THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



die of July where the conditions are 

 somewhat like those at Ottawa. Twelve 

 pounds of seed per acre, sown broad- 

 cast have given good satisfaction. No 

 nurse crop has been found necessary, as 

 a rule. In one of the higher parts of 

 the orchard where the soil is light, Lu- 

 cerne or Alfalfa seed was sown broadcast 

 on the 25th of July at the rate of 15 

 pounds to the acre, the land was then 

 rolled. The succeeding days were very 

 hot, the soil — which is quite sandy — was 

 almost burning to the touch, yet the seed 

 germinated and did not appear to be in- 

 jured. Just as a few young plants were 

 beginning to appear there was a severe 

 wind storm which blew the surface soil 

 in clouds of dust, yet the Lucerne, 

 though thinned considerably, continued 

 to grow, and it is now from 7 to 12 

 inches in height ; a little thin, perhaps, 

 for a good cover crop, but sufficiently 

 thick to hold the snow well. In this 

 instance, where the land was very ex- 

 posed, a nurse crop might have proved 

 beneficial. Lucerne stands considerable 

 frost without injury and grows until late 

 in the season. 



Some replanting was done in the 

 forest belts during the past month. In 

 several places the trees which were 

 planted nine years ago did not make 

 satisfactory growth, owing to winter 

 killing and unsuitability of soil. These 

 were removed this autumn, and replant- 

 ing with other kinds was started. The 

 trees have been planted much closer 

 than they were before, being now 2^ 

 by 2^ feet apart. A large proportion, 

 however, are only intended to serve the 

 purpose of shading the ground and kill- 

 ing the side branches of the permanent 

 trees: Rose- Mary-leaved willow, Nine- 

 bark {Neillia opulifolia), Box elder and 

 Sugar maple being used for this pur- 

 pose. The permanent trees will be 

 mainly composed of White Pine, Black 



Walnut, and White Ash, although others 

 will be planted in the spring. It is ex- 

 pected that by this system of planting no 

 cultivation will be necessary after two 

 years. 



The grape vines have already been 

 pruned and covered for the winter. (Con- 

 siderable attention was given to the 

 pruning of the vines both this year and 

 last, and as soon as possible all the 

 old arms will be removed and the " high 

 renewal " system or a modification of it, 

 adopted. In order to have as thick a cov- 

 ering of snow in the vineyard as possible 

 the canes, when cut from the vines, are 

 allowed to remain on the wires all win- 

 ter. These break the force of the wind 

 and drifting snow and cause the latter to 

 settle, thus affording greater protection 

 to the vines. 



Celery did very well here this year. 

 Market gardeners in the neighborhood 

 complained of Celery rust, and the crop 

 of one in particular was ruined by it. 

 The celery at the Experimental Farm 

 was covered with the Bordeaux mixture 

 until autumn, and although no un- 

 sprayed plants were left as a check, yet 

 there is no doubt but that the Bordeaux 

 mixture prevented it. About 50 so- 

 called varieties were tested. Of the 

 the earlier sorts, the Golden Self Bleach- 

 ing, Paris Golden Yellow, and improv- 

 ed White Plum are the best. 



The annual note taking on the hardi- 

 ness and growth of the trees, shrubs and 

 herbaceous perennials in the Arboretum 

 and Botanic Garden is now almost com. 

 pleted. There are over four thousand 

 specimens of trees and shrubs alone 

 growing there, and to examine each one 

 and make the necessary notes takes con- 

 siderable time. The information gained 

 however, is valuable ; for instance, trees 

 and shrubs which were not injured 

 by the winter of 1897 98 may have been 

 by that 1898-99, and, after several years' 



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