360 The Canadian Horticulturist. 



very account, and find more ready sale than those in the smaller barrels. 

 The importance of keeping to some standard is evident, when we try to make 

 contracts with buyers at a distance. This is almost impossible unless there 

 is a standard size which is known to both parties. 



The L.\te P. C. De.mi'SEV. — In reply to a letter of condolence, in behalf 

 of our Association, to the family of the deceased, we have received the following 

 letter from his son, Mr. Walter Dempsey : 



^^ My Dear Sir, — In your letter of the 2nd of September, you ask for some 

 notes concerning my father's death. This is a hard task for me, the loss is so 

 great, and often seems more than I can endure. He was more than a father to 

 me, leading me on in the study of horticulture. He was always a great student 

 of that subject himself, always spending his leisure hours in studying either books 

 upon it, or his Bible. There are five hybrid pears and four hybrid apples 

 fruiting for the first time this year. These he was watching very closely, as long 

 as he was able to go to see them, and then he had me bring samples that he 

 might examine them, often remarking that he would like to live to see them 

 come to maturity. 



" He complained a good deal all winter. Last March his feet began to fail 

 him. In June the trouble settled in his right foot, and, in the latter part of July, 

 gangrene set in, causing death. He bore his intense pain cheerfully, quoting 

 favorite promises of the Master. The day before he died he seemed more 

 cheerful than usual and he walked out, with the aid of his crutches, to admire 

 some flowers, and went to see one of his hybrid pear trees. He had a good 

 night's rest, and rose between five and six the next morning ; but, a few minutes 

 after six o'clock, he was gone. I am very grateful to the Directors, and to your- 

 self, for the sympathy expressed to me and mine. 



"Yours truly, Walter H. De.mi>sev." 



Tuberous Begonias. — Mary Frost, a Canadian writer in the Rural New 

 \'orker talks of flowering begonias. Sandy soil, she says, is best suited to them. 

 Although the tuberous kinds have large flowers and are very showy, the older 

 flowering kinds are still much grown and are very useful for variety. Begonias 

 are charming in foliage, colors and flowers, and they are as easily cultivated as 

 geraniums. Those bedded out during the summer should be potted and 

 brought in before the frost comes, or, if they have been in pots during the 

 summer, they need to be re potted in fresh soil and well cut back. They will 

 then soon start into bloom. Begonia rubra is one of the most desirable- 

 Argentea, metallica, Saundersoni, and others, are free flowering, and have very 

 fine foliage. The earth in the pots should not be left to get dry, for, if the soil 

 dries out, the plants will not look well again, ^\'ith good drainage in the bottom 

 of the pots, they cannot have too much water. l.i(|uiil manure will help their 

 bloom. 



