four to six years, and 

 if planted in rich, well-prepared soil, 

 they will last for that length of time 

 without any special fertiHzer. When 

 they begin to deteriorate the bushes 

 should be torn out and burned. No 

 rose grower should be without some of 

 the ramblers. Both the yellow and the 

 crimson do well, but the yellow varieties 

 need more protection from the cold. 

 In cold sections it would be as well to 

 confine the selection to crimson rambler 

 and some of the best hardy perpctuals. 

 La France is one of the most beautiful 

 hybrid tea roses, and will endure more 

 cold than most others of that class. 



"In bu3dng a collection, unless special 

 care is taken in the selection, and unless 

 the purchasers know what varieties will 

 succeed well in that locality, it will be 

 found that almost 50% will be lost dur- 

 ing the winter. For this reason it is 

 well to buy in large lots and get a few 

 more than are required to fill the space. 

 They should be secured from some 

 reputable greenhouse man who under- 

 stands the propagation and handling of 

 roses. I bought most of mine from The 

 Webster Floral Co., of Hamilton, and 

 was well satisfied. I would not recom- 

 mend amateurs to try propagating them 

 at home, because this work should be 

 left to an expert, and an amateur would 

 not save enough to repay him for his 

 labor. Hardy perpetuals average only 

 about 75 cents for a good bush, while 

 the teas and hybrid teas can be had at 

 10 to 25 cents each, according to age. 

 The ramblers can be had at even a lower 

 rate." 



PRUNING AND PROTECTION 



"In pruning," remarked Mr. Tillson, 

 "my plan has been to cut oflf close in 

 the fall, and cover the bed with light, 

 strawv manure. I usually cut off the 

 canes to about 12 to 16 inches long after 



