THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



285 



A writer in the Farm and Garden 

 says : — Even experienced potato grow- 

 ers would hardly recognize the Early 

 Ohio potato in our patch. The plants 

 of this very dwarf sort, which were 

 grown from whole potatoes, are so un- 

 usually large and dark-colored that they 

 might be mistaken for a late, tall- 

 growing variety. The patch pi-omises 

 a very large yield. 



The difference in color of plants 

 grown from whole tubers and from less 

 seed, even from as much as one-half of 

 whole tubers, was very marked, par- 

 ticularly in the early stages of growth. 

 The plants from smaller seeding ap- 

 peared decidedly yellow, compared with 

 the rich dark-green of the whole potato 

 plantings. 



CAUSE OF FAILURE OF AGRICUL- 

 TURAL COLLEGES. 

 As we gain experience by the lapse 

 of years, problems apparently insoluble 

 at one time slowly and gradually solve 

 themselves at a later period. Thus in 

 the matter of the success of some and 

 the failure of other agricultural colleges 

 both appeared at the first quite inex- 

 plicable. But the truth is gradually 

 becoming apparent that no institution 

 will succeed as an agricultural school 

 of which the president and chief is not 

 something more than a mere successful 

 teacher ; he must be an enthusiastic 

 agriculturist. There have been regents 

 and presidents at the head of some of 

 our leading agricultural colleges, who 

 were and are all eminent as teachers, 

 great as pedagogues, with wide literary 

 reputations and renowned in history, 

 theology, politics, and law ; but not 

 one of these has succeeded, even in a 

 moderate measure, in making these 

 schools agricultural colleges indeed In 

 fact several have so erred in their man- 

 agement as to have practically driven 

 agriculture out of the schools where 

 they were chiefs, of which we need not 



go far for an example. The lesson 

 taught by these facts then is, that any 

 who, in appointing chiefs of agricultural 

 schools hereafter, choose any but prac- 

 tical and scientific agriculturists, will 

 be sinning against light and knowledge. 

 — Rural New- Yorker. 



DECIDUOUS SHRUBS AND VINES. 



The Imperial Cut-leaved Alder is 

 hardy. The thinness of its top gives 

 the plant an appearance of poverty, 

 however, and the persistent old cones 

 are unsightly. 



The wild climbing bittersweet or 

 wax-woi"k, Celastrus scandens, is desir- 

 able for a rear building or rough object. 

 A very pretty covering for a tree trunk 

 is a mixed festoon of bittersweet and 

 Virginia Creeper. The contrasts in 

 autumn coloring of foliage and berries 

 are striking. The Virginia Creeper is 

 still our popular climber. Some indi- 

 viduals do not climb well. Dr. Beall 

 propagated two plants from one parent, 

 but they are quite dissimilar in habits 

 of clinging to a building. The Japa- 

 nese Aiiipelopsis will probably prove 

 hardy when once established. The 

 Chinese Wistaria, is not hardy. 



The ordinary choke cherry, Prunus 

 Virginiana, is one of our most beauti- 

 ful shrubs ; so a^lso is the common flow- 

 ering dogwood, Cormis Jlorida. The 

 flower buds of the dogwood were killed 

 last winter, however. 



The smoke tree, Rhus cotinus, both 

 the white and purple sorts, are always 

 desirable. 



The common wild dwarf sumach, 

 Rhus copallina, is one of the very best 

 small shrubs for autumn coloring. 



The wild crab, Pyrus coronaria, is 

 very attractive when in flower. It 

 should find a place in the shrubbery. 



The fringe, Chionanthus Virginica, 

 is hardy. The English hawthorn, 

 Gratcegus oxyacantha, has not been, 

 hardy. 



