302 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 282. 



and Pine, which are supposed to have some specific value 

 in curing certain diseases, combine to offer great advan- 

 tages to invalids who are likely to improve under the condi- 

 tions of an outdoor life in the pure air and at a high altitude. 

 Altogether, the establishment of Algonquin Park, a 

 name which perpetuates the memory of the powerful 

 Indian nation who held sway over this territory cen- 

 turies ago, seems to mark an important advance in the 

 development of Ontario. A hundred years hence it will 

 be cherished as one of the most precious possessions of 

 the Province. It is to be hoped that these reservations 

 will be multiplied both in this country and in Canada. 

 There is small danger that the wants of coming genera- 

 tions in this respect will be too lavishly provided for. 



The English horticultural papers have published the 

 questions to be answered by candidates for gardeners' 

 certificates, in an examination held under the auspices of 

 the Royal Horticultural Society. We herewith print the 

 fourteen questions put to the candidates for the higher 

 grade, reminding the reader that only eight of these are to 

 be answered, and that the candidate can select such as he 

 pleases : 



1. Explain the mode of formation of the soil. 



2. What evils arise from stagnant moisture in the soil ; and 

 why is access of air necessary to the roots of plants ? 



3. In the selection of a site for the formation of a garden, 

 what are the principal conditions to be observed ? Describe 

 those of most importance. 



4. Describe the usual system of rotation of cropping in the 

 kitchen garden, and what are the advantages derived there- 

 from ? 



5. Mention a few common weeds which usually grow : (i) on 

 clay soils ; (2) on sandy soils ; (3) on limestone soils. 



6. Explain the ill effects which arise from too deep planting. 



7. How may a succession of vegetables be obtained during 

 every month in the year ? 



8. Explain the process of grafting, and state what objects are 

 served Isy it. 



9. By what circumstances is the work of the leaves impeded ? 



10. Why is a combination of various substances in manure 

 generally preferable to the application of one substance alone ? 



11. Describe the method of preparing the ground for Straw- 

 berries ; the preparation of the runners ; also the best time and 

 method of planting. 



12. Give some illustrations where fungi, so far from being 

 injurious, contribute to the welfare of the plant on which they 

 grow. 



13. What are the relative advantages of training fruit-trees 

 on the espalier system, and on walls ? 



14. What variations occur in the mode of growth of a 

 cutting ? 



These questions seem to us to havebeen prepared with care 

 for the purpose of ascertaining in a broad way the extent 

 of the candidate's knowledge, and, therefore, they are 

 much more useful and satisfactory than questions upon out- 

 of-the-way matters and minute details would be. Puzzling 

 questions on obscure points in horticulture might reveal 

 many things which the applicant does not know, but they 

 will not, in any honest way, show how much he does 

 know. No doubt, there are good gardeners who would fail 

 to answer half of these inquiries to the satisfaction of an 

 examiner, but it is also true that a man whose knowledge 

 is wide enough to make an intelligent statement on matters 

 like this will be a better gardener, other things being equal, 

 than one who has not this breadth of attainment. Of 

 course, no mere study of books or listening to lectures can 

 make a practical gardener. The only way to learn the art 

 of gardening is to practice it in the garden. But when, in 

 addition to this practice, a gardener, imder proper direc- 

 tion, applies himself so as to understand the reasons for 

 what he does, he certainly is better equipped than the mere 

 rule-of-thumb practitioner. The recent letters we have 

 published about horticultural instruction in France show 

 that the instruction given in that country is doing much to 

 improve its horticulture. Whenever any of our agricul- 

 tural colleges, or other institutions like the horticultural 



school connected with the Botanical Garden of St. Louis, 

 will graduate men who can acquit themselves well when 

 confronted by fair test questions like those presented by 

 the Royal Horticultural Society, there need be little fear 

 that they will fail to find employment and prove an honor 

 to their calling. 



Gardening- at the World's Fair. 



T WAS particularly interested in the planting of the northern 

 ■*■ end of the wooded island which is under the care of the 

 Japanese. The three buildings which reproduce the Hooden 

 palace at different epochs are representative of Japanese con- 

 struction of three ancient dates. One of the buildings is empty, 

 and remains closed, the other two are furnished and adorned 

 with exquisite specimens of bronze and lacquer, with kake- 

 monos and vases of flowers, after the fashion of that tasteful 

 people. No one is allowed to tread the spotless floors, which 

 are covered with delicate mats of snowy whiteness, and only 

 upon the opening day, by special invitation of the Japanese 

 Commissioner, were a few highly-favored individuals allowed 

 to walk about upon the raised veranda and view the dainty 

 interiors from near at hand. 



The buildings are slightly elevated, so that when the sliding 

 shutters are drawn back one can look within, the floor being 

 about on a level with his eye. 



The exterior of the centre temple is adorned with superb 

 carving, gayly painted and richly gilded, representing a bird 

 surrounded with flames. All the wood-work is of that perfec- 

 tion of material and finish with which those master- workmen de- 

 light the eye. In one room a bronze incense-burner of beauti- 

 ful workmanship stands in a niche. There are great pots to 

 hold imitation Chrysanthemums and other plants, and cabinets 

 of rare beauty in another apartment. What most pleased me 

 in the interior of the smaller of the two open buildings was 

 the snowy walls, slightly decorated with a flight of birds. 

 The purity and simplicity of the whole design, the few rare 

 objects of art disposed within this tiny temple, the restraint 

 and refinement of it all were of so exquisite a delicacy that it 

 affected one like a strain of rare music. 



Near the Hooden, as this collection of buildings is called, 

 is a house occupied by the Japanese in charge of the grounds, 

 which is enclosed in an interesting fence made of fine bamboo 

 lashed to posts by withes. To protect the upper ends from 

 the weather there is atop thatch composed of twigs in a long 

 bundle, also bound with withes at intervals, which has a novel 

 and serviceable foreign look. All about the buildings is a thick 

 plantation of frees and shrubs, interspersed here and there 

 with blossoming herbaceous plants, which are most carefully 

 tended. These extend to the water on either side, and under 

 the handsome bridge is moored a much decorated Japanese 

 boat. 



In front of the buildings, on the east side of the path which 

 leads through the grounds, is an arrangement of mounds and 

 tiny steps, with groupings of flat stones here and there, which 

 reminds one of pictures of the gardens of Japan. Umbrella- 

 pines are here planted with other trees and shrubs of that 

 country, and tiny winding paths lead down to the edge of the 

 water, which gleams through the shrubbery upon the slopes. 

 There are none of those attempts at minute gardening, of 

 which specimens are shown in the Horticultural Building, with 

 queer little old distorted trees, and miniature bridges and 

 lamps and imitation tea-houses. Here all is appropriately sub- 

 ordinated to the grand scheme of which it forms a part, and 

 the leafy surroundings of the pier of the fine bridge, which 

 leads to the Fisheries Building, make the bridge itself an agree- 

 able part of the scheme. 



In front of the French Building is a pretty parterre, carefully 

 tended and full of flowers, which makes a fitting accessory to 

 the construction itself, which, like everything from France, is 

 in excellent taste. Unlike the churlish English Building, 

 which stands sdffly by the lake, with closed doors, and a guard 

 to keep people away from it, whereas every other national 

 house throws its doors open cordially to all comers, the French 

 Building bids us welcome by the open doors of its two pa- 

 vilions, connected by a semi-circular arcade, and entertains us 

 with an interesting exhibit of the work of its art schools and by 

 large water-colors, framed and glazed and hung in the belvi- 

 dere, of all the finest public buildings of Paris. A fountain 

 plays in the grassy curve half-enclosed by the building, and 

 here is a gay French parterre brilliant with blossoms, and 

 skillfully tended and renewed like the beds in the Champs 

 Elysdes, so that as one set of flowers fades another takes its 

 place. The pavilions front the lake, from which a cool breeze 



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