HORTICULTURE IN CANADA. 101 



years have passed since this shrub was first iutroducecl from 

 Japan, and during that comparatively brief period its merits 

 have been universally recognized and it has become one of the 

 most widely distributed and favorite shrubs in cultivation. 



Fopidus Berolinensis is a Russian Poplar and one of the 

 hardiest species tested. It endures the climate in all parts of 

 •Canada well, making a strong and rapid growth. Many thousand 

 cuttings of this tree have been sent out from the experimental 

 farms to settlers in different parts of the Canadian Northwest. 

 These strike readily and soon form handsome trees, wind-breaks, 

 or hedges. A specimen which was planted in tlie arboretum at 

 Ottawa six years ago as a small tree now stands over twenty- 

 five feet high. 



Many inquiries are made every year as to the best sorts of 

 shrubs or trees to plant for hedges. To gain experience and fur- 

 nish object lessons, many different sorts are being tested for this 

 purpose. Seventy-five varieties have already been planted as 

 sample hedges, each fifty feet long, and a large proportion of them 

 have had five or six years' growth. These are proving an attrac- 

 tive featiire in connection with the ornamental planting at the 

 central farm. 



A journey of one thousand four hundred and thirty-seven miles 

 west, by the Canadian Pacific Railway, brings us to the flourish- 

 ing town of Brandon, in Manitoba, adjoining which is the 

 experimental farm for that province. It is located partly in 

 the valley of the Assiniboine river and partly on the heights 

 above the bkiffs which margin the valley. This farm has been 

 greatly improved by the planting of trees, about sixty-five thou- 

 sand of which have been put out in avenues, shelter belts, 

 clumps, and hedges. Most of the hedges have been planted with 

 quick-growing trees, such as poplars and willows, and enclose 

 good-sized plots of ground. These hedges grow quite tall and act 

 as wind-breaks during the summer and help to collect large banks 

 of snow in the winter, which, on melting, leaves the ground in a 

 very favorable condition of moisture. These plantations have 

 placed examples before the settlers, Avhich many have been 

 induced to follow, and this incentive has produced gratifying- 

 results. Tree planting has been further stimulated by free dis- 

 tributions of tree seeds, large quantities of which have been 

 <3ollected, especially of the Box Elder, Negundo aceroides, and 



