CENTRAL EXPERIMENTAL FARM NOTES. 



There are now 169 varieties of grapes 

 being tested. Last year more than 100 

 varieties ripened perfectly here ; this 

 year there will not be many more than 

 25 varieties ripen, as the season has not 

 been favorable The first variety to 

 ripen was Florence, a grape of inferior 

 quality, followed by Champion, which 

 is not much better. 



A catalogue of the trees and shrubs 

 tesied in the Arboretum has been issued 

 this month, in which may be found the 

 names, with synonyms, of all species 

 and varieties of trees and shrubs that 

 have been tested here, with notes on 

 their hardiness. This list should prove 

 very useful to those interested in trees 

 and shrubs, and should also prove a 

 guide to nurserymen as to what should 

 succeed in the colder parts of the coun- 

 try. This list may be obtained free on 

 application to the Director of the Ex- 

 perimental Farms, Ottawa. 



Very few shrub's bloom in September, 

 and it should not be out of place to 

 again draw attention to that now very 



popular and widely planted variety of 

 Hydrangea, H. paniculata hortensis (H. 

 paniculata grandiflora). Beginning to 

 flower about the 1st of August, this fine 

 shrub is a mass of attractive bloom 

 until October. To have this shrub 

 bloom to perfection, it should be se- 

 verely winter pruned and given an 

 abundance of water during the summer. 

 It has been freely planted at the Ex- 

 perimental Farm, and at this season of 

 the year is very attractive, a large bed 

 of them being particularly so. A shrub 

 which is not so well known as the Hy- 

 drangea, but which is very attractive in 

 the latter part of September and early 

 October, is Lespedeza Sieboldi (Desmo- 

 dium japonicum ; D. penduliflorum). 

 It is killed to the ground every winter, 

 but makes a vigorous growth of about 

 four feet during the summer, and is 

 covered with spikes of bright, purplish- 

 red, pea-shaped flowers in autumn. 

 W. T. Macoun, 

 Horticulturist, Cent. Exp. Farm. 



SPIRAEA VAN HOUTEI. 



If further testimony is needed to in- 

 sure the p'anting of this shrub in every 

 garden, its behaviour this year should 

 be recorded, for hereabouts it has been 

 a wonder. Four plants, catalogued as 

 " 3 feet " and set out in the spring of 

 1896, were so wreathed with bloom 

 as to nearly hide the foliage, and others 

 noted flowered quite as profusely. 



In an old garden filled with a greater 

 and better variety of plants than the 

 average garden, this Spiraea was par- 

 ticularly noticeable for its lack of prun- 

 ing. Old wood that should have been 

 cut out years ago, not only failed from 



lack of vitality to bloom well, but ob- 

 structed the egress of light and air that 

 would have perfected the struggling 

 younger growth that should have been 

 in its prime, so that no part of the 

 shrub was able to do well ; yet both 

 old and new wood " did what they 

 could " to make the world flowery and 

 prove the excellent intentions of this 

 shrub of the people. 



If only one shrub is grown, Spiraea 

 Van Houtei is a safe selection ; and if 

 a shrubbery plantation is to be made, 

 Spiraea Van Houtei may well head the 

 list. — Gardening. 



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