516 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



AUGLST 11, 11>04. 



has the advantage that no leaves get 

 wet. Where the gardens have no main 

 canal, they have a water-pit of ten, fif- 

 teen or more metres deep (a metre is 

 a little over a yard). A horse pumps 

 up the water. Besides these gardens, 

 there are others which cannot be watered 

 at all, but depend entirely on the rain- 

 fall. 



Though here again we have a bulb- 

 growing district, the ground is not so 

 flat as in Holland. Many gardens, how- 

 ever, are level (all these can be watered), 

 others are on the slopes. Even the sides 

 of the hills are covered with gardens. 

 Of these the people have made the best 

 they could. They built walls and leveled 

 the soil in such a manner that the hill- 

 side is transformed into terraces. To 

 bring up the water high enough for these 

 is impossible, but they catch all the rain 

 and prevent it from running away. 



All gardens which depend on the rain- 

 fall for their supply of water are called 

 ' ' campagne. ' ' In April and May rain 

 falls but seldom, and sometimes these 

 gardens suffer much from want of water. 

 The warmth of the sun makes the soil dry 

 and very hard, and the plants do not 

 grow. Generally vines are planted which 

 resist much drought, though the bulbs 

 grow there very well, if it rains at the 

 right time; if it does not they remain 

 small. However, many growers consider 

 these small bulbs just as good as the 

 bigger ones from the "gardens." The 

 bulb from the latter retains a good deal 

 of water, and is not as firm and resistant 

 as a bulb from the ' ' campagne. ' ' 



A bulb from this locality has been 

 grown under difiiculties, and has, as re- 

 gards water, never known what plenty 

 means, and has never been able to store 

 80 much water, for nearly all the water 

 taken up by the roots has evaporated from 

 the leaves. A bulb from the ' ' gardens ' ' 

 however, can always store more water, 

 and never suffer. The difference between 

 these two is that a bulb from the "cam- 



pagne" of 12 cent, circumference has 

 more substance than one from the "gar- 

 dens" of 12 cent. Now suppose that 

 both under the same circumstances do 

 the same work of producing a flower 

 when forced. From which are you likely 

 to have the best results? Is the grower 

 right when he says that a bulb of 11 

 cent, from the * ' campagne ' ' has the same 

 vigor as one of 12 cent, from the "gar- 

 dens"? If there was ev?r a deficiency of 

 bulbs of a certain size, the "campagne" 

 bulbs of 1 cent, less circumference would 

 surely prove good substitutes. But if rain 

 falls at the proper time the bulbs from 

 the "campagne" may attain to the same 

 dimensions. 



This year we had the rain just at the 

 critical moment, and we may expect a 

 moderately good crop. Up to the time of 

 writing no prices had been officially fixed, 

 though we expect that they will be 

 shortly. The general opinion is that 

 the prices will be (at the beginning of 

 the trade at any rate) such that bargains 

 will be rare. For the main crop, how- 

 ever, there will be plenty of good bulbs, 

 and there is a chance that prices may 

 drop later on. F. Beamer, Jr. 



Ollioules, France. 



CANADIAN FLORISTS' MEET. 



The seventh annual convention of the 

 Canadian Horticultural Association was 

 opened in Goldsmith's Hall, Ottawa, 

 Ont., on Tuesday, August 9. There was 

 a good attendance and much interest was 

 manifest from the start. 



The first session was called to order 

 promptly on time by President E. I. 

 Mepsted. The mayor of Ottawa was then 

 introduced and delivered a cordial ad- 

 dress of welcome, stating that of the 

 many conventions which have met in 

 Ottawa during his term of oflBce, there 

 was none he took more personal pleasure 

 in greeting. The response was made by 

 P. McKenna, of Montreal, whose address 



The H. B. Beatt/ Trophies for the Lady Bowlers. 



was a credit to the craft from a point of 

 oratory. 



The next order of business was the 

 presentation of President Mepsted 's an- 

 nual address, which was later very freely 

 commented on. His suggestions with 

 regard to the tariff and concerning the 

 attempts to establish a Canadian trade 

 paper, brought out a very interesting dis- 

 cussion and were referred to a commit- 

 tee for report. The secretary's report 

 was presented and showed the associa- 

 tion to be in a very healthy and progres- 

 sive condition. The treasurer reported 

 an encouraging balance in the treasury. 



O. G. Johnston, Kingston, read a paper 

 on the greenhouses which an ordinary' 

 florist should build and provoked a great 

 deal of merriment as well as offering 

 some good, practical suggestions. 



The evening session was opened, by a 

 paper by Prof. W. T. Macoun, the horti- 

 culturist at Experimental Farm, whose 

 subject was "Hardy Perennials Suitable 

 for Florists' Use." He dealt with the 

 100 best hardy varieties and his remarks 

 were both very interesting and highly in- 

 structive. A discussion on the best fuel 

 for greenhouse heating Avas led by C. 

 Scrim, of Ottawa, and, while full of in- 

 struction, showed much difference of 

 opinion, as the difference in locality is 

 shown in climate and cost of fuel. Soft 

 coal screenings proved to be the favorite 

 fuel. 



At this session it was decided to hold 

 tlie eighth convention at Montreal next 

 year, an invitation having been received 

 from the secretary of the Montreal Flor- 

 ists' Club. 



On Wednesday papers were read by 

 A. C. Wilshire, Wm. Gammage and Wm. 

 Fendley. They were much enjoyed and 

 provoked lively debate on each subject. 

 The election of officers Wednesday even- 

 ing resulted as follows: President, 

 George Robinson, Montreal; first vice- 

 president, J. Suckling, Truro, N. S. ; 

 second vice-president, O. G. Johnston, 

 Kingston ; members executive commit- 

 tee, John Walsh, Montreal; A. Pino- 

 teau, Montreal; A. Ihanardel, Toronto. 

 Secretary and treasurer as before. 



The trade exhibition was above the 

 average. The judges made awards as 

 follows: A diploma to CampbeU Bros., 

 of Simcoe, for gladioli; certificate or 

 merit to D. J. Sinclair, Toronto, for 

 florists' supplies; to the Experimental 

 Farm for perennials; to John Scott, 

 Brooklyn, for Nephrolepis Scottii. Other 

 exhibits of note were those of J. Gam- 

 mage & Sons, London, plants; Grobba & 

 Wandry, Mimico, plants; Hall & Robin- 

 son, Montreal; C. Scrim, Ottawa, and 

 Graham Bros., ferns; Foster Pottery Co., 

 Hamilton, pots; F. Browne, Barrie, sweet 

 peas. 



The entertainment of the visitors by 

 the Ottawa florists is on an elaborate 

 scale and very hearty. 



President's Address. 



President Mepsted spoke in part, as 

 follows: 



It is pleasant to compare the meeting 

 here today with the one held in this hall 

 five years ago. What an advance we 

 have made in membership! For a year 

 or two it was up-hill work, but there 

 were some members plodded on and the 

 result is that we are now on a sound, 

 successful basis, growing each year in 

 membership and usefulness. Take our 

 visit to Toronto last year, few of us 

 would care to los9 the chance of seeing 



