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Opinthogalum. 



Reply to Question 1041, by W. E. 

 Saunders, London, Ont. 



Ornithogalum Arabicum may be 

 forced in the house for winter bloom by 

 the same treatment as that given to the 

 hyacinth. It requires a longer season 

 of active growth, and the flower is fully 

 six weeks later than that of the hyacinth, 

 but ordinarily good treatment should 

 suffice. I have not always been suc- 

 cessful with it, and think that possibly 

 it may be injured by delay in planting. 

 Good bulbs, planted early, have usually 

 succeeded. It is a striking plant in 

 bloom, the black centre of the flower 

 giving it an unusual appearance ; but 

 the pot needs to stand on the floor, as 

 the flower stem is about two feet long 

 beneath the umbel. 



Reply by Mr. E. A. Bog, Secretary 

 Cambellford Horticultural Society. 

 Sir, — In answer to Mr. Dickson's 

 enquiry No. 1041, I may say that I 

 have forced the Ornithogalum Arabicum 

 with great success. My treatment is as 

 follows : " Pot the bulb in a 4 or 5 inch 

 pot, first week in October. Bury the 

 pot in the garden with about a foot of 

 soil over it, leave it there until end of 

 November ; then bring it into the house 

 and put it in a hot, sunny window, give 

 plenty of water, plant food twice a week ; 

 will bloom in February or March. I 

 had three magnificent specimens last 

 winter, which were the admiration of 

 everyone who saw them. The bulbs I 

 had were imported direct from Holland. 

 My object in burying the pot in the 

 garden is that the top grows very quick- 

 ly, before the roots start ; burying it 

 prevents injury to the top and does not 

 grow so quickly. 



Apples for Profit. 



104 *i. Sir, — As I am thinking of plant- 

 ing from eight to ten acres of winter apples, 

 I would like your advice as to Outario, Cran- 

 berry, Ben Davis and York Imperial, and a . 

 few others. 



A. B., Picton, Ont. 



Questions concerning the best varie- 

 ties to plant in a certain section can. 

 only be answered in a general way, be- 

 cause those most desirable this year 

 may be quite displaced by new varie^ 

 ties in a few years. There can be little 

 said, however, against the varieties 

 above mentioned. Ontario is a great 

 favorite with those who grow it, as a 

 commercial apple, because it is so clean, 

 so uniform in size, so regular in bear- 

 ing, and so well colored. Its chief 

 fault seems to be over-bearing, which 

 is inclined to weaken the vitality of the 

 tree, and shorten its life. 



The Cranberry Pippin is a favorite 

 export apple with the writer, for on rich 

 sandy and clay loam, the fruit is re- 

 markably fine. It is larger and better- 

 colored than Ben Davis, carries well to 

 a distant market, and yellows up about 

 Christmas so as to set off its red stripes 

 to the best advantage. But it is a very 

 fastidious variety, if we may so speak 

 of an apple, for unless soil and climatic 

 conditions suit, it is apt to bear a good 

 many blemished or wasty samples. 



Ben Davis is reliable, and pays ; and, 

 until an apple of the same season, pro- 

 ductiveness, and good appearance, but 

 of better quality, appears, we are obliged 

 to accept it in spite of its poor quality. 



York Imperial has a high reputation, 

 but has not been tested in Canada, so 

 far as we know. 



We would be inclined to add Blen- 

 heim and Wealthy to the list ; for both 



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