340 m S TO R Y OF GARDENING.
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Sect. IV . Gardening in British North America.
891. Gardening in Canada is at present compai-ativcly in its infancy. Mr. Gordon,
in his remarks ou tliis country, obsen'es that the cause of this is obvious. “ The duties
imposed on settlers in a new country arc very multifai-ious ; and absolute necessaries
must natiu-ally give precedence to e-s'cry other consideration. The clearing of lands
occupies considerable time ; and, even when there is latent taste for the art, gardening
will naturally be nearly, if not entirely, neglected, except so far as its productions ai-e
subservient to some useful purpose. Rut when the harassing fatigues of a new settlement
are, in some measure, overcome, then the man of refined taste \rill follow the
natural bent of his inclinations ; and, in the soil where gi-ew the stm-dy oak, there the
fragrant rose, the gay lily, and the shoivy tulip will display their beauties, or exhale
thcir fragi-auce around. The former wilds will display the ornamented parterres, and
the corduroy roads must yield to gravel walks.”
892. Landscape-gardening, though comparatively of recent growth, has made very
rapid progress in the neighbourhood of Montreal, and in Upper Canada near the city of
Toronto, in the neighbourhood of which town there are eight or ten very interesting
A-illas. The hemlock spruce and American ai-bor vitæ grow here in gi-cat abundance.
893. I n Quebec, says Mr. Hart, “ horticulture has become yery much attended to, and
numbers of bcaiitiftil and picturesque situations have been laid out in gardens, in which
very beautifnl country seats have been erected. In climate, Quebec is very different
to Montreal, the high grounds about the former city being more exposed to cold sea
breezes than the level ground of the country of Montreal.”
894. In Montreal floriculture is very popular, as all the lower order of French
Canadians, that is, natives of Canada descended from French parents, ai-e vep^ fond of
flowers, particularly those residing in the town ; and in winter they succeed remarkably well
in blooming their plants, owing to the extreme heat kept np in their houses by means
of the stoves in use in this country. “ I t is by no means an uncommon sight, m passing
thron<i-h the suburbs of this toivn in -winter, to see a dozen or twenty Canadian houses,
in fact almost every house that is inhabited by a Fi-cnch Canadian, with the front
windows decorated with roses, carnations, and pelargoniums (particularly the countess
seedling and pine-apple pelargoniums), in full bloom, and flowering in a style that
w'ould not disgrace the most scientific gardener. Thcir gardens (each generally of a
small plot of ground adjoining the house, in which they raise their culinary vegetables)
are in summer generally graced with a few showy hollyhocks and roses, particularly the
cabbage rose, together ivitli the large crimson pæony, and perhaps a few plants of
bachelor’s buttons, and a few annual flowers.” Two things are always found in these
gardens ; a lilac in one corner and flower beds full of mignonette. Some of them
liave also a few common fiaiit trees. {Hart, in Gard. Mag. fo r 1833, p. 162^ When
Mr. James M‘Nah and Mr. Robert Brown visited Canada in the aufymn of 1834, at
jMontreal they were “ much surprised to see the great difference which the Canadian
winter produces upon those species of ornamental trees which grace the lawiis and
cities of the United States. As examples, may be mentioned Ailuntus giandulosa,,_ the
trees of which were quite small and stunted ; Maclura aurantiaca seemed baiely aave ;
and the mulben-ies were small and unhealthy. The weeping w'illows here are almost
always killed in winter, although in the neighbourhood of New York the stem of this
tree is seen averaging from eight to fifteen and sometimes twenty feet in girt. None of
the catalpas and magnolias, which prove so ornamental in the pleasui-e-grounds both of
New York and Philadelphia, can be made to live here, with the exception of M. glauciq
and it is in a very unhealthy condition. Taxodium distichum is also much dwarfed, and
barely alive. Peaches, in this part of the country, do not succeed as standards ; but
several peach trees placed against garden walls possessed wcll-ripened wood, and had
every appearance of affording plentiful crops. The principal ornamental tree^ cultivated
in this pai-t of the counti-y, on account of its beauty, is the Robinia glutinósa, which,
during the months of June, July, and August, bears a profusion of delicate pmk
flowers, and docs not attain a lai-ge size.” {Quarterly Journal o f AgriculMre.) ^
895. Country-house in the neighbourhood o f the Falls o f Niagara. Captain Hall, in
his Travels in Upper Canada, relates a curious anecdote of landscape-gardening in
America.— A gentleman, wishing to form a country residence as expeditiously as
possible, selected a certain spot in the midst of the wilderness, which, he conceived,
from the nature of the ground, the description of trees which grew upon it, and the
' extent of view which it commanded, might be converted, with little trouble, from its
wild state into a beautiful park, such as must have cost, in the ordinary process of old
countries, at least one century, if not two, to bring to perfection. Some ot the oaks and
other trees were particularly beautiful and of immense size ; and he determined on
removing only those trees which encmnbered the ground, leaving the others in all then-
native beauty. The trees were marked accordingly ; but the proprietor was unfortunately
obliged to be absent when the thinning took place, and tlie worlunen, who
fnwr known nothing about trees, except that they ought to be cut
W p 1 ^ possible, could not conceive it possible that their employer wished so
w f n i ^ accordingly decided among themselves that he
had made a mistake, and that the small number of trees marked to be cut down were
m fact, those intended to be saved. The fii-st thing, accordingly, that stnmk th^
m ^ te i s eye, on his return, was the whole of his noble grove lying flat upon the ground
left left standing to tell the' 7ta lÌ e. ( Travels in North America, vol. i. p. 267 ) the fii?, were
of to h t f o n T ' ’ T l -A'tkinson, Esq., “ is sitiÌated on a piece
f T i 7 to T precipice 200 feet high, and flanked by a w'ooded mou/tain
lange. I iom the windows of the balcony of the principal front of the house, the
shipping 111 the harbour of Quebec is distinctly seen. A part of the grounds called
t o L T L T ? '’? ™0P® General Wolfe, when he attacked the
w h ta ¥ " I ? ? are chiefly the white and red oak, and the hemlock and
r i tn n i t f ® ’®, • of hemlock spruce ; and the waUs are so constractcd
TI t 1. ft T from the bottom of the masonry to the eaves
Though built upwards of a centui-y ago, the interior of the walls is as fi-esh as if thev
{ T ^^‘^“ lock spruce begins to rot at the centre of the
ti-unk; and, to prevent this, the trees were sawn up the middle, so as to expose the
centre to the air. After placing one tree on another, to the lieight of the wall, in the
usmU manner, both the mside aud the outside were battened with pieces of quarterine-
from one inch to six inches in thickness ; and to these the weather-boarding outside, and
the laths tor plastering inside, or the wainscoting, when that mode is employed are
nailed in the usual manner. A concealed opening is left nndcr the lower weather-boai-d
and at tlic caves of the roof; in consequence of which, there is a constant circulation of
air between the outside weather-boai-ding and the inside wainscoting or plastering.”
Mr. Atianson s kitchen-garden is four acres in extent, aud contains a range of elass
300 feet long. (G a rJ . Jfap., for 1837, p. 467.)
897. ^ horticultural society was established at Montreal about 1830, and though
after a few years it was comparatively neglected, in 1834 it was revived.
898. A botanic garden at Montreal was established in 1832, and it is dcscrihed as
liaying had at first the appearance of a park, and to have been somewhat neglected • but
being afterwm-ds placed in the hands of S. Guilbault and Co., who sold plants and seeds
It began to thnve, and in the course of the following year a greenhouse was erected
899. In ioronto, a horticulfyral society was established on the 1st of May, 1834 ; and
Irom the reports of its exhibitions it appears to have succeeded. In 1840 a botanic
garden was proposed by the governor. Sir John Colbome.
900. In Lower Canada, fruit is neither remarkable for goodness nor cheapness
except strawhciTics and raspberries, which are very abundant. Apples and pears are seni
from Montreal to Quebec, and sell for about the same price as in England. Oranges
and lemons are imported from England, and arc sometimes very scai-cc. Gooseben-ies
plums, and melons arc plentiful ; but currants, cherries, walnuts, and filberts are scarce’
901. Upper Canada is very fertile. A t Toronto are extensive orchards. Here
tJie sugar-maple is abundant, and pierced for sugar when the sap begins to rise. A tree
twenty inches in diameter will yield five pounds of sugar annually, sometimes for thirty
years, l o t and pearl ashes are made from the felled trees. Beech yields at the rate of
219 lbs. for 1000 lbs. of ashes, and most other trees less. Sunflowers are abundant •
but oil IS not extracted from them, as in the United States. A great variety of fhiit trees
may be had at the nursery gardens at Toronto. The apples grown there are considered
supenor to any other. The peach trees are introduced into the orchards from Toronto to
Amherstburgh. Cherries, walnuts, chestnuts, liickoiy, hazel, and filbert nuts grow wild •
as do goosebeiTies, strawbcmcs, bluebemes, cranbemes, and black cuiTants. In Pickeii’s
Canadas, ^c., and Pickering’s Emigrant’s Guide, and other similar works, will be found
some valuable information on the soil, native productions^ and cultivated horticultural
and agricultural plants of both Canadas, drawn from the most authentic sources
902. The principal nurseries in Lower Canada are at Montreal, and the best of
these is Bhnkbonny G ^d en , kept by hfr. Robert Cleghoni. Mi-. Clcghorn has paid
^■cat attention to the introduction and cultivation of fniit trees, and has for sale about
thirty kinds of apple, fifteen or eighteen kinds of pear, about as many different kinds of
plum, tiu-ce or fom- kinds of cheny, as many grapes, and about six or eight kinds of
gooseberry. He has also a collection of perennial, herbaceous, and greenhouse plants •
and an extensive collection of indigenous plants aud trees. The other nm-seiwinen are
also market gardcucrs.
Sect. V. Gardening in Spanish North America, or Mexico.
903. The Mexicans were extremely well skilled in the cultivation o f kitchen and other
gardens, in which they planted, with great regularity and taste, fruit trees and medicinal
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