THE CANADIAN IIOKTICULTURiST. 



137 



sold have been for medicinal or sacra- 

 mental purposes ; and Scott Act or no 

 Scott Act, for such purposes there will 

 always be a demand. 



LABELS. 



It is a convenience in the farmer's 

 garden, and an absolute necessity in the 

 nursery, experimental plot, or seed gar- 

 den that each variety of plant, fruit, or 

 flower be legibly and correctly labelled 

 in such a manner that one can tell at a 

 glance what the varietv is. Yet this 

 point is veiy often neglected, and as a 

 consequence, much bother follows, to 

 say nothing of the setting or planting 

 of stock that is impure or incorrect in 

 name. 



As I experiment largely with various 

 fruits and vegetables, one item of which 

 is a collection embracing several hun- 

 dred varieties of potatoes, I am obliged 

 to systematize the labeling of them, and 

 adopt a mode by which a mistake is 

 practically impossible. In sowing seeds 

 in liot-beds or tlie garden, it is a matter 

 of convenience many times to have the 

 label show in a concise manner tfhe date 

 of planting, name of vai-iety, and v^lio 

 the stock seed was obtained of---whether 

 home-gi'own or not. For this pur- 

 pose I mark like the following sketch, 



Little Gem Pea. 

 Rennie. 



which shows that the Little Gem Peas, 

 stock seed of which was obtained of 

 Wm. Rennie, was sowed April 15th. 

 When planting stock is home-grown, 

 the word " home " may be substituted 

 for the name of the seedsman. 



I use for labeling potatoes, or any 

 ci'op of annual planting, pieces of pine 

 or cedar 15 inches long, 1 inch wide, 

 and I inch thick. These I mark with 

 a common black lead-pencil of good 

 quality, the point being left blunt so 

 as to make a firm, legible mark. This 

 2 



will last or.'? season at lease if carefully 

 done, and is more durable than any 

 special preparation or garden pencil, 

 either English or American, that I have 

 }'x?t tried. Cedar labels hold penciling 

 the longest, I think ; but pine presents 

 a smoother surface, and usually holds 

 sufhciently well for one season. Of 

 course a tabulated memoranda of dates 

 of planting, etc., is necessary ; but this 

 plan is a convenience, and at any rate 

 forms a memorandum in itself. 



For the fruit garden I use one-incli 

 pine strips two feet long, planed on one 

 side, and stencil on the name of variety 

 in India ink, using a set of half-incli 

 letters, which may be cut in small 

 squares of brass by any stencil-cutter. 

 After marking, the label is brushed 

 over with boiled linseed oil. I have 

 labels of this kind that have stood the 

 vicissitudes and changes of our northern 

 climate for years, and are as legible now 

 as when put on. It is well to renew 

 the coating of oil each season. If con- 

 venient, dip the sharpened end in coal 

 tar before setting, which will prevent 

 decay. Whatever system of marking 

 is adopted, it should be at once concise 

 and as plain as possible. It is not good 

 policy to trust much to memory in a 

 matter of this character. 



Shelburne, Vt., 1885. W. H. EanD. 



EARLY TOMATOES. 

 jVIr. Editor, — In the February num- 

 ber of Canadian Horticulturist I notice 

 T. A. H., of Muskoka, remai-ks about 

 Yeitche's perfection pea, and having 

 grown them in Victoria County, Ont., 

 I can also recommend them. If T. A. 

 H. would procure good seed of the 

 Trophy and Canada Victor Tomatoes, 

 sow them about first April in hot ])ed, 

 when grown to one inch high take out 

 of seed bed, prune the roots one-half, 

 replant one inch apart, and when grown 

 to two inches high again transplant, 

 and prune roots one-half with a pair of 



