November, 1915. 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



257 



this fair land of ours. I know of noth- 

 ing more exquisite in the whole realm 

 of nature's wildings in this country 

 than the 'Trillium'— the Trinity 

 flower that seeks the shade of copse 

 and woodland, and spreads, where a 

 few things will, in the shadow and in 

 poor soil. It is a flower treasured for 

 its beauty in the gardens of the world 

 — here it is at home. It is also a flower 

 that lends itself to formal design." 



From Swan River, Manitoba, we 

 have received the following letter by 

 Mr. H. Harley : 



"I would like to say a good wot'd 



for my favorite flower, the Paeony. It 

 is the best all round flower we have. 

 It has a great variety of color, there 

 are medium and late varieties and it 

 is almost free from insects, and quite a 

 number of them have the perfume of 

 the rose. The foliage, when not in 

 bloom, is an ornament for any garden, 

 and when in bloom is the admiration 

 of every one. Best of all, it is hardy, 

 and will grow and flourish in every 

 province. By all means let us have the 

 'Queen of flowers,' the paeony, for 

 the national flower of Canada." 

 Who speaks next? 



Carnations in the Conservatory 



A. Henderson, 



CARNATIONS that were planted 

 early in August are now produc- 

 ing some first-class blooms. Where 

 size and quality of bloom is desired 

 disbudding should be done. Remove 

 all the side buds and leave only the 

 largest terminal bud. 



Staking sliould be done as the plants 

 need it. No matter how promising 'and 

 healthy the plants may be in other 

 respects, one cannot expect to get 

 first-cla.ss flowers if the plants are not 

 properly supported. Adjustable car- 

 nation supports, similar to those shown 

 in the illustration, may be purchased 

 from any horticultural sundriesman 

 for a few cents each. These are placed 

 round the plants and so constructed 

 as to only need sliding up as the plants 

 increase in height. 



From now on we enter into real 

 winter weather, and the plants should 

 be hardened up for the period when 

 root growth is not so active. Water- 

 ing should be done only when really 



Montreal, Que. 



necessary as we advance further into 

 the winter. If any doubt should exist 

 as to whether the plants really need 

 water, leave the operation over until 

 the next day. Proper temperature is 

 important. Never leave the 50 degree 

 mark at night and you'll not go wrong. 

 Forget what some one may have told 

 you about keeping a certain variety 

 at 52 degrees at night. When you get 

 to 52 degrees it's only a degree to 53 

 degrees, and the plants will surely do 

 better at 50 degrees than at any other 

 temperature. 



On bright days the temperature may 

 run up to 70 or 75 degrees with sun 

 heat without any harmful effects if 

 plenty of air is admitted through the 

 ventilators. On dull, cloudy days the 

 temperature should not go beyond 56 

 degrees. Ventilation should be done 

 carefully, starting with a little in the 

 morning and increasing as the sun 

 warms up the house, until mid-day. 



The same rule should be observed 



in the afternoon. As the sun loses its 

 power, close down the ventilators by 

 degrees. Draughts should be avoided 

 ,at all times. A little air left on over 

 night on all favorable occasions will 

 greatly assist in hardening up the 

 growth preparatory to the coming of 

 winter. 



Syringing to keep red spider in 

 check should be done early in the 

 morning of all bright days, so that the 

 plants will be dry over night. Rust, a 

 very common disease of the carnation, 

 to a large extent is the result of the 

 plants being left wet over night. 

 Syringe well in and about the corners 

 of the benches, and particularly where 

 the plants are in close proximity to 

 the heating pipes. Red spiders revel 

 in a dry, arid atmosphere, and these 

 are the places where they find it. 

 Spray at intervals of a week or ten 

 days with aphine or tobacco extracts 

 to control green aphis. 



The Lawn and Perennial Borders 



H. L. Patmore, Brandon, Man. 



The lawn will always benefit from 

 attention in the fall after the exhaus- 

 tion of the summer growth. All lavims, 

 and especially those on light soils, re- 

 quire to be renovated. This can be 

 best done by a mixture of fine manure 

 and good soil spread over the surface 

 of the lawn just before winter. If ob- 

 tainable, sheep manure mixed with 

 about three parts of good black earth 

 is the best to be used, and should be 

 spread evenly and brushed over with 

 a bi'oom or rake, so that it lies close 

 to the roots of the grass. In this way 

 the snow and rains would carry it 

 i-ight into the soil, and in the follow- 

 ing spring, if rolled, nearly all of it 

 will be absorbed, enriching the soil 

 and making the lawn have more of 

 that turfy, springy bottom, which is 

 the essential of all good lawns. 



The shrub and perennial border, I 

 think, is best left \\'ith but very little 

 cleaning. The tops of the perennials 

 are the very best protection that_ you 

 can give the plants during the winter 

 months, and if not too unsightly, I 

 would suggest to leave these to protect 

 the plants themselves, and to be re- 

 moved the following spring. There 

 are many perennials of the hardy 

 kinds Av^hich can be planted in the fall, 

 especially if the ground is moist, and 

 they gain in the following season's 

 growth a strength which they cannot 

 get when they are transplanted after 

 gTOAVth has started in the spring. 



Carnations as grown in a private conservatory. Note the frecdO'ni from ll(jht abstruction In 



this style of greenhouse. 



Ants, which are often seen on paeony 

 buds when they are developing, are 

 there to gather a sweet, gum-like sub- 

 stance which the bud exudes. They do 

 no harm to the coming flower, nor to the 

 plant and disappear on the opening of 

 the flowers.— J. H. Bennett, Barrie, Ont. 



