248 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



hei' expense and care, bi;t greatly help- 

 ed to adorn and beautify the home 

 where it stood. 



MY EARNEST ATTENTION 



has of late been very strongly drawn to 

 the study of the Clematis as a decora- 

 tive lawn ])lant likely to be very much 

 used in this country as it has several 

 points of great merit. Last season I 

 was induced to select and purchase 

 and plant some twenty or twenty-five 

 of the best sorts of improved Clematis 

 I could find described. Some of these 

 have done remarkably well this season, 

 have grown finely and have shown 

 some of their most attractive and finest 

 blooms. Although this result has been 

 very satisfactory to me, yet I am hoping 

 for far better results next year when 

 their roots have become established in 

 their new homes and strengthened for 

 the production of moi-e and better 

 blooms. The Clematis likes a high, dry 

 and very warm soil, or a good, strong, 

 well-drained sandy loam seems to suit 

 them even better, and for the best re- 

 sults in bloom it must be made very 

 rich with strong fertilizers and good 

 mulching. A slight protection in 

 winter will be found very beneficial 

 and help very much the succeeding 

 season's growth and quantity and qual- 

 ity of bloom. To do this take down 

 the vines from the trellis and if old 

 wood must be saved prune nicely late 

 in the season and cover the whole with 

 a moderately heavy covering of leaves 

 or light litter. Some varieties pro- 

 duce flowers or flowering shoots on 

 their old wood and others produce new 

 from the root, but in either case the 

 results will be very satisfactory if gen- 

 erous treatment is given. I have 

 noticed the Clematis is never inquired 

 for or brought out at our floral exhi- 

 bitions, although they may be procured 

 in their season. Why this is so I can- 

 not explain. 



THE VARITIES 



I secured this season were the follow- 

 ing : Belisarius, Fair Rosamond, For- 

 tuneii, Helena, Henryii, J. G. Veitch, 

 Lanuginosa Candida, Lawsoniana, 

 Stella, Madam Grange, Gem, Ran- 

 datlerii, Flammula, Tom Moore, Tun- 

 bridgensis flammula, Standishii, Ci'ispa, 

 Jackraanii, Coccinnea, Duchess of Edin- 

 burgh, Verchafeltii, Virgineana, Vita 

 Alba, etc. To these I intend adding 

 others as they may be brought to my 

 notice. Of these, Viticella, Venosa, 

 Henryii and Belisarius have bloomed 

 very finely this season, and promise to 

 be something very attracting indeed 

 by their magnificent blooms. I am 

 hoping to be able at some future time to 

 report to you far more fully of their 

 behaviour, and the result of my ex- 

 periments with this interesting and 

 promising class of plants for ornament- 

 al purjjoses. 



Yours very truly, 



B. GOTT. 

 Arkona Xurseries, Oct. 5th, 1885. 



\YIXTER PROTECTION OF TREES 

 AND PLANTS. 



BV A. M. SMITH. 



The loss of fruit trees and plants by 

 freezing of the roots during the last 

 and two or three previous winters in 

 the Niagara district and other places 

 which had been always considered to 

 be the most favored sections for fruit 

 growing in Ontario, has become some- 

 thing alarming, and fruit growers are 

 beginning to ask, " What shall we do to 

 protect our trees and vines ?" lu many 

 places large vineyards of young vines 

 have been almost totally destroyed and 

 older ones have been badly injured, and 

 peach, pear and cherry trees have also 

 suffered to a great extent. The want 

 of proper covering has allowed tlie 

 frost to penetrate beyond its usual 

 depth and the want of sufficient mois- 

 ture in the soil (the winters having set 



