THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



19 



tubers were raised. There is no doubt 

 of the general benefit of coal ashes in a 

 garden, and their decided efiect upon 

 the tomato and potato family. They 

 doubtless affect more or less favorably 

 all plants, in the improved texture of 

 the soil, which most of our old culti- 

 vated fields need. Add to this their 

 well known manurial properties which 

 science has j)ointed out, little though 

 they be, and there is no reason why 

 coal ashes shouM not be used on our 

 land, to say nothing of what may seem 

 an occult influence when they are put 

 in union with the fertility of the soil, 

 resulting thus, as appeal's to me, in an 

 increased growth. I have faith in the 

 discarded coal ashes, and I am using 

 them to advantage. 



STRAWBERRY NOTES. 



(By Hon. M. P. IVildei; in Green's Fruit Grower.) 



How has the James Vick done with 

 you this season 1- It is a beautiful 

 plant with noble trusses and a super- 

 abundance of bloom, but cannot cai-ry 

 out the croj) to perfection without high 

 cultivation and plenty of water. It 

 throws up too many fruit stalks. It is 

 a pity that the fruit is not larger. We 

 have had frequent rains and a good 

 season to test a large numbei- of the 

 new varieties, some of which I think 

 well of. Primo is a tine, large, uni- 

 form, bright, prolitic, and late variety ; 

 very good. The Prince of strawber- 

 ries! )>lante'J last fall made large stools 

 — some with four or more trusses and 

 produced much handsomer and higli- 

 flavort^d fruit. Mrs. Gartield and 

 Jewel! make good plants and are 

 promising, but Iron Clad has not been 

 clad with much fruit. Bouquet (a new 

 variety from the Hudson River) is rich 

 and high-flavored. Crescent and Dun- 

 can (the former fertilized by the latter) 

 are my most useful early sorts. Dun- 

 can is healthy, jiroductive and aroma- 

 tic : excellent for home use. I still 



hold on to many of the older sorts 

 for a general crop, such as Charles 

 Downing, Seth Boyden, Kentucky, 

 Sliarpless, Triomphe de Gand and Cum- 

 berland, nor would I omit the Hovey 

 and Wilder, as grown by the originat- 

 ors, and as always shown at the annual 

 strawberry exhibitions of the Massa- 

 chusetts Horticultural Society. Strange 

 indeed that these varieties are not 

 more grown, l)ut a neighbor of mine 

 has an acre of the Wilder and finds a 

 ready market previously engaged at 

 twenty-five cents per quart. Mr. 

 Hovey has some new plantations of his 

 strawberry of great vigor, and I think 

 he will be heard from next year. The 

 Early harvest blackberry is two weeks 

 earlier than any other I have. 



THE EULALIAS. 



Eulalia Japonica variegata and E. J. 

 zebrina are, in my opinion, two of the 

 prettiest and most desirable ornamental 

 grasses we have in cultivation, and both 

 should be gi'own by all who possess the 

 necessary facilities. They do best when 

 grown in a rich, deep soil, and aftei- 

 they have become well established, so 

 that it is well to avoid frequent remov- 

 als. Propagation is effected by divi.sion 

 of the plants early in the .spring, just 

 before they start into growth. I know 

 that seeds of these Eulalias are often 

 advertised; but as far as my experi- 

 ence has extended I have never been 

 enabled to I'aise a plant of them with 

 variegated foliage. 



For the beneflt of those who are not 

 acquainted with the Eulalias, I would 

 say that they are reed-like plants, at- 

 taining a height of from four to six 

 feet. E. J. variegata has foliage that 

 bears a striking resemblance to the 

 old ribbon or striped grass of the gar- 

 dens ; while the foliage of E. J. zebrina 

 has the striping or marking across the 

 leaf instead of longitudinally. On this 

 account, it is a plant that will always 



