THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



235 



This is, then, the variety generally 

 received. I would here remind the 

 readers that may have followed some 

 of the descrijjtions I have written, that 

 this is the proper month for starting 

 the various kinds of bulbs I have 

 written about, both outdoors and in- 

 doors, and that they should not wait 

 until November and December, with 

 the usual result, viz., disappointment 

 in not getting any bloom for all their 

 ti'ouble. The reason is frequently 

 attributed to the bulb beitig poor, but 

 the correct reason is that the tender 

 flower stock, encased in the centre of 

 the bulb, has been so dried up that it 

 comes up along with foliages and gradu- 

 ally withers away ; or perhaps the side 

 shoots only may have grown, thus 

 frequently disappointing the most care- 

 ful cultivator. 



THE VIRGINIA CREEPER. 



BY J. P. COCKBURN, ORAVENHURST, ONT. 



<^N our later years we are carried back 

 (gl in thought to our early days, and 

 reflect with pleasure on the many plea- 

 sant moments of rest and recreation we 

 liave had, under the vine-covered bower. 

 No villa, or rural house, can be complete 

 without the wondrous charms of the 

 trellis or arbor, so suggestive of taste 

 and comfort, yet one may travel many 

 miles through some of the finest agri- 

 cultural districts in Canada, without 

 seeing the slightest attempt at decorat- 

 ing the house of even the wealthy occu- 

 pant. The great bare pillars of a 

 verandah stand up in the glare of the 

 sun, or seem to shrink before the blast 

 as it drives along the floor of the naked 

 porch, seldom trod by occupants of 

 the dwelling becau.se there ai-e no at- 

 tractions to visit the bleak and dreary 

 waste. The work of the farm and the 

 busin(!ss of the estate is arranged in the 

 " back parlor." Farmers frequently 

 say they have no time to waste in 

 planting trees or decorating their 



grounds, and many do not assist their 

 wives to make even a sort of excuse for 

 a kitchen gai'den. To such people as I 

 have in my mind I say, take at least 

 one or two days with the boys and 

 team, secure any sort of forest trees, 

 let them be small with plenty of fibrous 

 roots, and plant them carefidly, and fill 

 up the odd ])laces about your house 

 with them. If you have no design, put 

 them in clumps in the corners, and 

 along the lane. They will soon grow, 

 and nature will adjust them to the situa- 

 tion, hut let us have the trees. 



Dig large and deep holes about your 

 verandah in which plant Vii-ginia 

 creepers ; the holes should be partly 

 filled with a mixture of decaying chips 

 from the woodshed, and filled with good 

 earth. The woodshed should be partly 

 covered with the same vines. Nothing 

 has a finer effect than a few well-grown 

 Virginia creepers trained to the veran- 

 dah and side of the house, and all un- 

 sightly buildings are soon ti'ansformed 

 to a thing of beauty. Vines seem to 

 thrive best when they can get hold of 

 some decaying substance, and they take 

 up much of the miasmatic vapours 

 about outhouses. I need not say how 

 much this will in a short time add to 

 the beauty and comforts of home, and 

 the joy of our children, the envy of our 

 dilatory neioflibor, and the delight of 

 every |)asser by. There is no outlay of 

 capital, if you can find the vines grow- 

 ing wild in some low rich bottom land 

 on your own, or on your neighbor's 

 farm. If not, you can obtain them for 

 a nominal sum from any nurseryman. 

 They jjropagate as easily as currants. 

 For small villas and city residences, 

 where the grounds are limited, the 

 Ampelopsis Veitchii is preferable, hav- 

 ing much smaller foliage and does not 

 require the space which the Ampelop- 

 sis Quinquefolia does. 



Remember that a ten-year-old vine, 

 well grown, will cover 1,000 square 



