June, 1915. 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



151 



Dahlia Culture 



Henry Gibson 



It is a much-mooted question among 

 dahlia growers how much or how little 

 water should be given. As a general 

 rule, under a thorough system of cul- 

 tivation, we are of the opinion that 

 enough moisture will be found in the 

 soil by the roots of the plants. It is 

 advisable, however, to watch your 

 plants closely during periods of pro- 

 tracted drought, and should they show 

 unmistakable signs of needing water, 

 give it freely ; enough to penetrate a 

 foot below the surface. Superficial 

 waterings, on the little and often plan, 

 are worse than useless with any crops, 

 and equally so with dahlias. Observe 

 the principle of irrigation, i.e., give 

 water in plenty when needed, and let 

 that suffice until needed again. As 

 soon as the surface dries, stir it up 

 again. 



Keeping the Flowers Fresh. 



Dahlias should always be cut early 

 in the morning, when they are full of 

 sap. Cut just above a joint, split the 

 stem up to the first joint, and place in 

 cool water in a cool place away from 

 draughts. When it is desired to keep 

 the blooms for several days, it is best to 

 place the freshly-cut stems an inch of 

 their length in hot water and allow 

 them to remain until the water cools, 

 then place in cold water. Charcoal 

 placed in the water helps to keep it 

 sweet ; but it should not be used, as the 

 flowers quickly droop when removed 

 to a warm room. 



Insect Enemies. 



Like almost all other garden plants, 

 dahlias are subject to the attacks of 

 various forms of insect pests. Chief 



among these are the Plant Tarnish liug 

 (Lygus Pratensis), the cut worm, 

 thrips and white fly. The first named 

 does its damage by making large gaps 

 in the petals, spoiling the appearance 

 of the flowers. This same pest is also 

 partial to asters and chrysanthemums 

 that are grown outdoors. There ap- 

 pears to be no known method of deal- 

 ing efi'ectively with the little pest. 



The cut worm usually commences 

 operations at the time the young 

 growths penetrate the ground. A little 

 corn meal with just enough paris green 

 to color it slightly, placed near each 

 plant at night when there is no likeli- 

 hood of rain, will soon account for him. 



Aphine is one of the best remedies 

 for use against attacks of thrips and 

 white fly. It is advisable to spray oc- 

 casionally all through the growing sea- 

 son to keep down these pests. 



The Vegetable Garden 



M. B. Davis, B. S. A., Ottawa, Ont. 



Cut worms will soon be preying upon 

 .young cabbage plants, cauliflowers, 

 peas, etc. They may be controlled by 

 the use of poisoned bran made as fol- 

 lows: 



Bran 5 lbs. 



Paris green 4 oz. 



amd a little molasses to sweeten. Mix 

 thoroughly with small amount of water. 



The bran is simply sprinkled around 

 the base of the plants and is eaten by 

 the worms when they come up to feed. 

 This is the best method for the control 

 of cut worms. 



The cabbage maggots which will soon 

 be in evidence can only be prevented. 

 Here is a case where an ounce of pre- 



vention is wo-rth a pound of cure. The 

 maggots are hatched from eggs laid at 

 the base of the stems of ithe plants by 

 the small white butterfly which is seen 

 flying about in early summer. If this 

 butterfly can be prevented from laying 

 her eggs on the plants, there will be no 

 maggots. This is prevented by either 

 covering the plants with a cheese oloth 

 cover as soon as the butterflies appear, 

 or by the use of a tar felt disc which 

 is fitted around the stem of the plant 

 at the time of setting out. This disc 

 is simply a square piece of tar felt (not 

 ordinary tar paper), with a slit in it, 

 through which the stem is passed. This 

 prevents the moth from laying her eggs 

 at or very near the base of the plant. 



The salt should have been put on the 

 asparagus bed some time ago, but if 

 not done it would be well to apply it at 

 once. If it is intended to keep on cut- 

 ting the rhubarb, and if good yields are 

 desired, it should be fed with liquid 

 manure if possible. If this is not ob- 

 tainable, a little nitrate of soda dis- 

 solved in water wall be a great help if 

 applied from time to time. 



The Planting of Shrubs 



A. E. Thatcher 



If shrubs of standard form are planted 

 they will need some support until they 

 become well rooted, and for this purpose 

 nothing is better than a straight stake, 

 sharply pointed and driven firmly into 

 the ground as near the stem as possible 

 without injury to the roots. The shrub 

 can be secured to it by wrapping a neat 

 piece of cloth or rubber around the stem 

 and tying to the stake firmly with string, 

 but care should be taken that no injury 



A border cninii- ■ H 

 Bleeding Heart, his. 



.n:;'i>- -m , wii i."\ser.s in the garden of Mrs. (Dr.) Gowan, Peterbopo, Ont. It includes Ribbfwi Grass. Columbine, Larkspur, 

 Golden Glow, Honeysuckle and Tiger Lillies. Mrs. Gowan is an earnest advocate of protection being afforded by our authori- 

 ties to wild flowers in their natural state before many of the best may be lost forever. 



