March  5,  1903. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AXD  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
209 
Bristol  Garden  rs'  Association. 
This  association  met  at  St.  John’s  Rooms,  Redland,  on  the 
2Gth  ult.,  to  hear  Mr.  W.  Haddon,  of  Weston-super-Mare,  read 
a  paper  on  “  Annuals.”  His  visit  was  the  means  of  bringing  to¬ 
gether  a  good  attendance,  he  having  been  an  active  member  of 
the  society  prior  to  his  removal  to  Weston.  The  most  essential 
point  was  to  obtain  the  best  seed  from  a  good  seed  merchant, 
and  not  buying  the  cheap  trash  so  prevalent  on  the  market.  The 
finest  strains  could  only  be  obtained  by  paying  a  fair  price.  Sweet 
Peas  were  undoubtedly  the  favourite,  and,  among  others.  Asters, 
Stocks,  Salpiglossi.s,  and  Nasturtiums,  were  popular  flowers  to 
grow.  Deei>  digging  and  manuring  were  points  not  to  be  over¬ 
looked!;  sowing  thinly  is  also  an  important  factor.  Annuals 
should  invariably  be  thinned  so  as  to  give  plenty  of  room  to  grow 
and  di.splay  their  beauty.  The  time  of  sowing  must  depend  on 
the  .state  of  the  weather,  the  end  of  March  being  generally  con¬ 
sidered  most  suitable.  Mr.  Haddon’s  lecture  was  much  appret- 
ciated,  and  he  was  unanimously  accorded  the  best  thanks  of  the 
meeting.  Prizes  for  three  pots  of  Freesias  went  to  Mr.  W.  A.  F. 
Powell  (gardener,  Mr.  Raikes),  and  to  Mrs.  Hall  (gardeuer,  Mr. 
Ware),  being  first  and  second  respectively.  Certificates  of  Merit 
were  awarded  to  Mr.  Jennings  for  two  Cypripediums,  Mr.  Gilbert 
Howes  (gardener,  Mr.  White)  for  Platyclinis  glumacea,  Mr. 
Wakefield  for  a  seedling  Begonia  of  Gloire  de  Lorraine,  and  to 
Mr.  Hunt  for  Veltheimia  viridifolia. — H.  K. 
- - 
Apple,  Bismarck. 
The  Bismarck  Apple  succeeds  in  nearly  every  district  and 
evei’y  garden,  though  at  Barnham  Court,  Maidstone,  Mr.  George 
WoocUvard,  the  renowned  fruit  grower,  says  it  beats  him  entirely 
to  secure  its  fruitfulne.ss ;  yet,  in  the  same  neighbourhood,  the 
Me.ssrs.  Bunyard  and  Co.  have  nothing  but  praise  for  the  variety, 
both  for  its  cropping  and  other  qualities.  The  fruits  are  sometimes 
badly  spotted,  and  the  flesh  often  becomes  soft  and  woolly.  The 
appearance  is  handsome,  however,  the  fruits  being  large  and  finely 
coloured,  generally  with  ruddy  cheeks.  It  is  vigorous  and  hardy, 
thriving  on  either  the  Paradise  or  Crab,  and  good  as  a  standard. 
It  is  much  grown  by  market  men  in  Middlesex,  and  is  favoured  as 
a  culinary  exhibition  Apple.  Though  opinions  vary  as  to  the 
position  it  should  occupy  in  a  selection,  the  general  vote  would 
be  in  favour  of  it  in  a  choice  for  the  best  eight  or  nine  culinary 
varieties.  Our  illustration  is  from  a  photograph  sent  from  Rood 
Ashton.  , 
The  British  Colonies, 
One  need  hardly  fear  that  the  sons  and  daughters  of  these 
i.slands  will  cea.se  to  adventure  abroad  in  order  to  build  up  homes 
for  themselves  in  the  British  Colonies  and  strengthen  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  Empire.  Loyalty  there  mu.st  always  be,  else  would  few 
“  empire  builders  ”  sail  from  our  shores,  yet  loyalty  must  be 
rewarded.  And  there  is  reward  in  the  possession  of  personal 
freedom  and  personal  property.  To  this  inheritance  our  colonial 
governors,  and  especially  those  in  Canada,  have  been  extending 
a  repeated  invitation  for  many  years  past,  and  have  offered  the 
greatest  facilities  to  emigrants. 
Recognising  that  the  Journal  of  Horticulture  was  e.stablished 
to  advance  tlie  practice  of  gardening,  of  the  .small  culture,  and 
of  agriculture,  we  consider  we  are  merely  extending  the  scope  of 
its  beneficent  influences  by  encouraging  and  directing  those  of 
our  brother.s  who  leave  our  crowded  gardening  and  farming  ranks 
here,  to  .seek  a  homo  in  the  gardens  and  farms  of  British  Colonies. 
We  do  not  intend  this  shall  dimmish  in  any  wise  from  our  diligence  * 
or  .solicitude  for  the  furtherance  of  our  British  horticultural 
interests  within  these  realms.  Wo  merely  desire  that  occasional 
me.ssages  which  will  be  conveyed  to  the  younger  readers,  more 
especially,  under  the  pre.sent  heading  of  these  notes,  may  open 
up  to  some  the  prospects  and  the  opportunities  of  a  larger  and  ' 
more  hopeful  life  in  lands  abroad. 
MANITOBA. 
About  thirty  years  ago  Manitoba  was  practically  a  wilder- 
ne.s,s,  without  a  living  .soul  save  the  few  natives  and  fur  traders 
who  now  and  again  cros,sed  its  plains.  Now  it  has'  a  capital 
(Winnipeg)  containing  a  population  of  over  49,000.  The  appear¬ 
ance  of  the  country  is  level  or  rolling  prairie  land,  with  some 
few  hills  and  a  fairly  large  number  of  woods  and  lakes.  Its  soil 
is  a  rich  black  loam,  having  for  its  sub-.soil  a  heavy  brown  clay 
and  sandy  or  gravelly  bottom.  The  grasses  of  these  prairies  are 
of  a  dw'arf  kind,  rich,  but  growing  scantily  except  in  the  sloughs 
or  lower  lands  where  the  water  remains  during  the  greater  part 
of  the  summer. 
Farming  out  West  is  not  carried  on  quite  in  the  same  manner 
as  it  is  in  Eastern  Canada  or  Great  Britain.  The  now  .settler 
commences  with  breaking  the  prairie  as  soon  as  the  snow  has 
disappeared;  usually  about  the  middle  of  April;  while  the  older 
ones  crop  with  grain  which  has  been  ploughed,  backset  and 
harrowed  the  preceding  year.  Breaking  is  usually  done  with 
three  horses  or  a  yoke  (two)  of  oxen.  The  bovine  animals  pull 
the  plough  through  the  tough  sod  with  the  same  ease  as  do  the 
horses,  but  not  at  quite  so  fast  a  rate,  though  they  leave  a  better 
showing  ill  the  way  the  sod  is  cut  and  turned.  Breaking  the  prairie 
continues  until  tlie  latter  end  of  June  or  for  a  month  longer  if 
the  ground  will  permit  by  remaining  soft  and  moist.  After 
breaking,  “back-setting”  commences,  which  is  a  turning  over 
of  the  ploughed  sod  with  a  little  more  of  the  under  soil,  for  the 
purpose  of  giving  covering  for  the  grain  to  be  sown.  A  couple 
of  strokes  of  a  harrow  after  back-setting — along  with  the  heavy 
winter’s  fro.st — leaves  the  ground  sufficieirtly  pulverised  and  fit 
to  receive  any  kind  of  grain;  though  usually  it  gets  another 
scratching  before  seeding  and  one  after,  which  lays  the  crop 
down.  The  new  .settler  cannot  put  in  a  crop  the  first  year  (except 
on  a  rented  farm  which  has  already  been  broken)  while  the  older 
colonist  must  leave  his  breaking  and  back-.settiiig  until  he  has 
.sown  his  grain  first.  Seeding  very  often  lasts  for  six  weeks 
owing  to  all  the  stubble  ground  not  being  ploughed  the  pre¬ 
ceding  autumn ;  and  even  Wheat  has  been  .sown  in  ground  up  to 
Juno  10,  escaped  summer  frosts,  and  gave  the  usual  yield  after. 
About  the  latter  part  of  this  month  (June)  the  Wheat  crops  on 
Apple,  Bismarck. 
these  western  prairies  are  luxuriant,  having  been  watered  by 
.sunny  showers ;  while  the  surrounding  wild  pasturage,  decked 
with  w'ild  Roses,  C!hrysanthemnms,  Lilies  of  the  Valley,  and  many 
other  beautiful  flowers,  tend  to  make  Nature  look  charming 
while  she  is  clad  in  verdant  greenness  and  seemingly  smiling 
beneath  the  rays  of  a  magnificent  .sun. 
July,  in  We.stern  Canada,  is  a  beautiful  month.  All  Nature 
now  rejoices.  Every  plant  and  herb  is  luxuria?it.  The  wild 
flowers  of  the  prairie  are  now  in  blossom.  The  Wheat  is  about 
shooting  out  into  ear,  notwithstanding  the  short  period  it  ha.s 
been  in  mother  eartli.  The  different  domestic  animals  in  the 
pa.stures  are  in  .splendid  condition.  The  yearling  calve.s — though 
.merely  yearlings — are  shaking  with  fat  The  cows  milk  sur¬ 
prisingly  well,  while  the  yield  and  quality  of  the  butter  is  marvel¬ 
lous.  Now  the  birds  sing,  and  it  is  delightful  to  hear  them  do 
so.  The  robin,  about  the  .same  size,  .shape,  and  colour  of  the  Old 
Counti-y  cuckoo,  sends  out  thrilling  notes  on  the  morning  air. 
It  warbles  not  unlike  the  Briti.sh  thrush,  but  owing  to  the  beauti¬ 
ful  dry  and  clear  atmosphere  of  these  We.stern  plains,  the  notes  of 
this  bird  are  far  sui)erior  to  those  of  the  thrush  of  Great  Britain. 
The  month  of  July  with  the  Manitoba,  farmer  is  rather  a  bn.sy 
one.  It  is  in  July  that  he  back-sets  and  harrows  his  breaking  so 
as  to  have  it  ready  for  seeding  the  ensuing  spring.  Esually 
abotit  this  time  he  ploughs  his  summer  fallow,  erects  np-v  build¬ 
ings  and  pasture  fences  as  he  finds  the  need  of  them;  and  also 
cuts,  saves,  and  lays  by  a  sufficient  quantity  of  hay  for  horses 
and  other  stock.  Haying,  out  West,  is  far  easier  work  than  in 
the  East,  or  in  Great  Britain,  After  breakfast,  the  farmer 
