172 THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



REPORT ON FRUITS. 



I have two Wagener apple trees, which I planted on clay soil twenty- 

 four years ago; but they do not grow as fast as some other kinds. They 

 are good trees to bear, however ; the fruit is of fair size, keeping till May. 

 I think they are one of the best varieties of winter apples we have. Grimes' 

 Golden Pippin is growing well ; the fruit is of good size and superior flavor. 

 They are ripe in November; a good many fall off before they are fully ripe. 

 They are not likely to be very valuable in this section. 



My Burnet grape bore a few small bunches last summer. The berries 

 ai'enot as large as the Concord, and did not ripen any earlier. 



Sandforp White, Tilaonburg. 



CHOICE SHRUBS. 



The Moonseed. — Few realize the attractions of the Moonseed, Mcnis- 

 permum canadense, but why I cannot say. It is hardy and should be well 

 known, for it is an old plant of excellent qualities. The way in which the 

 vigorous, broad, heart-shaped leaves fold closely over each other is very 

 curious as well as ornamental. It is, moreover, a very strong grower, 

 easily propagated, and therefore cheap. It is, however, only another 

 instance of a good old plant apparently doomed to neglect. 



The Cut-Leaved Sumach. — The changing colors of autumn again 

 remind us of the peculiar attractions of the cut-leaved sumach {Rhus glabra 

 Zaciniata). Many roadsides glow at this season with the common sumach, 

 but the same deep color on the cut-leaved variety is combined with the most 

 -delicate and lace-like divisions of the leaf. The very irregularity of the 

 sumach has such special charms that pruning fails to improve even the cut- 

 leaved variety, unless it be to curtail the dimensions of some overgrown 

 ^specimen. All the sumachs — R. glabra laciniata, as well as the beautiful 

 new Chinese R. osbecki — belong to the outskirts or points of large shrub 

 groups, where their peculiar form and coloring may be fully evident. Color 

 and irregular form alike make them prominent in such positions. If it is 

 desirable to form them into masses — and it is often very desirable — they 

 should be planted entirely by themselves on some hillside or slope. The 

 way they are gathered together in their favorite haunts suggests the proper 

 manner of arranging them. It is a mistake, however, to think that any 

 soil will suit the different vaiieties of sumach simply because when wild 

 they gi'ow freely and abundantly. They like good, loamy soil, and certainly 

 in all ways deserve to have their likings considered, for as lawn plants in 

 the fall of the year few shrubs excel them. — S. Parsons, in Country Gent. 



A FEW WORDS ABOUT THE CLEMATIS. 



It is hardly fair to give so lovely a plant as the Clematis a mere passing 

 anention. The tender, faint, silvery white of C. Lucy Lemoine, the broad 

 gleaming white of 0. Gloire de St. Julienne and Henryii, and the rich royal 

 purple of G. Thomas Moore, Prince of Wales, patens or azurea, and JacJc- 

 manni, the latter almost the best of all, come to us as a surprise ; almost a 

 /miracle as we first behold their tender petals resting on masses of shining 



