METROPOLITAN TORONTO LIBRARY METROPOLfTA/^ TORONTO CENTRAL LIBRARY Science and Technology sc ref" CIR — . SR litl V-* •'' THE Canadian l)orticultnrl$t PUBLISHED BY THE Fruit Growers' Association of Ontario. VOLUME XX. Editor Linus Woolverton, M.A. Published at Toronto. Office at Grimsby. 1897. \ IILU% INDEX TO VOLUME XX. The Canadian Horticulturist. A PAGE. Acacia, Borer in 201 Aeration System 24- Africa, Notes from 250 Ageratums "0 Aitken's Plum 352 Alexander Apple 283 Alexander Peach 352 Amaryllis Not Blooming. 80 American Pomological Society 385 Ampelopsis, Grafting 248 Annual Meeting, lS9fi 5 Annual Meeting, 1 897 427 Anthemis Tinctoria 148 Antonovka Apple 412 Ants, How to Destroy . 245 Aphis, Remedy for 371 Apple, A Seedling 158 A Long Keeping 2S(i " Barrel of Nova Scotia U6 Blossom, Double 279 " Crop in Canada 393 " C'rop in the United States 385 Fertilizers for the 120 " Market, Foreign 392 " Shipping Company 33 " Trees, Blight on 3.55 " Trees, Pruning 119 Tree Tent C:aterpillar . 228 Apples and Plums 35 " for Market, Karly .^28 " How to Grow 374 " Keeping 446 " Notes on 1*^3 " Self Sterile 19S " Storing 377 Apricots, Russian 231 , 286 Aquilegias 'OB. 236 Arabka Apple 41|-_ Arnold, Mr. Chas 29o Ashes and Manure • 158 Ashe.s, I.eached 36 Ashes on Clay Soil 11' Asters, How to Grow 1»- Australia a Market for Canadian Apples. 101 Autumn Leaves 458 Azalea, The '3 B PAGE. Baldwin Apple, Export of the 428 Barnyard Manure. 277 Beadle, Mr. D. VV. . . 138 Bean Anlhacnose ■_. 371 Begonias 25, lO"- Belle .Strawberry 220 Beurre Clairgeau Pear 244, 397 Blackberries 173 Blight on 319 " Drying up 173 ' ' for Simcoe 34 " Notes on 367 Black Currants 309, 322 Borsdorfer Apple. . 412 Brampton -Htirticultural Society.. 196, 239 British Columbia, Fruit Growing in 107 Bubach Strawberry 220 Bulb Bed, Winter Care of the 379 Bulb Culture 424, 466 Bulbs, Permanent Planting of Hardy.. . . 426 Burbauk Plum 351, 447 Bureau of Industries, Report of .30 c Cabbage Maggot 283 Cabbage Plants in Cold Frames 3 Cactus, A Fine 408 CallaLily -■*' .^^J Camellias 202 Canada as a i'ruit Growing Country 197 Canadian Horticoltubist, Improve- ment in *>' t'anker Worm 262 Cannas ,156 Cannas, New Hybrid 321 Carnation as a House Plant, The 113 Carnations, Experience with ... . 82 Carpenter, Mr. C. P 126 Cecropia Moth 4.34 Celery, Keeping 35 Cherries for Essex 319 " Hardy 355 Profitable 200 Cherry Seedling 31" Chestnuts, Japan 198 INDEX TO VOL. XX. PAGE. Child's Ruby Currant 317 Chinese Bellflower 69 Chrysanthemum Culture 55, 348 Show at Toronto 29 Chrysanthemums in the Greenhouse 209 Chrysanthemums, Varieties of 44, 315 Cleft Grafting 177 Clematis, The 54 Clivias 244, 271 Cobourg Horticultural Society 114 Codling Moth 194 Cold Storage Transportation 17, 77, 116 198, 241, 254, 265, 384 Cold Storage in Nova Scotia 32 Columbian Raspberry 367 Columbines 106 Conservatories, Building and Heating Small 178, 249, 322 Coral Berry 366 Coreopsis Lanceolata 148 Corn Smut 390 Cox's Pomona Apple 183 Craig, Prof. J 139 Cranberry, A New 413 Cranberry Culture 203 Crimson Rambler Rose 294 Crinums 200 Crown Imperial 345 Culls, Don't Market 426 Cuppage, Dece ise of Mr. J 157 Curculio of Plum 257 Currant Culture 38, 61, 316, 368 " Stem Borer 62 " Worm 62 Currants, Insects on 319 Currants, Varieties of 62 Cutworm 36 Cyclamen, The 73, 190, 248, 271 Cypripediums 244, 269, 314 D Dahlias 156, Daphne Cneorum Decorations for the Table Delaware Grape Delphiniums Denton, The late Mr. J. M Deseronto Horticultural Society. 113, 154, Dictamnus Fraxinella. Dominion Fruit Experimental Farm Dominion Journal of Horticulture Downing Gooseberry Duchess Pear .... Durham Horticultural Society 196, Dwarf Juneberry 212 283 277 307 107 330 431 70 30 37 300 96 431 179 Early Harvest Apple 328 Edgar Queen Strawberry 219 Elberta Peach 447 English Morello Cherry 317 English Sparrow in Canada 457 Equinox Strawberry 219 Errata 78. 115, 202, 385, 427 Evening Primrose 107 Exhibiting Fruits and Vegetables 250 Experimental Farms in Australia 4()l Exporting Tender Fruits to Great Britain J;^ ";( 254, 42H, 439 Export to Australia, Packing for 122 381 79 35 304 16 428 18 349 78 202 282 7 233 369 20 •277 150 310 152 423 225 460 Failure, Causes of Failure, Notes of Fallawater Apple ranieu.se Apple Farmer's (Jold Mine, The Farm Wells Fence Posts, Preserving Fern Culture Fertility of the Soil 16, Fertilizers 78, 80, 1 19, 150, 156, 244, Fertilizing, Process of Fertilizing, Profits from Fir Trees, Pruning Flies in the Window (iarden. How to Destroy . Floral Decorations Flower Beds, Manure for Flower Garden, Color and Form in Flowering Plants for the Garden Flowers at Fairs, Showing , . , " for Wet Corners " for Winter Fonthill Fruit Gardens 289^ Foxglove as a Border Plant 94 Frames for Hotbeds 98 Freak, A Curious .33, 115 Fruit and Fruit Trees, Injustice to Cana- dian 31 Fruit as Food. 376 " Case, A Standard 429 " Crop 356, 385 " Crop European 351, 354 " Growing, Extension of 129, 221 " Growing in Manitoba 206 " Growing in Scotland 37 " Growing not all Profit 318 " Growers of Grimsby and Winona 85, 126, 165 " Grower's Retrospect 320 " Grower's Story (poem) 358 " Making Money on 233 " Marketing 38 " Prospects for 1897 242, 250 284, 321, .322 " Tariff 32 " Thinning 234 Fruits, Some of the Newer 179, 231 413, 433, 453, 454 Garden, An Interesting 381 Garden Seat, Rustic 139 Garden Walks 125 Gardening for Children 352 Georgian Bay 322 Geraniums, Propagating 60 Gladiolus, New Hybrid 379 Glory of the Snow 105 Gooseberries 282, 300, 335 " Dropping 202 " Insects on 319, .391 in Simcoe Co 243, 321, ,391 " Outfit for Spraying 120 Gooseberry Culture 38, 181, 264, 391 Cutting 121, 122 " How to Grow the English .306 " Mildew 185, 2,1(1, .371 INDRX TO VOL. XX. I'AUK. Gott, Mr. B 173 (drafting 177 Wax 205 " Wild Native Stock for 205 (inipe Culture 410 " (Culture in the (ireenliouse 103 " ({rowing at t ioilerich ... 249 " Jam 380 " Juice, Making and Preserving . . . 394 " Juice, Unfermentcd 401 " Wine 429 (irapes, Covering 35 Early 35 " Experience in Planting 120 " Fine Vaiietie.? of W^ Hardy 81 Proper Handling of 386 " Varieties of 410 (Greenhouse, The 110 " The Amateur's 27 ' ' Flower. s for the Cool Section of the 72 " Heating and Ventilating the US (Irimsby Horticultural Society 75, 114 154, 239, 325 H Hamburg Exposition, The 333 Hanging baskets, Care of 112 Hataukio plum 230 Hayden. Hnnieof Mr. John 123 Heliotropes 202 Hog refuse for fertilizer 282 Home Surroundings 71, 403 Honeyberry of Japan 38 Honeysuckles 199 Horticultural Remini-scences 53 Horticultural Societies 29, 7t>, 154, 387 " " Advantages of 113, 1 95 " " Lectures for. . . 119 Horticulturists, Prominent (.'anadian, Hutt, Prof. H. L 41 Whyte, R. B 163 Hotbeds, frames for 98 House garden in winter 460 House plants, Care of 1 86 " Plants, Fertilizers for • 156 " Plants, Re-potting 459 Hyacinths 25 " As winter bloomers 425 Planting 76, 82 Pot culture of 416 Hydrangea, Hardy 237 I Industrial Fair 279, 315 Industry gooseberry 301 Irises, Dwarf 236 Irrigation 120 Italian Villa, An- 168 Ivy geraniums (50 J Japan VViueberry 179, 413 Japan Golden May berry 413 " Lilac 158 PAOK. Japan Plums 180, 231 " Plums in Iowa 232 Japanese (Quince 263 K Katsura tree 194 Kentish Fillbasket apple 253 Kerosene emulsion 248, 279, 351 Kieffer Pear 117 Kind words 1 15 Kincardme Horticultural Society. . .196, 430 L Ladders of the orchard 297 Lady Apple 31 Larkspurs 107 Lawn, Fertilizers for the 80 Lawn, Trees for the 155 Leaf rust 434 Leopard's bane 69 Letters from Russia . 226 Lilac, The 26 " Pruning 464 ' ' Varieties 273 Lilies in pots 46, 95 Lilium speciosum 40, 60, 149 Lily of the vallej'. Forced 79 Lindsay Horticultural Society 76, 155 Little, Decease of Mr. J. 464 Little's No. 44, Strawberry 334 Lodeman, Death of Prof 30 Loganberry 281, 449 Lonicera Alberti 199 Lowland laspberry apple 412 Mc McNeill, Alexander 139 M Magoon Strawberry 465 Manitoba, Fiuit growing in 128, 206 Maple tree, .Scale insect of 245 Marketing fruit 38, 336. 413 Markets, The 40, 83 Marshall strawberry 220 Mary strawberry 220 Mice, Tarred paper for 35 Michel's early strawberry. . 218 Mignonette culture 227 Mildew of gooseberry 185, 303 Moneywort 70 Montmorency cherry 317 Mrs. Cleveland strawberry 219 .Mulberries 231 N Napanee Horticultural .Society .154, 388, 399 Narcissus 167, 343 Narcissus and daffodils, Culture and va- rieties of 417 Nehunbium spe<;iosum 424 New York market 31 Niagara Falls South Horticultural So- ciety 74, 239 Nick Ohmer strawberry 452 INDEX TO vol.. XX. Niglit blooming cereus 383 Northern Spy apple, Pollenizer for 118 Norway Spruce, Insect on 28'2 Norway Spruce hedge. Pruning a, S-W Nova Scotia apple barrel IKi " Fruit growers 91, 278 " School of Horticulture 31 Novelties, Some of the 413, 453 Nursery stock, Injportation of Ameri- can 204, 351 Nut culture 12 65, Officers for 1S97 Ogon plum Onion culture Onion maggot Ontario apple 35 Orchid Ornamental shrubs, Propagating Orr, Mr. W. M •Osband's Summer pear Our Book Table 84 Our Lady of the Snows (poem) Oxalis, The 84 231 146 158 295 349 191 89 176 123 246 214 PAGE. Plum stock ." M Plums and apples 35 .• and pears at Whitby 243 II Fertilizers for 119 II in Iowa, Japan 232 II Japan 180, 231 Poplar roots. Killing 34, 118, 202 Poppies 68, 237, :?40 Port Dover Horticultural Society.. .29, 74 Port Colborne Horticultural Society 75 Port Hope Horticultural Society 75 Portulacea 228 Potatoes, Early 81, 119 P. Philenor moth 336 Pre.'ferving fluids 280 M process. The French 462 Primula, The 72 Pruning apple trees 119 II gooseberries . . 301 I. in winter 18 II pear trees 158 to thin fruit 184 Pruuus Simoni 352 Pryus Japonica 363 Packages for exporting tender fruils. . . . Palms . Pansies, ('ulture of Paris Horticultural Society Path making Peach curl 199, 259, " crop " Orchards, renewing old " rot 168, " trees, Training young " Whitewashing Peaches for the English market " Good points about " In the latitude of Hudson Bay. . Pears, Baked ' ' For Algoma " For York County " In England Pear Blight Pear trees, Age for planting II Ashes for Pearl gooseberry 300, I 'eonies I'ciennials, Dwarf hardy It Some good herbaceous . 68, 147, Petite Marguerite pear Pettit, A. H I, M Phlox 69, 192, Picking fruit 305, Picton Horticultural Society Planting, Advantages of judicious II in the fall Plant lice, and remedies for Plant Life, C^ondition of Plants, Repotting II Wintering Plum curculio II pockets II rot, Spraying for 242 166 67 154 125 317 317 172 199 230 452 146 303 32 408 80 34 33 465 34 156 306 456 236 106, 154 361 87 87 236 315 427 415 375 406 448 459 454 257 260 166 Quebec Pomological .Society 371 R Raspberries, Fertilizers for 80 ,, for Simcoe Ci 34 I, Notes on .367 II Pruning and training . . . 415 Red Astrachau apple 328 II Bietigheimer apple 183 Rex Begonia 425 Rhododendron, The 1 Rlchardias 24, 186 Rocky Mountain cherry 414 Rose bed, Mulch for 311 II garden for the amateur 58 II season, Tlie. . 312 Rosea 151, 293, 312 I, Baby 164 II for Canada, Hardy climbing 134 II for winter. Preparing 347 ■I in bloom. Keeping 70 Rot, Spraying for 187 Russian apples 411 apricots 231, 286 Baldwin 242 ,1 fruits 226 Sage culture 390 San .lose scale . 99, 157, 197, 205, 256, 280, 316, 317, 318, .351, 428, 451 II Food plants of 331 Scab, Spraying for 187 Scale insect of maple tree 245 Seaforth Horticultural Society . 387 Seat, A shady rustic 139 Sluide trees about the farm house 337 Sharp apple 183 Shipping companies 250 Shrubbery, Trimming the 229 INDEX TO vol.. XX. PAOK. .Shrubs for tlie house yard 23, 71 M Oinameutal .'{40 .. Propagating oniamental 191 Ti Pruning flowering 4.')H .Sinicoe fruit station, Notes from . 244, 367 M Horticultural Society 195 Small fruit culture «3, 140, 173, 444 fruits. Fertilizers for 244 Smilax 160 Smith, Mr. E I) 129 Smith's Falls Horticultural Society . 15.5, 432 Smitli's Giant raspberry 367 October plum 454 .Soil, Keeping up the fertility of 16, 7H i< Preparation of the . 64 .Sowing seeds 227 Spir:taa 69 Spraying 168, 187, XSli Calendar for 1897 188 Effects of 278 M in blossoming time 32, 37 Spring w ork 204 Stark apple .15 .Star strawberry 172 .Stephenotis 21.5 Step-ladder, New portable 97 Stewart, Decease of Mr. .J 78 St. Lawrence station, Notes from .... 243 Sloney Creek fruit gardens 289 Storing and packing apples 377 Stump apple 183 .Strawberries, Advice about 309 I, .Success with .308 Strawberry crop. Gathering and selling. 267 M experiment-^ at the O. A. C, Guelph 218 II Fertilizers for the 202 notes .■?34 II planting 117 I. plants, Conservation of soil moisture for 268 raspberry .... 281, .353, 41.3, 414 II runners. How to treat 117 ,1 Varieties of .... . , 355 II Whipped cream 221 white grub 20O II Winter Protection of the. . . 455 Streets, Beautifying 294 Street trees, How to prune 1 80, 238 .Success black currant 322 Sunflower, Double 68 Sweet peas 19 Varieties of 22, -1 19 Sweet pea winilow screen 286 Switzer apple 183, 412 T Tariff of fruits 81, 350 Tent caterpillar 228 Thinning fruit 184, 234 Thinning Peaches, Advantages of 350 Toad, Value of the 279 Trmiatoes, Export of 184, .350 Growing and marketing 143 Ripening 342, 434 Transportation of apples 157 Trees, Ornamental ."$46 II When to prune 186 Trillium, .lubilee . 339 Tritoma 28, 463 Tyson pear 97 Valley of the Don, Toronto 2t>0 VanDeman strawberry 219 VanDuzer, Mr. 1 89 Vegetables, Storing 451 Vinegar making 13 Vines, Climbing 54 Violets 193. 212 Virginia Creeper as a lawn screen . .211 w Walnut, The 23 Warfield strawberry 219 W^aterloo Horticultural .Society 74, 387 Weigela, Pruning the 459 Weights and measures, British local . . . 259 Wliite gruljs in strawl)erry beds 200 White Holland currant 318 Whitesmith gooseberry ;{53, 391 Whitewashing, A good outdoor 289 Wliyte, Ml. R. B 163 Wilder currant 317 Willard plum 353 Williams Favorite apple 183 strawberry 221, 334 Windbreaks 465 Window-box device 3 gardening 108, 23"i garden. To destroy Hies in 201 Windsor cherry 286 Wineberry .... 281 Wismer's dessert apple 78 Wolf River apple .... .34 Woodstock Horticultural Society 154 Woolverton, Mr. C E 52 Mr. E. .1 87 Worden grape m), 445 Wragg cherry 317 Yard as a summer retreat. The 362 II decoration 48 Yellow leaf of grape. Experiment with. . 199 Rambler rose 170 Transparent apple 328 Yucca, The 383 INDEX TO VOL. XX. INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE. Agricultural College, Guelph — Conservatory, View in 45 ,1 West side 43 Strawberry experiment plot 44 Students practising liybridization ... 47 The garden 42 Vegetable garden ... 217 Anuie de Diesbach rose 293 Apple storage house 377, 37S ,. trees at Helderleigh 131 II tree tent caterpillar 228 II waggon 378 Arnold, Chas 29.5 Basket factory at Grimsby 127 Beadle, D. W. 138 Beebee Plain, View of 370 Belle strawberry 220 Bell, Rev. l)r 9 Beurre Clairgeau pear 397 Brugmansea Arborea at Ayr 210 Bubach strawberry 220 Cactus, A fine . . . '. 409 Calla lily, Variegated 24 Canker worm. Moths of 262, 263 Carpenter, ( ". P 126 Residence of T. H. P 126 Cecropia moth, larva and cocoon 435 Cheonodoxa lacilea'. . 105 Cherry tree in Vancouver 137 Chrysanthemums as window plants 56 at Ayr 209 I, Group of .55 Some of Prof. Hutt's. 41 (Jlemalis paniculata 402 Cold storage building ... 254 ,1 Cases for 2.55 Coreopsis lanceolata 148 Craig, Prof. .John 138 Crimson Rambler rose . . 294 Curoulio catcher. Type of 257 Cypripedium acaule 270 II pubescens 269 II spectabile 314 Daffodils, Peerless 344 Dahlias 212, 213 Denton, J. M 3.S0 Downiug gooseberry 300 Duchess pear 96 Early Harvest apple 328 Edgar Qdeen strawlierry 219 Elliott, Mayor 10 Equinox strawberry 219 Export, First car of fruit for 439 Packing fruit for 440, 442 Kameuse apple 304, 305 Fisher, Hon. Sydney 254 Floral decoration 51, 277, 286 Flower exhibit 240, 4,30 Floweis, Frame for showing 423 Fonthill views 289, 291, 292 Fowler, Prof 7 Foxglove 94 Fruit farm at Grimsby 92 of I. VanDuzer 88, 91 of W. M. Orr 86 Garden in England, Interesting 380 ,1 Russia, Entrance to a 405 Garden seat 139 PAGE. Georgian Bay 332 Gladiolus, Grofl's hybrid 379 (ilory of the .'-'now 105 G rant. Prof 9 Greenhouse, A cheap 27 II View in a 310 Grimsby Village 93 Grout, J. H 325 Hayden, Home of Mr. J 123 Helderleigh, Views of 130, 131, 132 Herring, .J. E 400 Home on the Hudson 124 Hotbed frames 98, 152 Hutt, Prof. H. L 14 Industry gooseberry. Pruning the. 301, 302 Kentish Fillbasket apple 253 Kingston, Views of . . 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12 Knight, Prof.. . 9 Ladders, Convenient 297, 298 l^wn. Corner of a 327 Lilac blooms 26, 272, 273, 274, 275 I, bush 275 Loganberry. 449 Madame de Walterville rose 135 Marshall strawberry 220 Mary strawberry 220 Michael Earl}' strawberry . 218 Mrs. Cleveland strawberry 219 McNeill, Alex 1.39 II Residence of Mrs 401 Narcissi, Groups of 344, 345, 418 Nick Aimer strawberry 451 Niemetz, Jaroslav 226 Night-blooming cereua 383 Onion maggot 159, 160 Ontario apple 296 Orchid, Stanhopia oculata .349 Orr, W. M 89 Oxalis alba 215 I, Basket of 112 Packages for fruit 255 Palmer, Mrs. E. .1 327 Path making 125 Peach curl 259 Pearl gooseberry 300 Pear tree. Dwarf 96 Pettit, A. H 87 II Murray .S9 Petite Marguerite Pear 361 Philenor Moth 436 Plum, A New 459 " Orchard of I. VanDuzer 91 ,1 Pockets 260 ,1 Trees at Helderleigh 130 Porch Decoration 403 Queen Victoria 467 Read, E. H 326 Red Astracan Apple 328 Rhododendron ■ • L 2 Richardia Alba Maculata 24 Rose Garden 312, 313 Rustic Seat 139 San Jose Scale, Adult Female 99 I, ,1 .Adult Male and Female lOO, 257 „ ,1 Branch Infested with ... 100 II II Pear Infested with .99, 256 Scott's Winter Apple, Row of Trees of. 372 INDEX TO VOL. XX. PAGE. Shipping Fruit at Winona 85 Short, Prof. 7 Smith, E. I) 129 Smith's October Plum 450 Speciosum Roseum 140 Spiraea Van Houtti 404 Springhurst 48 Stephanotis 216 Step Ladder 298 1. ]■ Portable 97 Stoney Creek View 290 Storage House for Apples .377, 378 Strawberry Raspberry 414 Sweet Peas 19 Sweet Pea Window Screen 286 Tent Caterpillar 228 Trillium Jubilee 339 Tyson Pear 97 Valley of the Don 261 VanDeman Strawberry 218 VanDuzer, Chas. W 325 PAOE. VanDuzer, Residence of C. W .S25 Ira 89 Residence of Ira 90 Vinegar Makina 13, 14 Vineyard at Helderleigh 133 of T H. P. Carpenter 127 Virginia Creeper as a Lawn Screen 211 Waggon for Apples 378 Wartield Strawberry 219 Wellington, W. K 299 Williams Strawberry 221 Wilkison, Mrs. W. H 398 Residence of Mrs. . .399 Window Box 3 Woolverton, E.J 87 C. E 52 Worden Grape 445 Yard Decoration 48, 49, 50, 51, .362, 363 364, .365, 366 Yellow Transparent Apple 329 Yucca .383 CONTRIBUTORS TO VOL. XX. PAGE A Constant Reader 186 Beall, Thos 178 Bennett, W. J 18 Brooks, \V. E 335 BruntoD, F 212, 227, 345, 382, 415 B..cke, P. E 65, 191 Burr, F. W 450 BurrellM 146, 406 Cameron, A. H 70, 186 Cameron, Rod 103, 336 Caston, G. C 246, 3.33, 334, .367 C. J. F 146, 151 C. H. P 349 Craig, Prof. J 143, 211, 228, 371 Dennis, A. B 232 Gott, B . .. 173 Grofif, 31. H 71,110,271 Henry, M. J 137 Hillbom, W. VV 346 Hodges, M. B 214,310 Huggard, R. L 238 Hutt, H. L 218 Hutt, W.N 4.52 .Johnston, Henry 167 Johnston, 0. G ,58 PAflE. McCreach, Wm 164 McLeod, A 128 Micoun, W. T 194, 199, 263, 283 Morden, E 179, 2;n Niemetz, J 226 Race. T. H 185, 312 Ross, W. T 215 Smith, A M 180 Smith. E. D 129, 221 T. A. VV 102, l.-ie Veitch, Ale.x 34S VanDeman, H. E 16 Webster Bros .28, 71, 76, 134, 149, 193, 236 237, .343 Whyte, R. B. 19, 61, 68, 106, 147, 192, 269 340, 419 Watkins, S. L 366 Wood, B. A 2.30, 444 Woolverton, C. K 52 Woolverton, L..1, 5, 17, 26,30, 31, 32, .36 41, 48, 77, 78, 85. 96, 97, 99, 101, 115 116, 123, 126, 128. 157, 163, 165, 168 176, 184, 197, 198, 241, 242, 25.3, 256, 2.59 317, 318, 325, etc. CONTRIBUTIORS TO QUESTION DRAWER. PAGE. Allan, C. L 200 Beall, Thos 195 Brunton, F 248 Craig, Prof. J 118,160,319.4.34 Fletcher, Dr. . . . 200, 201, 202, 245, 282, 283 Harcourt, R .282 Hick, Walter , 119 Hutt, Prof. H. L 80. 158, 200, 202, 245 PAOK. Panton, Prof. J. H 36 Patterson, T. A 390 Spendlow, Wm ■ ,390 Taft. Prof. L. R 118 Woolverton, L 34, 3.5, 80, 117, 119, 120 20.3, 244, 248, 319, etc. Young, C. W 117 RHODO Canadiiir Ilnrlicul/Hrisl T 1 1 E Canadian HoirncuLTiii^LST. Vol. XX. 1897. No. I. THE RHODODENDRON. " Rhodoia ! if the sages ask thee why This charm is wasted on tlie earth and sky. Tell them, dear, if eyes were oiade for seeing. Then beaut j' is its o\mi excuse for being." HE Rhododendron is one of the most popular shrubs cultivated in the English gardens. The moist climate of that country, and its moderate temperature afford conditions favorable to the cultivation of many of the finest and most showy varieties, most of which are entirely too tender to be grown in even the southern portions of our province. Hooker, the eminent botanist, describes a plantation at Embly, near Romsey, of which we read about eight years ago. He said : " They were planted thirty years ago, the largest number in an exceedingly wet bottom of deep, black peat, full of drains and sheltered with sloping banks of Birch and Fir, but with much Laurel, large Kalmias and Azaleas near the road. "The shrubs had been cut continu- ally to keep the road clear, and finally made a bank from seventeen to eighteen feet high. They were scattered over the high ground (a dry, black sand) for two miles. There were, perhaps, a dozen of R. maximum, about three times as many R. arboreum and hybrid scarlets. R. ponticum and R. roseum seedsd themselves to great extent, con- sequently producing a great variety in shape, size and color of the flowers. The largest single specimen plant of Rhododendron was one hundred and fifty feet round, and twenty feet high. Ttie American species flourished with great vigor, one specimen measured nine and one half feet in height, and forty- one and one-half feet in circumference." To those of our readers who have never read up about the Rhododendron it will be a surprise to learn that over IOC species have been discovered in various parts of the world. Its favorite habitat is the Himalayan mountains of India, where about forty distinct varie- ties have been discovered, some of them THE RHODODENDRON. at great altitudes. Here it grows to perfection. Does it not seem too bad that this elegant mountain beauty, with its magnificent flowers of rose or purple, should be doomed to waste its sweet- ness on the desert air. On Mount Tonglo, in Nepal, at 7,000 ft. altitude, [)r. Hooker discovered a very interest- ing variety ; it was an epiphyte living The Doctor named this variety Dal- housii, in honor of the wife of the then Governor General of India, Lady Dalhousie. In America there are about six varie- ties, found mostly in the middle states. One variety, R. maximum, one of the finest, is found from New England to (leorgia. Fig. 1027. —Rhododendron D.\lhod.sii. high up on the trunks of oak or Magno lis trees, with a stalk often five or six feet in length. It was from the numer- ous lily like flowers of the Rhododen dron, and the egg like flowers of a peculiar Magnolia tree strewing the ground, that Dr. Hooker was led to the discovery. He says, "So conspicuous were the flowers that my rude guides called out, " Here are lilies and eggs, sir, growing out of the ground," a very fair description. The name rhododendron, is from the (Ireek words rhodos a rose, and den- dron a tree, in allusion to its rose red flowers, and it is botanically allied to the A/.ilea. The shrub is evergreen, most varieties growing to from one to ten feet high, and about the same breadth, and the flowers, which grow in terminal clusters, vary in color from white to pink, yellow, lilac, crimson and deep purple. THE RHODODENDROX. All ihis will he of little interest to our readers unless they can cultivate this beautiful shrub Well, of course, it is too tender outside of Southern Ontario, unless well protected in winter, or else grown in a tub and set inside during cold weather. It is easily tr?.nsplanted, and easily grown under right conditions. These are good rich soil, entirely free from lime or chalk, plenty of water, and paitial shade. A USEFUL WINDOW BOX DEVICE. The accompanying sketch shows two brackets arranged outside of a window in such a way that the window- box within can be pushed out into the open air when the window is raised. The brackets have grooved tops, as shown in the diagram, so the box slides without danger of falling. It is a great advantage to be thus able to slide the window-box out of doors so easily, for the fresh air, a gentle rain or shower, and the clear sunlight, are often just the things needed by the plants to make them grow thriftily. One could carry out a. window-box and secure these conditions, but the trouble would be much greater than the simple raising of the sash and pushing the box out — so much greater that without a device of this sort the plants would rarely get an outing. 1I1-2S.— Window Box. Cold Frame Cabbage Plants. — Mr. T. Greiner writes Farm and Fireside : One of our readers asks when and how to grow cabbage-plants to winter over in cold frames. Seed of early Jersey Wakefield should be sown in open ground about September 15th and 20th. It is always best to make two sowings to make sure of good plants. Then in the middle of October, or soon after, the plants are pricked out into cold frames in rows three inches apart in the rows. When winter sets in, the sashes must be put on ; but plenty of ventilation is to be given on mild sunny days all winter long The plants are to be kept dormant, and must be prevented from starting into active "rowth before it is time to set them in open ground in early spring. They are then well hardened off, and able to en- dure thecold spells that are likelyto come afterward without injury. In my own practice, I prefer to start cabbage, cauli- flower and lettuce plants in the green- house during February, and transplant them into cold frames as soon as the weather will permit, then a few weeks later into the open ground. Papa : " Willie, where are those ap- ples gone that were in the storeroom ?" Willie : " They arc with the gingerbread that was in the cupboard" — Xnvcaiile C 'hroiiiclc OUR FRUIT GROWERS AT KINGSTON. N response to an invitation re- peated two successive years, we held our Annual Meeting for i8g6 in the old "Limestone City." Thanks to the British Whig, we are able to give our readers some interesting views of this old historic town in connection with our brief account of a visit and a defence, minne.l with heavy guns and ammunition and well garrisoned ; but in modern warfare they would be of little value, and are preserved rather for orna- ment than use. Beyond Fort Frederick, looking eastward from the city one sees the Military College, the Westpoint of Ontario, with its sixty or seventy cadets, with their red coats and white helmets. '^■-^A I Fii:. liiso.— C'kdak Isi.anu is H.arbor summary of some of the more important papers. If one approaches Kingston by water, one must be impressed with the military aspect presented by the numerous mas- sive martello towers and stone batteries, and also by the stout appearance of the city buildings themselves, built of stone and giving the city its well-deserved title. These towers were in early times a strong The city itself is peculiarly laid out, and though our directors spent about four days in it, scarcely any one could find his way about without a guide. A view of a portion of the city is well shown in our illustration on the preced- ing page, as seen from St. Mary's Tower, After calling upon the editors of the leading papers, the Whig and the News, some of us who were first to arrive, FRUIT GROWERS AT KIXGSTOX. called upon His Worship, Mayor Elliot. We found him in his office in the City Hall, and he received us most cordially, and promised to do anything in his power to make our visit welcome. Fig. 1031. — Fokt Fkedekick in Hakbor. The Board of Governors of the Kingston Dairy School very kindly gave the use of their Lecture Hall for our sessions, but the attendance was so much beyond our anticipations that we should rather have accepted the offer of the City Hall, which was more centrally located and afforded greater seating capacity. Fic. 1(«'2.— CiTV Hai.i.. 6 FRC/T GROJVERS AT K/NGSTOX. Never in ihe liisiory of our Associa tion have we had a more profitable meet ing, and our report will be of the Fio. lO.'W. — I'kok. Short. ties so often seen in our city parks, in the way of stiff designs or of ribbon bed- ding. The stiff architectural element is in keei)ing near the house, but should shade off into the natural as you go from it. Prof. Fowler's lecture on " Fertiliza- tion of Flowers," was an excellent one. True, it dealt much with first princi- ples, but these are often too little under- stood, even by the practical hybridist, who is aiming at both fame and fortune by means of some fortunate cross or hybrid. The professor showed clearly the wholf processs of fertilization of the ovules by the pollen grains, and e.\ploded the old idea that the flowers of our fruits depended each upon its own pollen, for often the very position of stamens and pistils with respect to each other were unfavorable to this work being success- fully accomplished. The pollen was greatest value. It is not often so much talent can be brought together to discuss fruit topics There were present both the Dominion and the Provincial Min- ister of Agriculture, Dr. Saunders and Mr. John Craig, of Ottawa; Prof. H. I,. Hutt, of Guelph ; R. J. Shepherd, of Montreal ; Capt. Shepherd of Queens- ton ; Mr. J. I.. Haycock, M.P. ; Mr. Ruddick, Superintendent of the Dairy School, and numerous experts in fruit culture from all parts of the Province. Not least, among us was, the array of talent which we were able to borrow from the neighboring Queen's College Mr. Adam Short, Professor of Politic;il Science, gave an excellent paper on "Gardening in Relation to Civilization, ' and showed us clearly the steps of ad- vance in the history of gardening. He seemed to favor the natural style of gardening, rather than the artificial, and mercilessly condemned the monstrosi- canied from one flower to another by wind and by insects, and was more potent with another flower than with its own. FRUIT GROWERS AT KINGSTON. Fig. 1036. — Princ"ip.\l (;r.\nt. Principal Grant himself, was a fre- quent attendant at our meetings, and seemed to take the deepest interest in all our discussions He even presided at the session of Thursday evening, and imparted his own enthusiastic spirit to the whole meeting. Some one well remarked, after hearing his admirable address, and his conduct of the meeting, " Truly there is only one Principal Grant." During the evening Prof. Knight, also of Queen's gave an address on " Organic Evolution," a subject somewhat foreign to our discussions, and evidently not wholly relished by all present, many of whom are still among those styled by the Doctor " The hopeless minority." The lecturer well presented the theory of evolution, and aimed at proving the common origin of plants and animals from " one undifferentiated mass of pro- toplasm " as Dr. Bastin puts it. That the vermiform appendi.v proves man's common origin with the cow ; the gill slits in the human fcx-tus his common origin with the fish ; his upward turn of the aorta before carrying the blood down the legs his relation to the birds, is in -r %^ , \-^' \ -a ^^^g^^rj^^k 1* b. 'W^^'' Fig. 1037. — Prof. Knight. Fig. 10.38.— Rev. I)k. I'.ki.l, our humble opinion begging the whole question. However, we have no fear that science and religion will ever dis- agree when fully understood, and if evolution is a correct theory, it will not contradict Genesis. The Rev. Geo. Bell, of Queen's also contributed an excellent paper on " Fruit as Food and Medicine." The Doctor is one of the oldest and best friends of the Association in the vicinity of King- ston, and to him is due a special debt of gratitude. This paper will appear in full in our report. The great attraction of Thursday afternoon and evening was the presence FRUIT GROWERS AT KINGSTOX. and address of two Canadian farmers, one of whom occupies the position of Minister of Agriculture for the Dom- inion, and the other that for the Pro- vince of Ontario. The latter in his address emphasized most emphatically the great importance of influencing our Canadian fruit growers to grow only the best fruit, and pack only the best in the very best manner, and then there would be no difficulty in marketing it in any part of the world at remunerative prices ; while the former encouraged us to hope for some special service on rail- way and steamboat, by which our finest and most delicate fruits can be safely transported in first-class chemical cold storage from the great fruit centres in the Province to the best markets of the old world. Fruit has ruled so low in price of late, that we hail with great enthusiasm, the prospects thus held up to our view, and hope that better times are near at hand. If in 1897, this cold transportation can only be pushed forward as a commercial experiment on a large scale, and several tons of our best fruit be forwarded each week and landed in British markets in good condition, the operation can there- after be left to take care of itself At the request of the Hon. Sidney Fisher, a committee was appointed to give expression to the views of Ontario fruit growers regarding details of carry- ing on this scheme. Dr. Saunders, Director of the Dom- inion Experimental Farms, was present, and took several opportunities of ad- dressing the Convention. The Doctor is one of our most valued visitors, his general knowledge of both theoretical and practical fruit culture, and his special acquaintance with chemistry, and entomology, are of the greatest value to us all. Mr. John Craig, of Ottawa, gave a most valuable paper on " Orchard Cover Crops," giving the fol- lowing as those succeeding best in the vicinity of Ottawa, viz.: Alfalfa, Mam- moth, Red clover, Alsike and orchard. Crimson clover, which may endure m Southern Ontario, is too tender to give good results at the north. These, and numerous other topics were discussed at the meeting, and will appear in detail in our next Annual Re- port. FlO. 103!). — M.AVnK ElJ.IOTT. On Friday afternoon the curteous re- presentative of the city. His Worship, Mayor Elliot, provided a procession of cabs and took the fruit growers for an excursion to see the city. Among other interesting places visited was the " Asylum for the Insane," one of those immense provincial institutions for the comfort of the unfortunate ones of our fellows, which have been placed at convenient points by the benevolent and kind hearted people of Ontario. Excellent order and perfect discipline seemed to be the rule in every depart- ment of this institution and reflects credit on the management. We also visited the famous Kingston Penitentiary. The Warden was very obliging and took us to see many de- partments of great interest. It seemed a small supper for a workman, as each squad of men filed in from their corri- dors, carrying each, a chunk of bread NUT CULTURE. and a tin mug of tea, but perhaps it is all they deserve. We saw them locked in their narrow cells for the night, and came away glad to learn from the War- den that gardeners and fruit growers were not found among the convicts. Fio. 1041. — Kingston Penitentiary khom Portsmouth. NUT CULTURE. THERE is much encouragement to plant our native nuts and some of the foreign ones. As a rule, our indigenous trees are good bearers, and, in Mr. Van Deman's opinion, they pro- duce nuts of better quality than foreign ones. The Chestnut is receiving much attention now, and there are a few well-marked native varieties of value. Although they are smaller than the Euro- pean varieties, they are of better quality and very productive. The best are De- laney. Excelsior, Griffin, Hathaway, Mor- rell and Otto. Rocky hillsides and other places unsuitable for tillage can be used with profit for nut trees, and they can be set about buildings and in pastures. The European varieties seem more pro- fitable. It seems to be a rule that the more pubescence the nut has the better its quality. European varieties are more fuzzy than the Japanese, and less so than the American sorts. The most promi- nent of these are the Paragon, Numbo, Ridgely and Hannum. Japanese Chest- nut-trees have a more dwarf habit, and the nut has a bitter skin. They graft quite readily on .^merican seedlings, and the best varieties introduced are Alpha, Early Reliance, Grand and Superb. Among the Hickories the best nut-tree is the Pecan, a native of our southern states, and the Shell-bark Hickory, com- mon throughout the north-eastern states. A firm in Pennsylvania ships more than twenty tons of hickory nuts every year. The nuts should be planted in rough places four feet apart each way and thin- ned as they grow. Seedlings are variable, and so they must be grafted. The prin- cipal varieties are Hale's, a large thin- shelled sort, Leaming, Curtis, Elliott and Mulford. Among the Walnuts, our na- tive Butternuts may, perhaps, be im- proved, but the so-called English Walnut is the best of the family, although it is difficult to grow as far north as New York. There is no doubt that nut-trees are hard to graft and to bud. Evapora- tion should be prevented until the sap begins to flow. When the sap starts the grafts should be put in underground. The scions should be cut so as to have the pith all on one side, or, if necessary to graft above the ground, they should be covered well to prevent all evapora- tion possible. — Western New York Hort. Soc. MAKING CIDER X'INEGAR. Would you please tell me iu The Cana- dian HoRTiciil.TDRlsT, the best way to make cider vinegar ? Please give full instructions. W. J. K., Htnjr Although cider vinegar is being con stantly made by fruit growers in Ontario, methods vary, and we cannot reply better than by giving our correspondent the following directions by a competent writer in the American Agriculturist : — Vinegar is a weak solution of acetic acid, which is produced by the action of a minute vegetable germ on the sugar visible, float off into the air, and as the supply of them is inexhaustibly kept up by the constant souring of various matters containing sugar, all thai is necessary is to expose some sweet liquid to the air and it will at once begin to ferment and finally will sour, making what we call vinegar. Vinegar is a very wholesome sub- stance, and is believed to have a useful effect on the digestive process, and thus we instinctively desire it in our food. Fii:. 1042.— Qlk'K Methud of Making Cider Vinegak. contained in the liquid to be acidified. This germ changes the sugar into alco- hol, first, and this by further action be- comes acetic acid. The germs when accumulated into a mass appear as a kind of soft jelly like substance which is found in the vessels in which vinegar has been made and kept, and is commonly called the "mother" of vinegar, which it really is in fact. When dried, these germs, which are so small as to be in- But as it is rather difficult to procure it pure and free from injurious mineral acids, it is much safer to make it from fruit cider. Cider vinegar has a small quantity of malic or apple acid in it, and this makes it more agreeable. In mak- ing vinegar from cider only the very best should be used. This is only made from ripe apples, quite free from decay and the common worms often found in the fruit chosen for vinegar n-uking. MAKING CIDER VINEGAR. iSji. The most perfect cleanliness should be followed will) all lood substances, for such is the unaccountable number of ways in which germs, bad as well as good, affect the health, that no risks should be run of harm from injurious matters taken into the stomachs. The cider should be filtered through fine, clean, sharp sand, by which all the finest numerable (]uantilies. There are seVeral ways of doing this. But the quickest way is generally most desired. The store barrels are placed where six, or more, feet of space may be had below them. A faucet is fitted into each barrel. An open tub is set under the barrel, and a sloping board, or several of them, are arranged to lead a fine part of the pomace is se[)arated, and other impurities that would form a good deal of sediment in the vinegar are got rid of; and then stored in perfectly clean barrels. All that is required, then, to make cider vinegar is to expose the cider to the air, from which the active germs of fermentation are gathered without any trouble. They exist in the air in in- stream of the cider down these boards into the tub. To lessen the time still more, two of these tubs may be used, one below the other so as to expose the cider twice as long to the air. The tub should be large enough to hold as much as will flow in twelve, or twenty-four hours, and when it is nearly filled, the partly made vinegar is carried or pumped up into the liarrel again In this way, MAKIXG CIDER VIXEGAR. with a temperature of 80° F., good vin egar is made in three or four days, and when barrelled or put in suitable close vessels, it will keep improving in strength for years. [This method is shown in the annexed illustration. Fig. 1042.] For a larger quantity of vinegar an- other method, but on the same princi- ple with a larger exposure to the air, may be used. This consists of a series of vats placed one below the other (Fig. 1043), so that the liquid may run from one to the other into a receptacle at the bottom. The intention is to have the greatest possible exposure of the liquid to the air. This is secured by filling the vai:M.\N. COLD STORAGE TRANSPORTATION. kNE of the most encouraging pros- pects now before the Oniario fruit grower is that of soon being able to export to Great Britain in perfect cold storage his choicest fruits. This season our fruit growers have waked up to the possibility of over production of some of our finest fruits. Our magnifi- cent Bartletts have been begging for buyers at 25 cents a twelve quart basket, beautiful Concord grapes at one cent a pound, Lombard plums at 15 cents a twelve quart basket, and our world renowned apples at 40 cents a barrel ! At this stage, fortunately, the Domin- ion Minister of Agriculture comes to the rescue and offers to help us reach the best markets of the world. At the meeting at Kingston, certain questions were propounded by the Hon. Sidney Fisher, viz : — 1. Will cold storage warehouses be required outside of shipping centres? 2. What amount of space will be needed on railways and steamships dur- ing the year 1896, and what quantity of fruit should be forwarded per week or month, to make a fair commercial ex- periment ? 3. During what length of time will cold storage service be required, and about what date could the first regular shipment be expected ? 4. Will refrigerator service be needed in winter ? To discuss these questions and com- municate the result to the Minister, the following Committee was appointed at the meeting at Kingston, viz. : — L Woolverton, W. M. Orr, Geo. E. Fisher, A H Pettit, E. D. Smith. Regarding the establishment of Dis- trict Cold Storage Warehouses, Mr. James Robertson wrote under date of Oct. 29, asking whether a number of fruit growers in several different dis- tricts would form themselves into Joint Stock Companies, for the purpose of erecting and operating district cold storage warehouses for fruit. He said, " I think a building sufficient to hold twenty five carloads could be erected and equipped with the requisite mechan- ical refrigerating plant at a cost of between $5,000 and $6,000. The charges for the storage of fruit, when the warehouses were at all largely used, would yield a revenue sufficient to pay the operating expenses, and a fair inter- est on the investment. Would a guarantee by the Govern- ment of say 5 per cent, on the cost of the cold storage warehouses, for three years, in case they did not earn enough to pay 5 per cent, dividend, be a suffi- cient inducement, or could aid be given in any more effective manner ? " Now we would like an expression of opinion from our leading fruit growers. Shall first class, large cold storage ware- houses be placed in our large cities, such as Toronto. Hamilton, and London ; or shall small ones be scattered among our villages ? When the Committee reaches a decision, we will publish it. In the meantime we publish a letter on the subject from Mr. E. D. Smith, of Winona, one of our leading shippers. Sir, — Vour esteeined favor to liaiul, asking if ttie Government should form a scheme for the transportation of fruit in cold storage to Britain, would a stock company with a capi- tal of §5,000 or Sti.OOO he likely to be formed at Winona if guaranteed interest at 5% for 3 years. I scarcely think so until the success of placing onr perishable fruits or. the British market has been more fully tested. .My idea is this : If suit.able storage warehouses were erected in Hamilton and possibly another at St. Catharines, and tests made for 2 or :i years, to see if the British market will take our fruits at profitable prices ; whether they '7 COLD STORAGE TRANSPORTATION. can be landed tlieie in sound condition by this system ; then, if successful, there will be no difficulty in having store houses l)uilt at Winona, and, I fancy, almost every station along the line if necessary, but for purposes of experiment it seems to me that the fresh fruit could be loaded directly into the cars at the stations. It seems to me the essential point is to get proper dry, cold storage between here and Montreal, and between Montreal and the port of debarkation, and again immediately it is landed there with as quick change as possible from cars to boat, and boat to storage house. (Growers would not care to put money into anything of that nature, when a test could be made without this money being put in. I have every faith that we can grow in this Province of Ontario thousands of barrels of Bartlett pears, Anjou pears, and, I believe, Clapp's Favorite and put them on the IJritisli market with cold storage, and get handsome returns, but the system must be perfect. There would be no trouble in putting it on the cars in perfect condition. As for grapes, all they recjuire is cool, venti- lated chambers, perfectly dry, with a temper- ature of about 40°, although I am satisfied they will carry perfectly in a temperature of 50" to 60°, if there is a good circulation of pure air, and I still have faith that, if per- sisted in, our black Roger grapes especially will find a good market in Britain, and these varieties can be grown almost, if not quite, as readily as any other sorts I see no reason why, with proper cold storage, too, our peaches could not he landed there, and com- pete with California pea-^hes. I trust sometliing may come of this scheme. K. I). Smith, Winona. WINTER PRUNING. PRESERVING FENCE POSTS. ^ILL pear, plum, apple, or cherry be damaged by winter pruning when the limbs are small ? Prof. Slayton : Yes, sir. Experiments show that any pruning done between November and the iFt of April, on any of the seed-fruit trees, is an injury. Janu- ary and December are the worst months. You can see samples in the Farmers' Club room at Grand Rapids, where the bark is killed a quarter of an inch or more in pruning done in January. In March, not so far — about an eighth of an inch; pruning done in April healed slowly ; in May, very well, and in June and October, best of all. It healed pretty fairly in July, and some very well in August, a little in September, and the October healing was very good, but not quite so good as the June pruning The December limbs that were cut died ab- solutely. The January pruning was the next worst, in being killed around the cut. Mr Rice : I i)runed large shade trees in December and had bad results. Thty were Carolina poplar, which is one of the hardiest trees in the world. — Mich. Hort. Soc. 7 N building a fence around my orchard, several years ago, I tried many plan ] for preserving the posts. Having occasion to remove the fence this winter, I noted the condition of the posts as fol- lows : Those set with no preparation were decayed an inch or more in thick- ness ; those coated with a thick white- wash were better preserved, but were quite seriously attacked by worms, the posts coated with hot tar were perfectly sound as when first put in to the ground; those painted with petroleum and kero- sene were equally sound and as good as new. In the future I shall let all my posts get thoroughly dry, and then with a pan of cheap kerosene and a whitewash brush, give the lower third of the post (the part that goes into the ground) two or three liberal applications of the oil, letting it soak in well each time. Posts so treated will not be troubled by worms or insects of any kind, and will resist decay to a remarkable degree. This is the simplest, easiest, cheapest and best method of preservation. W. J. Bennett. Fiituam Couiify, N Y. i8 SWEET PEAS. Fig. 1044.— .Swk.et Pkas. n NV observant gardener who has /Ql studied the catalogues for the last Jjli five or six years, will have noticed the great increase in the varieties of Sweet Peas offered for sale. Dealers who listed ten or twelve kinds in 1890, now catalogue seventy or eighty varieties, and every year is adding to the number. No less than twenty new kinds were offered for sale this year for the first time. There is now considerably over one hundred named varieties in the market, and Mr. Eckford — who has originated the majority of the best new kinds — has promised several more for next season, which are said to be finer than any heretofore offered. Up to ten years ago all varieties were of the one type in form and habit of growth, a tall growing vine climbing by means of tendrils over anything that came in its way in its efforts to get as near the sun as possible, bearing flowers with a broad roundish petal at the back called the standard, two smaller petals called wings which bend forward as if to protect the central portion, formed by two petals joined together, called the keel, inside of which are the essential organs of the flower — the stamens and pistil. The first departure from this type was in the so-called double Sweet Peas, in which the single standard is multi- plied two or three times; these have not proved satisfactory, a very small percent- age of the seeds produced double flow- ers, and there is no increase in the attractiveness of the blossom. A great beauty in the sweet pea is the straight smooth standard which sets off so well the varied colors of the wings and keel ; any improvement must come not from multiplying the parts, it is now perfect in shape, but from new combina- tions of colors, more flowers on the stalk, and more substance in the petals. Another departure from the type of growth is the much advertised dwarf ■' Cupid," which has signally failed SWEET PEAS. to justify the claims made for it ; ft is undeniably a dwarf, forming a mat of 12 to i8 inches diameter on the surface of the ground, and is interesting on that account ; but in every other respect it is a disappointment, four-fifths of the seed sown in this locality were unfertile, the flowers are small and the stalk short ; in every way it is inferior to Emily Hen- derson or Blanche Burpee. The causes of the great popularity of the sweet pea are not far to seek. No other flower combines so many points of excellence, in beauty of form, beauty and variety of coloring, exquisite per- fume, convenience for cutting, and dura- bility after cutting — they can easily be kept fresh for a week — it is unequalled, and if properly cared for, the quantity that can be taken from even a small row is enormous. A correspondent of Garden and Forest kept a record of the stalks pulled from a row 60 feet long, from June nth to October 20th, when the last one was picked ; the total was nearly 50,000, be- sides a large number that were allowed to go to seed. From no other flower could we get the same profusion of color and fragrance. The best soil for growing sweet peas is a good heavy clay loam, rich and cap- able of retaining moisture, as it is only by keeping the roots ccol and moist that we can succeed in having them in bloom the whole season. If the soil is not very rich, put on a good allowance of well decomposed stable manure the pre- vious fall, dig it deeply in and mix thor- oughly with the soil, as they do not take kindly to manure in contact with the roots ; if not applied till the spring, bury it deeply several inches below the seed bed. If you want to feed them extra well, a dressing in the spring of a fertilizer rich in potash — or wood ashes — makes stronger and more vigorous plants. Plant as early in the spring as the ground can be worked, they are quite hardy, and will stand several degrees of frost without injury ; indeed, in dry ground where water does not lie, they may be planted in the fall with perfect safety. Make a trench three inches deep, drop the seeds two inches apart, cover one inch deep at first and do not fill in the other two inches till the plants are well up above the ground. If all the seeds grow pull out every second one — or transplant to another place if wanted — after all danger from cutworms is over — as four inches apart is close enough for the best results. If your soil is light and sandy it will be necessary to plant much deeper. Make the trench six inches deep and fill in a little at a time as the plants grow, taking care not to cover them with the earth. The soil must never be allowed to become dry. The frequent use of a sharp rake keeps the surface open and prevents e.xcessive evaporation ; but, in addition, water must be supplied liber- ally after the middle of June, unless in unusually wet seasons Don't waste the soapsuds on washday, it makes one of the best fertilizers. Some of the new varieties grow so tall — in good soil as high as 6 to 8 feet — that it is necessary to provide support for them not less than six feet high. The most convenient trellis material is poultry netting with a two-inch mesh, fastened to stout posts, firmly set in the ground, with a top rail to keep the posts rigid, so that the netting can be stretched smooth. A very handy trellis can be made from seven or eight feet of netting, bent in the form of a cylinder and the ends twisted together, with a stout wire hoop at each end to keep it in shajje. This set on end, fastened to a stake to keep it upright and the peas planted around SWEET PEAS. the outside, makes a very pretty object in the garden when covered with flowers of one or two varieties. A great advan tage of this style of trellis is that it can be set up anywhere on a few square feet of ground, and can be shifted from place to place as wanted each season. If one is willing to take the trouble to tie the vines to wires, an ordinary grape vine trellis does very well, with the wires about eight inches apart. The insect enemies of the sweet pea are few in number ; cutworms are some- times troublesome, when numerous they may easily be poisoned by placing little bundles of any succulent weed dipped in Paris green and water and laid every two or three feet along the rows, or they may be dug out in the usual way. A more serious evil to contend against is the blight ; this is only troublesome in very light soils, or where peas have been grown several years in succession in the same place. It first appears when the plants are about a foot high, the leaves turn yellow, then brown, and, in bad cases, the whole plant becomes black and dies. There is not much known about the causes or nature of the dis- ease, or how to cure it when it appears ; probably spraying with Bordeaux mix- ture is as good a remedy as is available. A great deal of what is taken for blight is really caused by that pest of the green- house and window garden — red spider : it is so insignificant in size, that it is sel- dom observed unless looked for, even then it lakes good eyesight to locate him, though the results of his presence are evident enough. Fortunately it is very easily kept in check ; a vigorous spraying now and then from the waterworks hose, if available, or from a spray pump is all that is necessary. In describing varieties, shapes and colors run mto one another so much, ih It it is somewhat difficult to classify them. In colors, white, red, yellow and blue are so inextricably mixed and blend- ed, that any classification founded on colors is unsatisfactory. In shape, there are three fairly well marked divisions ; the first, from which all the newer varieties are derived, has the standard somewhat wedge-shaped and bent back from the rest of the flow- er, or reflexed, as in Painted Lady ; the second, of which B'anche Burpee is a good representative, has the standard straight and erect, with the wings and keel close up to it. In the thiid form, as in Lottie Eckford, the standard is inclined forward at the edge, as if to envelope the wings ; this is known as the hooded form ; many of the most admired new sorts belong to this class. In some cases this tendency of the stand- ard to curve forward is carried so far as to form a roll on each side, as in Oddity : when the bending forward is carried to such an extent, it may be interesting to the specialist from its oddity, but it cer- tainly could not be called beautiful. Whether you plant named varieties or mixed, be sure to plant enough. You will be surprised at the number that can be used as cut flowers, not only in your own household, but by your friends. I have yet to see the visitor to my garden that was not delighted to get a bouquet of sweet peas. Give them away freely. If you want to have an abundance of flowers all summer, they must be picked frequently ; never allow them to go to seed. If you plant them mixed, get the best Eckford mixture ; but it is much more satisfactory to buy named varieties, as you can then select such colors as you prefer. Most of the mixtures have too large a proportion of dark colors for the best effect ; in my opinion, not less than four-fifths of a collection should be of light or medium shades. SWEET PEAS. In making a selection from the many varieties offered for sale, a great deal will depend on the individual taste of the grower, what colors one prefers, and also on the amount of space that is available. To grow anything of a large collection requires a long stretch of trellis ; a weak growing kmd is apt to be overgrown by a stronger neighbor, unless there is about five feet allowed to each kind. Probably a collection of twelve sorts would satisfy the desires of the average grower ; for variety in that number a very fair representation of the different shapes and colors can be had. Leaving out of consideration the six new kinds sent out this year by Mr. Eckford, as very few growers would care to pay the price asked for them — 2/6 stg. the package — I would recommend as the best out of seventy varieties grown by me this season, the following twelve; ist. Blanche Burpee, decidedly the best white to date, of large size, fine form, good substance and a profuse bloomer. 2nd. Primrose, pale primrose yellow, a very delicate and handsome flower ; by some, Mrs. Eckford is considered a better yellow, but it has not done so well with me, 3rd. Ramona, a new Californian va- riety sent out this year, of largest size, slightly hooded form, color white, with faint rose-pink lines on the standard, a lovely flower, strong, vigorous grower and profuse bloomer. 4th. Ainerica, also a new one from California, the best red and white stripe, white ground with brilliant blood-red stripes, a most effective flower either in a bouquet or on the trellis. 5th. Princess Beatrice, pale blush and pink, an old favorite, much grown by florists for cut flowers. 6th. Lottie Eckford, white suffused with lavender standard and wings, with a delicate blue edge, a most exquisite flower. 7th. Countess of Radnor standard, .1 clear lavender, wings a little darker, good size, hooded form, the best of the lav- enders. 8th. Katherine Tracy, nesv last season, by far the best pink to date, of largest size, good shape, clear rich pink all over, the most profuse bloomer in my collec- tion, shou'd be in every garden. 9th. Lady Beaconsfield, salmon pink and primrose, not of large size, but fine form and a charming combinatian of color. loth. Lady Penzance, a cherry pink with pale carmine veining, a unique color, good form and profuse bloomer. nth. Fire Fly, the best red to date, not large in size or of the best shape, but very brilliant in color. 1 2th. Boreafton, the best dark sort, an old favorite, deep velvety maroon and claret. Such a collection would require at least sixty feet of trellis, and if well grown should produce not less than 50,000 trusses in the season ; I don't think that is too many, if you have lots of friends — and what gardener has not when he has flowers to give away — you can easily dispose of a great many more than that. Of course twelve kinds does not include ail that are worth growing, if you liked you could very well add another dozen to the number, every one of them desirable flowers to have. To my taste the second best dozen would be made up as follows : Lemon Queen, a fine white with a touch of yel- low in it the first day after it opens. Blanche Ferry, pink and white. Day- break, a new American variety, white and scarlet. Mrs. Gladstone, blush and pink. Splendor, deep pink. Venus, salmon pink. Princess of Wales, blue and white striped. Grey Friar, should SWEET PEAS. be bluish grey, but is often spoiled by dark stripes or blotches inherited from Senator, from which it has been selected ; when perfect it is a very fine flower. Stanley, purplish maroon. Dorothy Ten- nant, mauve. Duke cf Clarence, dark mauve and purplish blue. Captain of the Blues, the best blue. No doubt some of you will think that it is all nonsense growing so many kinds, but I can assure you there is a great deal of pleasure to be derived from taking any of our garden flowers, sweet peas, asters, poppies, or any other flower you prefer, growing all the available varie- ties of it, making a thorough study of their habits and peculiarities, discarding the inferior sorts, retaining the kinds that please you most for future use. Then the next year take up some other flower, pursue the same course with it, and in a few years you will have acquired a knowledge of the floral king- dom, and developed an interest in your garden, such as you never dreamt of in the old days, when you were content to plant the same few papers of mixed seeds year after year.* Ottawa. R. B. Whvte. THE WALNUT. Z>1 p^HE walnut is best grown from the nut, but it can also be pro- pagated by budding, grafting and layering. Fresh gathered nuts should be selected, and they can be sown in nurseries in drills two feet apart, or better where it is intended for them to remain, as this tree makes a very strong tap-root, which, if the tree be left too long before removal, may be injured in the transplanting. A deep and perferentially a calcareous soil should be chosen, with a dry bottom. The young tree is somewhat delicate and is apt to be injured by the spring frosts. In cold districts therefore it must be protected for a year or two. Plenty of room must be allowed, as it is a vig- orous grower and makes fully twenty feet in height in ten years, at which date it usually begins to bear a crop. Once established little or no attention is required, and except to remove un- sightly growths no pruning is necessary. It will attain quite loo feet in height, and lives to a great age, its productive- ness increasing with its years. It is very suitable for avenue planting or as a roadside tree. — National Messenger. SHRUBS FOR FARMERS FE advise all our agricultural brethren to plant largely of hardy shrubbery and herbaceous peren- nials. They require the least attention, suffer least from insect pests, and, if treated liberally as we have advised, to well-rotted muck, barnyard leachings, or an admixture of hen droppings and ash siftings, they will give you the most satis- faction. The beds need not be renewed with the return of each season. If the work is well done when you set out the herbaceous kinds, and you give them plenty of room, they need not be lifted and divided for a period of at least five years. Shrubby perennials have woody stems. There are the deutzias, spirals, hydrangeas, roses, mock-oranges, lilacs, snowballs, golden-bells, tree paeonies, and many more which we find in cat- alogues of hardy shrubs. Let the tallest growing species be planted near the boundaries of your premises in the centre groups, or as screens to conceal unsightly objects from view. — Report Pa. of Horticultural Society. * This paper was read before the 0. F.G.A. at Kingston, and will be ioteresting to the members of our Horticultural Societies. — Kd. RICHARDIAS. TTI MONG the many favorites for the /l\\ window garden, there is perhaps if li none which is moregenerallygrown in Canada than the one we call Calla Lily. Its large sagittate leaves, and its pure white spathe thrown back to dis- close a bright yellow spadix, fully cov- ered with flowers proper, make it a rich ornament to any window. No funeral spread to be corrected, e.vcept among florists. The name belongs to another species of the Arum family, viz., Calla palustris, or Water Arum, a low peren- nial herb, which, although originally introduced from Europe, is quite com- mon in the northern United States in boggy places, but is not worthy of a place in the window garden. 1044- \'ariki:ateii Calla, Rh'Haruia ALua-MAcrLATA decorations are thought complete with- out a liberal supply of the African lilies, and the length of time they will keep in a fresh condition is an additional point in their favor. It will be a surprise to a good many to be told that the name " Calla," by which this flower is commonly known, is a misnomer,although perhaps toowide- The Richardia takes the name from L. C. Richards, a French botanist, and is a genus comprising five species of marsh plants, natives of South Africa, four of which have been introduced for greenhouse cultivation. They are of very easy cultivation, the most important point being to give them a plentiful sup[)ly of water during their RICHAKDIAS. -growing season. They will succeed bust in a rich soil, made of a compost of good loam and cow manure in equal parts. Richardia Africana is the proper name of the variety above referred to as most ^rown by amateurs. It is a winter and spring bloomer, and is usually allowed to rest in the summer months, by turn- ing down the pot on its edge and leaving the plant without water ; or it may be planted out and left without care until early fall, and then potted. R. alhoiii iculaUi, or the while spotted Calla, is by far the best of the other three for amateur cultivation. This one is highly prized for its foliage, which has a variegated appearance, while its green- ish-white spathe, though smaller than that of R. Africana, is still very inter- esting. HYACINTHS. 'TJ7YACINTHS to bloom for Easter ri should be planted early this month IJi (January). For successful blooming of the bulbs planted in potsthereare two things absolutely essential, and one is that until the shootsare two inches long about the same proportion of water should be kept around them and the bulb, keeping them from the light and air. The other requirement is that the soil in which the bulb is planted should be well mixed with sand. As soon as the bulb is planted it should be placed in a cool place and watered sparingly until it be- gins to shoot up its leaves, when it may be more freely supplied. After it has fairly started in a cool place it may be transferred to the sitting-room window, and in a few weeks its beauty and fra- grance will fully compensate for the care bestowed upon it. The hyacinth is a native of the Levant, and was introduced into Germany early in the fifteenth cen- tury. So popular did it become that in 1700 over 2000 varieties had been pro- pagated. It is named after Hyacinthus, whom the gods, unable to save, changed into a flower. The Greeks fancied they could perceive on the petals of this flower the notes of grief. — Detroit Tri- bune. BEGONIAS FOR THE WINDOW. T is safe, I think, to say that Begonias are only second to Geraniums in J popularity for window gardening. They are the most interesting of all easily grown plants because of the diver- sity of their foliage and the difl'erence in their habit of growth, and are great favorites with the average plant lover. One of the most beautiful is B. manicata aurea. Its principal charm lies in its handsomely variegated foliage, but its delicate, lace-like blossoms are not to be despised, and altogether, with its beauty and ease of culture it is a most satisfac- tory plant. Another favorite is B. sem- perflorens gigantea rosea. It is a strong grower, and-a wonderfully free bloomer : it is besides very handsome, having a vivid scarlet spot in the center of each leaf. The bright, long stemmed blos- soms harmonize admirably with the polished foliage. B. Bruanti, though seldom mentioned, and not always cata- logued, is another excellent sort, thriv- ing all winter long with little or no care and blossoming with admirable persis- tency. B. Thurstonii is beautiful in leaf, and makes a most shapely plant. Its coloring is very pleasing and it makes a welcome addition to the winter window garden. These are to be depended upon for the ordinary sitting-room win- dow.— [Farm and Home. 25 Fig. 1045.— The Lilac THE LILAC. IN nearly every garden in Southern Ontario we find the Common lilac, Syringa vulgaris, and truly no shrub is more prized for its elegant display of beautiful flowers. The color may be either red, blue or white, the latter being particularly desirable ; groups of the white lilac may be seen growing, in the garden of the old rectory of the English Church at Grimsby, and are always much admired. The common lilac was brought to England from Persia in 1597 just three hundred years ago. The generic name Syringa is from 26 A MA TE L'R\S GREENHO USE. Greek syringos a pipe, referring to the long straight branches filled with pith, while the common English name Lilac called Persian lilac {S. C/iinensis) grown is a Persian name for the flower. The so in many of our gardens, is probably a cross between 5. vulgaris and S perska, a Persian species. Its flowers are usually of a deep violet color. The lilac is easily propagated from suckers, and will grow in almost any soil and situation. Still for the best results the ground should be enriched and given good cultivation. Botanically there are only about ten species, natives of Central and Southern Europe and Asia. There are, however, great numbers of garden varieties, of great beauty, and one of our enterprising Canadian nurserymen lists no less than twenty-two fine varieties in his cata- logue. AMATEUR'S GREENHOUSE. Sir, — Can you give me a good plan by which to build a clieap greenhouse. I waut to build a lean-to against the house, but I am afraid our house is not rightly situated, for the only place is on the north side. What would a small lean-to cost ? Could one be heated with a good heating coal oil stove? C A., Braiil/oril. Our correspondent does not seem to be well situated for a lean to greenhouse, for any side would be better than the north side of his house. It would be better, but of course more expensive, to build a separate house. Fig. 1046. — A Cheap Greenhouse In i8go we gave a plan of a cheap lean-to greenhouse from Popular Gar- dening, and here re-publish the same for the good of our correspondent. Size of building 9x16 feet, being a lean-to against the dwelling. Cost $28.50 complete, including the heating contrivance, which consists of kerosene oil stoves and drum with connecting hot-air pipe about twelve feet in length and three and a half inch in diameter inside measure. Plan of Greenhouse. The average cost of heating is but ten cents a night. A pipe leads from over the lamps to the outside of the building to conduct away any smoke or smell from the lamps. This pipe turns up- wards outdoors, and is protected with a cap-like cover to keep the rain out. The plan of putting up the structure was this : First, six 4x4 inch posts were set in the ground, resting on stones with some smaller ones between, and to these for making the sides, boards one foot wide were nailed lengthwise. Over these horizontal boards a second layer was nailed, but to have them run up and down, and with strips nailed over the joints. Two coats of paint were given to the exterior. The inside surface of the wall was covered with heavy build 27 AMATEURS GREENHOUSE. ing paper, an eighth of an inch thick. Altogether this wall is so warm that during the great blizzard, which in March ( 1888) visited our correspondent's region, a night heat of 47° was easily maintained Concerning the plan of heating with oil stoves, Mr. Emmerich says that in his case it is entirely satisfactory. Two small stoves, made by the Kerosene Oil Stove Co., and having two four inch wicks each, and an oil receptacle con- taining seven quarts to each. The drum from which the hot air pipe ex- tends, is situated upwards from and between the lamps. While the 3)^ inch pipe is effectual in conveying heat to its further end, still Mr. Emmerich is of the opinion that if it were a size larger it might be even more satisfactory. Regirding oil lamps smoking when put to such a use, and of which some complain, no trouble has ever been realized. The lamps are kept perfectly clean, and nothing but the best 150 tested oil is used. Care is taken, how- ever, to not have them turned up too high at any time, for if they were, naturally they would smoke. By means of the pipe leading outside all smell of the burning oil is removed. Concerning the general success of this house, the writer says he wishes our readers could see the beauty and perfec- tion of the many plants grown within its walls. Still it must not be forgotten that the general attention bestowed on plants has at all times quite as much to do with their success as the providing of sufficient heat and light for their wants. THE TRITOMA. n MONG fall blooming plants the /{j\ Tritoma, or Flame plant, or Red ilji Hot Poker plant stands out con- spicuous as being the last to succumb to the approaching winter. For several years we have seen this wonderful herba- ceous plant produce its bright orange spikes in profusion during the months of October and November, even after repeated frosts, and after every other plant had ceased to flower. It begins to bloom in late July or August, and only ceases when visited by a real hard frost. The hardy nature of the flower induces some to attribute to the plant greater hardiness than it really possesses : it appreciates a covering that will pre- serve it from superabundant moisture, it may either be dug and wintered in a cool cellar, or a box or barrel may be inverted and placed over it. It is rather impatient of a damp location in the winter. It is easily increased by divi- sion. There are several varieties of the Tritoma, but T. uvaria grandiflora is beyond a doubt the most desirable. Hamilton. Webster Bro.s. Floriculture and small fruit culture are preeminently adapted to women. There are few industries where fairer returns for capital and labor expended are more certain ; few that can be so well begun with small means, and still remain capable of indefinite extension. Fine fruits and flowers are in demand. Our densely populated commercial cen- tres, our thronged and fashionable sum- mer resorts, are rarely if ever adequately supplied with them. As a rule, they take all they can get, and then look around for more. You might double the largest annual yield of good berries, or fine roses or carnations, with profit to the producers The home market for products of this sort is wonderfully elas- tic, the demand ever keeping well abreast of the supply. — Rept. Columbus (O) H. Soc. 28 ^ ©^p Affiliated ^ocieti^c?. $ FORT DOX'KR. THE Fruit Growers' Association for the Township of Woodbourne and Pt. Dover held a meeting in Town Hall, Pt. Dover, on the evening of Dec. loth, when a programme consisting of recitations, addresses, vocal and instru- mental music was given by members of the Association, assisted by Mr. H. H. Groff, of Simcoe. Mr. Groff gave us two papers, one on the " Gladioli," and the other on the " Canna," — both were well received, being very interesting and instructive. This meeting was held in commem- oration of the event of having obtained the requisite number of names for an organized Horticultural Society, and those taking part in the meeting must have been pleased, as well as the direct- ors of the Society, by having an audience who were appreciative of the efforts put forth by the members, as well as having a house packed to its doors. At the conclusion of the meeting a vote of thanks was tendered Mr. H. H. Groff for his valuable and instructive papers on the above subjects. Jonathan Ellis, Esq , occupied the chair. The meeting was brought to a close by all singing, " God Save the Queen," — after an announcement of the next meeting, which will be held Jan. 13th, 8 pm, 1897, for election of officers. J. Symington, W. F. Carpenter, President. Sec.-Treas. Port Dover, Dec. 20, '96. TORONTO'S SEVENTH MUM ANNUAL SHOW. CHRYSANTHE rOR a number of years past, one of the chief attractions in Toronto during the Thanksgiving season has been the Chrysanthemum Show held in the Pavillion in the Horticultural Gardens. The display this year sur- passed in many respects all previous ones. The number of specimen plants of chrysanthemums was probably not equal to that of last year on account of the lateness of the season. There were) however, a choice lot of plants grown to single stems in 5-in. pots. Those ex- hibited by the Horticultural Gardens were especially admired for their dwarf habit of growth. The variety and qual- ity of chrysanthemum cut bloom fully equalled that of last year. The major- ity of prizes were divided among J. H. Dunlop, Toronto ; H. Dale, Brampton, and Millar & Sons, Bracondale. The display of roses, carnations and orchids was liner than ever before seen in Toronto. The beautiful vases of " Mermet," " Meteor," " American Beauty," " Bride," and " Bridesmaid " roses were the admired of all admirers. Among the carnations the fine col- lection of seedlings grown by Millar & Sons, Bracondale, was well worthy of special mention, many of these will no doubt become popular standard varieties. The floral designs excelled in both quantity and quality. Their beauty and artistic arrangement may be inferred from the names of some of the principal exhibitors, — Tidy & Sons, Grainger Bros, and Millar & Sons. 29 SUBSCRIPTION PRICE, $I.oo per year, entitling the subscriber to membership of the Fruit Growers' Association of Ontario and all its privileges, including a copy o£ its valuable Annual Report, and a share in its annual distribution of plants and trees. -^t REMITTANCES by Registered Letter are at our risk. Receipts will be acknowledged upon the Address Label. ADVERTISING RATES quoted on application. Circulation, 4,000 copies per month. -^ ]v[otes arid (foiT)iT)er)t(?. ^ Co-operation in Experimental Work. — The question of a Dominion Fruit Experimental Farm in Southern Ontario was discussed at our Kingston meeting, and it was resolved to ask the Minister of Agriculture for the Domin- ion to utilize the various provincial stations now established in Ontario, for special experiments, and to have a special sum placed in the estimates to be at the disposal of the Director of the Dom- inion Experimental Farm, for the con- duct of such experiments by the provin- cial experimenters, under his direction. Mr. Lodeman was a native of Switzer- land, a graduate of the State Normal School of Michigan, and received the degree of Master of Science at Cornell, in 1895. His last journey to Oswego County, New York, was for the purpose of in- specting experiments in fertilizing straw- berry fields, and here, under some im- pulse induced by strain of work, he met his tragic end. We glean this from Garden and Forest. Sudden Death of Prof. Lodeman. — Our readers will be grieved to learn that Mr. E. G. Lodeman, Assistant Hor- ticulturist at Cornell University, died on the 2nd December last, in Mexico, New York State. We are much indebted to him for his help in advancing the science of spraying, and some of his bulletins have been of great value to Ontario Fruit Growers. Only last August he visited Grimsby in company with Mr. Craig, to investigate a new disease of the vine. Our Floricultural Department will be enlarged in future, providing our readers will contribute to it. We have now about twenty-three affiliated Horti- cultural Societies, and the members are nearly all amateurs in floriculture, and are eager for information. Now we want to learn from each other, and by writing to this Journal notes on our successes or failures, or any experiences we have had with flowers or flowering shrubs, we will contribute to the general interest, and draw out information from others. 30 NOTES AND COMMENTS. The Short Winter Course of Horticulture at the Nova Scotia School of Horticulture opens Jan. 7th. The course is practical, embracing instruction for the needs of young men engaged in farming or fruit growing. An outline of the course will be furnished on applica- tion to Prof. E. E. Faville, Wolfville. The tuition is free, and the board reasonable. The Annual Report of the Bureau of Industries has come to hand. It contains the usual valuable information on weather and crops, live stock, dairy and apiary, farm rents and wages, but does not give enough statistics about the orchard and garden to satisfy the fruit grower. To these only three columns are devoted, while a whole page is given to turnips, the same to carrots, etc. To us it would be very useful and interest- ing to know the quantity of apples, of pears, of peaches, etc., grown in each county. We note that the amount of orchard and garden land is increasing, about 4,000 acres being added in 1894-5, and 10,000 acres in the last ten years. Injustice to Canadi.\n Fruit and Fruit Trees. — We have received from the Minister of Agriculture of British Columbia, a copy of a resolution passed by the Board of Horticulture, strongly protesting against a proclamation by His Excellency, Sir H. Robinson, Governor of Cape Colony, strictly prohibiting the importation into that country of stone fruits and trees, scions, roots, or seeds, those of, grown in and being the product of the Dominion of Canada. No doubt this has reference to Black Knot and Yellows, the former of which is seldom seen on nursery stock, and could not be carried in the fruit or in the pits ; and the latter of which is not known in Canada, except in a very limited district. The Horticultural Board of K C. claims that that province is entirely free from these diseases, and therefore a special injustice is done to that province. The Ladv Apple must be profitable when grown near New York City. Gar- den and Forest says these apples are selling at 15 cents a dozen. Never were they more brilliantly colored. Comice, Winter Nelis, and Sheldon bring $1 to $1.25 per dozen for the finest grade. Surely the Sheldons could not be kept till this date except in cold storage. Fruit and Fruit Trees — The following note concerning fruits in 1896 appears in Bui. 60, Bureau of Industries for Ontario: — The remarks in the August bulletin regarding the great yield of apples are verified by the reports just received. The yield was enormous, the market is glutted, and in many counties, more especially in Western Ontario, thousands of barrels of good apples are going to waste. The average price per barrel paid farmers is from 40 to 60 cents ; extra choice bring slightly higher figures, and poorer sorts go lower. For these prices the grower is usually ex- pected to pick the fruit, board the packers, bring in the empty barrels and carry the filled ones to the station. Some aver that it pays better to feed the fruit to live stock. The codling worm and the canker worm have been reported by a few correspondents, but the bulk of the statements regarding the quality of apples claim that the fruit is remarkably free from worms or other injury. Ice storms last winter, and the heavy bearing of this season, have caused a good many limbs to break, but fruit trees generally are in good condition. Grape vines made a vigorous growth, and the yield of fruit was abundant. 3i NOTES AXD COMMENTS. Spraying in Blossoming Time. — In open letters Mr. Holterman calls atten- tion to the transgression of the law in certain sections. The Fruit Growers' Association has no sympathy with such violation, because the bee is the best friend of the fruit grower, and we desire to be known as its special guardians. Newtown Pippins are a short crop this year. In Virginia the Yellow New- town Pippin is the most valued export apple ; it is known and exported under the name of the Albermarle Pippin ; but this year the whole crop of this apple in the State does not amount to more than I, coo barrels. The price for the first grade, in even this year of low prices, is $6 per barrel in New York City, and about $8 in Liverpool, according to Garden and Forest. Ordinary stock, however, of this and other winter apples, is but 6oc. to $1.25 per barrel. Regarding the Fruit Tariff, the following resolution was passed by our Association at Kingston, viz. : — M. Burrell moved, seconded by E. D. Smith, that "for the guidance of the committee appointed to appear before the tariflT commission, this meeting ex- presses the opinion that the present import duties on fruit should be main- tained as they are, with these changes : the ad valorem duty on pears and plums of twenty and twenty-five per cent, respectively be changed to a specific duty of one cent per pound, and that the duty on imported peaches be in- creased to two cents a pound." The resolution was carried unanimously. E. D. Smith moved, seconded by M. Pettit, that "as it is extremely important to prevent the utter ruin of Canadian nurserymen, by unfair competition of the United States nurserymen, driven to selling stock at a frightful loss by the enormous production of southern nurs- erymen, and as the consequence of such ruin of Canadian nurserymen, this coun- try would be flooded with southern grown stock, which, though fine in appearance, is not at all suited for plant- ing in Canada, this meeting is of opinion that the existing duties on such stock should be maintained." The resolution was carried without dissent. Peaches in the Latitude of Hud- .son's Bay. — Mr. Arthur K. Grant, of Armstrong, B C, writes as follows : A few peach trees planted here in favorable location have borne fruit the past two years. As this locality is over fifty degrees north, it is, I presume, the most northern point in America where this tender fruit has matured. Fifty and half degrees north would place the fruit growers of Ontario near the waters of Hudson Bav- Cold Storage in Nova Scotia. — During the recent trip of the Hon. S. Fisher and Dr. Saunders throughout Nova Scotia, the fruit growers were met at the Horticultural School at Wolfville, and were very enthusiastic over the prospect of the cold storage accommo- dation proposed by the Hon. Minister for the encouragement of the export trade in fruit. The growers seemed to agree in favoring Halifax, their shipping port, as the best place for a cold storage house on a large scale, where the fruit could be kept at an even low tempera- ture until placed in cold apartments on the steamship. We acknowledge receipt of the Acadia l'>uit Grower, from the I'resident of the Association, Mr. C. W. Bigelow, containing a full account of the above meeting. 32 XOTES AND COMMEATS. A Curious P'reak of an Apple is Reported in "Science," by Mr. T. H. Lennox, of Woodstock. In an orchard near I^ke Erie, a Greening tree bore Greening apples on one side, and on the other, apples of a mixed character, each apple being partly Greening and partly Talman Sweet. The different kinds occurred in sections for the most part corresponding to the carpels. A Tal- man Sweet tree stood near. Prof. Bailey writes he considers it an instance of what is very unusual, the immediate efiTect of cross pollenation. Apple Shipping Co.mpany — Mr, P. Innis, of Coldbrook, Nova Scotia, writes giving particulars of a proposed company for shipping, and selling Nova Scotia apples which he believes would save the fruit growers of that province not much less than $100,000 per annum. The scheme proposed is as follows : 1. The formation of a Joint Stock Company with the object of encouraging the producer to ship and market his own apples ; anil liav- ing for its shareholder-', piincipally, the farmers and fruit-growers of the Cornwallis and Annapolis Valley. 2. By combiniitiou and eo operation to secure the control of as large a portion of the apple crop for shipment as possible. 3. The erection of warehouses at large shipping stations for the receiving, storing, assorting and shipping of apples. 4. Ihe judicious regulation by one cential authoritj' of shipments in accordance with the ^tate of the m irkets, and the providing suitable and well ventilated steamers for the carrying of apples. 5. The securing the full advantage of com- petition as regards freight rates, with the further advantage of shipping from and to any suitable port. ti. The practical e.xtinccion of middlemen's tolls, as the shai'eholders will, through their own officers, market their own apples and transact their own business 7. The reduction of commission and other charges in Eng and to a miidmum, conse- ijueut upon the consigning of all shipments to their own accredited agrrrts To carry out this scheme it is proposed to start with a capital of jSO.OOO in 5000 shares of SIO each. This is a small amount for the 5000 fruit growers of these districts to raise, when the benefits they will imniediatcly derive are takeu into consideration. Tiie money will be required gradually, aud as the 3 33 dirgctors — who will be appidntcil by the sharehidders them-elves — see fit ; principally for the building of warehouses such as those at Cambridge ami Port Williarrrs, where apples cau be hamlled independently of the state of the weather, and be ready fnr ship- ment whenever steamers arrive. Fruit grow- ers know that no greater boon could be con- ferred on them than the erection of such warehouses, connectrd by a siding with the rail«'ay. It will now be for themselves to decide, by the arriount of their subscriptions, whether their district can get a warehouse or not. The providing of cold storage is no part of the scheme. When gotten up at Halifax and on the steamers, of course any shareholder at his request cau have his apples shipped in cold storage, but the gnat bulk of our apples do not require cohl storage, but well veuti- lated steamers, and it is only wanted for the softer kinds, such as (Jravensteins, etc. Pears in England. — Ifwe may judge from " The Fruit Grower " of London, England, pears average good prices in that market. That Journal says under date of the 23rd ult , "The extraordi- nary run on pears during the present season justifies special reference to the production of pears for market, since, as we have pointed out again and again, the demand for good pears is unlimited ; and this is proved from the prices which have ruled during the past few months, ranging from 75c. to $1.50 per dozen fruits. Why even earlier in the season they were in demand at $2.50 to $3 50 per bushel, at these prices the demand was always greater than the supply, which, as a matter of fact, has not been satisfied this season from first to last." Why should California fruit growers swallow all the advantages of this excel- lent market for fine pears, while we Canadian fruitgrowers, with fruit of finer flavor, if not so attractive an exterior, are compelled to sacrifice our fruits at losing prices. We have hope that the schemes now under consideration for cold storage transportation to Great Bri- tain will meet our needs, and give us an opening for the disposal of our fruits to the best possible advantage. -^ ^b^(^\\cr) Dralo^'p. ^ Wolf River. S94. Sir, — I see in the magazine several inquiries about Wolf River apple. I find it to be far ahead of Wealthy, both in size and quality. It has some red streaks, but does not color as highly as I expected. James Walker, FairvU/c, St. John, N.B. Wolf River as we saw it at the World's Fair, was much larger than Wealthy, and very highly colored ; but not so long a keeper. We think it should be classed among the fall apple?. Poplar Roots. S93. Sir, — Will you kindly advise me how to destroy the vitality of poplar roots ? Some trees on my place were cut down this fall, but the roots were not destroyed. How can it best be done ? C, E. G., Strathroy. Had these trees been cut down in midsummer, the roots would probably have lost most of their vitality through the shock. We would advise cutting down all sprouts in midsummer. Raspberry and Blackberry for Simcoe. 896. Sir, — What variety of raspberry, and what of blackberry would you recom- mend for this section of country ? John Reid, ErereM, Out. We would advise you to try the Turner raspberry and the Snyder black- berry. Possibly you could succeed with the Cuthbert raspberry, a more productive variety than Turner. Native or Foreign Plum Stock. 897. Sill, — What advantage is there in grafting, cions on wild natives, over using imported stoi:k 'i H. Saunders, Fnirbank'i. We know no advantage except that the natives are hardier and less liable to winter kill in cold sections. We shall be glad of more light from any reader. One Year Old Pear Trees. 898. Sir, — Would you advise planting one year pear trees in preference to two or three year old trees ? H. Sausders. It is just a question of expense. One year old pear trees are too small to plant out in an orchard and be cultivated as they should be. If you can buy such trees enough cheaper than three year old trees to pay you for planting them in good rich soil in nursery rows on your own place, and grow them a year or two, all right. Pear trees should be once or even twice transplanted in nursery rows before being set in an orchard, in order to encourage the for- mation of fibrous roots, but this is so expensive that nursery men seldom do it in practice. You could do this your- self, if you buy yearling trees. Varieties of Pears for York County. 899. Sir, — What varieties of pears would you advise me to plant ? Some advise Bartlett, Flemish Beauty, Clapp's Favorite, and Anjou ? Can I control scab on Flemish Beauty pears by spi ayiiig ? H. SAfNIiERS. The list of pears recommended to you is good. You might add (liffard for an earlier variety than Clapp's I'avorite or Bartlett, and Lawrence for an early winter dessert variety. You can control the scab to a very large ex- tent by spraying four or five times with the Bordeaux mixture. 34 i)r£sr/o.v DR.ni£R. Apples and Plums. 900- Sir,— Would you kiudly try and Slid out fiom some ft uit sjrowei- if Starke Fal- lawater, Ontario, Utters large Red, Delaware Ked, Vnrk Imperial, and Scott's Winter apple trees are early, abundant, and regular bearers, or which are the best. Also, Bradshaw, Wash- ington, Shipper's I'ride Plums, which are best as abundant and regular bearers. Also, whether Cuthbert, (iolden Queen, and Shafl'- er's Raspberiies, are the best varieties. I have plenty Ben Davis, Baldwin and Pewau- kee apple trees. I want to get more apple and plum trees to plant next spring, and I want to get the very best early and abundant and regular bearers. I take The Horticul- TPRIST, but cannot get this information in the journal so far, and if you would please ask some reliable fruit grower, and let me hear, vou will confer a favor on, yours truly. Thos. F. Chapix, Lisle. The Ontario is an early and regular bearer ; it is one of the best for profit. FalJawater is neither an abundant or a regular bearer. Stark is counted one of the profitable export apples at our Bay of Quinte Station. The other three varieties have not been sufficiently tested in our province to furnish a reliable reply. The three varieties of plums are all about equally valuable. Of raspberries the Cuthbert is best for main crop, Marlboro' foi early, and Shaffer for canning. Will some of our growers add their experiences ? Tarred Paper for Mice. 901> Sir, — I notice in The Horticil- TURIST, that tarred paper is suggested as a preventive for mice gnawing fruit trees. My experience is, that it will not only keep the mice away, but will injure young trees as well. I wish some of your correspondents would give a remedy for this evil, that is simple, cheap, and eftective. Wm. B. Leavens, Chisholm, Onl. Our own plan is a very simple and effective one. We simply clear away all rubbish and then place a mound of fine earth about the trunk of each tree. This can be done quickly with a sharp spade. We have practiced it for thirty years and never lost a tree by mice where properly done. An Early Grape Wanted. 9 112. Sir, — I have a vigorous gri)wing Isa- bella grape vine, but which, owing I suppose to the shortness of our seasons, fails to ripen the ((uarter part of its fruit. 1 propose to graft it to some earlier, and better variety. I shall feel obliged by your giving me name of the most desirable grape for my purpose. Oeo. Thom.son, Wo/fvi/lf, Nora Scotia. Moore's Early is one of the best early black grapes ; Lindley is one of the best early red, and Lady one of the best early white varieties. Covering- Grapes. 903. .Sir, — Is it necessary to cover grape vines in winter, and is it the practice of all large growers. E. F., Brantford. In Southern Ontario, at least south of Hamilton, in favored localities, there is not the slightest necessity of covering the vines for winter protection, nor do our vineyardists practice this custom. Further north it is best to give winter protection in this way in order to obtain the best results. Keeping' Celery. 904. Sir, — W hat is the best way to pack celery for the winter ? K. French, Brantford. That intended for late keeping should be left in the rows as late as possible, and packed in dirt halfway up the stalks, and kept at a temperature of about 40°. Or, it may be stored in trenches outside. The trench is dug in a dry place, a foot wide, and as deep as the plants are tall. Set the celery plants in rows across the trench, close together. As the cold weather increases cover with leaves, and short boards, and earth overall. It may then be taken out as wanted through the winter. 35 QUESTION DRAWER. Leached Ashes. 905. SiK, — My garden has been filled in about one foot from an excavation running from 2 to 3 feet, and the soil though not blue clay, is poor. 1 can get any quantity of leached ashes from an adjacent potash fac- tory for 15 cents a load. I have already cov- ered the },arden one inch in depth, having put on about 28 loads, the gaideir being GO feet by 100. Would it he advisable to haul more in the spring ? Could 1 injure the land by too mircb ? It might be possible to give an over- dose of unleached ashes, but in our opinion it would be quite safe to work in as much more of the leached ashes, and get beneficial results. Cutworms. 906. Sir, — Could you kindly inform me whether lime or salt is best suited for land where the cutworm does harm? Or do you know of anything beiter suited to destroy the cutworm ? It was the worst enemy I had to corrtend with in my garden. John Eeid, Ertreit. Reply hy Fro/. J. H. Fanton, O. A. C, Guelph. There are many species of cutworms, some of which are very troublesome in the garden and in the field. The moths from which they come lay their eggs during midsummer ; these soon hatch and the larvae feed upon the roots and tender shoots of plants. When cold weather arrives, they bury themselves in the ground and pass the winter. In spring they re-appear and become de- structive. When the larvae are full grown (about June) they go down into the ground and enter the pupa stage, from which they emerge about August, and deposit their eggs, often in grass fields, on the grass stalks. Hence they are usually found in crops following sod. They are not observed in the sod field, because they have plenty of food ; but when the field is sown with a new crop, they at once become destructive, by feeding upon the young plants. The larvae (worms) are about one-and- a-half inches long, smooth, naked, and presenting a greasy-looking appearance. The color varies, but is generally some shade of green, gray, brown, or black ; most are night feeders; when disturbed, they curl up at both ends. They cat off the plant at the surface or a little below, suck the juice from the lower part, and let the rest wilt. The moths usually have the front wings of a mottled gray appearance, with some spots ; the hind wings are of a much lighter color. The expanded wings measure one to twoand- a-half inches across. The above is the life history of most cutworms. REMEDIES. 1. Fall ploughing, the earlier the bet- ter, so as to disturb and starve them before going into winter quarters. This refers to fields likely to be infested. 2. Plant with corn and use a top- dressing of salt. Salt to some extent kills the worms or drives them off and gives the plants a chance to get a good start. 3. Where practicable, poisoned baits may be used, such as small bunches of clover, cabbage leaves, etc., dipped in Paris green solution (i lb. Paris green to 100 gals, water), and placed where worms v.'ill feed upon them and be destroyed. 4. Some make a mixture of i part Paris green and 50 parts bran (by weight), add water and mix, having it thick enough to dip out without drip- ping. A little sugar added to water improves the mixture. Cutworms are fond of this, and will eat the poison when put where they are. 5. Cabbage plants may be protected by putting a piece of paper around the stem, so as to prevent the worm getting at it. 36 $ ©pef? Is,effep(?. $ Spraying- while Trees are in Blossom. Sir, — When the Spraying Hill was passed before the House, it was done largely through the endorsation of fruit growers, and I think whatever prejudice then existed, has largely worn away since that time. It is now ad- mitted that no good can result from spraying trees while in blossom, and if it does not injure the blossom, it is at least a loss of time and material During the past year there has been a good deal of spraying of fruit trees while in blossom. There doubtless has been occasions when the law has been broken in ignorance, and I know of one or two instances where experimental work has been carried on, and, owing to uncertain weather, there may have been some excuse for transgressing ; but there are others who have openly and in deK- anee of the 1 iw, sprayed during the prohibited time. This is particularly the case with men who charge so much for spraying orchards, and they begin as early in the season as they can and continue as long as work will be given them. I have been asked to bring this matter before the Fruit (irowers' Association, know- ing that in this way attention of fruit growers could best be drawn to the matter. There should be fellowship between two branches of agriculture— which the greatest scientists of the world have linked together in so inter- esting a way. I have reference to the pollen- izatioQ of blossoms by bees. R. F. HoiTiUMAN, Presidevl Beekeepers' Association. Fruit Growing in Scotland. Sir, — In the fruit growing business, this has not been a profitable year. Prices were very low all round, and few if any growers ha\e done more than make ends meet. Fam- ily expen endorse the statement. The same plant will grow year after year by simjjly setting it an inch below the crown. The principal reason w hy so many in towns and villages give up growing this delicious fruit is that they are confiDed to a small plot of ground and cannot change their patch to new ground, no matter how much stable manure is used, as that won't contain all the mineral which has been extracted from the soil for a few years. One has only to consider the tine Havor and richness of this fruit to be convinced that it must have a heavy drain on the elements of the soil, if virgin soil was applied every two or three years along with wood ashes it » ould remedy the soil. The writer in his remarks on raspberry says the (iolden Queen requires protection in winter. It is quite hardy here in Xorth Wellington. I hold a different opinion as to its fine quality, but " taste differs." I dug mine all out this fall for its being so badly affected with the grub which attacks it at the crown of the plant. Very few of my other varieties are affected hy it. I may state here for the benefit of those who grow it that I tried an ex])eriment with sulphur, lime and salt boiled, lime .SO, sul. 20. salt 1.5, together taking a ]iint to a pailful of water, and sprinkling on the crowns about twice a woek, it was effectual to at least DO per cent. Mr. .Stevens says the Dewberry is of high quality. This is new to me, for what I have tasted of them, I would prefer a turnip, but here again " t.a8te differs.'' On the subject of currants he prefers the Victoria to all others, because the others have a sprawling habit. Kay's Prolific is the only one among the red out of the many I know that has that habit. The White grape in the white class has also this habit. It is a heavy bearer and of good size, but of poor (|uality. I dug up all my Kays last fall, as I could fill their j)laces with much better varie- ties that did not require so much 8])ace. It scarcely ever sends u)) a shoot, consequently there is only old wood to rely on, but a worse objection to it is that the fruit made into preserves is very insipid. As for his remarks on gooseberries, the growers of this palatable fruit will be behind the tinjes by adopting his choice, which is the old Houghton, now very little grown on account of its small size and poor quality. If I had no better to grow I would gi\e it up. Now, Mr. Editor, my article is lengthy for you to find space in your valuable Journal, but my object is to ))ut the inex))erienced on ir guard. It gave nie much pleasure to read of the highly interesting meeting lately held at Kingston by the Fruit Growers' Association. Long may j'ou go on in your way of well doing, so as the country will reap the benefit of your good work. F. W. PoRTKR, Mt. Forest. MR. S. SPILLETTS REPLY. .Sir, — Upon the testimony of the teaching of the C.anadi.\n Horti- culturist for some time, upon the testimony of a large correspondence upon this subject with many of the leading gooseberry growers of Can- ada and the United States, and upon testimony of my own e.\perience for fifteen years, I emphatically repeat my statement in " Daily News," that practi- cally the gooseberry can't be propagated from cuttings. I would not say that if the soil were kept very damp, and the part of the cutting above ground were shielded entirely from the drying effects of sun and wind, that the cuttings would not catch. But layering is so certain and simple that it would not be worth the trouble. A gentleman of Mount Forest reported to me that he could not 39 THE MARKETS. get more than io% in this country, but there was no trouble in getting them to root in England. So I admit that if cuttings were completely shaded, or very heavily mulched, a large per cent, might catch. Stanley Spillett. Afanlyr, Dec. 22nd, iS(p6. Advertise in this Journal. Sir,— I beg to convey to you the informa- tion that the Add which is inserted in your vahiable journal by N. Otis, our Agent, at Boston, has proved to us of great advantage in furthering our business, and trust that your efforts in behalf of your journal will lead up to a bright and prosperous New Year. Yours truly, John T. Logan. ^ J\K JHapHets. ^ Our Apple Markets. The total number of barrels of apples landed in Liverpool this past season to date of December 5th was about 940,000 bbls., over four times the quantity landed in 1S95, and yet in all cases where the fruit turned out really tip top, the price obtained has been just ab lut as high as in other yenrs. The great difficulty is to get even our finest win- ters over in anything like the condition in which they leave our orchards. Woodall & Co. write under date Dec, 5th : Sir, — Week's receipts are 74,685 barrels, which is not excessive, as compared with the weekly receipts during the season, but the total quantity received to date is immensely in excess of any previous year. From some cause which has previously been experienced, but never satisfactorily explained, arrivals from all shipping ports have landed in poor condition This has tended to depress a market that could only have been sustained with excellent quality and condition, in the absence of which a very large proportion of the weekly arrivals have sold at low prices, and net results are consequently unsatisfac- tory. There is no important decline to quote on good sound stock, which was eagerly com- peted for, but the average returns to shippers through wasty condition must shew a reduc- tion of 2/ to 3/ per barrel. At the approach of the holiday trade sound condition is of the first importance, and the failure in this is much to be regretted. If what are now afloat should land up to requirements, there should be an excellent demand at remunerative prices. Newtown Pippins continue in mod- erate supply, and there has been an active demand at very full rates, prices ranging from 16/ to 27/6 per barrel Quotations for Canadian apples for past week are as follows ; — Bildwins, 9/ to 12/9, 2nds, 7/6 to 8/6 ; Spy, 9/ to 11/6, 2nds, 7/9 to 8/6; Davis and C. Red, 10/ to 13/3 ; 2nd3. 9/ to 9/6 ; King, 14/ to 17/; 2nds, 12/6 to 13/6; Russets, 10/ to 13/3, 2nds, 9/ to 9/6 ; Greenings, 9/6 to 13/6, 2nds, 8/ to 9/. Slacks pell 1/ to 2/ under these quotations. LILIUM SPECIOSUM. /F7INCE we intend sending all our So- ys cieties bulbs of this lily for general ^ distribution in early spring, they will read the following directions for planting, from the Garden, with interest. In planting the bulbs they should be put far enough apart so that they will not need lifting in four to six years They increase very fast. Some of the specio- sum lilies here that were planted four years ago, three bulbs to a clump, have 30 to 35 strong flowering canes now, and are growing stronger every year. Lilies like plenty of water in their grow- ing season, and this should be seen to. When you see the leaves at the bottom of the cane turning yellow, you may be sure the plants are dry at the roots. We always keep a mulching of old manure on them all summer, this helps to re- tain the moisture as well as to feed them. The mulching is put on in the fall, and left on, we do not take it off in the spring. 40 'I" I I E Camadiam HoK'naiLTURi ST. 1897. No. 2. PROMINENT CANADIAN HORTICULTURISTS-xxvii H. L. HUTT, B.S.A. farm, he early learned the business side of fruit growing. From earliest boyhood he was a horticulturist, for as a little child, he was making gardens and plant- ing little trees — and the ardor of this child love was not dampened by the hard practical work of after years, for even yet his horticultural duties at the college are pursued with the same loving devotion that was evinced by him in the little "play garden," of his childhood. Such men usually succeed, because they take a real interest in their work. In 1890, Mr. Hutt received his diplo- ma for a full course at the O. A. C., together with a gold medal for general proficiency ; and in 1891 he took his degree of Bachelor of the Science of Agriculture, at the University of Toronto. He then returned to his father's farm and spent a couple of years in putting into practice the lessons learned at col- lege ; and it is stated that within three years the cropping of the farm was nearly doubled owing solely to the adoption of improved methods learned at college. 41 Fig. 1048.— Prof. H. L. Hi'tt. NTIM.-\TELY associated with the present interests of Ontario fruit u growers, is Prof Hutt, Horticul- turist of Ontario Agricultural College, Guelph. Although a young man, and but a recent graduate of the College, he is working so systematically and upon such lines, as will in time en- able him to serve the interests of the fruit grower in very many ways. Born in the Niagara District, within sound of the Great Cataract, and brought up to practical work on his father's fruit PROMINENT CANADIAN HORTICULTURISTS. In 1892, Mr. Hutt was selected as one of the speakers at the Farmer's Insti- tutes, and has continued every year since : but we hope that in future the Depart- ment may send him to lecture to our Horticultural Societies instead. In 1893, Mr. Hutt was appointed to his present position of Professor of Hor- ticulture at the O. A. C; but before en- tering upon his duties he took a special Our engraving (No. io53)shows one of Prof. Hutt's classes in Horticulture en- gaged in practical work in Hybridization, and the accompanying cut of the College Garden (Fig 1049) shows the field of some of Prof. Hutt's practical work. One special line in which he was engag- ed in 1896, was in testing strawberries, of which he had under cultivation about one hundred and twenty varieties. There Ki<; I04!l. — The Chi.lkge (iARUKN, AcHK The foreground represents the experiments now being made by Mr. Hutt, the College Horticul- turist, in the cultivation of stawbernes. In the distance are to be seen the dairy stables, the silo, the new dairy buildings, the experiment dairy buildings, and, in the extreme left, the residence of the manager of the Poultry Department, immediately behind which are the new poultry buildings. course at Cornell University, and visited the leading Horticultural establishments in the United States. By virtue of his position he is also a member of the Board of Control of our Fruit Experi- ment Stations, and official visitor to these stations every summer. were twelve feet of row for each variety and carefully labeled. These are shown more plainly in Fig. 105 1, showing the Experimental Strawberry Plot in the college garden. It was the results of his work in this line that furnished the ma- terial for an excellent paper on " The 43 PROMINENT CANADIAN HORTICULTURISTS. iitA ii±Jhi:- :.u*?c*^^ Fli;. 10.")1, — E.M'EKIMENTATION IN THK HoRTILTLTURAL DErAKT.MENT. The engraving represents part of a plot {a little over an acre in extent), in which 155 varieties of strawberries are in test, under Mr. H. L. Hutt, 'he Cole e Horiicultiirist. The photogfraph was taken in the latter part of June, about two months after the plants were planted. Each variety is plainly labelled upon a white wooden stake, as shown in the engraving. Mr. Hutt intends giving a full report of the yields made from 120 varieties that fruited this year in the next College report. Strawberry," given at out meeting at Kingston. We are indebted to our worthy contemporary, " Farming," for the two engravings. Another favorite line in his green- house work is the cultivation of the chrysanthemum. So attractive a dis- play as that at the college is not seen short of Toronto, and the visitors are very numerous not only from Guelph but from the surrounding country. We give twoviews of the interior of this house in "mum" season, (Figs. 1050 and 1052) which give some idea of the ex- cellence of the exhibit, and our frontis- piece shows a few choice varieties. In reply to an enquiry about the varieties in bloom, about Thanksgiving Day, 1896, the professor replied as fol- lows : We have 120 varieties of chrysanthe- mums now in bloom. The following are some of the choicest. I have not time to give full descriptions of each now : Enfant des deux mondes, feath- ered, white ; Ivory, dwarf white ; Pres. .Smith, light pink ; Ivory, pink, curled (ju'lled ; L B. Bard, pink, straight quill- ed ; Pitcher and Manda, cream with yellow centre ; Golden Gate, golden yellow ; Louis Boehmer, feathered, dark pink ; Rohallion, quilled, sulphur yel- low ; O. P. Basset, very deep red ; Phila- delphia, cream ; Tiger, bronze and old gold ; Judge Hoitt, anemone centred. During the winter of 1897-8 we expect the Department of Agriculture will allow us to send Professor Hutt out as lecturer to our Horticultural Societies, and no doubt one of his subjects will be the "Cultivation of the Chrysanthemum." Perhaps his visits may stimulate each So- ciety to attempt a Chrysanthemum show in 1898. ^^H)^i^ 45 LILIES IN POTS. Hf-iHE genus Lilium comprises about forty-five species of hardy, half- .1 hardy, or greenhouse bulbs, and generally the prettiest and most effective bulbous plants that can be grown, either under glass or in the open air. The white lily (L. Candidum) is always to be seen in the wholesale market when in sea- son. Only during the past summer we had the pleasure of seeing a splendid display coming on in a little orchard. The soil was undoubtedly rich and well drained. In this situation, we were in- formed, a gorgeous display of magnifi- cent blooms are cut season after season. We mention this fact to show that with proper conditions L. Candidum may be readily raised to perfection. It is a very handsome and popular species. We do not purpose lengthily reviewing the nu- merous species of this genus. A word or two, however, on L. Speciosum in pots may not be out of place. Most lilies are especially suitable for pot cul- ture on account of their pretty foliage, and suitability generally for greenhouse or conservatory decoration. When growth commences they may be plunged in the open ground, and allowed to remain there till the blooms are ready to expand, when they should be taken under cover. For general purposes the bulbs should be potted singly, in 6in. pots, so that they may be readily shifted when in bloom, if required. This is a good way to raise them for decorative purposes. Potting Lilies. — The simplest process is as follows : — When the bulbs are re- ceived they are laid on an outside border, and just covered with some light or sandy soil. Then as the roots at the base commence to push freely they are potted. The best material is composed of loam, well-decayed manure and sand. The bulbs should be potted well down, so as to leave space at the top for addi- tional soil as time goes on, that is when the root stems develop. After potting they should be placed on a bed of ashes, and be covered to a depth of three or four inches with the same material. When the tops are about to start through the soil the covering should be removed, when the pots may be plunged into the open ground to remain till the flowers are on the point of opening It is im- portant to remove the covering of ashes before the shoots make their appearance above ground, otherwise they will be blanched and will need protecting ; whereas if exposed before the tops are above ground they will then push away sturdily from the very first, and, of course, resist the cold better. Under this system later blooms are obtained than if they were raised under glass, and consequently may be better appreciated by villa residents and suburban and amateur growers. In the summer they will simply need a little water, and as the pots get full a top dressing will be of great benefit to the plants. As the buds appear it is well to give manure water once a week. A stick for support is necessary. The flower is pure white, or more or less spotted with claret red. Large supplies come from Japan, and it is productive of fine, bold, handsome blooms. — Fruit Groiver. 46 47 YARD DECORATION. N no way is the character of the oc- cupants of a country home more i truly judged by the passer by, than by the taste shown in the lawn and its surroundings. An attractive exterior is certainly important for the house, but not so important as a well laid out lawn. beauty of the place does not at all con- sist in the house, which is but a plain square building, but rather in the well kept lawn, the graceful curve of the carriage way, and the graceful trees and shrubs, which form a beautiful setting for the house itself. Fig. lO.M. — " .SrRiNGHURST." We are glad to learn that many of our affiliated Horticultural Societies are giving especial attention to the culti- vation of a taste in this direction both in public parks and private lawns, and truly it is time that our country began to make some steps in advance in this line of art. In the accompanying illustration, for example, it is quite evident that the Prof. Bailey, of Cornell University, has recently issued a valuable bulletin on " Planting Shrubbery " which we have read with much interest. He first condemns the nursery type of planting a door yard, as shown in Fig. 1055. How frequently one meets with this error. Instead of an open stretch of greensward, which is the beauty and orna- ment of a well-planned house yard, we 48 YARD DECORATION. find more or less regular rows of shrubs or evergreens, dotting it over without the slightest purpose or aim in the way of making a beautiful whole. Prof. Bailey says that every yard should be a picture, and by way of contrast draws attention to Fig. 1056, "where the central idea is the residence with a warm open green- sward in front of it. The same trees and bushes which were scattered hap- hazard in Fig. 1055, are massed into a frame work lo give effectiveness to the picture of home and comfort." To quote Mr. Bailey still farther : The making of a good and spacious lawn, is the very fir>: practical consideration in landscape garden. This pri vided, the gardener conceive what is the dominant and cen ral feature in the place, an> then throws the entire premises into subordination with thisfea- ture. In home grounds this central feature is the house. To scatter trees and bushes over the area defeats the fundamen- tal purpose of the place, — the purpose to make every part of the grounds lead up to the home and lo accentuate its home likeness. Keep the centre of the place open. Plant the borders. Avoid all disconnec- ted, cheap, patchy, and curious effects. It is not enough that the bushes be planted in masses. They must be kept in masses by letting them grow freely in a natural manner. The prun- ng knife is the most inveterate ' nemy of shrubbery. Flowers appear to the best advantage when seen against \ri a back ground of foliage, and they are then, also, an integ- ral part of the picture. The flower garden, as such, should be at the rear or the side of a place, the same as all other strictly personal appur- tenances are ; but flowers and bright leaves may be freely scattered along the borders and near the foliage masses. What kinds of shrubs and flowers shall I plant ? This is wholly a secon- dary and largely personal consideration. Be sure that the main plantings are made up of hardy and vigorous species, and have lots of them. Then get the things which you like. I like bull-thistles, .,-'?fg -^,,^- i Me Fig. 1056. — Tue Propeu or Pictorial Pla.ntiso. lilacs, hollyhocks, burdocks, rhubarb, dogwoods, spireas, elders and such care- less things. But others have better 49 } '. / RD DECORA TIOX. tastes. There is endless merit in the a sinijile eollectionyof common wild choice of species, but the point I want to emphasize is that the arrangement or disposition of the plants is far more im portant than the kinds. Wholly aside from any artistic value, plants is always full of interest and merit. l'"ig. 1057 shows a plantation which answers the double purpose of a wild garden and a border mass-planting. The area is about three feet wide and ninety 50 YARD DECORATIOX. feet long, and lies along one side of a small back yard. The soil was originally a most tough and obstinate clay. These various pictures will fi.\ in the reader's mind the importance of a simple structural design for the home grounds. The essential elements of this design are the open centre and the well-planted sides. It is particularly important that the view to and from the front of the dwelling house be kept open, for other- wise there can be little conception of pictorial effect in the composition. It is a grave mistake to cover up or to obscure the one central and important feature of the place. This architec- tural composition would have little place or merit in the landscape if the foreground were promiscuously planted. But if one has no area which he can make into a lawn and upon which he can plant such verdurous masses, what then may he do ? Even then there may be opportunity for a little neat and artis- tic planting. Even if one lives in a rented house, he may bring in a bush or an herb from the woods and paint a picture with it. Plant it in the corner by the steps, in front of the porch, at the corner of the house, almost anywhere except in the centre of the lawn. Make the ground rich, secure a strong root and plant it with care ; then wait. The little clump will not only have a beauty and interest of its own, but will add im- mensely to the furniture of the yard. About its base one may plant stray bulbs of growing tulips or dainty snow- drops and lilies of the valley ; and these may be followed with pansies and phlox and other simple folk. Very soon one finds himself deeply interested in these random and detached pictures, and al- most before he is aware he finds that he has rounded off the corners of the house, made snug little arbors of wild grapes FlfJ. 1058. — .'\ CORNKR AND DooRWAY Draped with Honkysccki.e. and clematis, covered the rear fence and the outhouse with actinidia and bitter- sweet, and has thrown in dashes of color with hollyhocks, cannas and lilies and, has tied the foundations of the buildings to the greensward by low strands of vines or deft bits of planting. He soon comes to feel that flowers are most expressive of the best emotions when they are daintily dropped in here and there against a back-ground of foliage. Presently he rebels at the bold, harsh and impudent designs of some of the gardeners, and grows into a pure and subdued love of plant forms and ver- dure. He may still like the weeping and cut-leaved and party-colored trees of the horticulturist, but he sees that their best effects are to be had when they are planted sparingly, as flowers are, as borders or promontories of the structural masses. It all amounts to this, that the best planting, like the best painting and the best music, is possibly only with the best and tenderest feeling and the clos- est living with nature. One's place grows to be a reflection of himself, changing as he changes, and expressing his life and sympathies to the last. HORTICULTURAL REMINISCENCES. l;V. CHAS. E. WOOLVERTON, OF CRIMSBV. Fia. 1059. — C. E. Woolverton, Mr. C. E. Woolverton was born in Grimsby, in August, 18'20. His fatlier, Uenni-s Wool- verfcon, wlio farmed abonl four liunJred acres of land, was atone time .VI. P. I', for Lincoln County, and widely known among the early settlers of the Niagara District. Charles was from a boy accustomed to the occupations of the farm, as well as the orchard. Often he was sent to Hamilton with loads of ])eache3 or apples, before there was any (J rand Trunk Railroad, and so low was the price, that very often they woulil lie ungathered on the ground. He was given a college education, after from photoi/raph by L. D. OakUy. which he decided to settle upon the farm. In company with Mr. A- M. Smith, he engaged for many years in the nursery business at Grimsby, planting also a large acreage of peacli, apple and cherry trees of many varie- ties. Mr. Woolverton was one of three con- stituent members of our .Association, still living ; the other two being A. M. Smith and 1). W. Beadle ; and on this account he was especially invited to write this paper. He is now about 77 years of age, a constant reader, and a frequent contributor to the public press. 52 HOR TICUL TURA L REMINISCENCES ■jN the time of the Revolution, some sterling men, called U. E. Loyalists, i settled in the Niagara Di?trict. King George gave them land in the wilds of Canada where nuts, plums and crab apples grew. They had read that one of the finest trees in Rhode Island sprang from a seed dropped in the grave of Roger Williams, so many tried the experiment of sowing apple seeds, but few apples of any size were produced, and the small ones were often gathered with the wooden scoop. About 1790 John Smith offered his right to 200 acres for a cow, but found no buyer ; but about 1798 he sold it for 40 pounds of York currency ; my grandfather and the said Smith gave five natural apple trees to bind the bargain. About the year 1830 therecame a man from England about 50 years of age and weighing about 14 stone, and he called himself Peasley, the grafter. He carried with him scions which he declared would bear pound apples, full sixteen ounces to the pound. When at work, he took his stand on a wooden chair, clothed in a huge jacket with pockets like the pouches of the kangaroo, in one of which he carried wa.\ and scions and in the other grafting tools. After grafting in our neighborhood, he returned to the Mother Country, and after six or seven years came out again. I remember his joy when he found his word true and saw the pound apple which he said was the Gloria Mundi. I thought of old Santa Claus with his gray whiskers and loud laugh, and " his little round belly that shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly." He hailed from England, but his port and bearing were of the German order. He came out in the reign of George HI, and when be swore, it was " Py George," the then popular oath of the U. E. Loyalists ; for the king gave them their farms, their government and their church, and that they might not fracture the third com- mandment, allowed them to swear by his name. He brought the Ribston Pippin, Pearmain, and English Rusbet. When Peasley's Pearmin, Ribston and Gloria Mundi began to bear, I took a load to Hamilton and supplied that vil- lage where Carey kept the hotel and Stinson the principal store. Dr. Beadle was selling trees from St. Catharines, and one Moore, a Canadian, brought a few pears and peaches from Rochester. Delos Beadle had graduat- ed from the Grantham Academy and, I think, was studying law at Harvard. He afterwards took up his father's calling, and at his instigation the fruit growers met in the Chief Magistrate's room in the Court House at St. Catharines. About 1857 A. M. Smith appeared on the scene. He had learned the nursery business with Mr. E. Moody, of Lockport. Mr. Moody came over for Canadian evergreen trees, he stopped at Grimsby to give us some advice about raising peaches. He praised our soil and said he had only one objection to living in Canada, and that was that he could never be president of the United States. When our Association met at St. Catharines, we were twice surprised. First, at the knowledge of Judge Camp- bell and Delos Beadle about fruit, cli- mate and soil ; and secondly, at our own ignorance of the fruit we had handled for a term of years. The genesis of our Association budded in St. Catharines. Judge Campbell was the first life-mem- ber, but did not live to see it bloom. Delos Beadle was the Moses of our exodus, leading us out of ignorance into the present fruit bearing stage. The formal organization of our Asso- ciation elected W. H. Mills, of Hamil- ton, as President, He was not of the mills of which it takes ten to make one 53 HORTICULTURAL REMIXISCENCES. cent, nor was he a wind mill to crack corn, but he honored the goddess Po- mona by cultivating fruit and flowers, and at one of our meetings he took us out to see how faithfully he raised the finest plums and pears by the sweat of his brow. Charles Arnold had rather a set coun- tenance and appeared somewhat cross, and he believed in cross fertilization of fruit and grain, but his crossness was something like the chestnut burr, only on the outside, for we never had a more welcome visit than at his residence when he invited the Association to Paris. A. M. Smith and the writer were hon- ored with a like visit at Grimsby, when we followed suit and invited the Asso- ciation to our hearts and homes. I cannot forget the two who brought their wives to add to the sociability of the occasion. Mr. Holton and Mr. Haskins, of Hamilton. It seemed at once to put a link in the chain of friendship which death alone could sever, and that only for a time. In conclusion, I may say, that I have had the honor of being a full private member of this Association all these years, and have seen with pleasure its rise and progress to its present character, and the assistance it received from such noble men as Rev. Mr. Burnett, Wm. Saunders, Judge Logic, P. C. Dempsey and others. And I wonder why I, who have done so little to advance the work, should still live at nearly four score, while those useful men, younger than I, have been called away. But we bless their names for their works which follow them, and we hope to meet "On the other side of Jordan In the sweet fields of Kden, Where the tree of life is blooming," where the eternal tree of life bears ever- lasting fruit, instead of temporary trees bearing perishable fruit only once a year. CLIMBING VINES. CLIMBING vines have many differ- ent methods of attaching them- selves to their support — some en- circle a branch of the host by twining their main bodies around the support. A hop vine is a familiar illustration of this. More delicate ones cannot twist around their stakes, but need to have string or some similar material to cling to. The ordinary morning glory is an illustration of this class ; but there are some which simply climb by twisting the leafstalk around the support. This is especially true of the different kinds f clematises, yet it is not unusual in some gardens to see stakes as thick as walking canes put for the clematis to run up on ; but as it is unable to do this they have to be tied to this pole by twine, while the leaves go on twisting them- selves in order to find something tooling to, and as a consequence, the vital pow- ers of the plant are exhausted. In many cases the clematis, especially the variety known as Jackmani, will die completely and suddenly from the attack of a minute fungus ; but it is more likely that this occurs oftener in cases as described for want of the proper means of support. Thread or twine for the leaves to twist around, or even a little brush wood, such as we would give to a crop of peas, is much more likely to produce healthy and vigorous clematises than when they are deprived of all means of using their leafstalks as tendrils. — Median's Mon'ly. 54 C H RVS A N'l" H K M V M C LJ LTU RE, AS PRACTICED 1!\- AN AMATEUR. Fig. io6o" Mrs. H. C.^nnei., Judge Hoitt, Phil.\delphi.\, Gl.\dys, Sf.\lding, Mrs. Geo. Glenry, .Enf.^nt des Deu-k Mondes, \\R.\, Louis Boehmer, Joey Hill. THE chrysanthemum will live and do something almost without care, but perhaps no other plant will better appreciate proper conditions and atten- tion, and repay more for them than it will ; and even in our short, dry sea- sons the amateur can, with a reasonable amount of care, reap a rich reward in its cultivation. My own experience is not very exten- sive, but I will try to tell, as briefly as possible, what I have learned about their culture. In the fall or winter, when the old plants are through blossoming, they may be stood in a light cellar or anywhere out of the way where they will not freeze and will have some air and light until rThis engraving is from ; engraving photograph of chrysanthemur 55 ! at the O. A. C, forwarded by CHR YSANTHEMUM CULTURE. February or March, then bring them to a sunny window for a few days, and you will have plenty of shoots sufficiently hardened for slips, or the young plants may be taken up with some root. This latter plan I prefer, as they are less trouble to get started. They should be when turned out, they should be shifted to four or five inch pots. Sometime from the middle of May to the first of June they may be transferred to the open ground. In the selection of a suitable place for them in the gar- den it should be remembered that the Fig. lOGl.— CiiRY.s.iNTUEMUMS A.s Window 1'lants (i-k(im Gariilmnc)- placed in quite small pots with good drainage, and be kept in a healthy con- dition, but not pushed. As soon as these small pots begin to fill with roots so they are seen upon the bottom and sides of the ball of earth, chrysanthemum is a sun loving plant and must have a good exposure to the sun for at least six or eight hours every day that the sun shines. And yet, if possible, they should be protected from strong winds. The plants should be set 56 CHR YSANTHEMl M CUL TV RE. about eighteen or twenty inches apart. The ground should be very loose and rich, should be made level so the water will not run off, and before the dry weather sets in be carefully mulched. The plants should be pinched back when about six inches high, and again when the new branches are three or four inches long. This twice pinching will probably keep the plants sufficiently bushy, but an occasional other pinching may be necessary to keep them in proper shape. They will need stakes almost or quite as soon as planted out, not so much to prevent breaking as to prevent being switched about by the wind. They must be carefully watched for either the black or green aphis ; the aphis may be extermined or kept at bay, either by hand picking and the careful use of a proper brush, of by the use of either tobacco water or kerosene emulsion. If specimen flowers are desired pick off all the buds as they appear except the terminal, or the best one for each branch You may thus have ten to twenty or more splendid specimen flowers to each plant. But if you prefer to leave all the buds you may have very showy plants, though the flowers will be smaller and less perfect. Before severe frosts they should be lifted and placed in ten or twelve inch pots or boxes. Water well and place in the shade for a few days. Be careful that the change from out door to indoor life is not too sudden. Unless good health be preserved they are liab'e to be attacked by insects or by mold. Manure water may be used two or three times a week, whenever the plants are in a thrifty growing condition, but not other- wise. Instead of setting your plants out in the open ground in the latter part of May, it is equally as well, and per- haps better, to retain them in pots and plunge for the summer. Repot in good rich soil, using this time, six or seven inch pots. Dig a a trench deep enough for plunging them, and till the bottom with coal ashes to keep angle worms out, then set the pots upon this, about eighteen inches apart, and fill the trench about them to the rims. In selecting a place for these pots remember sunshine and shelter as when planting out in open ground. Pots plunged in this way need careful watching lest they get too dry. Examine early in July and if the pots are nearly filled with roots lake them up and transfer to eight or ten inch pots and plunge as before. Perhaps by early in August they will be nearly filled with roots again, but now it will be better not to repot again, but instead furnish plenty of manure water or other stimulants, They will require the same attention in regard to pinching, disbudding, etc., as if in the open ground. By thus grow- ing them continuously in pots we do not get quite so much foliage, but we avoid the shock of taking up and potting in the fall. And I think we have more and perhaps better flowers. Besides these two methods of grow- ing the chrysanthemum there are three others that perhaps deserve to be men- tioned. The first is to simply retain the old plants or roots and grow them in large tubs or boxes from year to year. Numerous stems and a great show of imperfectly developed flowers are thus obtained. The second plan is to divide and plant parts of the old bunch of roots. This is similar to the first, but better, as the stems are less crowded and the flowers somewhat more perfect. The third method consists in select- ing shapely branches near the ground and laying them some time in August or early in September. When rooted they are separated from the parent plant 57 THE AMATEURS ROSE GARDEN. and put into three or four-inch pots, in which they are bloomed. Usually not more than from one to three flowers are allowed a single plant. By this method very good flowers are obtained. They are convenient to handle and make a very pretty display. Chrysanthemums are very easily rais- ed from seed, but extra good kinds are thus only rarely obtained. So the ama- teur, who wants only a few j^ood plants, can hardly afford to rely upon seedlings. For the past two years leading florists have been making great efforts to obtain good varieties that flower early. As a result we may now have very good chry- santhemum flowers during the month of October, and a few as early as Septem- ber.— Gardening. THE AMATEUR'S ROSE GARDEN. ^E find mention of the rose in the earliest writings, both sacred and profane. It was undoubt- edly very generally esteemed and used for ornamentation on both public and private occasions. As an instance, it may be mentioned that the Romans put it to a very significant use at some of their private dinners and feasts. A rose was placed over the principal door and he who passed under it silently bound himself not to reveal anything that was said or done within. Hence arose the saying, "Sub Rosa." The limits of this paper will not allow me to give an history of the rose, but of the way to cultivate it. There have been so many papers read on the rose, and so many good books printed, that it is hard to say anything new, but, as most of the books written and papers read have been English and suitable to an English climate, therefore, they would not do for this climate, and are a little confusing to the amateur. This paper is for this locality, further south you can start earlier, and further north a little later. The first requisite in the culture of the rose is the prepara- tion of a suitable place for planting them. The best position is none too good for them. What I consider the best is fac- ing the east, with protection on the north and west. I do not mean protected by large trees, but by fences or hedges. The rose likes to have a fairly open exposure with a free circulation of air about it, but, when I say that, I do not mean such a circulation as would drive a forty-horse power windmill. In con- nection with the choice of location, we must see that the roses are provided with a proper soil. They will do well in any good garden soil free from stand- ing water. The soil must, of course, at first be thoroughly manured, as the rose is a gross feeder. Roses that have been grown out of pots should, if possible, be planted while in a dormant condition in the spring, as it is almost impossible to lift a rose while the sap is running, and at the same time have it make a good rose. Roses that are potgrown can be planted any time in this latitude, from loth of May to the loth of October, but, if set out in midsummer, a little extra care will be needed in watering them. Res- pecting the size of plants that should be set out, I advise those who can obtain them to put out plants of two years' growth. Do not put out bantlings. If 58 THE AMATEUR'S ROSE GARDEN: you do not know what bantlings are, they are plants sent out by mail, 20 for $1.00. Of course you get a beautiful catalogue with them and a colored plate of roses. Look well at the picture, as it is about all the roses you will see from plants sent out by mail. If you have a greenhouse to nurse them in for a sea- son, you may succed with them, but one honest two year old pot grown rose i5 worth fifty of the baby roses that are sent out by mail. In planting the bed, if of more than one variety, the strongest plants should go in the centre of the bed and the weakers ones at the outside. The pruning of roses is one of the most important features connected with their culture. All roses that come from the open ground should be pruned im- mediately after planting, as the shock of transplanting must be met by a shorten- ing of both shoots and roots. The shoots being shortened, the number of buds to draw upon the sap is reduced and a more vigorous growth follows. Pot grown roses will not require pruning the first year they are planted, as there is no disturbance of the roots in planting them . Plants of delicate habit should have severe pruning. Do not prune till the spring, as you can better see then the damage that has been done by frost. Besides pruning the plants in early spring, a summer pruning in the middle of July is helpful in order to induce the formation of flower buds later in the season. Just here, it would be well to say a few words about planting the rose. I will not take up your time by telling you all the ways it is done by amateurs, but I will tell you the right way. The heaped up mound of soil that would make a pretty bed of geraniums is not the style of bed for roses. Vou may elevate your bed above the level if you like, but it should be as nearly flat as possible on top and moderately firm. .Make an e.xcavation with a trowel, or anything suitable, one inch deep and two inches wider than the ball of the plant you are going to plant, place the plant in the centre of the excavation, press the soil around the ball of roots and fill up level to the surface. Be sure you plant them firmly, as more plants are lost by loose planting than by insects. The distance to plant is about two feet apart. If planting them in a low border, I would plant them 18 inches apart in the rows, and three feet between the rows. This, with a good watering, will com- plete the operation of planting. If you syringe well every fine bright day, you will find in ordinary weather that it will keep the soil moist enough. About the first of June, after the roses have broken freely is the time to put on a mulch of rotted manure. The plants will also be benefited by digging in the manure after the summer crop of roses is over and applying another mulch on top, cutting all weak growth out and shortening back the flowering shoots. If you follow this up, you will be glad- dened by very fine roses in September and October. Manure, if new, should never be applied to come in contact with the roots, but should be spread on the surface of the earth as a mulch. All animal manures are useful for roses. Horse manure mulch is better for heavy soil than for light soil. Well rotted, cow manure, is best for light sandy or light black soils, but do not use it for any soils that are inclined to be wet and sticky. Before you can grow roses in a wet or stocky soil, it might be underdrained. There are also other good fertilizers for the rose, such as root, spent-hops, flower of bone and bone meal, also a dressing of lime when you dig in the winter mulch in the spring and another dressing before 59 SEASONABLE WORK. you put the winter mulch on in the fall. Wood ashes are also an excel- lent fertilizer for the rose. During the formation of the flower buds, which will be about the first of June, an application of liquid cow manure, will help to swell the buds and give texture to the flowers, but do not use any after the flower buds begin to show color. O. G. Johnston, Elorist. Kingston. SEASONABLE WORK. THIS is an excellent season to do a little propagating, so as to have nice plants for bedding out. Gera- niums, which may be growing tall and straggling, will yield cuttings which may be potted firmly into soil in two-inch pots ; they will do quite as well as though put into sand. While they need warmth and protection from draft when rooting, the air of the room in which they are kept must be pure and free from the fumes of gas or coal oil. The escape of illuminating gas is always very destructive to plants, especially when in bloom ; the usual result is immediate dropping of the buds, followed, in the case of such subjects as begonias, by dropping of the leaves also. Ageratums may also be propagated now, as they will soon begin to grow straggly, and when the cuttings are rooted, the old plants may be thrown away. We find them very satisfactory as a window plant, providing plenty of bloom. They should be carefully looked over .'"or traces of mealy bug ; if any of the tiny white cottony dots are observed, rub them carefully oft' with a soft pointed stick. These bugs are a great nuisance on soft-wooded plants. If some old coleus have been carried over from last summer, propagate them from the young shoots ; the old plants, which are usually dull in color when cold weather sets in, will be getting very angular and stalky, as they so often drop their leaves when in a low temperature. They should, however, have plenty of "breaks" or young shoots for propagat- ing. Ivy geraniums will now be throw- ing out long shoots, and they will be all the better for stopping ; the top shoot should be pinched off, to produce a more stocky growth, and this severed shoot may be planted in a small pot, thus increasing the stock. Ivy gera- niums have been wonderfully improved of late years, and there is no reason to grow the old-fashioned type with small single blooms, when we can get the fine new varieties, such as Souvenir de Charles Turner. Their luxuriant foliage and trailing habit render Ivy geraniums indispensable w^here basket plants are required. — R. N. Y. LiLiUM Si'EciosuM RosEUM, the lily to be sent to members of our Horticul- tural Society by the Ontario Association is a grand lily, and succeeds well here and is certain to bloom if protected in winter by a heavy coating of manure. They also increase rapidly. C. L. Allen in his book on Bulbs says : " As a whole this species of lilies (Speciosum) far surpasses any other species of her- baceous plants for the garden or for the green house. Among the lilies there are none to compare excepting ' L. Candidum ' which has no peer," and Paxton describing this variety " Ros- eum," says : " In the exquisite loveli- ness of its flowers, their superior size, and the stronger and more robust habits of the plant, this charming variety almost outvies the splendid species (Speciosum). The dazzling brilliancy of hue for which the species just men- tioned is so deservedly admired alone as to maintain its ascendancy, for in every other respect it is decidedly un- equalled " — Jas. LocKiE, Waterloo. 60 ;-^Tl?e Orebapcl arid T^pcjif (sra^pdco.^^ CURRANTS— HOW TO GROW THEM. F all fruits that can be grown in this country the currant gives the greatest return for the labor ex- pended. No matter how poor the soil, or how careless the cultivation, you can expect a crop of currants. Though the difference between a box of currants such as is generally offered for sale, and a box of, say, " Moore's Ruby," such as I have grown, every bunch with 20 to 24 berries on it, is very great, and the difference in quality is even greater. There is no fruit that responds so readily to good feeding and careful cul- tivation. The best soil is a good sandy loam, which should be deeply spaded and well manured before planting, as the roots grow veryclose to the surface, and should be interfered with as little as possible after planting. All varieties grow freely from cuttings of the present year's growth, which do best planted in August, though very well any time before frost, or in the following spring. Make cuttings about 6 in. long, plant in rows a foot apart, inclining the cut- tings at an angle of 45°, so that the lower end won't be too far below the surface, leaving one end above ground ; mulch with light manure or sawdust, to keep the earth moist, and by the end of the following summer 90 per cent, of them will be good strong plants, ready to be set out in their permanent quarters. Give them plenty of room, about 6 feet each way is little enough. After plant- ing mulch with well-rotted manure. Of course a year can be saved by buying your plants from a nurseryman, and they are sold so low now, that when only a few are wanted for home use, it is the better way. All the cultivation that is necessary the first year is to keep down weeds and pinch out the tip of any shoot that is growing too fast for the rest. The second year there will be a few bunches of fruit, the third year enough to pay expenses, and a full crop every year after for ten or twelve years, when it is better to start a new plantation, as the finest fruit is got from bushes three to six or seven years old. Pruning after the second year consists in cutting out all surplus canes from the centre of the bush, and all that tend to lie on or close to the ground. The best season is in August, after the fruit is off and wood growth has ceased. If you want to grow the largest berries possible, in June, when the new wood is about 6 inches long pinch out the ends of every shoot, by so doing you check wood growth, and throw the energies of the plant into the fruit, and also very much reduce the amount of pruning necessary in August. Good feeding requires a mulch of CURRANTS—HOW TO GROW THEM. three or four inches of stable manure every fall, two to three feet on each side of the row, which should be supple- mented by a dressing of bonedust, and a good potash fertilizer at the rate of I Y2 lbs. of the mixture to each bush in the spring ; the winter mulch may be forked on very lightly in the spring, or may, if not objected to on the ground of untidiness, be left on all summer. The less the earth is disturbed within three feet of the stem, the better, as the roots being near the surface a great deal of mischief is done by deep cultivation, even with a digging fork. A spade should never be used near currants. If the soil is very light a mulch of straw or marsh hay is very useful in conserving moisture in a dry season, but if water is available and the rake is industriously used to keep the surface friable, a mulch is not necessary. The great enemy of the red and white currant is the " Currant Worm," which works such havoc in May, if not checked, destroying in a few days every leaf on the bush ; and with the leaves goes the crop for that season. The first brood is hatched out in this locality about the 20th to 24th of May. As soon as they begin eating the leaves, apply Paris green ; one teaspoonful to a wooden pail of water, with a whisk, or, better, a spray pump, being careful to get it well into the centre of the bush when the worms begin their work. One application as a rule, is enough for the season, but some years a second brood appears as the fruit ripens ; it is not safe to use Paris green then, but a good substitute is White Hellebore, about i oz. to a wood pail of water, applied in the same way as the Paris green. The only other enemy of the currant worth considering, is the currant stem borer. The parent insect lays her eggs near the buds : when hatched the larva eats into the centre of the stem travelling up and down, living upon the pith, their presence may be detected by the sickly look of the leaves and small size of the fruit. The only remedy is to cut out the affected canes and burn them. In black currants, Lee's prolific is a good variety, much superior in size and flavor to Black Naples or Black English. Champion, and Prince of Wales are said to be good kinds, but I have not fruited them yet. The Cromwell, so industri- ously puffed by some nurserymen, is nothing but the old Ribes Auseum or Golden Currant of old gardens, a very pretty flowering shrub, but as a fruit it is utterly worthless ; the crop is so small as not to be worth picking, and the quality so poor that I have never met anyone that would eat a second one. In white, by far the most extensively grown is " White Grape," long consid- ered the finest flavored of all currants ; unfortunately, it is rather small in size, and has a bad habit of dropping the end berries of the bunch. Last summer I fruited for the first time, " White Gon- doin," and was very ^ much pleased with it ; though rather more acid than White Grape, it is so much larger in bunch and berry, that it will prove a formidable rival to that old favorite Among the reds, "Moore's Ruby " is decidedly the best variety I know of. An upright, strong grower ; bunch long, frequently 22 to 24 berries in the raceme, berry large, a prolific bearer, and quality the very best, sweeter and finer flavored even than White Grape. I have grown it for ten years and have yet to find a fault in it. An excellent variety is "Wilder Red," not so sweet as " Moore's Ruby ; " not very desirable, as large in bunch and berry as " Fay," and a much stronger grower. The weak growth of the " Fay" is its greatest defect ; one of the largest 62 SMALL-FRUIT CULTURE FOR MARKET. berries, good bunch, good quality, and a heavy bearer, but it is such a straggley grower, and so prone to spHt in the forks when loaded with fruit, that it will always be a short-lived bush. A new variety, much advertized, " North Star,' does not justify the claims made for it. Though a strong grower, and apparently growing to be a heavy cropper, neither in size or quality is it the equal of any of those mentioned above. " Raby Castle " and " Victoria " are two old sorts that if not the same, are so nearly alike, that there is no use grow- ing both of them ; heavy bearers, but only medium in size and quality. The " Cherry," though a large, showy berry, is too shy a bearer to be a good market variety, and too acid to be suit- able for home use. " London Red," though a very heavy bearer, one of the heaviest with me, is too small and too acid to be desirable. " Red Dutch," though better in qual- ity, is too small to be profitable. R. B. Whvte. Ottawa. SMALL-FRUIT CULTURE FOR MARKET. T is the purpose of this paper to present in compact form the gen- eral principles upon which the successful culture of small fruits is founded. It is designed for beginners rather than for experienced growers, and is therefore largely devoted to points which the man without experi- ence is likely to ignore, or at best to regard with insufficient attention. Some of the methods suggested may need modification to meet the needs of the individual grower, but it is believed that such changes as may be necessary will suggest themselves to the thinking cultivator who carefully considers his particular location and surroundings. The growing of small fruits requires a comparatively large investment of capital per acre and also a better soil than is necessary for the production of most of the tree fruits. It is there- fore better suited to the small farm, under the direct supervision of the owner, than to the large estate, whose proprietor cultivates by proxy. To balance the comparatively large capital required we have the fact that, aside from the value of the land and perma- nent improvements, the chief outlay is for labor, which may be done by the grower and his immediate family, while the returns are much quicker than from the tree fruits or the grape. In a few- sections, so situated that large markets, either near or remote, are accessible, the culture of one or another of the small fruits may be profitably under- taken on a large scale, but these in- stances only serve to emphasize the fact that small fruit culture is primarily a homestead pursuit. The narrow bed or garden border of fifty years ago, en- riched, dug, and weeded by hand, has developed into the field, fertilized, plowed, and cultivated by horse-power, yet the requirements of the various species remain much the same, the methods of accomplishing the desired results alone differing. As practised by advanced growers in North America, the methods followed in the cultsre of small fruits are peculiarly of American development ; while with the exception of the currant, the varieties extensively grown aro of American origin. The fruits to be considered are the strawberry, blackberry, raspberry, cur- rant, and gooseberry. 63 SMALL-FRUIT CULTURE FOR MARKET. CHOICE OF LOCATION. No small fruit plantation is likely to be profitable if located far from a mar- ket or convenient shipping point. In selecting a location special attention should be paid to the character of the roads, il the fruit must be hauled by waggon for any considerable distance. If railroad or steamboat transportation is to be depended on, the efificiency and enterprise of existing lines should be investigated, as the character of their service will be of great importance when fruit shipments begin. In any given locality the most im- portant consideration should be the selection of a site reasonably safe from killing frosts in spring. Away from the influence of bodies of water such sites are usually found on small plateaus or gentle slopes terminating in abrupt ravines or valleys where prompt and thorough cold-air drainage exists. Flat land, remote from open water and un- broken by ravines or hills, should al- ways be regarded with suspicion, par- ticularly if underlaid by a cold and badly drained subsoil. Bottom lands, in which admirable soil for small fruits is often found, are usually too uncer- tain in their fruit production, owing to frequent frost injury. The soil requirements of the different species vary considerably, but all thrive in a moderately deep loamy soil that holds moisture well at all times without becoming soggy during protracted rain- fall. The exposure to be sought varies with the latitude, the climate, and the aim of the grower. If earliness is requi- site to secure profitable prices, and the locality one in which late frosts are in- frequent, a southern slope is preferable ; if, on the other hand, a uniform and regular demand exists, regardless of a few days' difference in time of ripening, a gentle northern or north-eastern ex- posure should be selected. In most localities, however, the matter of slope is of much less importance than that of comparative elevation of the site. It should be higher than the adjacent land without being bleak, and should furnish a soil of at least fair fertility. PREP.\RATION OF SOIL. The selection of the proper prepara- tory crop is a matter of much import- ance. In general some hoed crop should precede the planting of any of the small fruits. With the strawberry at least two years of cultivation should intervene between well-established sod and the planting of berries, in sections where the white grub abounds. Corn or potatoes, well manured and kept free from weeds throughout the season by thorough cultivation, are good prepara- tory crops. In trucking regions almost any of the annual vegetables will do to precede small fruits. The objects to be attained are (i) to free the ground from seeds of annual weeds, (2) to eradicate established perennials of every sort, including grasses ; (3) to get rid of noxious insect larvK, and {4) to leave the soil in that lively and mellow con- dition which the grower characterizes as " good tilth." If any portion of the field remains wet long after rains dur- ing any portion of the year, it should be drained before planting. In most soils and locations tile underdrains are preferable, though boards, poles, or stones are sometimes used to good advantage. If all of these are imprac- ticable, land nat-urally wet can some- times be made to yield fairly good crops by planting on ridges thrown up with the plow and depending upon open ditches to remove surface water. Stumps, loose roots, and stones large enough to interfere with the cultivator ONIOy CUL TIVA TION. should all be removed before the final plowing. The grower should bear in mind that thorough preparation of the soil will materially increase the proba- bility of securing a good stand of plants, on the one hand, while it greatly de- creases the amount of hand work neces- sary in hoeing and weeding, on the other. This is particularly true on new ground and on all soils of a clayey or tena'cious character. The preparatory plowing should be as carefully done as for a garden crop, and in most soils it should be as deep as possible without turning up much of the subsoil. Surface soils less than 8 inches deep should be plowed to their full depth. Where a compact or reten- tive subsoil is found, its stirring with a subsoiler will benefit the crop in most regions by affording prompter drainage and promoting deeper root growth. {To be continued) ONION CULTIVATION. *-ir*HE next vegetable in importance to the potato for practical utility is H certainly the onion. In most European and Asiatic countries in its different forms, such as leeks, shives, garlic, etc., it is probably more used than the potato itself ; this latter vege- table to some extent being superseded by bread, rice or macarony. It is believed the onion in Ontario does not receive the attention it deserves. Our climate and soil both appear to be well adapted to its cultivation, whilst the prices obtained are fairly remunera- tive. Why then is its growth and use so much neglected ? Perhaps it is from the simple reason that sufficient informa- tion as to its culture is not obtainable, and yet there is little difficulty with proper care in producing first class bulbs. The three best varieties to cultivate are the Red Wethersfield, Yellow Danvers, and the new foreign or Spanish onion. This latter is globe shaped, and not infrequently, when well grown on a suit- able soil, individual specimens will tip the scale at sixteen ounces. The best soil for onions is well drained bottom and, that is black earth from which a Idense cedar bush has been removed. In this alluvial deposit, made originally from the washing in past centuries of leaf mould from the surrounding high ground, as well as from the decaying vegetation produced by a thick growth upon the land itself. It must not be supposed because this land is black that it is also rich, as this is by no means always the case, but it holds manure well, and is just lovely to work. A good coating of two or three inches of well rotted manure plowed under lightly in the autumn, and in the spring a drill run with the plow where the onion rows are to be placed, and a second dose of fine compost, such as road sweepings from a block pavement or a similar application to that given previously in the fall, will, when covered by the rake with fine earth, make a suitable seed bed for the crop. This black soil is by no means insisted upon as a nice sandy loam would be found equally efficient, but the muck soil is generally quite level, so that it is free from being washed by heavy rains, and if it is thoroughly cleaned from stumps and roots, it has no gravel or boulders to obstruct the plow, seeder or hoe. The earth also is so fine that the seed sprouts easily and regularly along the row. If the cultiva- tor has not the convenience of a seeder 6=; ONION CULTIVATION (drill), he will find the readiest and evenest way to sow the seed will be to stretch a line and mark the ground with the end of a rake or corner of the hoe ; if the row is a long one, the line should be fastened to stakes, say every fifty feet, so as to insure its being perfectly straight from end to end. This will assist materially when the weeding pro- cess is commenced There are three methods of growing the large seed onions. First, from seed direct ; second, from " sets " ; and third, from plants previously started in a hot- bed. If the first plan is adopted, the seed must be sown so soon as the frost is out of the ground in the spring, the earlier the better, if good results are expected. One ounce of seed will sow about one hundred feet of a drill ; it will take from four to five pounds to sow an acre with drills from fifteen to eighteen inches apart. If the cultivator has no seed drill, his best plan is to secure a small tin can an inch and a half or two inches in diameter, say three or four inches deep ; a small mustard can is as good as any. Make five or six holes in the bottom of this with an awl of sufficient size to admit the seed to come out when the box is shaken. If the awl is tapered from the point to where it enters the handle, the proper sized holes may easily be obtained. The seeder may he tested as to its proper capacity to deliver the seed by shaking it over a board or piece of paper, on which the result can be noted. A four foot lath should be split flatways at one end, the edge of the tin cup inserted and a tack driven through the lath and tin to keep it firmly in place. It should perhaps be stated that the holes should be pierced from the inside of the tin cup, as this will insure more regular seeding. Armed with this seeder a drill can be sown very evenly at a slow walk, the box being raised and lowered with a sharp jerk. As the seeder is kept close to the ground whilst the seeds are being delivered, they can be deposited quite well even if a wind is blowing. After the seed is sown, the ground should be firmed down by the rake, stamped over with the feet or pressed with a heavy roller. For the second plan of sowing, the set are planted by pressing them into the soft soil along the line from three to four inches apart. The amateur gener- ally prefers a large " set," but experience teaches that the smaller the set, so long as it has life in it, the better it is, as they are not so liable to run to seed as those of larger growth. Growing from sets is probably the simplest and easiest method of raising onions, but as the sets come expensive when a large quantity are used, and as the keeping qualities of the onions are not considered equal to those grown from seed, they are not so reliable for winter use. The third method is the new hot-bed process. The seed is started early in March in a moderately cool frame. It is sown thickly but evenly. When the onion is about the size of a lead pencil or a little smaller, and the post well out of the ground, they are transplanted along a line somewhat similarly to the sets. Care should be taken to handle the plants as little as possible, so that the " bloom " on the stems may not get rubbed off, as this would check their growth. Sometimes a gardener will plant the young onions two inches apart, when they are of sufficient size, removing every other one. A friend of mine claims he can sell sufficient of these " bunched " onions to pay for the ex- pense of the seed and the labor bestowed on the entire crop. Certainly his yield of onions is a marvel to behold, his soil 66 ONION CUL TIVA TION. is a very sandy loam, but is situated in the sewage field of a large public institu- tion. There are sewage ditches on each side of the bed, which is ten feet acrpss. An engineer from Cleveland came one day to inspect the sewage farm just as the gardener was having the onions taken up, seeing them lying in rows on the ground as they had been pulled, he said, " Oh, I see you are hauling your onions here to dry them before storing them away for the winter." "Why," said the man, " these were all grown on the ground as you see them." Mr. Engineer laughed him to scorn for try- ing to impose such a yarn on him, but my friend fortunately had a patch at the far end of the bed still unrenioved from the ground, so he took the Clevelander down to where they were growing, and gave him occular demonstration of the enormous yield, which the engineer declared if he had not seen he would not have believed. The greatest trouble in growing seed onions is the first weeding, but if the rows are put in very straight and the hoe is kept keen and sharp, with a moderately fine flat file, so as to cut the earth to within a hair's breadth of the seedlings, a good deal of the labor is removed. After the first weeding has been accomplished, the wheel hoe culti- vator may be employed successfully. To keep the onions through the winter they should be placed on benches made of slats a couple of inches wide, placed an inch apart, so that the air may pass through them. Not more than two layers of onions should be placed on each bench or tray. The temperature should be reduced to 40°. It is said that onions grown by highly concen- trated fertilizers do not keep so well as those raised by well rotted barnyard manure, but of this the writer cannot speak authoratively, never having tried the experiment. P. E. BUCKE. London., Ont. HOW TO HAVE BEAUTIFUL PAN.SIES. rANSY seed sown now in pots or boxes in a warm room or hotbed, will, if properly cared for, produce blooming plants all summer. The seed should be scattered very thinly and covered not more than one-eighth of an inch deep, then pressed down with a piece of board and kept moderately moist all the time. When the plants are large enough to be handled, they should be pricked off about two inches apart, and when danger of severe frost is over, planted outdoors about 1 2 inches apart each way in a position where they are sheltered from the mid- day sun. In dry weather they require a good deal of water, and an occasional watering with liquid manure will help them wonderfully. All faded flowers must be cut off" at once else they will produce seed and detract a great deal of strength from the plants. With pansies, as well as many other plants, the oftener the flowers are cut off", the more new ones will be produced. For early spring blooming, the seed should be sown in August, outdoors, in well-prepared seed beds. During hot dry weather it is best to shade the seed from the dtrect rays of the sun until they have germinated, which will be in about ten or twelve days. The soil can hardly be made too rich and deep for pansies. — F. M. Hexamer, Amer. Agriculturist. 67 M '^lolx^r (Sapd^i) ar)d Laloi). ^ SOME GOOD HERBACEOUS PERENNIALS. HERBACEOUS Perennials are those plants whose roots re- main in the ground from year to year, the foliage dying down to the surface of the ground every autumn to grow up with renewed vigor in the spring. As most plants of this class do best if their roots are not disturbed for several years, it is necessary in preparing a per- ennial border to dig deeply and fertilize well before planting. Though many of them are perfectly hardy without pro- tection, all are the better of a coating of four or five inches of strawy manure in the fall ; leave it on as late as possible in the spring so that the rain may wash out the soluble plant (ood. As soon as growth begins rake off and remove the surplus straw and rake or very lightly fork over the surface, being careful not to disturb the roots. Never use a spade in the perennial border. A very frequent objection to the free planting of herbaceous perennials in the garden border is that it costs too much to buy the plants. There may be some truth in this if one wants to get all the novelties as they are sent at high prices, but there are many of them that cost little more than geraniums or other bed- ding plants that have to be renewed each season, with this great advantage in favor of perennial.s, that they increase in vigor and beauty every year, and after the third season most of them can be divided and multiplied as much as de- sired. While if one is willing to wait a year many of them can be grown from seed at very small expense. All of the following are well-tested sorts, quite hardy even in the cold sec- tion of Ontario, and vary in flowering season from the first week in May till snow falls : Papaver Nudecaule — Iceland Poppy. — This dainty little poppy one of our most valued perennials opened its first flowers on May 4th, last season, and was more or less in bloom till the end of October. The flowers in white, yellow and orange red of which yellow is the commonest are somewhat cup shaped i^ to 2j^ inches across on long wirey stems about 12 inches above the leaves, are well adapted for cutting, if cut in the morn- ing early after opening they last for sev- eral days. It is easily grown from seed and will bloom the first year, if sown in April or early in May. It, like all pop- pies, does not take kindly to transplant- ing and should be sown where it is to remain. They are easily wintered even as far north as Ottawa if covered in the fall with straw or cedar brush. Papaver Orientale. — A great contrast to the dainty little Iceland is the gor- SOME GOOD HERBACEOUS I'ERENNIALS. geous Oriental poppy one of our most striking and showy garden flowers. The great flowers 6 to 8 inches across, dark scarlet in color are held well up above the leaves on long leafy stocks. Unfor- tunately the flowering season is short, two or three weeks in June and their glory is gone, though some years they show an odd bloom during the summer. They also can easily be grown from seed and are quite hardy. Doronicum. — A very desirable peren- nial, that is not as well known as it should be, is the tall Leopards' bane, Doronicum phintagineum excelsum, a very early blooming yellow composite, coming into flower early in May, and lasting two to three months. The large flowers about 4 inches across, are borne on sparsely leafy branching stems three to four feet high, rising from a large cluster of heart- shaped leaves on long petioles : this is de- cidedly the best yellow composite. An- other Leopards' bane is I). Caucasicum, not so large a plant or flower but other- wise much like ii, both are usually propa- gated by division in spring or fall. Helianthus Multiflorus fl. pi. — A de- servedly popular autumn flowering yel- low perennial is the double sunflower, rather rough in leaf and stalk to make a good cutting flower, but very effective in the garden. The flowers are from three to four inches across, a good rich yellow, perfectly double, and last a long time after opening. In bloom from August till frost comes. It has not proved per- fectly hardy here and requires the pro- tection of a good mulch of manure dur- ing the winter. Platycodon graiidiflontm — Chinese Bellflower. — The best blue perennial we have, grows from two to three feet high and is covered from middle of July till October with deep blue bell-shaped flow- ers, from two to three inches in diameter, perfectly hardy and easily grown from seed. If planted in May it will flower abundantly the following year. There is a white form that is not so desirable, a slight tinge of blue gives it a faded look. The genus Spiraa furnishes some of our very best perennials. Among the shrubby species Van Houtti, Burmalda, and many others are well worth growing when space will permit. The best of the herbaceous species are the following: Spiraa Ulinaria Jl. pi.. Double-white Meadowsweet. From a dense cluster of root leaves rise leafy stalks about three feet high, covered on the top with a solid mass of creamy-white, fluffy flowers, from about July ist to August 15th. The foliage is quite ornamental before and after flowering, if the flower stalks are cut out alter blooming. It is pro- pagated by division in spring or fall and should be shifted every three or four years, as it increases so rapidly that it is apt to die in the centre of the clump if left too long in the one place. S. Venusta, ^^ Queen of the Prairie." — A weaker growing species and does not make such a bushy clump as Ulmaria, but grows about a foot higher, the clusters of flowers are more elongated and are a bright pink in color, season about a week later, decidedly the showiest of the herbaceous spiraeas. 6'. palmata elegans.— A very graceful plant about three feet high, with flattish clusters ol pink and white flowers, lighter and more delicate in growth than Ul- maria though somewhat of the same habit, it is upon the whole the most beautiful and desirable of the genus. Phlox Dicussata. — The new varieties of the old fashioned perennial Phlox have raised it from the position of a very commonplace flower, limited in color and small in size, to that of one of our most valuable perennials. From no other can we get such a mass of color 69 SOME GOOD HERBACEOUS PERENNIALS. in the border, or such a variety of shades. One Enghsh house catalogues 145 varie- ties, ranging from white through all shades of pink, to dark red, and from the palest violet to dark purple. There the season of bloom is from July till fall, some varieties flowering earlier than others. The first clusters are the laigest and finest but if the tops are cut off some of the shoots as soon as the buds form, they branch out and produce firm heads of flowers late in the season. A good half dozen varieties are, The Pearl, white ; Sir Richard Wallace, large white with violet eye ; La Soleil, lilac rose ; Isabay, orange salmon ; August Riviere, fiery-red shaded violet ; Frau Von Spiemen ; salmon pink, a very fine sort, flowers i^ inch across slightly curled inwards at the edge. Dictamiius Fraxinella, or Gas Plant, is a very showy and interesting plant that should be more widely known. While far from being a novelty, it increases so slowly, often growing for years with- out any apparent increase in size, that it has not been very widely disseminated, very few gardens being so fortunate as to possess a good specimen. It grows about two feet high, a well established plant being about as much in diameter, each stalk terminated by a spike of rosy flowers eight or ten inches long, at their best for a month after May 20th. The leaves resemble those of the ash, and if gently pressed emit a perfume like lemon peel, but if bruised the odour is balsamic and somewhat strong for most tastes. The volatile oil that produces this odour is secreted so freely, that if a match is applied to a newly opened flower on a hot day a slight e.xplosion ensues. D. F. alba is a very handsome variety with pure white flowers. Lysimachia inummidaria. — If you have any place too much shaded by house or trees for any of the ordinary flowering plants — or even grass — to grow, but which you would like to have covered, try Lysimachia mummularia, — money- wort or creeping jenny, by far the best creeping perennial we have for that pur- pose. It spreads rapidly, rooting at the joints, and throwing out lots of side branches ; but as it does not produce underground shoots it is easily kept with- in bounds. The leaves are oval in shape, about \]A inches long, of a rich dark green color, and are produced so freely as to completely cover the ground. The flowers, bright yellow, cup shaped, about 3/^ of an inch across, are in great abundance during June and July. Ottawa. R. B. Whyte. (To be Continued.) Keeping Roses jn Bloom — As soon as they have found their first flowers in the open ground, pinch off" the end of the first shoot, and as soon as the rose is fully opened, pick it off. No rose should be left to fade upon the bush, as when so left it exhausts the plant in the formation of seed. As the plants grow, pinch back the ends of the shoots when they have grown six inches, and rub out all puny shoots, thus keeping the plants in a rounded open bush form. If strong shoots alone are left to grow, they will soon control the strength of the plant and the flowers will be few and often of imperfect form. Should the season be hot and dry, a mulch of fine fresh grass or sawdust, or moss from the woods, should be placed all over the soil, three inches deep, and at night watered thoroughly, not sprinkled, but ivct like a days' rain. .A. H. Cameron. Tiverton, Ont., 70 THE HOME SURR'OUXDINGS. <^ pv^HE present being a season of comparative leisure, is the best time for those desiring to im- prove the appearance of their gardens or pleasure grounds to consider the subject. All planting or re-planting that may be done with a view to im- proved effects will prove more success- ful if done with a definite object ; for instance, before an experienced land- scape gardener begins such a work, and before any manual work is done, he inspects the grounds, making a rough sketch and a few notes. This visit may be repeated more or less often as the case may demand, but the result is that he carries away to his office or workroom all that is needed to enable him to con- vert the waste, or vacant place, into what will be in a few years at the furthest, a pleasing and beautiful spot, increasing in beauty from year to year as the differ- ent shrubs, trees or plants employed become established and develop their respective beauties. In the accomplish- ment of this work he will, of course, remember past mistakes, and avoid their repetition, always observing certain well- known laws, the non-observance of which would defeat his efforts. He seldom treats an individual shrub or tree as a specimen ; for illustration, imagine in the one case a number of shrubs planted either at regular or irregular distances upon the lawn, in the other the same shrubs or trees grouped with a well defined object. The result in the first case will be doubtless some very pretty specimens, but no stretch of lawn, nothing restful to the eye, nothing that will create a pleasant and lasting impression ; while in the other case the impression given would be " what a beautiful lawn,'' " what a delightful home." It is never desirable to plant 3 7 shrubs in holes cut in the grass, the effect is disappointing at the best. " Landscape " does not necessarily im- ply an expansive view, and it is well, in designing the grounds that are limited to the ordinary city lot, to remember that grounds that are large and beauti- ful would lose their beauty if the same effects were attempted on a small scale. Whether the work in view be on a large or small scale, no workman has a larger choice of material from which to make his selection than the landscape gar- dener. If a fence is to be hidden, there are the wisteria, clematis, bignonia, ampelopsis, aristolochia, akebia, celas- trus, and many others. If for a wind break or a blind, nothing will so per- fectly answer the purpose, and at the same time afford such a comfortable appearance in the winter season as the evergreens, among which may be men- tioned Norway spruce, everyone's favor- ite ; White spruce, of a finer foliage and denser growth but not as well known : Nordman's pine, quite hardy and of great beauty; Colorado blue spruce. Abies Orientalis, a beautiful variety ; Abies Canadensis pendula or weeping hemlock ; Abies Canadensis, our native hemlock, has also much to recommend it : also our native Cedar, Thuya occi- dentalis. Many of the Thuyas are very beautiful, and well adapted for planting over a large part of Canada. Some of them are of a very dwarf habit, and can be planted where other conifers would be too large. By no means the least important factors in the decoration of the grounds surrounding the home are the flowering shrubs. With this often badly used and not very well understood class of plants, an endless change of varied and beautiful effects is obtainable, but no clipping, no attempts to convert THE COOL SECTION OF THE GREENHOUSE. a shrub into a tree, or good bye to .their natural beauty. Beginning with the Forsythia, Xanthoceras, Flowering Cur- rant, Spirea prunifolia, fl. pi., Cydonia japonica, which flower in May; closely followed by other Spireas, Deutzia, weigelia, Double Flowering Almond, Philadelphus, Rose Acacia, Lilac, Snow- ball, Hydrangea, Althea, Hypericum, etc., these will give an uninterrupted suc- cession of bloom up till the end of September. There are number of shrubs whose chief beauty is in their foliage, viz. : Ber- beris thunbergia. Golden Elder, Varia- gatedCornus, Mahonia, and many others, every one havmg their own distinctive points of beauty, and when planted in groups or masses serve to bring out the beauties of each other. Let the planting be done thickly, it is easy to thin if needed, but by no means as easy to start a young shrub among a lot of older ones ; study the general appearance, time of flowering, habit, etc , in short, let the arrangement be the result of careful study and observation, although appa- rently careless as far as possible, elimi- nate all straight lines, for Nature knows them not. The student of Nature in matters pertaining to gardening will utterly ignore the freaks of fashion such as cast iron bull dogs, gigantic frogs and other such uncouth monstrosities, none of which will find a place upon the lawn- of the true lover of Nature. Webster Bros. Hamilton, Out. THE COOL SECTION OF THE GREENHOUSE. DURING the first months of the year while the plants in the warm section of the conserva- tory are in a dormant condition, the cool house is in all its glory. For mid-winter bloom there are no plants equal to the Primula and the Cyclamen, the latter of the new grandi- florum strain is my favorite, both of these should be raised from seed and that only of the best quality. The Primula is the easier to bring to maturity, ten to twelve months from sowing will produce large plants requiring five and six inch pots by blooming time. Sow the seed early in the year on the surface of the soil, preferably a light sifted loam, in a pot or shallow box, press down evenly and water with a fine rose which should cover the seed sufficiently, if not press them just below the surface, cover the pot with glass to prevent drying out but always leave a small opening for ventilation or the plants will damp off. keep from direct sun during all stages of growth. When the first leaf appears prick into thumb pots or flats, shifting as growth advances until the bloom pots are reach- ed in early autumn. Never cover the crown in potting, and pinch out all flower buds, that may appear before they are established in the blooming pots. The above course will produce large exhibi- tion plants the first season, with flowers of the largest size. Greater satisfaction will be given if new plants are grown each year and the old ones discarded after blooming. The Cyclamen is a gem of the first water and has no equal as a winter bloomer, the pure delicate beauty of its flowers, and the rich marbling of its thick leathery foliage, coupled with great substance and durability, fairly entitle it to a first place in the cool section. In order to ensure the highest degree of success it should be grown from seed,. 72 THE COOL SECTION OF THE GREENHOUSE. but unlike the Primula the bulbs may be kept on for several years until they show weakness They may also be bought as plants, but dormant bulbs are undesirable, as the one point to be observed is that they never be allowed to dry out. About fourteen months is necessary to bring the Cyclamen to blooming size. Seed sown in October and given much the same treatment as the Primula, will produce strong plants which will bloom freely in January and February the second year. Sow the seed in flats, barely covering with soil, keep in partial shade at all times, give air at all stages of growth, this is particularly necessary as the blooming season approaches, which may be prolonged by keeping an even temperature, say 55 degrees at night, and 60 during the day. Five de- grees less will materially lengthen the season of the Primula, which lacks the substance of its beautiful contemporary. It is not necessary to cover sown seeds of the Cyclamen with glass. Never pot the bulb deeper than scant half its depth. The Azalea is a most satisfactory cool- house plant, blooming freely at this sea- son. Continued success depends en- tirely on the proper treatment, which is directly contrary to the advice given in past years. After blooming give full ex- posure to the sun in order to keep the new growth healthy. After danger from freezing pick off ihe seed pods, and pinch back all uneven growths to keep the head in good form, re-pot if necessary, and plunge in the open ground for the sum- mer, giving full exposure to the sun. The best results will be attained where the most syringing of the foliage is given, with a decided under cut, during the hot dry season. By this course the plants may be yearly increased in size and value. Space will not admit detailing the treatment of many other useful plants for the coolhouse. Carnations planted in shallow boxes do better than in pots, the same may be said of roses. Swain- sonia bears a pretty pea shaped flower with delicate perfume. (lenista may be added. The Clivia, an evergreen, bears a gigantic truss as large as a child's head, and if kept in an even temperature the last flower will open before the first falls, making a grand show for fully a month. Cypripedium insigne brought in from the warm section as the flower buds open, will remain in bloom for three months. If the size of the house will admit, the following may also be given a place in the collection : "English primrose, gera nium, abutilon, fuschia, chrysanthe- mum, nasturtium, and mignionette. In bulbs the hyacinth, narcissus, cro- cus, freesia, tulip, and some varieties of iris, not forgetting Bermuda and Longi- florum lilies, also the species Speciosum about to be distributed by our Associa- tion. The coolhouse if properly ventilated at all times, and freely syringed in the morning of all bright days, will be free from insect pests, and may be a mass of delicate beauty and brilliant colors from December to April. If pressure of the advancing season will admit, I hope later on to refer to the intermediate house with a night tempera- ture of sixty degrees, and also to a model propagating house, with a combination of hot water and flue, the ideal heating system of my experience. H. H. r.OFF. Simcoe, Ont. 73 ^Qbr Affiliated ^ocictic?. ^ The date of annual meetings of the Horticultural Societies of the province were fixed by law for the 13th of Janu- ary at 7.30 p.m. At this meeting it is usual to attend to the annual business, the election of officers, etc. We are receiv- ing from our Afifiliated Societies lists of officers elected and, in many cases, some account of their work. These will be printed in full in the annual report which will soon be published by the Depart- ment of Agriculture and placed in the hands of every member. It is not ne- cessary, therefore, that a full list of the officers appear in the journal, but, for convenience of correspondence one with the other, we give the name of the President and Secretary of each Society. Nia(;ar.\ Falls Sociktv. — This ac- tive and flourishing Society numbered over one hundred members in 1896, and has already reached over fifty for 1897. On March 7th, 1896, a show of house plants was made, at which Messrs. A. McNeill of Windsor, Jas Shepherd of Queenston, and T. Greiner of La Salle, N. Y. delivered instructive addresses to a large audience. On the i8th of June, the Society made an excursion to the Ontario Agricultural College at Guelph. On August 27th, a fine exhibition was made in which begonias were most prominent. An orchestra in the evening was much appreciated. Many members exhibited plants and flowers. Wild grapes and some very fine Japan plums figured among the fruits. In Septem- ber a very fine chrysanthemum exhi- bition was held. The Society holds a business meeting on the second Monday of each month and on the third Monday an open meeting to which all the mem- bers and their friends are invited, and at which essays, lectures and discussion are in order. A small flower show is often an attractive feature. The directorate make up a happy family, and includes our ladies in the list for 1897. E. MoRDEN, Sec. Port Dover Society. — The annual meeting of the Port Dover Society was held in the town hall on Wednesday evening, January 13th, and was well attended and full of interest. The audi- tors' report showed a small surplus, and the Secretary-treasurer was compliment- ed upon the neatness and accuracy of his accounts. The Society was inau- gurated in 1S96 with only twelve mem- bers. It has now the full complement required by law to entitle it to the Gov- ernment bonus of .$100 which will help not a little to increase the efficiency and influence of the organization during the coming year. Its members comprise a good many of the prominent and influ- ential fruit growers and others in the district and, if the present interest in it is kept up, it will prove of great value to the community. All members are en titled to a copy of the Canadian Hor- ticulturist, recently enlarged and improved, a bound copy of the annual report of the Fruit Growers' Association and a share in the plant distribution. T/te Secretary. Waterloo. — The following circular has been issed to the members of our Society : The Ontario Fruit (Growers' Association have notified us tliat tliey will send in time for Spring planting one of any of the four AFFILIATED SOCIETIES. Special Premiums below for each member of the Waterloo Horticultural Society wlio asks for it before the end of .January, 1897. Special Premium No. 1, one ]ilant of new Japin Lilac, very choice and valuable. No. 2, one bulb of .Japin Lily " Speciosuin Rose- um " very handsome and easily cultivated. No- 3, two plants " Conrath " raspberry, the largest early black cap known. No. 4, one pear tree, three years old, " The Dempsey," a cross between Bartlett and Duchess. This is in addition to the premiums already offered by this Society. Please inform any of the Otlieers if this Society which of these special premiums you prefer, and please remember that unless you ask for one of these spjcial premiums none will be supplied you, as it will be concluded you do not desire any of them. Jas. Lockie, Pres. W. A. Raymo, Sec. Waterloo. — There was a good atten- dance at our annual meeting, including quite a number of ladies. After reading of reports, the directors report was read and officers were elected for 1897. The following is an abstract of the Directors report : The membership has increased during 1896 to 125, each of whom has received the Cana- dian HoRTiCDLTURiST. The Society distri- buted trees and plants as follows: — 61 cherry, 61 plum, 61 pear, 2.'? spera?as, 28 roses. 2."! clematis, 96 cannas, .32 dahlias, 320 gladioli, 312 house plants, and 1,500 hyucinth bulbs. Opp.ii meetings for discussions have been kept up during the year. On the 17th of March last the F. G. A. sent Mr. I). W. Beadle, the well-known horiculturist, tons, who delivered an excellent lecture on "The Garden," to a good audience. On the 20th and 21st of August, 1896, the Annuil Free Kxhibition of flowers, fruits and vegetables, was held in the Town Halt, and was a fine success, the plants being so arrani,'ed by the ladies as to show ott' to the Ijest advantage. Your direc- tors feel that this manner of conducting the affairs of the Society, and not spending our money in giving prizes for exhibits, and hav- ing our exhibitions free, is the best plan, and fully carried out the intention of the Govern- ment in assisting these societies. .Jame.s Lockie, Pres. [The above will appear in full in our Annual Report.] (jRiMSHY. — The Annual meeting held on Wednesday, 13th January. Treas- urer's report showed balance in hand of $28.95. The total receipts were$ii9.3o. The following is a list of officers for 1897: President, E. J- Palmer; Vice- Presidents, L. Woolverton and Mrs. .\dolphus Pettit ; Directors, Mesdames Lucas, Smith, Nelles, Messrs. Grout, VanDuzer, Pettit, Reid, Terryberry, (libson; Secretary-Treas., E. H. Reid. The Society has decided to make a distribution of chrysanthemums in April. Each member is to receive five fine potted plants assorted colors. These are now being grown by a florist, who will transplant them several times to five inch pots, so that they will be almost sure to bloom even in the hands of amateurs. Should they succeed well, the intention is to have a chrysanthe- mum exhibition in November. Port Hope Society. — At our an- nual meeting the reports showed our Society to be in a'flourishing condition. During the year the sum of .$333.54 was received from all sources, and §238 94 ex- pended in bulbs, plants and magazines (HoR- TicrLTl'RlST), leaving balance of §94.60 with which to begin the year 1897. Six ladies have been added to our officials as Advisory Board 'and sub-directors. A. W. Prinule, Sec. Port Colborne. — There was a gloom cast over our annual meeting, because one of the most active and influ- ential members has passed away, viz., Mr. L. CI. Carter, who died at his resi- dence, '' Rose I^awn," Dec. 30. It was through IVfr. Carter's efforts that the Horticultural Society was organized here, Feb. 23rd, 1895, '^"d he was ist \'ice-President at the time of his death. Our Society passed the following resolu- tion : jRf.so/ri'd, that this .Society desires to place on record its sincere sorrow at the loss of Mr. L. (i. Carter, who for many years took a prominent and public spirited part in all un- dertakings tending to promote the progress and welfare of this community, and whose name is honorably identified with the history of this locality during the greater portion of his long and useful life. A. E. AtrousTiSE, Sec.-T)-(n.i. AFFILIATED SOCIETIES. A List of Some of the Affiliated Horticultural Societies : Picton — President, Lieut. Col. T. Cog ; Sec- retary, W. T. Ross. Simcoe — President, Rev. Canon Young ; Secretary, Henry .Johnson. Brampton — President, Dr. C. Y. Moore ; Secretary-Treasurer, Henry Roberts. Napanee — President, Mrs. .Judge Wilkin- son ; Secretary-Treasurer, E. H. Reid. Grimabti — President, Mrs. Edgar Palmer ; Secretary, E. H. Reid. Lindsay — President, W. M. Rnbson ; Sec- retary, F. .J. Brampton. Port llopt — President, H. H. Burnham ; Secretary, A. W. l^riogle. Port Colbonie — President, E. 0. Boyle ; Secretary, E. O. Augustine. Durham — President, Cliristopher Firth ; Secretary, Wni. Gorslin. Ifoof/s/Ofi-— President, IX W. Karn ; Sec- retary, R. B. Thornton. B('«f«i«e— President, \V. C. Reid ; Secre- tary, \V. Jetfers Diamond. Smith's i^aVs— President, .J. S. McCallum, M. D. ; Secretary, not given. Port Dover — President .James Symington ; Secretary, W. J. Carpenter. Meaford — I'resjJent, Oscar Boden ; Secre- ta'y, A. McK. Cameron. Niagara Falls Sow^A— President, M. P. Ly- on ; Secretary, E. Morden. Kincardine Horticultural Socie- ty.— Sir, — I beg to inform you that conformably to the Agricultural and Arts Act the Society here met on the 13th inst. for organization and election of officers. Mr. A. C. Washburn was elected President, and Joseph Barker, Secretary. The Secretary was instructed to acknow- ledge the receipt of a bound copy of the Hor- ticulturist and one of the t'ruit Growers' Reports, for our library, from the Ontario Society. .Jo.SEPn B.^RKKE, Secretary. Lindsay Horticultural Society. — Dear Sir, — I send you some extracts from my report as Secretary, read at our annual meeting : During the year we have held six Directors' meetings and one public meeting. We have distributed 1,600 hyacinths and 2,000 tulips, also a large number of other plants. Also we have circulated among our members 102 copies of The Canadian Horticurist. Our grant from the Ontario Legislature was the liberal sum of 895, the benefit of which is given our whole membership, as indicated above. F. FraiMPTon, Sivrelary. Durham. — At the annual meeting of our Society, after the election of officers it was resolved that this Society affiliate with the Ontario Fruit Growers' Associa- tion. We hope to send you at least one hundred names. Wm. Gorsline. PLANTING HYACINTHS. N the matter of Linuary planting of Hyacinths, we believe that as a ._L general rule better results can be obtained by earlier planting, although we have never found that the September started bulbs resulted any better than those started one or even two months later. If the bulbs are stored in dry sand, in a cool place ; it is quite prob- able that if planting is delayed even as late as January, that good flowers may be obtained ; yet we would prefer to plant early, say in four inch pots, and plunge the pots in a cold frame, cover- ing with leaves, the pots however must be brought into a warm and dark place for three or four weeks preparatory to placing them where they are to bloom, . as in cold quarters they will make little if any roots during the winter months, and the pots must be well filled with roots before exposing to the light, in order to have good spikes. We think that the rather obscure meaning of the sentence referred to in the article upon " Hyacinths," in the January number, is that the soil should as far as possible be kept at all times uniformly moist until the bulbs have made a good .start, and that in a dark place. Wehster Bros. Hamilton. 76 ^hc Clanaiiian Dorticulturiiat^^^ SUBSCRIPTIOX PRICE, $i.oo per year, entitling the subscriber to membership o£ the Fruit Growers' Association of Ontario and all its privileges, including a copy of its valuable Annual Report, and a share in its annual distribution of plants and trees. REMITTANCES by Registered Letter are at our risk. Receipts will be acknowledged upon the Address Label. ADVERTISINt'r R.\TES quoted on application. Circulation, 4,000 copies per month. -^ ]vfotes arid (foiT)nr)er)1'(?. ^^ Photograph.^ Wanted. — In order to furnish our journal with original illus- trations we would be pleased to receive from our subscribers photographs with descriptions of the same for publication. Of course we do not promise to engrave every photograph received, but only those most suitable to our work. Among those most desirable are views of: (i) country houses and flower gardens : (2) flowering plants; (3) borders, groups of hardy plants, ferneries and rock gardens ; (4) lawns, old orchards, wild gardens, grass walks, and picturesque drives ; (5) rose gardens ; (6) best garden fruits. The Cold Storage Transporta- tion Scheme. — The Committee on this subject met the Hon. T. Fisher, Minis- ter of Agriculture, and Mr. James Robertson, Dairy Commissioner, at the Royal Hotel, Hamilton, on the 20th January. The committee claimed that it would be desirable to forward at least a car load a week of the choicest Canadian fruit, in order to make a fair commer- cial experiment ; that these shipments should continue throughout August, September and October, with tomatoes, early apples, pears, grapes, peaches, etc.; that these should be stored in cold warehouses at shipping points and be chilled before placing in refrigerator cars, and that a Dominion agent in Great Britain should watch the British markets — advise as to consignees, and report fully concerning the reception o( our fruit among British consumers. It was also claimed that owing to the uncertainty about the success of the undertaking— the valuable nature of the choice fruits proposed for shipment, each carload being worth about $400 — and the fact that at first the work is purely experimental and for the good of the whole country, it should be sufficient on the part of the growers if at two or three points they would combine and agree to furnish one experimental car- load each week, of choice assorted fruit, and that the Dominion should erect at these points small store houses, which the growers would on their part agree to take over at a valuation within three years, should the scheme prove a success. The Minister considers these points somewhat favorably, and it is probable 77 NOTES AND COMMENTS. that enough growers in the Grimsby, Winona and Burlington district can be induced to combine upon this experi- mental work, so that it may be thor- oughly tested for the general good. Wismer's Dessert Apple— On Jan- uary 7, we received from J. W. Wismer, Port Elgin, a sample of his new winter dessert apple. It is medium in size, beautifully colored, with flesh of such fine grain and buttery character thatone might easily take it for a pear if one's eyes were closed. The flavor is excel- lent, and judging by the sample it is un- surpassed for the dessert table. Errata. — We regret the accidental transposition of tides on pages 8 and ii, the former being the Hospital for the Insane, and the latter the Art Building of Queen's University. Decease of one of our Direc- tors.— Mr. A. McD. Allan writes to acquaint us of the death of Jno. Stewart, of Benmiller, on the 12th of January, at the age of sixty-two. Mr. Stewart was with us at Kingston, and seemed in good health, taking a deep interest in our proceedings ; and we grieve to hear of this sudden and unexpected loss. Mr. Allan writes " He was a quiet man, who never pushed himself into office of any kind, and yet, in his career in Huron, his name has for many years been uppermost when the people desired to fill any public position of trust. In his own business he enjoyed to a full degree the confidence of the people, as his word was always a guarantee of truth and uprightness. For over a quarter of a century he belonged to the Goderich Horticultural Society, of which he was for some time president. He had been an active worker on the Board of the \Vest Riding Agricultural Society, the Township of Colborne Society, and in later years of the North-Western Exhi- bition. We all miss him ; we have lost a friend, a horticulturist of the truest stamp, who read in all his studies of Nature, the hand of the Great Creator. It can be truly said the world is better because he lived in it." The Next Meeiing of the O. F. G. A., will be held in the town of Water- loo, in December. Invitations have been received from St. Catharines, from the Whitby Horticultural Society, and the South Essex Horticultural Society at Kingsville, and no doubt these places will all be visited in course of time. It is urged by the latter that Essex is a very important fruit growing county, for peaches, grapes and small fruits, one grower alone having about forty acres of peaches in bearing, a single raspberry plantation has yielded over 1800 baskets in a single day, and one grower ofstra^^- berries in 1896, has picked and packed one hundred and twenty-four qt crates of these berries in a half day. Soil Too Poor. — It is a common complaint this season that fruit does not pay as well as it usually does, and many are discouraged. Now we are convinced that much of the failure is due to poverty of soil. Many of our fore- most fruit growers apply little or no ferti- lizers to their orchard and garden ; all the manure goes to the corn or turnip fields. Now such treatment will not produce good fruit, and good fruit is the thing wanted now a days, while second class stuff goes begging at any price. Every apple tree when it has reach- ed bearing age should receive about 50 lbs. of stable manure, 10 lbs. of bone meal, or superphosphate, and 20 or 30 lbs. of wood ashes every year, and we would like to know how many 78 NOTES AND COMMENTS. orchards receive any such treatment. In nine cases out of ten, they receive no fertih'zers at all, and yet they are expected to yield abundant crops of fine fruit. Each bearing cherry tree, too, ought to have, say 25 lbs. of stable manure (one lb. nitrate of soda), 5 lbs. of bone meal, (or dissolved rock), and about 1 2 lbs. of wood ashes. Does it receive any such treatment ? Instead of thisi it gets no fertilizer at all, and heaps of abuse for not yielding finer fruit and more of it. We have much to learn yet, if we would be successful fruit growers. Notes of Failure. — In the Decem- ber No. you ask why members do not write about their success or failures. I will write a few lines about my failures since I have been in Canada. Some four years ago I planted ten acres of grapes and, owing to the dry season, many of them have died and have been ploughed out. The rest did well until last year's frost, since which many of them have never leafed out. I will have to dig the rest and plant them near together. Last year I worked a ten acre vineyard on shares and had nothing for my labor. This year my share was 300 gallons of wine, and I will have to wait until next year before I can sell it. At present I have not enough money to pay my subscription to your journal, which is too bad. What little money I have had was made out of 1500 gallons of cider, or what we Germans call " apple wine." I put pure cane sugar in it, which will make a good drink. I have had lots of experience, but very little result. I would be glad if any of your gentlemen could find me a market for my wine which will be ready in about a month. I believe, if I could find a place with a large fruit grower, I would do better than keeping on with the old vineyard. J. Gruenbeck, Cayuga, Out. FORCED LILY OF IHE VALLEY. LILY of the Valley is now to be seen in the flower stores during fully 11 months of the year. It is very readily forced into bloom, the " pips." as florists term the little bulbs, being merely planted in pure sand, freely watered, shaded, and kept in a high temperature. Twenty to twenty-five days of this treatment bring them into bloom. Sand is used because they are not expected to produce roots, merely to force out the flower through the nutriment stored in the bulb. Under ordinary conditions, while the flowers could be produced at any time during winter previous to the normal period of blooming, they could not be produced after that, but the florists have obviated this difficulty by putting the bulbs into cold storage until needed, these cold storage roots providing the summer flowers. The lily of the valley bulbs forced in this country are all imported, being grown in France, Belgium, Hol- land, Germany and Russia. It is easy enough to force this plant by digging up some clumps from the garden bed. .\ square clump might be dug before the snow covers the bed, and stored in a cold place until wanted. Freezing will not do any damage. In this case, the bulbs should not be disturbed, the whole clump being put in a pan, and brought along gently. — Ex. 79 -^ O^^^I'ioQ ^rd^bO^t'. ^ Amapyllis not Blooming'. 901. SiB, — Why is it that in}' Amaryllis will not bloom ? I have had it several years, and given it ordinary treatment with other house plants. A Subscriber. /?e/>/y by Prof. Hull. O. A. C, Guelph. In answer to your correspondent's question as to why her Amaryllis will not bloom, I would say : This is a very general complaint, and the trouble gen- erally is that the habit of the plant is not understood. The Amaryllis must have a period of rest after each period of growth, and unless it get such a rest, it will not be likely to bloom. As long as the plant is sending out new leaves it should be given plenty of light and watered regularly, but as soon as the new leaves stop coming and the lower leaves begin to turn yellow, it is an indication that a rest is needed. This should be encoumged by taking the plant out of the light and giving only water enough to keep the bulb plump. If all of the leaves dry up no harm will be done. After several weeks of com- plete rest the plant will begin to resume- growth, and often the first signs of it will be the appearance of a flower-stalk. When growth commences the plant should be put in the light, be given a little more heat and should be watered freely. A very dilute application of liquid manure once or twice a week at this time will help to increase the size of the bloom and the vigor of the plant. Fertilizers for the Lawn. 00«. Sir,— I have a large lawn, 110 ft. X -200 ft. Kindly tell me what quantities of nitrate of soda and phosphate of lime I should use, and should these sulistances be dissolved. or applied dry, and at what time of the year? A. BoEHMKli, lierlin. Out. For a lawn of about half an acre, such as the one described, we would recom- mend about loo lbs. of nitrate of soda and about loo lbs. of superphosphate. This latter might wisely be applied in the form of bone meal, '50 lbs., and acid phosphate (dissolved rock) 50 lbs. We would also recommend the addition of potash in some form, say, 200 or 300 lbs. of wood ashes. These may be ap- plied separately, in a dry state, and each sown evenly over the ground. The best time for the application is in early spring. Pears for Alg-oma. 909. Sir, — What pears would you think suitable for this locality? Also, would quinces succeed ? W. H. McNab, Jocelyn, St. Joseph's Island, Alijoma. We have as yet no definite information regarding the suitability of that district to our various fruits. We would advise our subscriber to try Flemish Beauty and Sapieganka pears Possibly Clairgeau would succeed also. Try also Orange quince on well drained soil, and report the result. Fertilizer for Raspberries. 910. Sir, -What is the best concen- trated fertilizer for la.spberries and other small ruits. W. 11. ( 'uux. Afimico. Would recommend for an acre half a ton of wood ashes to furnish potash ; and three or four hundred pounds dis- solved phosphate rock ; and say one hundred pounds nitrate of soda. ' 80 $ ©per; Isertepc?. f Early Potatoes. Sir, — In the Question Drawer No. 881 of the Canadian Horticultorist, A. F., of Ridgetown, asks the name of a first class early potato. I have hail considerable experience witli i|uite a number of \ arieties, and must say that the best in commerce at present is B»r])ee's Karly. A new sort, however, will be sent out this season called Karly Thorough- bred, a most wonderful variety. I tried it myself the past season, and am confident it is the greatest acquisition ever known in the potato line. Otliers who have tried it report the same. Earlier than Burpee's, in appear- ance and cooking ([ualities equal or superior, whilst a much larger nropper, in fact, 1 had double the crop, whilst one of my friends had a bushel from one tuber. As I have more than f require, it is prol)able I may advertise them in the Canadian HorticultirisT. 'V. .7. Kemish. Toi-oiiIo. Hardy Grapes. Sir, — I read an article in December number of the HoRTlC'lXTDRl.'^T in reference to grapes shown at Rockwood Co. Fair. If your cor- respondent is correct in saying that the Moore's Early Grape was grown and exhibited at Rockwood successfully, why not advise Mr. Frankland to try some of the more hardy varieties, as I have seen the Moore's Early Winter killed in the neighborhood of .St. ( 'atharincs. 1 would advise one variety which I think is somewliat neglected, and I consider it one of the earliest and best of the Rogers varieties, Rogers \o. :!.3. It is easily distinguished by the following description, a abort stout and well shouldered bunch and the stem very short between the bunch and the cane, black berry Rogers No. 3 would be also worth trying, although it sets poorly sometimes. I think the quality better than No. 0, and it is also earlier. No. 3 being a red grape, I will allow some one else to name a white. P.ODKRicK Cameron, Xiw/ara FalU. The Improved Journal. Sir, — I have just received your circular proposing to improve the Canadian Horti- ciTLTiRAi. Journal in the way of devoting more space to floriculture, etc. A journal treating on the culture of flowers has been a great want in this Province, and I know that the Canadian Hiirticultitral .Iui'rnal will be greatly ajipreciated, especially by the twenty-flvc Horticultural Societies in the Province of Ontario. For instance, we have a Horticultural Society at Niagara Falls South for 1890, the number of members was 107, and I hope that every one of them will take the Canaiuan Hortiiti-tl-rist. I hope to see its first number turn out as its name suggests, a thorough horticultural journal in every branch of the art. You have skill galore in Ontario if you only get them started to take an interest in one part of the art or the other, and I intend to contribute a few notes myself from time to time. Wishing the Canadian Horticulturist every success. Roderick Cameron. Tariff on Fruits. Sir, — Until recently our fruits mostly found a market at home. Now the fruit production has overtaken the local demanil and an outlet is the crying need. A prohibitory tariff on the smaller fruits has not prevented this state of atfairs. This outlet must be to the south, where we can reach markets after their own local sup- ply has ceased: We in return must accept their earlier fruits before our season arrives. A great and rapidly increasing market has been opened up in Buft'alo and Detroit, which are contiguous to our chief centres of fruit production. Berries from Buffalo are shipped further south, where no local supply then exists. Profitable berry culture in Southern Onta- rio depends upon the outlet. To retain this market, Canadians must imitate the liberality of our American friends, who exact no duties on the smaller fruits. This course on both sides will be of decided advantage to produ- cers as well as consumers. Growers are usually most anxious to sell fruit when they har,' it to sell. At other times bananas and oranges, duty free, injure our chances more than an early and neces.oarily high-priced supply of the ordinary fruits could injure us. To secure our exclusion from the American markets and the consequent wiping out of our small fruit industry, our growers have only to continue their high tarift' agitation. Supreme selfishness will get its appropriate reward sooner or later. Our neighbors in this matter at least have exceeded the most extreme views of the Scrip- tural injunctions. Peradveuture they may become •' weary of well-doing." Frontier fruit growers who have for years sold the bulk of their fruit in the United States comprehend the situation. This with us is a live (|uestion. E. .\IoRDtN, Niagara Falls South. 8l OPEN LETTERS. Planting- Hyacinths. Sir, — As it is to the interest of all readers of the HoKTiL'i'LTURisT that articles appear- ing in that Journal should be criticised, if the advice given be at all doubtful, an article appearing in the January number on the hyacinth is certainly open to criticism. The advice given there to plant hyacinths in tlanuary is against all well known authority. Instructions on growing bulbs always advise their being planted as soon as possible after being procureil, and as hyacinths arrive in this country in September, would they pro- duce good flowers if kept out of earth until January. Would not the better plan be to plant them as soon as received, and retard their flowering by kee]>ing the pots in a box of ashes in a cool place. The sentence " until the shoots are two inches long, about the same proportion of water should be kept around them and the bulb, keeping them from the light and air," is very puzzling, and needs ex]>lanation. T. A. \V. , Napantt. We quite appreciate the general good that will result from criticisms and notes of experience from all our readers, whether fruit or flower growers. We did not take the article under considera- tion to advise planting in January rather than earlier, only to say that it could be planted early in that month for Easter blooming. We have ourselves planted a dozen bulbs to test the matter. EXPERIENCE WITH CARNATION. Sir. — Some two or three months since I observed a letter in your valuable monthly enquiring about Carnations. 1 intended at the time to send my experi- ence as I have always been a lover of that flower ; but something hindered until I saw in your last issue a notice soliciting communications on floricul- ture. Steele Bros, of Toronto, advertised Marguerite Carnations which would bloom in four months from the time of seed-sowing and promised about 80 per cent, of double flowers. I sent for a ten cent packet and sowed them in March in a shallov; box, in two rows about yi an inch deep ; I believe every seed came up ; I had about twenty plants, which I set out in spring in a border about a foot apart. Nearly every one had some bloom in the fall and I had about 18 double flowers. Before the frost came I potted the double ones. took them into the house and had some blooming all the winter, not freely, but perhaps 6 or 8 all the time. As soon as the frost was gone I bedded them out and as they are apt to grow high and need support, I put in slender stakes, some of them were altogether to high and I cut them down which caused them to grow more stocky. When the flower- ing time came I had a magnificent dis- play of carnations so that I frequently would give a good handful for a boquet to a visitor or neighbor and there still seemed as many as before. Perhaps they will not do much this year, but they had done so well that I could not throw them away, so I cut them pretty well down and have left them out all winter under a covering of stalks and leaves, by way of experiment. josEi'H Wallace, Sr. Orillia, Jan. ig, lS<)/. 82 M J\k Jllapliets. ^ Recovery of the Apple Market. Messrs. Woodall dt Co., Liverpool, cable under date January 13tli, as follows : Active consumptive demand, 4,900 barrels sold, — Baldwins tirst bringing 13/ to 17/; seconds, 7/ to 10': Russets, 11/ to 1.")/; Greenings, 9/6 to 10 ; Spys, i;!/6 to U/. Tliey cal)lc under to-day's date, 4,500 liarrels sold, — strong demanil, — market firm with good de- mand at last quotations. Messrs. M. Isaacs & Sons, Ltd., London, cable to-day,— Baldwins first, 8/ to 10/, with improved demand. No report from Glasgow. Shipments from Portland this week are as follows; — Liverpool, 7,771 barrels, Canadian; Glasgow, 898 barrels, Canadian : Liverpool, 422 cases, Canadian ; Glasgow, 177 barrels, Maine ; Liverpool, '2,.35o barrels, Maine. The ocean freight to Liverpool, via Port- land, is 1/6 and .■>'; primage ; to Glasgow, 2/ and 0% primage. The ijuotations given by Messrs. Woodall & Co., Liverpool, show a sudden and com- plete redemption of the market, a recovery from the demoralized condition into which the market had fallen was looked for with the turn of the new year, but it was not generally anticipated that it would have re- covered with such rapidity. There is no doubt that this sudden reaction is due in a great measure to the cleaning up of over- supplied and unattractive fruit which has invaded the market with such persistency, and also to the curtailment of the excessive quai\tities which have so thoroughly tested the market during the first half of the season. The improved change will, no doubt, inspire shippers with a new hope and expectation of better prospects and remunerative jirioes, and that a bright period is now before us. The quotations given in our cables repre- sent the prices realized ou the very limited supply of about 5,000 barrels, and until the demand of the market can establish remuner- ative figures, with the arrival of heavier sujiplies, we recommend caution on the part of forwarders, and advise them not to be over-sanguine about the future. We believe, however, that European requirements during the Spring of 1897 will be very large, and the general outlook could not be better. But shippers should thoroughly understand, that only really prime stock in good sound condi- tion will be wanted, and that the markets are not prepared to take quantities such as have lately gone forward. The probable weekly requirements to return remunerative prices should be about 35,0(10 barrel.s, and at the utmost not to exceed 50,000. The Edinburg'h Apple Market. .Sir, — For your guidance wc herewith beg to advise you market prices for apples. In the first place we are pleased to state that our market has taken a decided turn for the better. The bulk of the wasty apples have now been cleared out and anything good ar- riving from now is sure to make remunerative prices. We had a few fresh landed apples sold yesterday. Condition of them was fair, although the quality left much to be desired, being very poor and showing considerable signs of frost, especially the Greenings, which had many black apples in them, and of a soft spongy feeling. Golden Russets, best realized from 11/ to 12/ bri. : do., very small, 10/ to 11/ ; Bald- wins, 11/ to 12/; (Jreenings, very poor qua- lity indeed, 8/ to 9/; Roxboro' Russets, 11/ to 12/ ; Spitzenburgs, 11/6 to 12/ ; Ben Davis, 10/6 to 11/6 ; Canada Reds, 10/6 to 12/. Spies, not any on the market ; but really sound fresh packed Spies would have realized about 11/ to 14/, as they are now much wanted. We also expect that prices will advance other 2/ next week, and it will not surprise us to see apples going for the next two or three weeks at from 14/ to Hi/, probably more for anything fine. Of course all apples arriving now will have to be fresh packed when shipped, as any old packed apples will simply arrive dead rotten, and it is great folly on the part of shippers to send such apples as have been arriving lately. They appear to have been in the barrels for three or four months and the waste that takes place while they are lying about gets all burst with the fresh movement in transit. Hence apples get all wet and slack, which starts a fresh decay and the consequences are, when they land here, they are simply muck, especi- ally Spies and (ireenings. We have never seen the like of it before and we hope we shall never see it again. One lot of Spies we had, when they landed out the steamer, and pre- vious to tliem being carted, we really thought they were in fair condition ; but the cause of them not shaking was, that they went into a solid body, and the minute they were put on to the waggons and carted to the stores, they ran out all over the place, even the juice was running from the lorry on the way to the store, and when landed in the stores the juice of them went down below into another Hat Any shipments you have to send to our care will now do well for the next five or six weeks. After that the high prices that will be realized between now and then will likely bring in again heavy shipments, when there will take place another glut ; so beware of it. But prices will not be anything like as bad as they have been, that is, if they continue to come in good condition. It was the very bad condition that brought the market down and demoralized the demand for anything fair. Intending shippers should ship at once two or three shipments, then stl.\ME.-i LiNMS.W & Sox. $ ®(jp SooH Tabic ^ Farming, published by the Bryant Press, Toronto, Canada, for only SI a year, is a magazine well worthy the patronage of every Canadian farmer. It contains about 7.") pages of the most valuable information for the pro- gressive student of agriculture, and is full of fine half tune engravings, prepared at great expense. It is thoroughly up to date in every respect, and reflects great credit upon its able editor. Brown's Nurseries P.O., Ontario.— In the advertisement in our .January Number, of Brown Brothers Co., we wish to correct a typographical error in stating that the nurse- ries of this Company were located at Hagers- ville, Ontario. It should have read Brown's Nurseries P.O , Ontario. This P.O. has recently been opened at their nurseries, and all letters to this Company should be ad- dressed there. We make mention of this error so as not to confuse the patrons of this Company as to the location ot its extensive nurseries in our Province. The Company's ad. appears again on back cover page. Catalogue.s. A. M. Smith's Annual, 1897. Fruit and Ornamental trees, plants and vines, Dominion Nurseries, St. Catharines. Special Llst for 1S07, Bloomsdale Nurse- ries, Woodstock, Edwin Hersee, Prop. .Stkele liKicGS Seed Co.'.s, 1S97, Toronto Ont. Ha.m.mond's Slug Shot and its Uses, 10th Edition, 20 pages, illustrated, free. 1897 Trade Price List to Dealers. Slug Shot kills insects, etc., 4 pages. .James J. H. Gregory & Sons, Catalogue of Home Grown Seeds, Marblehead, Mass., 72 pages illustrated, free. E. W. Reid's Nurseries, Bridgeport, Ohio. Everything for the fruit grower, 1897, 4() pages, illustrated, free. A. (t. Hi:ll & Sons, Trees and Plants for successful planting, St. Catharines, Ont. The Silas Wilson Co., Catalogue and Price List of leading new fruits, Atlantic, Iowa. H. H. (Jrokf, Simcoe, Canada. Cannas, (iladioli, Clivias, 1897. Fred, E Young, Rochester, N.V. Fruit, Ornamental Shrubs, Roses and Trees. D. M. Ferry, Windsor, Ont. Seed Annual, 1S97. Storrs & Harriso.s; Co., Painesville, 0> Seeds and Plants, 1897. W. Altee Burpee & Co., Phildelphia. Sweet Peas, up-to-date, 10 cts., a valuable pamphlet. ONTARIO FRUIT GROWERS' ASSOCIATION. Offleeps for 1897. President, . W. E. Wellington, Toronto. | VicePrr.thlenl, . . . W. if. Orr, Fruitland. Si'crelary, L. Woolverton, (irimsbv. Harold Jones, Maitland. R. B. Whyte, Ottawa. Geo. Nicol Cataraqui. W. Boulter Pioton. Thos. Beall, Lindsay. R. L. HuGGAKD, .... Whitby. A. H. Pettit, (Jrimsby. W. M. Orr Fruitland. A. M. Smith, ...... St. Catharines^ .T. T. ScARKK Woodstock. .John Stewart, .... Benmiller. T. H. Race, Mitchell G. C. Caston, Craighurst. lUirlington. 84 THE Canadian Hokticultukis' Vol. XX. 1897. No. 3. THE GRIMSBY AND WINONA FRUIT GROWERS, HESE two sections are really one ; the G. T. R. railway stations are scarcely five miles apart, and are in ad- joining townships. Here the fruit industry was first stimulated into activity by such pioneers as A. M. Smith, and C. E. Woolverton, who began shipping strawberries and other fruits by express, about the year i860. In those days strawberries averaged 10 cents a quart for the season, grapes 10 cents a pound, apples $2 a barrel, and peaches $3 and $4 a bushel. The first blackberry plantation at Grimsby was of the old Lawton variety, and these averaged about 15 cents a quart. Those were the palmy days of fruit growing ; yet, every one planted sparingly for fear of overstocking the markets. Between the years of i860 and 1870 probably $1,000 a year would cover the total value of fruit shipped by express from Grimsby, while that of apples by freight would be covered by two or three times that sum. What a contrast with today, when the value of the fruit shipped from each of these shipjiing points is upwards of $100,000 per annum; while of ap- ples the G. T. R. agent reports that about 18,000 bbls. have been shipped this season from Grimsby alone, and 6,000 from Winona. Our frontispiece shows the \\'inona station just before the arrival of the fruit train, with the fruit packages piled up on the platform awaiting transportation, photograph was taken by Mr. Craig, and the plate first appeared in the report of the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Commons, and was loaned this journal by Mr. J. H. McLeod, Secretary of the Committee. A similar view might easily be made at Grimsby almost any day during the whole fruit season from July to October. It seems a little strange that now, when prices are so low, the fruit growers are planting whole farms to fruits, while in those days of high prices a small gar- den plot was enough to satisfy them. Among the prominent fruit growers of Grimsby and Winona, at the present time, we will mention the following, and others will be noticed in a future number : 86 THE'^ GRIMSBY AND IIVAV.V.l FRUIT GROWERS. Mr. E. /.J IVoolverton, (Irimsby, is a well-known fruit grower, because of his connection with the Niagara District Fruit (Jrowers' Stock Co., of which he is president. His orchard is a perfect pic- ture, consisting of about sixty acres of the choicest fruit land, in the very best state of cultivation. He has a ten acre orchard of Baldwin apple trees, about thirty years planted, every one a beauty. They had never given a full crop, but this year they were loaded with prime fruit. But they ripened two weeks earlier than usual and two-thirds fell to the ground before they could be harvested. He shipped about 1,900 bis., but like many others, received from the net pro- ceeds scarcely his actual expenses. Is it any wonder that he has decided to dig out a large number of these fine trees and plant some more profitable fruit ? Fli:. 10i;3.-Mu. !■: .1. WooLVERTDN'. He has a very large vineyard of Ni- agara, Pocklington, and Rogers grapes, which yield abundantly, and one of the finest blocks of Duchess pears in the whole district These fine trees were his pride for some years, owing to their rapid and vigorous growth, until the blight sadly disfigured them. Notwith- standing the discouragements Mr Wool- verton still has confidence in the future of fruit growing, and has planted his whole farm with the various fruits. His farm adjoins that of the Secretary of the Ontario F.G. A , on the west, being separ- ated by a lane leading to Lake Ontario. Fig. I(i(J4.— Mr A. H. Pettit. Mr. A. H. Pctiit, of Grimsby, whose fruit farm adjoins that of the writer on the east, was one of the first to plant a large peach orchard, chiefly of Early Craw- ford peaches ; a large vineyard of Con- cord grapes, an orchard of 600 Baldwin apple trees ; a plantation of Duchess pears, and other fruits. This original Crawford peach orchard was a great success, and only quite recently was renewed with young trees. The Bald- wins gave him their first crop this year — the finest we ever saw; — and brought the owner excellent prices from some of the inland markets of Great Britain. Mr. M. Pettit, of Winona, a notice of whom has already appeared in this jour- nal, is like Mr. A. H., one of our ex- presidents, has always made his vineyard his chief hobby. It is situated on rich, sandy loam, close under the mountain, the sediment from which constantly en- riches. All the way to CoUingwood and Thornbury this condition prevails, and those similarly situated all along the mountain base might well plant their 87 THE GRIMSBY AND WIXONA FRUIT GROWERS. Fic 1066.— Mk. -M. IVrnr. land to fruit. His many varieties of grapes led to his being chosen experi- menter in grapes. Mr. Pettit has also a large pear orchard, notably of Giffard and Bartlett, two of the most satisfactory of our summer pears. Mr. W. M. Orr, " I'VuitJand," is also well-known to our readers, some account of his life as a fruit grower, having appear- on p. II 1, volume XIX, from which we re-produce the excellent view of his fruit farm. This is situated like Mr. Pettit's, just along the base of "the mountain," and therefore naturally favorably situated to produce the best of fruit. Mr. Orr is now Vice-President of our Association, a position of advancement which his merits well deserve. Mr. Ira I'anDuzer, of \\'inona, has for nineteen years been engaged in nur- sery and fruit growing, first in company with Mr. J. Wesley Smith, and latterly by himself. As the fruit of his industry Fk;. 1067.— Mr. W. M. Orr. Fk;. lOHS.— Mb, Ira VAsUrzER. he has recently completed a beautiful residence of which he has furnished a photograph. It is situated close along the side of the H. G. &. B. electric road, the platform of which is seen in front, and to the south, in the rear is a view of '• The Mountain," near the base of which all the best orchards in this locality are situated. The next cut (Fig. 1070) shows a nearer view of this mountain, with a portion of Mr. Van- Duzer's plum orchard in the foreground. In another view (Fig. 107 1) is shown Mr. \'anl)uzer's fruit farm looking from "The .Mountain." In the distance, to the north, is Lake Ontario, and the 89 THE GRMISBY AND WINONA FRUIT GROWERS stretch of land^between is but a portion of that famous Niagara fruit district, along from Hamilton to Queenston, similarly situated. In the distance is a rear view of Mr. VanDuzer's house, while nearer, just below, the vineyard in the foregound, is his plum orchard of seven acres, containing about 1400 six year old trees. From this orchard Mr. VanDuzer harvested in 1896 an enor- mous crop, for such young trees to bear ; the balance Lindley, Agawam, Worden Moore's Early, Niagara, etc. Then fol- lows four or five acres of bearing peach trees. In addition to these there are twelve acres of currants and other fruits, and in all about 42 acres in nursery and fruit garden. Mr. VanDuzer belongs to one of the earliest families in this locality, his grand- father, Mr. John VanDuzer, from Penn- sylvania, settling nearly a century ago Fig. l(J(i!)— Mk. VanDuzer's Residence. he gathered 6600 baskets of plums, which, notwithstanding the very low prices prevailing, he was able to place on orders at an average of about 35 cents a basket. The varieties were chiefly Reine Claude, Yellow Gage, Wasington, Imperial Gage, Gueii, Pond's Seedling, Coe's Golden Drop, and Lom- bard. Ne.xt below the plums is a vineyard of five acres, nearly one half Concord and on a farm at the top of the mountain, near his present home. Figure 107 1 shows another somewhat similar view at Grimsby ; our photo- grapher's camera was placed on the mountain side, and looked down upon a vineyard close at hand in full leaf, and just beyond is seen a fine vigorous young plum orchard, while to the right is a healthy, well-grown peach orchard. These beautiful "rounds are in excellent 90 NOVA SCOTIA FRUIT G ROWERS. cultivation, on the very choicest land, close along the limits of IJrimsby X'illage and are valued at $400 per acre by the owner, Mr. Hugh Anderson. This gentle- man's house is on the extreme left of the picture, along the highway leading from the village to the park. The large build- ing about the middle is Mr. H. R. Nelles' Canning Factory, and in the distance, the sky and the waters of Lake Ontario seem to unite. ( T(i he Continued.) Fig. 1070. — Sketch of Mointain, Mr. Van Dozer's Plum Orchard in the Foreground. NOVA SCOTIA FRUIT GROWERS. L^ r^HI.S old and respectable Asso- ciation held its thirty-third Annual Meeting in the College Hall at Wolfville, N.S , on the 20th of January. A small but thorough- ly representative assembly was present. The meeting was called to order shortly after 2.30 by President Bigelow, who, after calling on Rev. A. Marteli for prayer, delivered his annual address, from which we cull the following para- graphs. Ladies and Gentlemen, — I have the onor of again presenting to you my annual report, and have to record that for the first time in the history of this Association, owing to an unusually abundant fruit crop throughout this con- tinent, and a consequent overstock in all our fruit markets, the fruit industry has not been as remunerative as usual. From the most reliable information ob- tainable, I report the apple crop of Nova Scotia this year at 500,000 barrels. The crop in Ontario and Quebec is reported to be 3,000,000 barrels, or more than double of any previous year for Canada. The United States (Government returns 9' iVOrj SCOTIA FRUIT GROWERS. put their apple crop at 60,000,000 bar- rels. We have shipped already 230,000 barrels, principally to London, there to be met with enormous consignments from United States and Ontario, amount- ing to 2,300,000 barrels, shipped to Eng- land, which has so overstocked that great market that prices have returned to the grower an average of from 75 cents to $1.00 per barrel. Owing to the above cause, rendered more unprofitable by the Although this extreme over-produc- tion may not occur again for some time, I think the time has come when we must base our calculations for apple crops at not over one dollar per barrel average, and at this price with reasonable freight rates, I claim that this can be made the most profitable farm industry in Nova Scotia, and as compared with the low prices likely to continue for all food pro- ducts, this must be considered an equit- ■Sfe. exorbitant freight rates and charges by the subsidised lines of steamers running between Halifax and London, the fruit grower has practically been growing fruit this year to enrich the carriers and agents. We have paid the carriers already over $200,000 in freight, and received about $100,000 to cover cost of growing, barrels, picking, etc., which results in a loss to us. able price, and all my previous calcu- lations for apple production in Nova Scotia have been based at $1.00 per barrel. The promoters of the Halifax cold storage warehouse, having failed so far in securing the required capital, fruit grow- ers as well as all producers of perishable fruit products are deprived of the advan- tage of any cold storage in this Province. NO FA SCOTIA FRUIT GROWERS. Amid the discouragement occasioned by the unremunerativc price obtained for that portion of our crop already mar- keted, we have the cheering prospect of better prices for the large quantity of superior fruit still on hand, and with a good market in February and March, we may yet make a paying average on the year's fruit crop. Dr. Chipman, of Grand Pre, spoke in favor of the grant for the foundation and such a station, and moved the following resolution : Whereas thia Association has failed to ob- tain annual irrant of .*J,OllO for establishment and snpport of an experimental fruit station from both the late and present government, let it be resolved that this Association invite the cooperation of the Ontario F. (i. A. and all agricultural and horticultural societies in Canada, to urge the federal government to adopt a more just and liberal policy toward farmers and fruit growers by establishing the fruit station reijuested. KiG. 107— — GRIM.SBY ViLI.AfJK PrOI'EK — .SEEN FROM Til K^Mor .\TAIN. support ot experimental fruit stations. In agriculture, as in the learned profes- sions, education was necessary, and he thought that the horticultural school at Wolfville should be supplemented by This was seconded by Henry Shaw, of Berwick. Dr. Reid, of Halifax, spoke in favor, saying that a farmer needed a more liberal education than any other profession. The resolution was carried. 93 THE FOXGLOVE AS A BORDER PLANT. Z^ pv]^HE common Foxglove, Digitalis I purpurea, has long been known in _[ our grandmothers' gardens as a meritorious, hardy plant, but has fallen out of popular favour in the rush and and craze for bedding plants. Not only his this fine subject been grossly neglected, but a multitude of other old time favorites many of which are now so improved by the European growers that we would scarcely recognize them in their new forms. There are several greenhouse shrubs which have, in old books of then the best authorities, been classed as Digitalis, are now found under their proper headings, but ihe common garden Foxglove, of which references is made in this article, is a native of Central Europe, and popularly known ns Witch's Fingers. In Europe also has the plant been neg- .cted, but it is now coming again into gen- ial culture, and exciting much interest on f '\ I V\v.. 1 1 17.'{ — . Foxc 1,0 VE. account of the magnificent new forms showing that it is not an exception to which have developed, in the hands of the ordinary in plants when given liberal those making a specialty of the plant, cultivation and careful, intelligent selec- 94 THE FOXGLOVE AS A BORDER PLANT. tion. In the common foxglove we really did not have enough range of color to warrant an extensive planting, and it may be due to this that the plant has been al- lowed to drop into the background, but now varieties appear having the recom- mendations of freedom of flowering, ro- bust growth, and individual blooms of great substance, bold form, and wide range of beautiful colors and shades. One form that is always admired, either on the plant or cut, is the pure white with purple sprays on the lower portion of the bell shaped bloom So great has been the improvement in size and shape of the blooms that they compare very favorably with the improved Gloxinias, which they considerably resemble in this respect. For the present perfection of the Foxglove, we thank the French nurserymen for their untiring efforts in selecting and hybridizing until perfection be reached. The best use, no doubt, to which the Foxglove may be placed is in the border, as we often see the Hollyhock now employed, with evergreens as a back- ground. A bold clump thus placed and grown in greatest health, gives us a change and one which will be greatly admired. Generally speaking, such tall growing things are best kept at a distance, though well arranged clumps may be used with great effect in a conspicuous place. pretty well forward occasionally ; but it is necessary to give the matter of such a location considerable study, as it will mar one's grounds if not properly placed. ( )ne great advantage of the Foxglove IS that seedlings come up of their own accord in countless numbers, where all the flowers are not cut, so that it is only necessary to do the thinning out and transplanting in order to keep up "the supply. However, there is one objection, that is, the losing of many of the finest kinds, as one cannot tell what the seed- lings will produce unless grown in sepa- rate clumps of single colors. The wild garden and our parks afford excellent opportunities for introducing the Foxglove, and when once establish- ed, one need not fear of its becoming much crowded out by the other subjects. While its beauty and appearance are so out of the ordinary growth, its time of flowering will be eagerly looked for each season when once the finer introductions become known. A package of mixed seeds of the latest hybrids may be had 50 cents of some of the larger seed houses, and will give nearly all of the desirable varieties. Sown first in a pan or bo.x, and after- ward transplanted to 18 inches apart, they give a fine display. The best soil is a loose loam, thor- oughly enriched and well drained. HaRKISII AM) LoMllKI.OkUM LiLIKS Can be potted in six or seven inch pots (top of bulb near top of soil) at any time after having a dormant period of a few months. Water sparingly until ball fills with roots and top growth is well estab- lished, then they will need more water : never let any lily in active growth get wholly dry. After blooming, dry off, keep in cool, dry position without disturbing the bulb until it is again fit to repot, when shake out of old soil and pot as above. 95 -^7l?C ©Pc'>^''d c^r)d f^Pdif (srapcli^r;.^ DUCHESS AND TYSON PEARS. HEN dwarf pears are spoken of, the Duchess is always first in mind, and it is widely planted in our Province. It is of French origin ; and in Canada it ripens early, in October. Its immense size, the ex- cellent quality of the flesh, and the productiveness of the tree, have well combined to make it the dwarf variety for market purposes with fruit growers in Southern Ontario Some have planted it by the hundred in solid blocks e.xpecting to reap rich returns, and until within two or three years past all expectations seemed to be justified ; but we have been disappointed, for the price for Duchess pears, as well as for all other fruits, has been unusually low. Formerly 75 cents was the ordin- Fk.. lOT.'l — 1H:C11K» iKAK. ary price for i 'i peck basket of these pears, but now 25 to 40 cents seems to rule What is the remedy ? First plant other varieties near for cross fertilization of the blossom. Second, aim to grow only the the large, fine sized samples. No pear is more uninviting than a badly grown Duchess, knotty from curculio stings, undersized and colorless. Culti- vation and manuring must be liberal, but that is not enough. The grower must thin his fruit well, leaving only the best to mature ; and he must prune pro- perly. Very few of our growers take the trouble to prune their dwarf pear trees after any definite plan. The shape should be pyramidal, as shown in the accompanying illustration, in which the tree is bush form, the lower limbs quite near the ground, and the others short- DUCHESS AND TYSON PEAKS. ened in to form a pyramid toward the top. The dwarf pear needs very close cutting back every spring, and if one- half to two-thirds of all young shoots be cut off at that time it is not too much. Our English friends understand this art of cutting back to perfection, and tluir Fig. lOTG— Tyson Pear. trees are models to us in this regard. As a rule the dwarf pear is rather in- tended for the garden of the amateur than for the commercial orchard ; it seldom lives more than twenty years and it dies about the age at which a standard is reaching its best days. The Tyson pear tree on the other hand is almost always grown as a standard We have some immense trees of this variety at " Maplehurst," some thirty years planted, and they ex- ceed others of the same age in size and vigor, not even excepting the Buffam. It has the merit of never suffering from blight, so far as we are acquaint- ed with it, it is also a very healthy grower, but rather late in bearing fruit. The fruit is medium size, good quality, but not very attractive in ap- pearance, and therefore it brings a very, ordinary price in the market. It ripens about the ist of September. The tree originated in Pennsylvania. NKW PORTABLE STEP LADDER. ^\'I;R\' new patfiit that helps to lighten labor, and facilitate the [profitable [)ursuit of any enter- prise, deserves encouragement, and, therefore, we do not hesitate to gi\e place to an engra\ing showing this ladder as it appears when set up. Mr. Harvey- Bowman, of Forgy, Ohio, is the inventor, and E. F. I^indis, Model CitS', N. V., the introducer of it, and it has been recently patented in both the United States and Canada. We find the ladder very easy to handle, and it can be wheeled with ease from place to ]jlace, being little heavier than an ordinary wheel-barrow. It is always in sha[)e. and one can carry along the half filled ba.sket from tree to tree, thus saving much time. The ladder is strongly built, the wheels are of malleable iron. and there appears nothing to go out of order. FRAMES FOR HOT-BEDS. §S stated recently, the time is near for beginning hot-bed work, and as the " frame " must first be prepared it may be as well perhaps to explain how it is made. Common boards and a sash will answer all purposes. Any one with a square, saw and hammer, can construct it for himself. The frame may be from one to four sash in length, the latter being about what can be made from 14 ft boards. The most suitable width to use without waste is 20 inches ; allow two for the back of the frame making it 20 inches high, which gives sufficient pitch to the roof to shed rain ready for use. Pits for hot-beds are made by taking out the soil to a certain depth and wall- ing up the sides with boards or bricks. On top of the wall, place a wooden plate upon which the sash is to slide. The advantages of a pit are manifold. In the first place filled with manure in the spring it forms the hotbed. After- ward when the manure is taken out it is a capital place to " summer over " many plants which do not do well exposed to hot, dry winds. Then in the fall it is just the place to grow chrysanthemums, and all winter with proper protection many half-hardy plants can be nicely kept in it. Tough prairie sod may be used for the sides with good effect, provided the land is low and the pit liable to collect water. In the engravings are still other Fic. I07S. — HoT-EKii Fk.amks. and collect the rays of the sun. Purchase the sash ready-made from the manufac- turers, having it 6 ft long, 3 feet wide, and yi thick. To make a four sash frame then, we will want four 10 inch boards 14 feet long, one of which must be cut in two equal parts to form the end pieces. Besides this, to secure a strong frame it is better to have at each corner a piece of 2x4 scantling, to which the boards are nailed. Let the end boards project 2 inches above the side pieces to hold the sash in place. Then fasten a strip 3 inches wide and i inch thick to each side and to the upper end on a level with the topand bottom boards. This forms a slide upon which the sash rests. Thus we have a homely frame styles of frames, which for certain pur- poses will be found very useful. For example, the upper one shows a span shape ; that is, it has sash slanting each way and hinged at the top. Such a minature greenhouse, for summer use, will be found convenient for growing Chinese primroses, cinerarias, calceola- rias, cyclamen and similar plants, even azaleas, provided there is height enough, will do finely. In the lower right hand corner is a very modest affair and just the thing to construct for the children's garden. With it they may go through the performances of their elders, and thus find innocent employment, and cul- tivate a love for flowers and gardening. — Orange }udd Farmer. 98 THE SAN JOSE SCALE INSECT. Iv arc glad that the Niagara District fruit growers are taking active steps to pre- vent the introduction of this terrible pest into Ontario orchards. It is well known in California as the most destructive insect pest of deciduous trees, and has caused the growers there very great pecuniary loss. Fig. 1079 — As Adult Female. During the last few years this scale has been spreading rapidly throughout the State of New Jersey, whither it was brought from California, on plum trees ; and from Idaho, on pear trees. During the last year or two, it has even made its way into New York State, so that it is time we were alarmed. Our trees and plants come so largely from New York State nurserymen, that we see no way of a\ert- ing the evil without wholesale measures. The insect is so tiny that it might easily escape inspection at the border, and total prohibition of importation for a time seems about the only sure means of preventing its introduction. It belongs to the same group of in- sects with the oyster scale bark louse, but differs in form, being perfectly round. It is flat, pressed close to the bark, which it resembles in color. Itjs^so small that it easily escajjes the natural eyesight, and when full grown is only about '/^th of an inch in diameter. It infests the twigs, the leaves, and even the fruit, and when very abundant the latter is utterly ruined by it. It is especially injurious to the Bartlett pear the fruit of which is rendered unsalable by it ; and as this is one of our most valu- able varieties for export, and the one most widely planted, we fruit growers should be wide awake to the danger. Figure 1081 shows a Bartlett pear only slightly affected with this scale ; while Fig. 1080 shows an adult female. ^/^ Fig.— 1080— San Jose Scalk; a, pear moderately infested; ft, female scale enlarged. 99 THE SAN JOSE SCALE. with young, greatly magnified, and at {d) the anal fringe, still more enlarged. The little circle at the right shows the real size. The mother louse acts as a shield to protect the ycjung- during the winter season, and so thoroughly does she ac- complish this that the young are safe from any applications until they emerge in early spring, at which time they can scarcely be seen without a microscope. Fig. 1082 shows the same, and to the left a male adult, greatly enlarged ; and Fig. 1083 an infested branch. These cuts will serve to identify this scale, for any one who has even a good hand microscope. The best remedy appears to be kero- sene emulsion faithfully applied in the month of May or June, at the time when the young have come out from under the old mother scale. In New Jersey it has been found to infest the currant bushes and the quince trees, in addition to the pear and plum, above mentioned. Indeed, where abun- dant, there is scarcely any plant or forest tree which is exempt. Once get it in Canada, and millions of dollars would not eradicate it, nor would millions equal the loss to our fruit growers. How far north it will live we do not yet know, but we do not wish to experiment with it enough to settle that question. The writer attended the meeting of the Lincoln and Welland fruit growers at St. Catharines, on Saturday, where a strong resolution was passed advocating either that all importations of fruit trees and plants from the U. S. be prohibited for a time, or else that all trees for importation be subjected to the most strict quarantine, and not permitted to cross the lines unless the sworn certifi- cate of an expert entomologist can be first secured by the shippers, at his own expense, that the stock has been thoroughly examined, and proved to be free from this scale. We would advise farmers' institutes and other farmers' gatherings throughout the land to pass similar resolutions, and submit the same to the Dept. of Agriculture as speedily as possible. The following is a copy of the resolu- tion passed at the meeting of Fruit Growers at St. Catharines, and which is approved of by us : — Fig. 10S2. — Am Infested Branch. " irAercas authentic information has been received by this Association that the San .Jose scale has made its appearance in the orchards and nurseries in tlie adjoining states of the Union, thereby seriously menacing the fruit growing iuterest of the Dominion of Canada. " Be it, therefore, resolved, tliat this Association respectfully memoralize the Dominion ;^^t^ 116 ■^ Sir, — Please tell us what variety of apple would be best to furnish pollen for a Nofthern Spy orchard, and how many trees would it be necessary to graft in an orchard containing 9 dozen trees ? MORLEY HaWKESWORTH, Medina, Ont. Reply by Mr. John Craig, Ottawa. So far as I am aware it has not been satisfactorily proved that Northern Spy is partially or wholly self-sterile. It is, however, true — and this truth has been widely and thoroughly demonstrated by the observations of practical fruit grow- ers— that Northern Spy, in common with the principal leading commercial varieties of apples, will bear fuller crops of fruit when the mixed system of plant- ing is practiced. The truth of this as- sertion was well borne out last spring when visiting the apple growing section of Grand Island County, Vermont. In one orchard I saw large blocks of Green- ings, Spys and Russets growing alongside of each other. In every instance the contiguous rows of Greenings and Rus- sets, or Greenings and Spys, as the case might be, were much more heavily laden than were the rows of these varieties in the centre of each block, where they were probably not affected by other pol- len than their own. In the case of Northern Spy, a fair proportion of any other variety, would be two rows of Northern Spy and as in the case of strawberries one row of the pollenizer. Among varieties which blossomed last year at or nearly with Northern Spy w£re : Alexander, Maidens Blush, Ribs- ton Pippin, Roxbury Russet and Talman Sweet. Ventilation and Heating of Green- house. 917. Sir, — 1. Ventilation. How beat arranged, the conservatory being a lean-to, eight feet wide and thirteen feet long, brick foundation and wood up to the benches, and on southeast side of mj' house. 2. Heating. I wish to use hot water, to be connected with my wood furnace which heats the house, having a firebox 20 inches square and four feet long, (a) Will four rows of two inch pipe around the conservatory, two sides and one end, give sufficient radiat- ing surface, the glass being about l.'iO square feet ? (/)) How many lengths of two inch pipe should pass through the furnace firebox from end to end above the fire to sufficiently heat the water ? (<■) Should there be any difficulty in heating as contemplated, the furnace being within ten feet from where the pipes would enter the conservatory, and being one which holds the fire all night ? C. E. German, Slrathroy. Reply by Prof. L. R. Taft, Michigan Agrictiltural College. ^ 1. Ventilation can be secured by means of two sash, each four or five feet long, running lengthwise of the roof at the ridge. They can be hinged at the upper edge and raised and lowered by hand, using skylight lifters. 2. {a) Four would be ample and three would probably answer if the coil is at least thirty feet long, provided the temperature does not fall below 25 degrees, {b) Four or five lengths three or four feet long should supply sufficient fire surface, (f) If properly arranged the pipes should work all right, as the entire circuit will not'be more than fifty or sixty feet. How to Kill Poplar Suckers. 918. Sir, — I notice in the .Tanuary number of the Canai>ian Horticulturist an enquiry as to how to destroy the vitality of " I'oplar Roots." Knowing from experience QUESTION DRAWER. what a nuisance the popular suckers are, I hasten to give an answer. I hail my ground covered with suckers after tlie trees had been cut down, I saw in some paper that if holes were bored in the stumps and the holes filled with coal oil it woidd kill the suckers. I tried it, boring holes with a three-quarter inch bit and tilling with coal oil, every sucker, even two feet from stumps, were killed and , 0-day there is not one alive. L. Fairbanks, Whithy. Early ^GidXo.— {Questions Sjg, 8Si.) Reply by Walter Hick. Regarding the " Early Potatoes, " in question 879, October No., also 881, November No. Canadian Horticul- turist ; I intended to have answered it with my experience. I have been ex- perimenting for some years with both early and late varieties. I have found Early Puritan from Peter Henderson and Polaris from \V. H. Maule, about the earliest and best croppers, but I believe they are the same, so now I don't keep them separate. The Burpee's Early I find a poor cropper and small, and no earlier. The Tonnocks I found last year was the earliest of all and a good crop. I have not grown Carman, as noted in question 881, or the Jersey Queen or Early Main, as stated by Mr. R. F. Closson on page 441. My land is a good dark loam. Pruning' Apple Trees, 919. Sir, — I have a small farm of about eight acres more or less in Wolfville, X.S., partly in apple orchard (oldish) and a part in a young plum orchard. I want to know when to pruue apple trees for the best results. (i. N. Ballentv.ne, »Vor(/i Atlleboro'; Mass. Light pruning may be done at any time, but wounds cut in June, heal more rapidly than at any other time of year. If pruning is done regularly every year, no large limbs need ever be cut, and the work may be done just when isjmost convenient. Lecturers to Horticultural Societies. 920. SiK. — Can you send me a list of lecturers available on Horticulture ? I am instructed to arrange for three or four lec- tures during the season. Our first should be within three weeks. C. H. Roberts, Secretary Paris Hort. Soc. We would recommend the following gentlemen, viz.: — John Craig, Horti- culturist, Ottawa; Prof. H. L. Hutt, O. A. C, Guelph ; Prof. J. H. Panton, O. A. C, Guelph ; D. VV. Beadle, 303 Crawford St., Toronto ; Alex. McNeill, Windsor ; R. B. Whyte, Ottawa ; Mr. Webster, Florist, Hamilton; T. H. Race, Mitchell ; Alex. McD. Allan, Goderich. We shall be glad to hear of other names, which we may add to this list. Nothing- will better serve to build up and strengthen our affiliated Societies than a course of lectures each winter. The Fruit Growers' Association of On- tario has decided upon the following gentlemen as representatives to lecture before the Societies ; — Mr. John Craig, of Ottawa (kindness of Mr. Wm. Saun- ders, Director of Dominion Experimen- tal Farm), to the nine affiliated Societies east of Toronto; Mr. D. W. Beadle, a prominent Horticulturist, to the ten Societies south and west of Toronto, and Mr. Alex. McNeill, of Windsor, to the nine Societies north and west of Toronto. Fertilizer for Plums. 921. .Sir, — When and how should I fer- tilize my plum trees ? G. N. B., Kortk AUthoro', Afasn. Try the following commercial fertili- zers for each tree : ^ to i lb. nitrate of soda ; 3 to 6 lbs. dissolved rock or bone meal, and g to 18 lbs. of wood ashes, or 3^2 to 7 lbs. kainit. This should be ap- plied in the spring. 119 OPEN LETTERS. Feptilizer for the Apple. 922. Sir, — What fertilizers should I use for the apple ? O. N. B. The same as above for cherry, only about twice the quantity in each case. The Alg-oma District. 923. Sir,— Would you or some of the members give me some idea of Algoma Dis- trict as a fruit growing place ? D. N. Anderson, Wyomiwj, Out. Raspberry Root Gall. 924. Sir, — Does the raspberry root gall affect the crop very much, when bad '.' I have been told it does not, and that all raspberry canes have it. A Grimsby Subscriber. «« Hand Irrigation. 93.5. Sir, — W^ould an ordinary hand force punii) be the best thing to irrigate a half-acre garden with ? If so, how long would it take to pump enough water to soak that amount of land ? A (Jrimsby Subscriber. So far as our experience goes, water- ing a half acre of ground by hand force is an utter failure. The amount of water required to cover half an acre one inch deep is 450 barrels ! A windmill pump might be made to serve a good purpose. % ©pet7 L)ettep to fasten the burlap over the mouth of the barrel. The kettle aids in dissolving the bluestone. by keeping the water hot. The tubs are used for slaking the lime, and decanting serves to eliminate the sand, which all lime contains and which is hari. A. McLkod. :8 EXTENSION OF FRUIT GROWl X(;.— I. Fig. 1090.— Mr. E. D. S.mith, Wi.nuna, Ont. The following paper was given by Mr. E. 1). Smith, at a large gathering of farmers, at .Stone}- Creek, last February. It is a strong, enthusiastic paper, and our readers may wish to know something of the writer. Mr. Smith is a Canadian, who had large early experience in farming, but in 1885 coming into possession of land 85 acres of the paternal estate, he turned his attention to growing fruit and fruit trees. A pushing energetic man, of unusual business ability, his undertakings have proved successful, and his name is well known throughout Ontario. Mr. Smith has now growing 1"25 acres of solid nursery stock, at Helderleigh (views of which are shown in Figs. 1091 and 1092) on land all thoroughly tile drained 30 feet apart, and he gives each crop about .SO tons of well rotted stable manure, or other composite manures. As a fruit grower he is no less enterprising. He has now over one hundred acres in fruit, all thoroughly drained. Of this about fifty acres is in grapes, (a view of which is shown in Fig. 1093) and the rest in a great variety of other fruits. Mr. Smith keeps several teams of horses, and grows all the hay and oats needed, upon his own farm. In addition to the manure from his own stables, he buys compost from Toron- to, and supplements the whole with bone dust, and about 2000 bushels of ashes annually. But it is a buyer and shipper of fruit at Winona station that .\lr. Smith is most widely known. He has made his name and the name of Winona famous among fruit dealers far and wide through the enormous amount of fruit which he has distributed, and in this Wiiv lie has given enormous impetus to the planting of fruit and fruit trees about Winona. In the following article, however, it is evi- dent he speaks from the standpoint of a grow- er and seller of trees than that of a fruit glower, and while we credit him with perfect honesty in his statements, we know many fruit growers whose experience of the last few years has led to ultei- discouragement. Hl'TER such a season of low prices as the one just passed, the subject of my paper be- comes a pertinent question. " Has the planting of fruit orchards, vineyards and berry fields for commer- cial purposes been overdone"? You will notice that I say "commercial pur- poses " because I judge there is no one so bold as to say that planting for home use by the householders of this broad, fer- tile i)oininion has been over done, espe- cially when we know the tremendous im- portance it is to the health and vigor of our people to have an abundance of ripe fruit, and at the same time know that thousands of homes all over the country still have little or none of their own to gather, and when such is the case sel- dom buy any. Now it is no more fair to assume the year 1896 to be a guide as to prices than to take the year 1895. The high prices of the latter year were brought about by the crop being short in many sections, though extremely heavy in others ; this will not likely occur more often than in the past, when it has averaged once in five years for the last twenty seasons. The low prices of 1896 may never occur again, as they have never occurred in the past, although we have had, almost, if not quite, as heavy crops in proportion to the markets opened up and the facil- ities for handling the product. Had we had the crop of 1896 ten years ago we could not have given it away at a price to pay, and so should we have no larger :29 EXTENSION OF FRUIT GROWING. Fii!. 11191. — A 1!lock III- Plum Trees at Heldekleigh. a crop ten years hence, it would be ac- counted a famine year, and famine prices be obtained. I can well remember when a wagon load of grapes on Hamilton market was considered quite enough, and wise-acres shook their heads and declared that with the reckless planting of whole acres of vines the market would soon be overstocked, and you could not give them away, and yet since that time I have sold grapes at double the prices obtained then. The first load of grapes I ever sold was 320 lbs. on Hamilton market, away back in 1877, and I had the greatest difficulty in peddling them off at 3 cents for the most beautiful Delawares, and 2 cents for etjually beau- tiful Concords. I obtained that price for Delawares last year with this its awful crop of all kinds of fruit, and repeatedly since then I have got double that price for both Concords and Delawares. We need hardly look for double these prices again ; but I feel perfectly satisfied that we will, as in 1895 with its heavy cro[) of grapes, fully as heavy here as the crop of 1896, realize a very large revenue in- deed. We need hardly expect the large profits of such years as 1895 to be often repeated, indeed we may fairly look for very moderate prices at least four years out of five, but we must not forget that a cent and a half a pound pays us better now with ten, twenty or fifty acres in vineyard, — yes, even one cent per lb. pays us better than three cents fifteen years ago with one and two acre patches ! The man who grows ten acres now can grow them nearly a cent a pound cheaper than he could then on one acre. Im- proved methods of culture, cheaper wire, cheaper trimming, no unnecessary waste by planting useless varieties, a better knowledge of soils and locations, better facilities for marketing, cheaper baskets, and last, but not least, the fact that a dollar will buy nearly twice as much of many things we retiuire, all combined, enables us to market the product of ten acres with but little effort, while in those [30 EXTEXSION OF FRUIT GROWING. days we found difficulty in peddling out the product of one acre The question next arises, can we still further expand our markets ? they ap- peared full in every direction last year. I say we can. Last year I received a letter from a friend in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, saying why do you not send grapes here? they are retailing at rSc. per pound. Now, I had Offered grapes to all the best dealers in that town for several years at prices current. Last year about one and-a-half cents per pound here, equal to about 3c. there, and succeeded in getting no orders, the dealers, doubtless, getting them as cheap from Boston, from whence daily boats came, and that in spite of duty. The retail dealers, doubtless, put their heads together and decided that it would be more profitable to buy grapes at 3 cents and sell at 18 than to do double the business and sell at 10 cents, or four times the business at 7 or 8 cents. I have seen this same thing in all our towns up north, such as Fergus, Mild- may, Walkerton and others, some years ago. But gradually some smart chap makes a break and sells lower, and dis- covers that where he formerly sold 10 pounds at 15 cents per pound, and wasted five pounds while waiting for monied people to come and buy at these high prices, he can now sell a hundred pounds, and do it so quick that he has very little waste, and, moreover, that he can buy cheaper when he sends to the place of production for 100 pounds than when he bought 10 pounds from a city dealer, and so the educating process goes on, and that is what we call opening upamarket. The town that formerly used 100 pounds per week now uses 1,000 pounds, and yet there are hundreds of to)vns yet to know the blessings of cheap fruit ; hundreds of towns yet where the greed of the retailer has yet to be foiled or where he has yet to learn the funda- Fu;. 1092. — A bu)CK ct liO.Uiin .Aitle Trke-s at Helderlki EXTENSION OF FRUIT GROWING. mental principle of business, that cheap- ness increases consumption, and enables him to make larger profits by handling larger quantities with despatch. Then we must not loose sight of a pro- bable market in England for our grapes. I make no doubt whatever, but that with proper cold storage we can lay our grapes down in Britain in perfect condition, and further ; if the market there is fully tested we shall be able to cultivate a taste between the middle and working classes of Britain for our grapes, on ac- count of their cheapness and good qual- ity. Malaga and Black Hamburg, and other fancy grapes usually offered for sale, are too dear for these people to use freely. If we can once get these classes to like our grapes we have a market for all we can grow in Ontario. I have thus far spoken chiefly of grapes, mainly be- cause weheregrow them largely, andseem to have the soil and climate suitable to their growth in the greatest perfection, and because many are in doubt as to the future. Before I finish speaking of grapes, however, I want to say, that even this year with all its enormous crops of all kinds of fruit, grapes paid a profit of at least $30 per acre net, over all ex- penses. Where is the farm crop that did it? Taking up other fruits in their order, no one could complain of the price of strawberries during the past season, and yet this is a fruit more easily overplanted than any other, for the simple reason, that they can be grown over the whole country with success. Strawberries have been overdone, but now there are not enough planted. Raspberries have never yet, on good soil, failed to return a hand- some profit ; they paid less in 1893 than last season. It has always been a mys- tery to me why raspberry growing is not overdone. This fruit is more easily and cheaply grown than almost any other, and succeeds over a wider range of ter- ritory, and yet it has not yet ceased to be an extremely profitable crop. Doubt- less the imposition of a duty by the U. S. government wiil strike a blow at the trade, though it seems to me I have heard somebody say that the consumer always pays the duty, when goods come into Canada, and if this be so maybe the consumer of our raspberries in the United States will somehow help us out. The currant is a fruit more likely over- planted for market than any other, in my opinion, as it is not a fruit so uni- versally used as other fruits, and, more- over, it is so cheaply and easily grown. Another )ear or two is required to speak with certainty about this fruit. I am inclined to the belief that the great scar- city of money had more to do with the low prices ol currants last year than anything else ; the crop the year pre- vious was nearly or quite as heavy, but owing to money being more plentiful and other fruits dearer in price, currants paid splendidly. Even last year my Fays turned me $200 from two acres, clear over all expenses of picking and baskets, though like the rest, I suffered with the hitherto most profitable Raby Castle and got no profit out of them. Blackberries will always be a profita- ble crop on land best adapted to them, in my opinion, as they come at a season when fruit is usually scarce, there being only early peaches to compete with them, and, moreover, there is not a very wide range of land suitable to this fruit, jipening as it does three years out of four during a prolonged drought. As for peaches, I well remember the season of 1880, when Crawfords sold for 25 cents per basket and less, and tvcrybody prophesied the absolute ruin of those who had been foolish enough to invest large sums in peach plantations, and yet, after 16 years of steady planting, '32 U5 HARDY CLIMBING ROSES FOR CANADA. not less than 150,000 peach trees an- nually, or an aggregate of about 2,400,- 000 trees, we have Crawfords selling in the self-same market at 80 cents per basket in the year of extreme plenty of all kinds of fruit, with a most prodigious crop of peaches, in the famous peach country of Essex. It looks very much as though had every peach tree in Can- ada been loaded as Essex was, and in spite of everything imaginable working against good prices, still we would have realized much better prices than 16 years ago. True, the area of profitable peach growing, owing to the introduction of hardy varieties, has greatly widened since 1880, but for all that it must not be for- gotten that peaches as well as grapes can only be grown in a limited section of the whole Dominion and the consuming population is the population that is in- creasing. The peach growers of Michi- gan got prices last year about like ours in 1 880, and yet they are not discouraged, they say it pays infinitely better to grow peaches, when they succeed well, at 10 cents per basket, than grain at present prices. As for plums which have here espe- cially come to be a most prominent fruit crop, there is this to be said, the crop of i8g6 was as heavy in all the western counties as it could possibly be ; and from Stony Creek east to Niagara river, no more could stick on the trees, and yet they were all marketed at remunera- tive rates. I know of a crop of plums which must have brought $500 per acre the past season, and any full-grown plum orchard at Winona must have returned the owner from J200 to $500 per acre net over baskets. E, D Smith. Winona, Out. HARDY CLIMBING ROSES FOR CANADA. HERE is the devotee of Flora who does not long for an arbor, porch or trellis, on their own grounds ad- orned the summer long with clusters of handsome roses ? There seems to be a desire in the heart of every rose- grower for varieties of this description. Thousands of Canadians every year buy everblooming, climbing roses from southern florists ; and thousands are yearly disappointed because they do not survive the chilly Canadian win- ters. The florists are generally much abused in consequence, but it should be remembered that each firm covers a wide range of territory with its cata- logues, and it is more than likely that the varieties described in those cata- logues as hardy, are quite so with a vast majority of those who buy from them. Hardy climbing roses of fine quality and color are certainly one of the ad- ditions to the " Queen of Flowers " which the future holds in store. It appears to be but the matter of a little time till such varieties shall be obtained, for never before have the efi"orts of pro- fessional hybridists, in this line, been so fruitful ; and never has there been so many promising new varieties upon the market. F^xcepting some recent introductions of which we cannot yet speak with certainty, we think the fol- lowing review includes all the best known hardy climbing varieties : — Baltimore Belle, Prairie Queen and Gem of the Prairie head the list for hardiness. They are old it is true, '34 I''ii;. I()!14. — Madame de WATTtviLLK. 135 HARDY CLIMBING ROSES FOR CANADA. the first two varieties being raised at Baltimore in 1843 ; but they will un- doubtedly endure more frost than any later introductions. Baltimore Belle bears pale blush flowers, often white. Prairie Queen, rosy red, sometimes marked with white. Gem of the Prai- rie, rosy red, the only one of the three that has a fragrance. Greville (or Seven Sisters), color blush, tinged and striped with various colors ; the flowers are borne in clusters of seven or more. It is decidedly tender at Hamilton. Mary Washington, a variety of uncer- tain parentage. It is said to have been raised by George Washington, and to be still growing in his old garden at Mount Vernon. It is a rapid grower and a free and constant bloomer. Flow- ers pure white, globular in shape, and fragrant ; would be of great value were it more hardy, but we have seen it, when unprotected, freeze more severely than some of the Tea roses. Those who give it sufficient protection are rewarded by great quantities of elegant flowers, that amply reward them for their trouble. Caroline Goodrich, a well-formed flower, rivalling Gen. Jacqueminot in color ; though it winters well some- times, it lacks that degree of hardiness possessed by Prairie Queen and other prairie roses. Crimson Rambler, the new climber from Japan. It grows well, winters well, and blooms grandly. The flowers are not large, but the huge clusters in which they appear, render this no defect ; the color is rich glowing crimson. Pro- mises to become a permanent favorite in this country Empress of (^hiiia ; this new variety has many good points to recommend it. The growth is wonderfully rapid, bears most freely and constantly, Mow- ers that resemble a Tea rose in shape ; the color is light red or pink. Though we cannot 3et speak of its hardiness from e.xperience, there seems to be no cause for uncertainty about it. The introducers frankly state that it has stood sixteen below zero, without in- jury. Climbing Captain Christy, CI. Jules Margottin, CI. Victor Verdier and other climbing forms ol Hybrid Perpetual varieties are largely planted in Britain, but their tendency to winter-kill to within a short distance of the ground, and the fact that they flower but once in the season, render them unpopular here. Climbing LaFrance and CI. Meteor ; these originated as " sports " from the dwarf Hybrid Tea varieties of the same names. There is no occasion to look further for finer, sweeter-scented climb- ing roses than these ; but one must not expect the canes to live, where the wood of the dwarf varieties are injured, for they are Identical with the parent variety in every way, except that the canes grow much longer. However, the quality of their flowers and constant blooming habit, entitle them to the most elaborate protection the gardeners' art has devised. Marechal Neil, Gloire de Dijon, CI. Malmaison, CI. Perle des Jardines, CI. Hermosa and other climbing Teas, stand the winter on the Pacific slope (B. C ) with little or no protection, and will winter outside here on the Niagara Peninsula, if well protected. When uninjured by the cold they make a glorious display all summer. Roses of this class should not be wrapped or covered too early ; the first frost simply assists the ripening of the wood. Hamilton. Webster Bros. 136 FRUIT GROWING IN BRITISH COLUMBIA. '■v^'V .**J Fig. 109.5. — From a Photo of a Cherry Tree, seven years planted, on ground of M. J. Henry, Vancouver, B. C. and have proved to be one of our best preserving cherries, selling readily at IOC. per pound, growing larger fruit than they did in Pelham and perfectly free from black-knot or worms. Very few apples grow to perfection in this lower part of British Columbia, near the salt water. I grow good Yel- low Transparent, Maiden's Blush, Weal- thy, Duchess of Oldenburg, Talman Sweet and King. Baldwin and Ben Davis yield and keep well, but do not color up nicely. The Dutch Mignonne and Little Romanite, I notice do well in neighbors' orchards. Around Lytton and Armstrong, in the upper country, they grow the finest apples I ever saw. Nearly all the English gooseberries mildew badly with us, but the Downing and Oregon Champion are free from it so far and yield immense crops. Vancouver, B.C. M. ]. Henry. FRUIT growing in British Col- umbia can be made very pro- fitable if the settler has means enough to properly clear the land and live until he can get returns from his plantation of fruits, which means an expense of $200 to $400 per acre for clearing, and his living for two or three years until his fruits begin to bear. Nearly every variety of plums and prune grow to perfection here, but there are only five or six varieties that I would plant for profit. Cherries do equally as well, and bring good prices, especially the Gen. Wood, Yellow Spanish, May Duke, Royal Ann and Black Tartarian. Seven years ago, my friend, Daniel VanWyck, of Ridgeville, Ont , sent me some suck- ers of the common sour cherry, which have now grown into bearing trees. ■37 LECTURERS TO HORTICULTURAL SOCIETIES. Fl(!. lOlHj. -Mk. .I..IIN Ckai.:. "]r\^ VERY interesting feature of If- — ^ \ the work of our Association is /I ) \ the sending out of lecturers on horticulture each year, to ad- dress the affiliated societies. This is a line of work hitherto largely neglected by horticultural societies, but among the most important of the objects for which they exist and receive government sup- port. In taking up this work we are filling this want, and doing, in a small way, extensive work in horticulture such as is being carried on at great expense in other countries. We have now twenty-eight Affiliated Societies, and for these we provided three lecturers. For the nine Societies east of Toronto, the Hon. S. Fisher, Minister of Agriculture, sent us Prof. Craig, horticulturist of the Central Ex- perimental Farm, Ottawa, a sketch of whose life appeared in a previous num- ber. His subjects for lectures were (i) " Decoration of Home Grounds " (illus- trated ; (2) " Window Plants and Peren- nials"; (3) "How Varieties Originate, and How Individuals are Multiplied" ; (4) " Fruit Growing Regions of Canada " (illustrated). Mr. W. M. Robson, Pres. of the Society at Lindsay, sends us a glowing account for the hearty reception given Mr. Craig at that place, on Thursday evening, Feb. 25. The chair was occu- pied by the Mayor, and the hall was packed. The local paper gives two columns to a report of the address, and the answer to questions. Similar reports came from Smith's Falls, Napanee, and other places. Afr. D. IV. Beadle, a sketch of whose life has also appeared in this Journal, is a well-known pioneer Canadian horti- culturist and first editor of this maga- zine, has made the following tour of lectures, viz., to the Affiliated Societies 1 E^^^^^^l L WLy:^B 1 Fio. lO'JT.— Mk. D. \V. Beaule. at Freeman, Grimsby, Niagara Falls South, Port Colbnrne, Hagersville, Port Dover, Simcoe, Thornbury and Mea- ford. He treated of such subjects as "38 LECTURERS TO HORTICULTURAL SOCLETIES. ' Fig. 1098.— iMk. Alex. .MiXeiil. " Injurious Insects and Fungi," " Plant Food," " Cross Breeding," " Flower Garden and Hardy Perennials," " Lawn and Front Yard," "Neatly Kept Gar- den," etc. Mr. Alex. McNeill., one of our direc- tors, is making the Western trip to the following list of Societies, viz., Chatham, Seaforth, Kincardine, Durham, Bramp- on, Waterloo, Paris, Woodstock and Leamington. His subjects were (i) " Horticultural Possibilities of a Town Lot " ; (2) " How to Grow and Care for House Plants," and (3) " Insect Pests." Mr. McNeill is coming rapidly to the front among our horticultural speakers. His early training was on his father's farm in Middlesex, and there he acquired that perseverance in overcom- ing difficulties so essential to success. He afterward took a training for teaching, to which profession he devoted seven- teen years, latterly a science master at Windsor High School. Tiring of the confinement of the school, Mr. McNeill, some years ago, turned his whole atten- tion in fruit growing, making a specialty of the grape, and gradually turning his attention also to other fruits and to floriculture. Such a combination of school training and practical work develops the best elements for success, whether in one's own business or in giv- ing pointers to others ; and therefore we value Mr. McNeill as well worthy of a place along with the other two above mentioned lecturers in horticulture. A SHADY RUSTIC SEAT. The illustration shows the foundation for a vine-covered rustic seat. In rustic work of any kind it is best to select fairly smooth pieces of wood, with not too much irregularity of branching. Smooth sticks, closely covered with bark, make much the more satisfactory work, provid- ing plenty of the rustic look where more would look incongruous. The top of the seat shown could be arched, if such a style were preferred. Vines planted at the ends and in the rear will soon cover the whole and give a delightfully shady seat. Roses of a tree growth, climbers or trailers could be utilized in any of these structures, and if combined with clema- tis would give magnificent results. — American Gardening. Fig- 1099 —Shady Rdstic .Seat. 189 ;-^Tf?C ©PCbe^pd ar)d 7^P(^it ^ard^r).^. SMALL FRUIT CULTURE FOR MARKET. If the planting is not done until spring, most soils suitable for small fruits will be benefited by a deep fall plowing, followed by a shallower cross-plowing as early in spring as the land is work- able, or by thorough and repeated working with one of the numerous forms of disk or spading harrows now in use. This should be followed by a lighter pulverizer or smoothing harrow before the soil becomes lumpy. The roller or plank clod crusher can sometimes be used to advantage, but if the soil be taken at the proper stage of dryness the treatment noted above will rarely fail to accomplish the desired result. Too much attention can hardly be be- stowed upon this matter of soil prepa- ration, yet it is often slighted by small- fruit planters. Errors in fertilizing, cul- tivating, or pruning can sometimes be corrected by subsequent good treatment, but deficient preparation cannot be overcome during the existence of the crop. M.\NURINC;. Unless the soil is very rich from previous fertilizing, the crop will be largely increased by the application of well-rotted stable manure, say 20 tons to the acre, applied before the final plowing or thoroughly worked into the soil with a spading harrow. If stable manure is not obtainable, finely ground Continued from page 6^!) bone and muriate of potash can be profitably used on many soils. Nitrate of soda can sometimes be applied in moderation with profit. If the soil is of a sandy nature and known to be deficient in nitrogen, a preparatory crop of crimson clover will doubtless be advantageous in climates where this plant succeeds, or other leguminous crops may be grown and plowed in. Hardwood ashes are excellent on most soils and, in general, commercial fer- tilizers rich in phosphoric acid and potash may be profitably used. The selection of the fertilizer that can be most profitably used on any particular soil must be determined by local experi- ment, however, and upon the very field in question, unless tests have been made on similar soils in the immediate neighborhood. It should be said that among growers who ship their fruit long distances, there is an increasing tendency to favor commercial fertilizers rather than stable manure, on the ground that the fruit thus grown is firmer and of better car- rying quality. This applies particularly to fruit grown in the humid climate of the South Atlantic and (lulf States, where most fruit plants incline to make a rank growth, which produces watery fruit, and where rains during the ripen- ing season are frequent. A consider- able gam results also from the absence of weed .seeds from prepared fertilizers, 40 SMALL-FRUIT CULTURE FOR MARKET. these often proving very troublesome in fields enriched with stable manure. PLANTING AND CULTIVATION. The best time for planting small fruits is yet a disputed question, except in the North, where fall-set plants of most species are subject to winterkill- ing. There are few localities where spring planting is not the safer method, though often the soil can be more thoroughly prepared and the planting be more cheaply done in autumn than in spring. If done in autumn, in re- gions where the ground freezes to any considerable depth during winter, the newly-set plants should be well mulched to prevent winter injury. All planting should be in straight rows of equal distance apart. In the case of the bush fruits it is often advan- tageous to have the rows laid off both ways, so that the cultivator can be run in both directions, at least during the first season. If the land is hilly and inclined to wash, the rows should be laid around the hills, conforming to their curves, but on land reasonably level the rows should, if possible, run north and south and should be as long in that direction as the shape of the field will permit. Overcrowding of plants should be avoided, as fruit of large size is rarely produced by plants having insufficient food, air, and sun- shine If more than one variety of any fruit be planted, or if plants of the same variety be obtained from dif- ferent sources, each lot should be sep- arately planted and labeled. Failure to do this often leads to expensive un- certainty in later years when plants are desired for new fields or for sale. Many a careless or dishonest plant grower or dealer has escaped responsibility for misnamed or damaged stock through the inability of the planter to positively trace the plants to his establishment Plants should be promptly examined upon receipt, and should be at once heeled in if planting cannot be done immediately. In no case should they be permitted to dry out or be left with roots exposed to the sun or to drying winds. If dry when received, they can often be freshened by placing the roots in water for a few hours. If the weather is dry at planting time, the " puddling " of the roots by dipping in a thin mud of clay and water to which fresh cow manure has been added will often go far toward insuring their growth. Before setting out, each plant should be carefully examined, and all broken or decayed roots, leaves, or branches should be removed. Plants found dis- eased or infested with injurious insects should be promptly destroyed, unless the affected portions can be readily cut off and burned. The roots should al- ways be placed in contact with fresh, moist soil, whether the planting be done with the hand or with dibble, spade, or other implement. Cultivation should immediately follow planting, and should be repeated at frequent intervals during the spring and summer. The appearance of weeds should not be waited for, as the culti- vation is for the crop rather than for the destruction of weeds. In general it should be shallow rather than deep, though when the soil becomes hardened by the impact of heavy rainfall or the tramping of berry pickers, the grower should not hesitate to break it up by running a sharp cultivator, or even a light one-horse plow, to the depth of 3 or 4 inches between the rows. If the soil is properly prepared and the culti- vation regularly kept up, this tearing up will rarely be necessary except after the harvesting of a crop of fruit. Provided the soil is in condition to work, once a SMALL-FRUIT CULTURE FOR MARKET. week is not too frequent for the shallow cultivation of the small fruits during the growing season, and during the July and August drought that frequently prevails the surface soil should rarely remain unstirred longer than four or five days. Toward the end of summer, particularly on rich and moist soils, cultivation of the bush fruits should be less frequent, and it should entirely cease before the first frosts occur. The use of the hoe in small-fruit plantations should be avoided as far as possible, but when needed hoeing should be promptly done. With land in good tilth and clean at the start, with fertili- zers free from grass and weed seeds, the necessity for the expensive and laborious use of the hoe as formerly practised is greatly reduced. But in order to accomplish this the land must be free from clods, sticks, and stones, the cultivator teeth sharp, the horse steady and true, and the man active and careful. PRUNING AND WINTER TREATMENT. Where winters are severe enough once in four years to seriously injure unprotected bush fruits, mulching or laying down will often pay well. Much depends upon the character and cost of the material used, and its durability. Straw, unless clean threshed and free from grass seeds, is a most productive source of future trouble to the grower. Forest leaves can be secured in sutifi- cient quantity in some localities to be available for use among the bush fruits. Where obtainable, pine needles also form an admirable mulch, and with a little care in removing can be used two or three times. Broken cornstalks that have been well tramped over in the barnyard are useful, and sorghum bag- asse is utilized in some sections. In colder and drier climates the only sure protection for blackberries and rasp- berries is the laying down and covering of the canes. This is accomplished by digging away from one side of the plant, toppling it over with a fork, and wholly or partially covering the canes with earth from between the rows. This method involves staking or trellising the bushes when they are raised again in spring, but it is found profitable because of the insurance against crop failure which it affords. On most heavy soils water furrows should be run be- tween the rows with a light one horse or shovel plow late in fall, in order that surface water may be promptly removed during the winter months. With the strawberry the only pruning needed will be the removal of super- fluous runners. The raspberry and the blackberry, bearing their fruit almost exclusively on branches from canes of the previous year, are benefited by sys- tematic pruning, while the currant and the gooseberry need it as urgently as do the tree fruits or the grape, if large fruit is the object sought. Though sometimes subject to serious damage by insects and fungous diseases, the small fruits, as a class, are less in- jured by them than the'J^tree fruits. Most of the serious troubles may be avoided by choosing vigorous and re- sistant varieties or by spraying with well- known insecticides and fungicides. VARIETIES FOR MARKEF. In the selection of varieties for plant- ing, the best guide will always be local experience. If the grower aims to sup- ply a home demand, he may often find it profitable to grow varieties which, because of lack of firmness, would be valueless for shipment. The published bulletins of the experiment stations af- ford much light on the subject by indi- cating in a general way what the bcha. GROWING AND MARKETING OF TOMATOES. viourof varietiesis in each section. These should be consulted, and also the reports of the State horticultural societies, many of which contain catalogues of the varie- ties known to succeed within their seve- ral districts. But most valuable of all will be found the experience of growers in the immediate vicinity. Their con- clusions, though not always correct, are safest for the beginner, and he should only plant largely those varieties which they have found successful. The main planting should rarely consist of more than two varieties of each fruit, except in the case of the strawberry, where four or five sorts ripening in succession may often be profitably grown. New and untried sorts, though highly commended elsewhere, should be planted in an ex- perimental way only, for but a small per- centage of the varieties introduced prove equal in value to the standard market sorts at the time of their introduction. \Vm. a. Taylor, in Year Book, U. S. Dep't of Agriculture for 1895. GROWING AND MARKETING OF TOMATOES. BY MR. JOHN CRAIG OTTAWA. ^ ^HE possibility of marketing Canadian Tomatoes profitably ._l in England has aroused a spirit of inquiry among market gard- ners and fruit growers, relative to the best methods of growing the plants, packing the fruit, and the best varieties to cultivate for this special purpose. The following notes are prepared with a view of briefly answering these ques tions. Raising Plants. The summer season of Ontario and Quebec is not long enough to admit of the profitable cultivation of tomatoes without the aid of a greenhouse, hot-bed, or window box in starting the plants in spring. Soil for Seed Boxes. — The soil should not be too rich. A mellow loam of good quality, with sand added to the extent of one-fifth of the whole, will pro- duce stronger and healthier plants than will the leaf mould one frequently meets with in the soil of window boxes. If a greenhouse is available the seed may be sown about the middle of March, or a month earlier if the plants are intended to serve the demands of the home mar- ket. A high temperature, 95 degrees to 70 degrees at night and 80 degrees to 85 degrees in the day time, will pro- duce large, succulent, but tender plants. A too low temperature will produce stunted weaklings. Neither class is de- sirable. It is better, however, to have the temperature slightly too warm, than too cold, in consideration of the nature of the plant. Sow the seed thinly, in rows six inches apart, pressing the soil firmly over the rows. An ounce con- tains 8,000 to 10,000 seeds. The seed- lings should be transplanted at least twice before setting them in the open field. This treatment gives strong, stocky plants. If grown in the greenhouse the seedlings should be " pricked " into " flats " (shallow boxes) soon after the true leaves appear, setting them two to three inches apart each way. From these " flats " the plants are removed when they begin to crowd each other, to the cold frame or hot bed, setting them six to eight inches apart each way, or further if the plants are large. By the middle — or in a backward season— the last week of May (in this section) H3 GROWIXG A AD MARKETiyG OI' TOMATOES. they will have made large, stocky plants and are ready to plant in the field. The sashes or other covers used to protect the frames should be kept off the frames to harden them, for some time previous to setting the plants out. When the seed is sown directly in the hotbed, this should be done early in April. A strong, even heat is desirable, such as may be secured from a two-foot bed of horse manure. Sow the seed in four or five inches of soil, after the heat of the bed has subsided to 75 degrees. Additional cold frames should be pro- vided for the reception of the plants when they are removed from the seed rows. Transplant twice, if possible, be- fore setting in the field. In Window Boxes. — Fairly good plants may be grown in boxes of soil, or in flower-puts placed in well-lighted rooms ; but owing to the fluctuations of the temperature of the dwelling-house and the lack of light, the plants are often " drawn," stunted or otherwise injured. When any considerable number of plants is required a hot-bed should be employ- ed. The remarks made above on trans- planting from the seed rows, apply with equal force whether plants are grown in the greenhouse, in the hot-bed, or in the dwelling-house. Field Culture. Soil. — It is a mistake to plant toma- toes in poor soil. It is true that a warm and somewhat light soil will produce better plants and earlier fruit than a heavy clay, but a large crop of smooth, well grown tomatoes need not be ex- pected unless the soil is fairly well en- riched. Poor soils produce early, but small, and often badly -shaped and much wrinkled tomatoes. Sandy or light clay loams, well drained, and well manured, give the best results. Preparing the Ground. — Plough deep- ly in the fall. In the spring apply 20 tons to 30 tons of barn-yard manure to the acre, plough again and harrow smooth two or three weeks before plant- ing time. Harrow again just before marking out the rows, to destroy the first crop of weeds. Setting the Plants. — It is better to set the plants in rows 5x3 feet apart than 4x4 feet apart each way, as the wider space facilitates the work of cultivating the plants and of picking the fruit. Planting will be expedited if a light fur- row is opened in the line of each row. Planting. — Before lifting the plants out of the boxes or frames, the soil in which they are growing should be thoro- ughly watered, so that it will be saturated to the depth of the lower extremities of the roots of the plants. A few hours after this is done the plants may be taken up with a ball of earth about the roots of each by using a sharp trowel, or a spade, if they are far enough apart to allow of the use of the latter implement. The plants should then be placed in carrying boxes, transported to the field in a cart or wheelbarrow and set in the freshly opened furrows. When planted, the ball of earth should be about an inch below the surface, and the soil firm- ly pressed about the lower roots. About three thousand plants are required to set each acre, when planted 5x3 feet apart. If badly grown and the plants are tall and spindling, they should be set in a slanting position with a view of covering the procumbent stem with soil so that it may strike root. Cultivation — Shallow and level cul- tivation should be given for a month after setting out. It is then advisable to attach the moulding wings to the cultivator and with these turn a slight furrow to the plants. The operation of hilling is finished by making with a hoe, about each plant, a broad sloping mound GROWING AND MARKETING OF TOMATOES. two or three inches in height. This will tend to distribute the fruit and vines and by shedding rain will, to some ex- tent, lessen the tendency to rot. After hilling, the level surface should be culti- vated as long as it is possible to do so without injury to the plants. If growth is unsatisfactory it may be stimulated, by a light application to each plant of a mixture of muriate of potash or wood ashes and of nitrate of soda. Muriate of potash, I CO pounds, or wood ashes, I, coo pounds, and nitrate of soda, 200 pounds per acre may generally be used •with advantage. This mixture may best be applied by scattering it around each plant before hilling. Training. — In field culture, it does not pay to train tomato plants to stakes or trellises This system belongs to the garden of the amateur and may there be practised with economy as to space and satisfaction as to general results. In the field, some attention should be given towards securing a proper disposition of the naturally sprawling branches, to pre- vent too much interlacing and to secure their proper distribution. PICKING AND PACKING. Packing for the Home Market. — Pick the fruit when fully colored, being careful to avoid bruising it. Discard all ill- shapen or blemished specimens. The fruit should be carried in baskets to the sorting shed and then carefully packed in the shipping baskets or packages. Place the fruit in the basket with the stem end downwards, wiping such speci- mens as are soiled, finishing the package with a " smooth face." Strong baskets — veneer is better than the splint — should be used, and these covered with a stout frame like cover made of the veneer trimming material, but centered with leno, so that the fruit may be readily inspected. Packing for Foreign Market. — If the fruit is intended for the European mar- ket, it should be picked when fully grown and just beginning to change color, — if it is to be forwarded in thoro- ughly refrigerated compartments. Partly colored specimens forwarded last year to Liverpool, with imperfect ice refriger- ation, arrived in an over-ripe and unsatis- factory condition. If shipped by ordin- ary freight, which may be successfully done with moderately cool compartments and good ventilation, the fruit should be packed when fully developed, but when yet green in color and well "glazed." All fruit should be carefully graded as to size and with due regard to its character- istic color when mature. Scarlet and purplish red varieties should not be packed together in the same case. PACKAGES. Light, Strong wooden ventilated cases are recommended. A case of the dimen- sions given below will hold about 20 lbs. of medium sized tomatoes in two rows — or layers — about four dozen tomatoes deep. The layers should be separated by a sheet of stiff cardboard, — unless each specimen is wrapped in tissue or light printers' paper, — even with this precaution the cardboard divi- sion will be found useful To prevent the fruit from shaking, place a layer of clean " excelsior " over the fruit before nailing down the cover. The words " Canadian Tomatoes " should be branded upon the ends of each case. The name and the address of the grower should appear printed on a sheet within. Dimensions of Case Outside ■ — Length 22 inches ; width 10 inches ; depth 5 '4 inches. It should be provided with a partition placed crosswise in the middle. The boxes should be made of planed lumber, bass-wood preferable, with bored 14 PEACHES FOR THE ENGLISH MARKET. holes in the ends, or slits along the corners to give ventilation Boards of the following thicknesses may be used in the construction of this box. Ends and partition ^ inch ; sides, top and bottom ^ inch. Ventilation may be provided for, by using slightly narrower side pieces than called for by the depth of the box — say 4^ inches. The top and bottom pieces should come flush to the corners. This would leave a narrow ventilating slit at each corner without weakening the case to any extent. VARIETIES. If it is intended to ship the fruit to distant points, medium sized, smooth, solid varieties should be grown. Most of the extra early kinds are inclined to be rough or wrinkled. Among those that seem best suited for export pur- poses, as tested here, are : — Longkeeper (Thorburn), Stone (Livingston), Favour- ite (Livingston), Liberty Bell and Cook's Favourite. Dwarf Champion is a smooth desirable sort, but not very productive. Bulletin Central Exper'l Farm. PEACHES FOR THE ENGLISH MARKET, Editor Canadian Horticulturist. Dear Sir, — Our fruit-growing friends in other parts of the Empire are vigor- ously pushing their way into the English market. A recent number of the Gar- dener's Chronicle states that arrange- ments have been completed for the transportation of the Tasmanian apple crop. There will be nine cargoes in all, containing about 100,000 cases. A still more important point, as far as this district is concerned, is the fact, that a consignment of peaches has been re- ceived from the Cape, 400 boxes in all. The Chronicle adds ;' ' These were fine in quality if not always large in size. Prices range from 6 to 10 shillings per box of 20. The lower price was for a consignment, part of which had got slightly bruised. The retail prices were from gd. to is. each." We must remember, of course, that this fruit arrived in mid-winter, and the English people are prepared to pay big prices for things out of season. At the same this is an encouraging object lesson for Canadian peach growers. M. BURRELL. St. Catharines, March 13, i8gj. ONIONS. The keeping powers of onions raised by the aid of concentrated fertilizers, are not injured. For nine years in succe.s- sion, on the same bed, I used Freeman's potato manure and bonedust in equal quantities at the rate of 1,000 lbs. to the acre ; applying it broadcast on the land just before sowing, and working it in about three inches deep, by the use of a hand cultivator. A slight coating of rotted manure was dug in every fall. This also I know, when my friends would be complaining about the maggots eating up half their onions mine would be free from them, I have had both the yellow and white Southport Onions keep in perfect condition till the middle of June, particularly the white variety. South London. C. J. F. 46 M Ylobi^p (g-apd^Q arid I^alor). ^ HARDY PERENNIALS.— III. (Continued from page 108.) During the last few years there has been a great increase in the number of yellow perennial composites offered for sale, most of them wild flowers from Western America. While some of them are too coarse in habit to be desirable additions to the garden border, many of them are most effective and showy, and valuable as a source of cut flowers. Among them are several rudbeckias, of which R Newmanni is the best ; several heleniums, including H. Autumneli, our common wild species, many sunflowers besides the one already noted. The following have proved most satisfactory with me. Gaillardia Aristata — Blanket flower. — The original wild form from the Western Prairies, though a handsome flower of 2 to 3 inches diameter, has been immensely improved in size and color by cultivation, and is now one of our showest and most beautiful border plants. Some of the new varieties are 5 inches and over across, a few are all yellow, but most of them have the outer end of the rays yellow and the rest red, ranging from scarlet to the deepest marron. The best known form is G. Aristata grandiflora, the one generally grown and the only one offered in Cana- dian plant catalogues. Some United States dealers offer 7 or 8 sorts, but though an American flower, it is in Great Britain that its beauty is best appreciated. Messrs. Connell & Sons', Kent, catalogue, no less than 34 dis- tinct named varieties, among which J. Kelway, Vivian Grey, Lorenzo and Wm. Kelway are most highly recommended. The named sorts are propagated by division of the roots, but a fine collec- tion may be grown at small expense from the best seed, be careful and get seed of the perennial sorts, generally sold in mixture under the name of Gaillardia hybride maxima or G. hybrida grandiflora, some seedsmen list seed of the annual kinds as Ci. grandiflora. Seed sown in May makes fine plants for transplanting the following spring. Plant out in clumps, it does not grow robust enough to make a good show in single plants. The flowers are on long naked stalk, and last a long time on the plant and after cutting. In continuous bloom last summer from June 21 to Oct. II. Thrives best n a dry, sandy soil and sunny location. 147 HARDY PERENNIALS —11/ Fig. 1100.— Coreopsis Lanceolata. Helippsis Pitcheriana — Introduced by Pitcher and Manda, three years ago, is evidt ntly the same as H. Scabra of the botanies, a wild flower on the Western Prairies, is claimed by the introducers to be perfectly hardy, and to be much superior to Coreopsis lanceolata as a source of cut-flowers. The flowers are about the same shape and size, a little darker in color, and not so long stalked. The habit of the plant is much more robust, growing 2 to 3 feet high and as much across, leaves dark green, rather rough, somewhat heart-shaped, on long petioles ; the flowers from the axils of the upper leaves are produced quite freely the whole summer. Last season plants from seed sown early in May, bloomed continuously from August 21 to October 10. Though the flower closely resembles Coreopsis lanceolata, the plant is so different in apjaearance that it is well worthy a place in the border. 148 Coreopsis lanceolata. — The best known of the clear yellow composites and probably the best of them all for cut flower purposes. The flowers are pro- duced in such great profusion that they can be cut freely with- out robbing the plant. Though strictly a perennial, it blooms freely the first year, if seed is sown early in the spring. Last season I had abundance of flowers from August to Oct. 4, from spring sown seed. Though claimed to be quite hardy, I have had some difficulty in bring- ing them through the winter safely. Such a dense mass of leaves grow at the base of the stems, that they are apt to rot if not covered very lightly. The flowers are from 2 to 3 inches across, of a beautiful bright yellow on naked stalks about 4 in. long. Anthemis tinctoria — Yellow chamo- mile.— Is a native of England that is slowly finding its way into American plant catalogues, and being recognized as a very desirable border perennial. It is perfectly hardy and easily grown from seed. The flowers are bright yellow, about 2 inches across ; in sea- son from July to fall. The leaves are very finely divided — quite fern-like in appearance — light green above and downy beneath, forming a close mat about 8 inches high, from which the flower-stalks rise to a height of 18 or 20 inches. Though the whole plant is quite soft and delicate looking, it has most utiusual powers, of resisting frost. The past season it was the last peren- nial of my collection to succumb to the cold. Plants from spring sown seed were in bloom from August till near the middle of November. LILIUM SPECIOSUM. THIS section of the lily family is often listed as L. Lancifolium. There are all of twenty sorts in commerce in America at present. They are favorably known throughout the north as high-class and very hardy lilies. The flowers of some surpass the Auratums in rich colorings, and rival them in fragrance, all flourish and increase where the beautiful but capricious Auratums would fail. The speciosums are natives of Japan, their time of bloom- ing is from July to October, the flowers are drooping, the petals "in all the varieties re- curve so as to nearly touch the flower stem, showing off their rare color and shadings to perfection. The usual method of propagation is by division, one bulb planted in rich soil will have made quite a clump at the end of three growing seasons. When transplanted they should be given well enriched, deeply dug soil, the small bulbs and off- sets had better be planted separately. It is rarely advisable to replant lilies of any kind oftener than once in three years. Many recommend shade or partial shade to have these plants in their greatest beauty. The only advantage of shade seems to be the moisture that is nearly always present where there is shade. Varieties of Speciosum will do quite as well when fully exposed to the sun, if care is taken that the ground does not want for moisture. Where the winters are severe the bulbs should always be planted in soil that is well drained and comparatively Fig. 1101.— Speciosum RosEasi. dry during their dormant season. Where the extreme cold renders protection ab- solutely necessary, forest leaves, held in place by a rough frame of boards, ever- green boughs, strawy manure, or any- thing, may be used that will prevent the ground about the bulbs from freezing and thawing. Speciosum Roseum is certainly the most popular of all, the color is deep rose, distinctly spotted carmine, towards the centre of the flower the color shades to a frosty glistening white. The variety Rubrum is often catalogued, we have never found sufficient difference in the flowers to think of growing them sepa- rately. Album is a white variety of chaste and pure color. Monstrosum Album has flattened flower stems, which carry from thirty to fifty flowers. Its floriferousness under good culture is wonderful. Melpomene and Opal are varieties of recent introduction that deserve special 149 MANURE FOR FLOWER BEDS. mention. The former has thick waxy petals, a characteristic of all the Speci- osums, the color is glistening white, spotted and clouded with rosy scarlet, each petal is bordered with the same color Opal is still more grandly colored, the petals appear as if covered with hoar frost, delicately suffused and heavily spotted with crimson, and tipped with white. These two are still held at an almost prohibitive figure. Webster Bros. Hamilton, On/. MANURE FOR FLOWER BEDS. rRESH compost can only be used with benefit as a mulch in late autumn to prevent the heaving of newly set plants. If compost is to be applied to bulbs or the roots of peren- nials, it should be at least a year old, and thoroughly rotted. A cow and a flower bed travel well together, provided they are kept in separate compartments. The barn yard muck where cows are kept is an excellent plant food ; in our estimation it is the best, and whenever we can obtain plenty of it we wish for no other. That part of the enclosure which is free from coarse straw and stable litter, in which the animals thoroughly pulverize their droppings with their feet and incorporate them with the soil underneath contains the correct thing. Scrape this into heaps with hoe or rake, take it to your flower beds and spread it over them in the fall, be liberal with it, don't be afraid, and you will marvel the following summer at the wonders of floral creation. The effect is astonishing. You need no longer lament that your flowers are not as fine as grandmother's were a half century ago. Your plants will receive new life, and their vigorous growth will defy the ravages of the insect world. It will make them more floriferous, and the brilliancy of the colors will surprise you. The leachings of manure water that accumulate in a depression of the barn yard are a treasure, and should be util- ized. Carry them to your rose and hydrangea beds after a heavy rain, apply the liquid with a sprinkling can with the rose removed ; there let the solution percolate through the soil down to the thread-like, fibrous roots, where nature's alchemist will assimilate them, and mark the result. If all the barn yard leachings that are now running to waste throughout the country could be utilized in this way, two roses would bloom instead of one, our hydrangeas would have heads twice as large, and other plants would be equally floriferous. Barn yard leach- ings can be applied with equal benefit to all perennial plants and small fruits. Celery fairly revels in it, and we are safe in saying that a corn stalk would produce twice as much corn. If we persist in setting out flowering plants and watch them slowly starving to death without making even the fee- blest effort to succor them, we will never be successful floYiculturists.— Rept. Pa. Hort. Soc, '95. 150 EVERY GARDEN SHOULD HAVE ROSES. ■J HAVE^ often asked the question "Why 'have you no roses?" "Oh, my soil is far too light and 'all rose growers, when writing, say the soil must be a strong clay loam." True, roses do best in such soil if well drained. A few years ago some friends from London happened to call on me at Delaware one fine morning when I had about seventy rose bushes in full bloom, the first word spoken was, " We did not know it was possible to grow such roses on soil so sandy and poor as we know yours was ; how do you manage to get such roses?" By applying every fall a good coating of cow manure leaving it on the surface till the spring, then dig it in with a fork, and before raking the ground apply bone-dust ti[i the ground is fairly white all around the bushes, prune the bushes as soon as the buds begin to open, by doing this every year I find my bushes growing stronger and giving me plenty of fine roses, but no one can have good roses without manure, and a rigid system of pruning ; also care must be atken to allow no insect pests to get the upper hand, for if the foliga is destroyed the whole plant receives a very severe shock. A few words about small roses or "bantlings," as your friend Mr.O.G. Johnstone calls them, he also states " One honest two-year old pot-grown rose is worth fifty of the baby roses sent out by mail." He must not forget roses arelike men, in that both must be babies at the starting point. Now, I know that many persons, when reading a catalogue they see a lovely picture of roses, and they see two year old plants quoted at $4.50 per dozen, " Oh, I would like a dozen, but I cannot afford it," and so on year after year, and no roses. During the last twenty-five years I have grown many roses, and as a rule always buy small plants My plan is to buy say one dozen plants for which I pay $1.00. I get them in May, and plant them in a bed in the kitchen garden where I know the ground is rich, about twenty-inches apart each way, keep the ground free from weeds and loose till November. As soon as you see any buds forming, take your knife and cut the branch off about three inches below the bud, by so doing you will find you have by November a fine lot of stocky bushes. In the spring as soon as the ground is fit to work, dig your holes in your flower border and take up each bush with a shovel with as much earth as will remain on the roots, and see that the earth is made solid round the roots, then with a sharp knife cut back all growth to within six or eight inches, and if your soil is good, you may be sure of good roses. Last May I planted out four doz. Baby roses, and every one grew, and I feel confident that they will out grow 151 RAISIXG AND CULTIVATION OF ANNUAL FLO WE RING PLANTS. any pot grown plant because they will receive no check in moving. So friends with a little care and trouble for one summer you can have roses at a very small outlay, only get your plants from, some reliable florist and have them come by express. C. J. F. South London. THE RAISING AND CULTIVATION OF ANNUAL FLOWERING PLANTS FOR THE GARDEN. preparation of the soil for this as for any other crop is most important, and witb good soil and good cultivation the re- sults will be satisfactory. The hotbed may be of one or more sashes according to the number of plants required, and in any case the preparation of the material " hot stable manure " is the same. One chief mistake amongst amateur hotbed gardeners is in com- mencing too soon in the season. The earlier you start the more difficulties you have to contend with ; and as the greater number have other vocations during the day to attend to, courting any more difficulties than can be avoided is not to be thought of. The material generally used for hotbed making is stable manure. It should be collected about two weeks before the time for building the hotbed, thrown into a heap and allowed to heat slightly before giving the whole a turn, that is, commence at one end or side and carefully mix all the material to- gether by turning the whole pile over on to another part of the ground contiguous. In doing this, all the outside material should be placed in the centre of the pile, thereby making it as uniform as possible. About the beginning of April is quite soon enough to collect the material, and in about two weeks with- frequent turnings will be in a good shape to build the bed. About two ordinary cart loads of the common stable manure usually obtainable will be sufficient for each sash of your bed. With proper Fig. 1102. — Hot-bed Frame. C/^ r^HESE can be obtained at much less expense and with far less attention and trouble than plants which have to be kept over and propagated from cuttings ; and for the amount of bloom, and the bright appearance they give during nearly the whole flower-producing season, they well deserve to have the care bestowed on them which they require to bring them to perfection. Every one with a garden of any pretension has a corner where some of these beautiful annuals could be accommodated, and where they would well repay any attention given to them. This short paper is intended for amateurs in the flower growing line, and I will give a few plain directions of how to make a hotbed for the tender annuals (with a list of those most suitable), the manner in which the seed should be sown and the attention required in the hotbed, the transplanting of such as require it in the hotbed, and their final transplanting to where they are to re- main for the season, and flower. The '52 JiAJSIAG AND CUL TIVA TION OF ANNUAL FLO WE RING PLANTS. turnings this will be reduced to about one common cart load by the time it is required for the bed. It might be as well to mention here that in turning over the material it may be necessary to add water to make it heat properly. There should never be any dry patches (fire-fang) allowed in hotbed material, or in fact in any material required to be used as manure, it is useless afterwards. The material to form the hotbed being now, say about the middle of April, in first-class condition, turn the whole over on to the place, making it one foot larger each way than the box to be placed on it, shaking and mixing the whole as it is put on. Make it firm with repeated taps with the back of the fork; when finished, the manure should be firm enough to carry a man without his foot sinking more than about three in:hes into it. This sort of a bed will not blaze up and burn everything that will be sown in it ; then ultimately you might trace the cause of all the dis- appointments of your seedsman, who, honest man, does not know, and should not be blamed when perfectly innocent, for the disappointments sure to follow- in trying to grow seeds in a place, nine times out of ten, constructed on im- proved principles to kill everything of vegetable nature. Very few seeds will stand more than 90° ; and almost all annuals will succeed much better if never subjected to a higher bottom heat than 75°. The soil^is another considera tion of some importance; not that it requires to be extra good, but light and friable being more suitable. In fact, any good garden soil will answer very well with the addition of sand if of a stiff nature to make it free and open. The quantity has more to do with suc- cess than quality, and in no case should less than four inches to six inches be used. The sorts of annuals requiring the greatest heat might be sown on the part where the four inches is used, and plants of a hardier nature, such as stocks, asters, etc , sown on the thicker part of the bed. Shading, airing, and watering being about all that is required after sowing until some of the small seedlin£;s may require to have a first transplanting. Many plants are im- proved by this transplanting, giving them not only more root, but more head space. In fact, it is about impossible to produce good healthy plants of many of the different sorts of both flowers and vegetables without transplanting them. Shading the hotbed before the seedlings appear above the soil is good practice, inasmuch as plants do not require light to germinate, and it also has the further advantage of retaining the moisture, or at least not allowing the soil to become parched by the sun. Watering should be done only when necessary, and this done efficiently through a fine rosed watering pot, as many of the small seed or plants would be washed out if done too roughly. Ventilation is also one of the imperative attentions demanded to secure success in the hotbed. It is better to err on the safe side here ; as to neglect giving air for a couple of hours on a sunny forenoon would most likely finish everything The giving of air less or more, according to the state of the weather must by no means be neglected. — Report Montreal Hort. Soc. 153 ^©^p Affiliated ?ocic%. ^ Paris. — Mr. C. H. Roberts, the en- ergetic Secretary of this Society, sends us a copy of his Annual Report. The finances are in a very encouraging con- dition, there being a balance in hand of $ioo, and the portion of the grant com- ing to them amounting to $140 per annum. The Society is distributing be- gonias, climbing roses, altheas, and rasp- berries. It also gave prizes to the scholars of the public school for the best essays on " Horticulture " ; the essays were read, and the prize given in public At the Agricultural Society Show prizes were given for the best design for a rural gar- den, and also for fioral exhibits ; the Horticultural Society also made an ex- hibit of named varieties of apples. At the Paris Cemetery the Society made a fine bed of foliage plants, which was much admired. Mr. Beadle's lecture was much appreciated. Napanee Horticultural Society. — Our spring distribution is as follows : Membership in Fruit Growers' Associa- tion (including Canadian Horticul- turist) ; subscription to Mayflower; sweet pea seed, 4 lbs. ; aster seed, i oz,; hollyhock seed, i oz.; Poppy seed, I oz.; 65 brugmansia plants ; 65 Cannas, very choice ; 400 gladioli, also very choice. J. E. Hrrrinc, Sec.-Treas. Woodstock.— Renewed life and vigor was imparted to the Woodstock Horti- cultural Society at its regular monthly meeting recently There was a good at- tendance, and the two hours spent in the discussion of fruit topics must have been of great value to those interested in horti- culture. Vice-President Pattullo presided in the absence of the president, D. W. Karn. James S. Scarf, who was the Woodstock delegate to the Ontario Fruit Growers' Association convention at Kingston, gave an able and exhaustive report of the many things done, seen and heard at the Kingston gathering, and Frank Harris gave an interesting address on the culture of raspberries. Mr. Harris is an experienced grower, but as he stated in his address, he has never yet been able to raise raspberries at less than Sj^c. per box. At the next meeting it is likely that the Society will discuss some system of park ornamentation. Messrs. Scarf, Snelgrove, T. H. Par- ker, Frank Harris, and the Secretary were appointed a committee to assist the Agricultural Society in the revision of the lists and the arranging of the hor- ticultural exhibits. Twenty-five dollars was devoted to the purchase of premiums consisting of flowers and seeds. An effort will be made to increase the membership, a task which should be an easy one if all the meetings are made as interesting as the last. R. B. Thornton, Sec. Deseronto Horticultural So- ciety.— The first annual meeting of this society was held in the Town Hall, and was quite a success, all present seeming to take quite an interest in the subject of horticulture. The princi- pal business of the meeting was the election of officers for the ensuing year. Mrs. E. Walter Rathbun was unani- mously elected President; J. J. Keator, '54 OUR AFFILIATED SOCIETIES. Vice-President ; Rev. J. H. H. Coleman, 2nd \'ice-President. The Board of Di- rectors was elected by ballot, and is as follows: Mrs E. W. Rathbun, R. W. I.loyd, H. Townsend, C. Chamberlain, Mrs. W. S. McTavish, C Bennett, W. G. Egar, E. J. Snarr, D. McClew. D. McClew was appointed Secretary-Treas urer and G. W. Wright and E A Rixon, auditors. From the interest manifested it is easy to predict a bright future for the society. Smith's Falls — We had a very ; meeting recently, and Prof. Craig spoke for two hours and held the attention of the audience the whole time. I think he was much pleased with the interest shown and seemed surprised that our society had so many members. We hope to have a few more yet befere winter closes. RoBT. Gr.ah.a.m, Su., Smitlis Falls. LiNDS.^Y. — We are much obliged to the Fruit Growers Association for send ing us Prof. Craig, for he gave us so much valuable information on Flowers in the Home, and the planting of trees and shrubs on the lawn. He also gave us some fine stereopticon views. The instru- ment was handled by Mr. Stevens of the Collegiate Institute staff. There were about one hundred and fifty present. The President, Mr. W. M. Robson, was chairman. F. Frampton, Sec. Grimsby. — On Tuesday evening, March 2nd, Dr. Beadle lectured before the Grimsby Horticultural Society in So- ciety Hall. Mr. E. J. Palmer, the Presi- dent, occupied the chair. The doctor spoke on " Herbaceous Perennials, and among others mentioned the following as desirable for succession : Acute leaved Hepatica, Adonis Vernalis, Wood Ane- mone, (nemorosa)Aquilegia Canadensis, Astilbe, Japonica, St. Bruno's lily, Core- opsis lanceolata, Hybrid Pyrethrum, An- emone Japonica(red or white), Boltonea. He advised planting the Snowdrop bulb in September, and sweet peas also in the fall, in drills about five inches deep in the richest soil possible. Cover with about three inches of soil and then fill up in spring as they grow ; Cupid sweet pea was white, a pretty dwarf, but the long stem varieties better for cutting. Trees for the Lawn. — To have the sward a brilliant green frequent roll- ing is necessary after the seed has been planted to compact the soil and secure and even growth. The speaker noticed that people generally tend to the artificial in planting their lawn; because there is a place for a flower bed or a clump of trees on one side that is no reason why an- other should be put on the other side with mathematical precision, Straight lines should be avoided — he liked to see borders assume a wavy outline, flowers massed for color effects, and trees and shrubs planted in little clumps. He advised liis hearers to have nothing to do with the weeping willow — it might have a place in graveyards or along brooks, but the lawn is no place for it. Another tree that should be banished is the Manitoba Maple ; it is decidedly a cheap tree and has nothing to recommnd it but its rapid growth. Graceful elm and hardy maple saplings fresh from the bush should be planted, and we might add that the cutting of the top is not a wise act, as it spoils the symmetry of the tree and rot eventually sets in near the cut. The Lombardy poplars are sometimes planted with advantage, but are not 'SS OUR AFFILIATED SOCIETIES. graceful— a row of them look like ex- clamation points against the sky line. The cut leaf birch is a better tree — it is not long-lived, and is past its meridian at 30 years — but is handsome and a fast grower. The Sweedler's maple is a mag- nificent foliage tree, bearing rich blood- red leaves, and grows to a fair size. — John Craig, before Port Hope Society. Fertilizers for Hodse Plants. — • The judicious use of fertilizers should be referred to. He had told them that plants needed additional food when about to flower. He might say that cer- tain fertilizers sold for the purpose were not immediately available for the supply of plant food ; growers should remember that fact. One of the most valuable fertilizers is nitrate of soda, or guano, found in Chili, used in the proportion of one ounce to three gallons of water ; it should be used freely twice a week. Bone meal is also good, but must be well soaked first and used in the propor- tion of a teaspoonful to a gallon of water. When plants fail to thrive under good conditions take them out of the pots and look at the soil — often the earth worm is the cause of the trouble. To keep them out take a lump of lime about the size of a tea cup, slacken in five gallons of water, and use freely at times. The latter remedy is also excel- lent for lawns that are troubled with worms. • — Mr. Craig, before Lindsay Horticultural Society. DAHLL\S. If large tubers, divide, leaving one or two eyes. Plant in boxes last week in March, in not very rich earth. Water well and keep warm until started, then give plenty of fresh air, but not too much heat, or plants will become rank instead of strong and study. Aim rather at producing strong roots. After danger of frost is over dig a hole, at least 18 inches deep, mix in old, well-rotted, cow manure. Half is not too much. Put a little earth in centre, set plant in it lightly and carefully, cover sprouts and all to a depth of 5 inches. Put in a stake at once, in case of frost, so that the exact place may be known to cover. They will require no watering until above ground, but afterwards must be given at least a full pail of water each evening during the summer, watering leaves and all ; soap suds are good, mulch during very warm weather. Dahlias must have very rich earth and plenty of water to bring them to perfection. They like the early morning sun, but not during the heat of the day. Stake well and tie with wide cotton strings. In autumn cut off stalks within one foot of ground, then dig round root, lift carefully without breaking, and raise them whole, leave for a short time to dry, then place them whole in a box in the cellar and keep dry until following spring. T, A. W. Napanee. Cannas. — Unless very old roots do not divide, plant in boxes about ist of April. 1st of June plant out of doors in very rich soil. They do best in a sunny place, but should not be exposed to strong winds. Before the stalks are badly frozen in October cut within 4 inches of the ground and store in the clumps in boxes of sand in a rather warm place, not below 40 degrees. Water slightly at intervals during winter. They can be grown as pot plant also. T. A. W. A'apance. '56 ^SUBSCRIPTION' PRICE, $i.oo per year, entitling the subscriber to membership of the Fruit Growers' Association of Ontario and all its piivileges, including a copy of its valuable Annual Report, and a share in its annual distribution of plants and trees. REMITTANCES by Registered Letter are at our risk. Receipts will be acknowledged upon the Address Label. ADVERTISIXG RATES quoted on application. Circulation, 4,000 copies per month. -^ I^Fotes arid (foiT)nr)er)feaves from other plants grown in the light have to be substituted The Madison Plum. 930. Would vou reuonimena the Madi The Onion Maggot. 933. Sir, — What is the best insecticide for the onion maggot ? R. Bdrns, Parkhi/l. We cannot answer our correspondent better than by quoting from the Hatch QUESTION DRAWER. Experiment Station Bulletin, concerning the habits of this insect, and the best methods of destroying it. Its life history is briefly as follows : — The eggs (Fig. 1103, a natural size and Fig. 1103. — a, eggs of onion maggot, natural size ; 6, eggs enlarged ; c, larva of natural size ; rf, larva enlarged ; f, puparium of natural size : /, puparium enlarged /' enlarged) which are laid on the leaves near the ground, are white, smooth, somewhat oval in outline and about one twenty-fifth of an inch long. Usually not more than half a dozen are laid on a single plant, and they hatch in about a week from the time they are laid. The young larva, as soon as hatched, burrows downward within the sheath, leaving a streak of a pale green color to indicate its path, and making its way into the root (Fig. 1 104) devours all except the outer skin. When the bulb of the plant has be- gun to form, several of the larva may be found feeding in company in it, and after it has been con- sumed they desert it for another, ;ind still Pio. 1 104. — .Show- others in succession, ing the eggs and the yhe larvre reach full larva at work on the onion plant. growth in about two weeks, when they appear as shown in Fig. 1 103, <:, natural size, d, enlarged. The smaller end, which is the head, is armed with a pair of black, hook like jaws. The opposite end is cut off ob- licjucly, and there is a pair of small, brown tubercles near the middle, and eight tooth-like projections around the edge. The larva usually leaves the onion and transforms to pupte in the ground outside. The puparium is shown of the natural size at e and enlarged at f. It does not differ very much in form from the larva, but the skin has hardened and changed to a chestnut brown color, within which the true pupa is contained. They remain in the pupa state about two weeks in the summer, when the perfect flies (Fig. 1105) emerge; after pairing, the female deposits her eggs for another generation. The winter is passed in the pupa state, and the flies emerge in the early part of June, or about the time the young onions are sufficiently grown to furnish food for the young maggots. The following preventives and reme- dies have been suggested : — Instead of sowing onion seed in rows, where the young seedlings grow in con- tact, or nearly so, giving every facility for passing from one to another, they should be grown in hills, so that the larvje cannot make their way from one hill to the other. Scattering dry unleached wood ashes over the beds as soon as the plants are up, while they are yet wet with dew, and continuing this as often as once a week through the month of June, is said to prevent the deposit of eggs on the plants. Planting the onions in a new place as remote as possible from where they were grown the previous year, has been found useful, as the flies are not sup- posed to migrate very far. Pulverized gas-lime scattered along between the rows has been found useful in keeping the flies away. 159 QUESTION DRAWER. plants, to run down around them and destroy the maggots in the root and in the soil around them. Fig. 1105. — The Perfect Insect or Fly. Watering with the liquid from pig- pens, collected in a tank provided for the purpose, was found by Miss Orme- rod to be a better preventive than the gas lime. It is recommended to run a roller over the ground a few times after the seed has been sown, thus compact- ing the soil so that the maggots cannot make their way through it from one plant to another. Water raised nearly to the boiling point and poured along the rows from a tea-kettle or other convenient vessel, has proved destructive to the maggots, without injury to the plants. The water should be applied so as to go directly to the bulbs and not to the leaves. Most excellent results have been ob- tained in England by growing onions in trenches, and as the bulbs grew, the earth was worked down upon them so as to keep them buried throughout the season. The onion bulbs should be covered with earth up to the neck, or even higher, so that the fly cannot get at them to lay her eggs. When the onions have been attacked, and show it by wilting and changing color, they should either be taken up with a trowel and burned, or else a little dilute carbolic acid or kerosene oil should be dropped on the infested Smilax. 934. Sir, — In your next issue of your valuable .lournal will you kindly inform me how to cultivate Smilax. Does it require very rich soil ? I have raised several plants from seed, but after reaching about a fool or more in height, the foliage and stems begin to get brown and they die down I water moder- ately, as most other plants. K. H. Lkiht, KinijHton. Reply by John Craig, Central Experi- mental Farm. Smilax is probably one of the most useful of all plants grown for foliage by the florist. It requires a full year to obtain a crop. The ordinary method of procedure is to sow the seed in Jan- uary or February. When the seedlings have grown to a height of a few inches, they are set in 3-inch pots and grown in this way for some months. In August or September the plants are set in benches, 6 to 8 inches apart. The Smilax should be ready for cutting in the month of January following. If it is cut down at this time, a second crop will be ready in March or April. The best soil for growing Smilax is one light, but rich in character. It is im- portant that the plant should be syringed frequently with water (daily), and after being set in the bench, frequent appli- cations of manure water are necessary. Growers should remember that the foli- age is unusually sensitive, and tobacco smoke, such as is used to keep down green fly, proves very injurious to Smi- lax. It is better, therefore, to use the tobacco in the liquidform. 160 ROBERT B. WHYTE. THE Canadian Hukticli ltu kist. Vol. XX. 1897. No. 5. ROBERT B. WHYTE. "TT HE subject of this sketch, who ~ has well represented district No. 2 since December, 1893, was born at Perth in 1850. His father, J. G. Whyte, came from Scotland some time prior to that date, and has ever since been closely identified with and deeply interested in the development of the agricultural and industrial interests of the Ottawa Valley. J. G. Whyte has always, like many Scotchmen, been a student and reader. He educated his children principally (Robert entirely) in their own home. His system, while unique, had the effect, at least, of mak- ing self-reliant men with a decided lean- ing towards and a love for the natural sciences. Our friend began to take an interest in gardening, and also began to make a study of the flora of Ottawa in 1866. This latter work he pursued very perse- veringly, and his private herbarium is now one of the most complete in the City of Ottawa, and probably Eastern Ontario. \\'ith systematic botany, Mr. Whyte took up the study of geology and chemistry. It was, therefore, to be e.xpected that he should be a prime mover in the formation of a Field Naturalist Club in Ottawa. The Club was organized in 1S79, and is now recognized as one of the leading Natural History Societies of the Continent. Mr. Whyte was one of its first presidents. In 1875 Mr. Whyte purchased his present residence in that portion of Ottawa city known as Sandy Hill, and with an acre of ground at his disposal, seriously laid himself out to satiate his gardening desires. For twenty years afterwards the entire manual work of the garden was done by himself; un- fortunately two years ago an accident incapacitated him to a certain extent, and he has been since then unable to do the same amount of work as in former years. We sincerely trust that he will soon be restored to his wonted activity. Mr. Whyte's specialties have been raspberries, gooseberries and cur- rants and plums, of which he has had large collections, although at the same .63 ROBERT B. WHVTE. time he has tested a remarkably large number of the tree fruits, considering his limited space. Latterly, perennials and bulbs have replaced some of the fruits and vegetables in his garden, and the interesting series of articles just con- cluded in the Horticulturist from the pen of Mr. W'hyte, giving notes on perennials, are the result of personal experience and observation, therefore all the more valuable. Mr. Whyte's garden is well known to the Ottawa public, especially during raspberry and gooseberry season. Information is always freely given, and fruits and plants as freely available to the interested and the would be fruit grower. Mr. Whyte's connection with O. F. G. A. began with the first year of the publication of the Horticulturist. In 1892 he took an active part in the organization of the Ottawa Horticultural Society (member- ship 165) of which he is at the present time First Vice-President. As an ama- teur photographer, Mr. Whyte has also won considerable distinction. He was instrumental in organizing the Ottawa Camera Club, and filled the President's chair for two years. Thus far, Mr. Whyte, although a ready speaker, has not contributed largely to Horticultural or Scientific journals, but now that he has made such a good beginning, we trust his name will be seen frequently among those who contribute to the columns of the Horticulturist. It is somewhat remarkable that many of our greatest enthusiasts in fruit culture, and many of those who oftentimes exercise the widest influence upon their fellows in this connection are men whose daily avocations lead them in channels quite different from that of fruit growing. Mr. Whyte owns and carries on successfully the business of J G. Whyte & Son, wholesale stationery. That he has been able to do so much work in gardening and in studying natural sciences is due to his untiring energy and diligence, and also to the encouragement accorded him by his wife and children, who are all lovers of plant life We trust he will be spared to advance the Horticultural interests of Eastern Ontario, and to represent this section in the Councils of the Association for many years to come. BABY ROSES. [ OTICING a very instructive article in your valuable Monthly in your issue for February, on " The Ama- teurs' Rose Garden," by O. G. Johnston, of Kingston, the only part of that inter- esting article that I think is open to criticism, is where it treats on " Baby Roses." In the spring of '96 I purchased from Webster Bros , Hamilton, 20 roses for $1. I had them sent by express, with soil on roots as taken out of thumb pots. No $1 worth of plants gave me more satisfaction than those 20 bantling roses. They all flowered during summer and fall up till frost came. I had some fine blooms on Viscountess, Zolkstone, Kaiserin, Augusta, Victoria, etc. And when I covered up my 20 " Babys " for the winter, I had nice stocky plants. I agree with Mr. John- ston that 2 year old plants will give more and better bloom, but still I would not give Mr. Johnston my 20 "Babys" for one of his honest grown 2 year olds. I would say to all amateurs, don't be afraid to invest .$1 in 20 of the bantling roses, as the attending and caring for these 20 " Babys " will be an object lesson to them in horticulture. With your permission, I may have reason to refer to my 20 " Babys ' when I take their winter clothing off. Wm. McCrk.vch. The Cemetery, Kincardine. ■ 64 MR. JONATHAN CARPENTER'S FRUIT FARM. N Mr. Carpenter we have a repre- sentation of the first settlers in the Winona section. The family came to America in 1638. and in 1776 to Canada, being one of the well-known U. E. loyalists, and for that reason given a grant of land, near the present site of Mr. Carpenter's home. Until quite recently Mr. Carpenter counted far more upon his large stock Nearer the house is a fine Mountain ash and a large Juniper ; also a fine sample of Box, about five feet in height and nearly as much in diameter. The long avenue of Norway Spruce (Fig. 1 107), by which one approaches the house, is also very pretty, and suggests a style of ornamentation of the home grounds quite easily worked out, but after all sel- dom thought of by our country people. Fig. 1106. — Residence of Mk. .Ion.\thas Carpenter. of fine cattle and horses than upon his fruit for an income. Even yet, he has about sixty head, but every year he devotes more and more attention to his fruit, and less and less to stock raising. The house was built in 1840 (Fig. 1 106), and is still in excellent condition. It is in the old Colonial style in which so many of the early houses in Ontario were built. The large tree, on the right which overtops the house is a magnificent specimen of Catalpa. .\s we remarked above, Mr. Carpenter has of late become much interested in fruit culture, especially in the peach, and in planting out an orchard of thirty- five acres, he devoted the greater portion to this queen of fruits. His situation, on a point jutting into Lake Ontario, with water on three sides, is unusually free from frosts, while its isolation perhaps explains its immunity from Yellows. The varieties are chiefly as follows in MR JO X ATM AN CAKPENTER'S FRIIT FARM Fig. 1107. — Avenue of Norway Spruck. order of ripening : — Alexander and Rivers, varieties that succeed well, and give a crop almost annually ; Yel/oiv St. John, one of the finest of early peaches for Southern Ontario, more productive than Alexander or Crawford. Six year old trees have borne three crops, and in 1896 averaged five baskets per tree; they also command a higher price than even the Crawford, probably because earlier. Early Crawford does finely, six year old trees average four or five baskets per tree annually, of magnificent samples ; Crosby and Lnughiirst and Bowslaugh's Late come next, and are excellent varieties. The two latter are, however, so much alike that Mr. Car- penter does not see any choice between them. The Crosby sells the best of the three in his experience. Smock is his best late variety. The secret of Mr. Carpenter's success with his peach orchard, aside from his soil, is manure and cultivation : he applies ' a heavy dressing of barnyard manure and ashes annually, and gives his orchard constant cultivation, until the fruit is nearly ripe. Besides his peaches, he has about 600 pear trees, 300 [)lum trees, and a small vineyard. Palms. — The cooler varieties, usually grown in houses, like a night tempera- ture of 55 degrees or ten degrees high- er ; a north or east window is best ; Repot only when ball is crowded with roots, and only in spring or sum- mer. Sponge foliage frequently with clean water. NARCISSUS IK TIM': WINDOW. iHE Narcissus is a very popular flower ; and justly so, as it is I extremely pretty, is easy to cul- tivate, and its price is within the reach of all. But the time during which it can be had in bloom out of doors is ([uite short. It is only about a part of the winter, as Paper White can be had in bloom by Christmas, and there is an almost unlimited number of varieties to flower between its season and that of Poeticus, which is quite late. They are very easily grown m the house, and flowers last much longer than when Fig. 1108. — Naiscissus Horsfieldii. (From PhotoKraph by H. Johnson. l month from the time the earliest one conies into bloom until the last to open its beautiful flowers is gone. And then sometimes we have a few days of hot sunshine that completely ruins the flowers : for this lovely flower cannot endure much hot sunshine. But there is no reason why we cannot have them blooming in-doors during the greater in the garden. I have tried a number of varieties in the window, and all with one exception were successfully grown. We generally plant them in ordinary soil from the garden, which is a sandy loam, leaving about one-third of the bulb above ground. They are then well-watered, and put away into a dark place where they are not allowed to get 167 JA' ITALIAN VILLA. dry. The bulbs can be planted quite closely — four or five in a six-inch pot, according to size ; there are five in the pot of Horsfieldii shown in the picture. In about six weeks they are nicely rooted, and can then be brought to the light, as required. We always keep them in a cool window, and they are liberally supplied with water. No attempt whatever is made to force them to grow ; they are simply left to start when they are ready. After the flowers are out they should be kept as cool as possible ; by doing so each bloom will last for about two weeks and a-half. Simcoe. Henry Johnson. AN ITALIAN VILLA. THIRTY or forty years ago the Italian style of architecture was quite popular, and some of the finest houses in Toronto and Ham- ilton, and probably in most other cities in Ontario, were built in this style. It had many points of excellence, for addi- tions can easily be made to the building without marring the unity of the design; while the arcades, balconies and pro- jecting eaves gave character to a style which was deservedly popular for coun- try residences, because harmonizing so well in pictures(jue beauty with the rural landscape. Our illustration shows an Italian villa, with charming surroundings, chief among which is the river bank, along which a delightful walk leads you along to the artistic summer house, so situated as to command a charming view of the whole surrounding scenery. Such a river or lake bank is just an ideal situation for building a beautiful home. The iiouse itself is not everything ; its surroundings are of still more importance, and should always be made the most of, never hid- ing a beautiful landscape with trees or shrubs. And yet we have often noticed the most charming scenery .shut out from view by Norway spruce trees, or, still worse, by ugly barns ; or a beauti- ful and expensive house set down be- tween small houses or ugly rookeries, making it unattractive by reason of its companionship. In the yard before us we admire the few trees shading the sides of the house and bordering the lawn, and also the beautiful shrubs set where they will show to best advantage; still we think a large stretch of green sward before the house the ideal arrangement, and would favor placing even the choicest flowering shrubs at the side, or in groups along the borders of the walks or drives. SPRAYING FOR PEACH AND PLUM ROT. and that which falls ploughed under. The Delaware station advises spray- ing peach trees three time.i with Bor- deaux mixture for rot, viz.: — (i) before blooming ; (2) after bloom has dropped, and (3) at the beginning of coloring. For the 3rd application copper acetate solution, 8 ounces to the barrel, is re- commended. Such treatment has been found to increase the yield fourfold. 16S Peach and plum rot are among the greatest evils which face the grower. Many seem to think this evil entirely the effect of damp weather, but inves- tigation shows it to be a fungus (Mo- nilia), which develops more rapidly in wet weather than in dry, and which lives over the winter in the mummified fruit, so often left hanging on the trees. These ought to be collected and burned. P^iG. 1109 — An Italian Vii j 169 ^ |^o\'elti>s. ^ THE YELLOW RAMBLER ROSE. Fio. 1110. — Yellow K.\.mi>.ler. H YELLOW climbing rose is something that has always been denied our northern gardens, because of the sever- ity of our winters and the tenderness of all climbing roses having yellow color- ing, for the combination of yellow color, climbing habit and hardiness in a rose was one which it seems impossible to obtain, although the efforts .of many hybridisers were directed to that end, and repeated crosses were made in the hope of securing it. Mr. Peter Lambert, the German rosa- rian, is the man to whom the honor of the greatest success belongs. In his new rose, Yellow Rambler, we iiavc yellow color, climbing habit and very consideralile hardiness. It has with- stood un] fotected and without injury a • 1 hi Hfticle was written by the intriKlueer. continued temperature of from zero to two degrees below, and although it has not yet been fully enough tested to know positively about its capability for undergoing still lower temperature, yet there is no reason to think that it will not also withstand a much greater degree (if cold. In any event we need no longer deny our northern gardens climb- ing roses of that most attractive color of all, yellow, for if given a very little pro- tection in the winter, the Yellow Ram- bler should do well anywhere that other roses succeed. To those unfamiliar with such things, it seems strange to talk of crossing roses, or rather breeding them, which is exactly what is attempted in hybridizing. It is, or should be, gone at with a definite end in view ; with a clear idea of what qualities are wanted in the pro- posed new rose, so that a judicious choice of varieties for the parents can be made, the same as one would do in breeding horses or cattle. In produc ing the Yellow Rambler, Mr. Lambert selected for the mother the Japanese Polyantha Sarmentosa, a wild rose that is native to Japan, and which is a vigor- ous climber as well as very hardy, both of which qualities were especially wanted in the hybrid. Flowers of this Polyan- tha Sarmentosa were then fertilized with pollen of a yellow rose called Reve d'Or, which, on account of its having some- what greater hardiness than most yellow roses, was a suitable variety for the pur- pose. The seed resulting from this hybridizing was planted, and the Yellow Rambler is the result. It all seems easy and simple enough to read about, but where success is met 170 171 THE YELLOW RAMBLER ROSE. with once, failure comes hundreds of times. The hybridizing has to be done when both the pollen of the one flower and the stigma or fertilizing surface of the other are in just the right stage, or else no cross will be effected ; insects or the wind may spoil the work by introducing the pollen ; seed may not be formed, or if formed at all, may not germinate, or if germinated may not have combined the qualities desired, so many more failures than successes must be expected. Mr Lambert has tested the Yellow Rambler for eight years, which shows a very commendable caution upon his part about distributing a new variety. If all originators would but follow this example, and carefully test the value of their new things, the number of doubt- fully meritorious novelities that are year- ly foisted upon the public would be greatly diminished. The accompanying cut of the Star strawberry comes from Iv VV. Reid, Bridgeport, Ohio., who claims for the plant vigor, productiveness, and great power to resist the drouth, and for the fruit great size and high (]uality. -.-.■»« ."(Ill, t It is interesting to note that there is a very strong probability of blood rela- tionship between the Yellow Rambler and a rose that was introduced some three years ago, the Crimson Rambler The Crimson Rambler was first found growing wild in Japan, and from its foliage, growth and manner of blooming is thought to have been produced from the Japanese Polyantha Sarmentosa, which was the seed parent of the Yellow Rambler. If this is the case it would make the Yellow Rambler and the Crimson Rambler first cousins. This supposed relationship is rendered still more probable by their very consider- able similarity in foliage, habit of growth and manner of blooming. The flowers of the Yellow Rambler are borne in immense trusses, like those of the Crim- son Rambler, are very sweetly fragrant, and last a long time without fading. Oi.n peach orchards may be made young again by severe cutting back. A good many will hesitate to do what may be safely done in this direction. I once heard a practical and successful peach grower relate his experience in cutting back large trees. The buds were winter- killed, so there was no hope of a crop that year, so in March he cut the trees back to within five or six feet of the j;round, leaving stubs of branches, some of which were nearly two inches in dia- meter. Instead of killing the trees, as his neighbor peach-orchardists prophe- sied it would, they made a magnificenl new growth, and the autumn being fa- vorable, matured a nice lot of fruit buds. The following year more than a bushel per tree of fine fruit was gathered, and the trees instead of being long and strag- gling had taken on heads somewhat like young trees. This severe pruning must be done in March, as soon as the wea- ther becomes warm enough to thaw the frost in the wood. It will not do to do it after trees are in leaf — Green's F. G. SMALL-FRUIT GROWING. CULTURE IN FARMKRS' (lARDENS. Fig. 1113.— Mr. B. Oott. Mr. B. (Jott was the eldest son of a family of nine, and who emigrated from across the .Atlantic in the year 1845, being then 12 years of age They first settled in the township of Southwold, near .St. Thomas, but in 1852 the family took up a lot of some "200 acres in the township of \Vest Williams, Middlesex Co., and came there into the unbroken forest to make their future home. But the eldest son started otl' in another direction and, after engaging with the Upper Canada Book and Tract .Society, Toronto, was appointed to the Co. of Wentworth, Out., as travelling agent or colporteur, in the autumn of 1856. After following this work for some two years, he put himself to the so-called (irammar School of those (lays in Ancaster, and so fitted him- self under the etficient tuition of James Re- gan, M.A., for the work of Common School teaching in Canada, and made his first ettbrts in this line in the township of Oneida, HaUli- mand Co., on the Grand River near Cayuga, and then in Ancaster near Ancaster village. In .January, ISGl, he attended the Provincial Normal School at Toronto for one session, and after passing, came to Arkona, Lanibton Co., to begin his work as teacher of their puli- lic school. Continuing teaching in Watford, Thedford. Corunna and other places for some eight 3-ears, and finding it not to agree with his health, he decided upon a change. He then bought a small farm near Arkona and thence- forth determined to devote himself to practi- cal horticulture and to be known as a practi- cal nurseryman and fruit grower, a life-long desire for which he had been secretly eying and preparing himself from the first. In l.S()2 the .Vrkona Nurseries were estab- lished, where they exist to this day ami have lieen very serviceable in these lines to the whole surrounding country. There he took great pleasure to make it his especial business in life to introduce, produce and grow new and valuable fruits and fruit trees and plants in our midst, and took great pains to so teach and educate the people of all ranks in the beauties and great values of good fruit and to grow them for themselves. In this he has been eminently successful, although it is conunonly said " the way of the pioneer is hard." To-day he hasthe great satisfaction of knowing that the whole region of country for many miles around .Ar- kona has come to be one of the greatest and best regions for fruit growing in \\'estern Ontario, and especially so in strawberries and raspberries. Mr. Gott has been fully interested in the good work of the Ontario Fruit Growers' Association for many years. He was ap- pointed on the Directorate of the Association during the presidency of the much esteemed Dr. Burnet, at their annual meeting at Ham- ilton, Fel)ruai-y 6th, 1878. This is esteemed as one of the most valued relationships of his life and was what gave direction, tone and vigor to all his operations. In 189.3 Mr. Gott, well-worn and tired from his labors, determined to leave the work to other and younger hands and heads, and so, placing the whole nuitter in the hands of his sons, retired to the thriving town of Strath- roy, where he at present may be seen inter- ested in his own small garden and the welfare of the people and the town where he lives. May the labor of his hands gieatly redound to the best interests of his beloved country. BL.\CKBERRIES. rj) V Blackberries we would at this lime /yv mean and designate Rubus Frutico- ^y sus, ord. Rosacea, otherwise known as Brambleberries, as distinguished from Black raspberries or Black caps, Rulnis Occideiitalis, of which I have before treated. But many of our most valued sorts have come directly from the na- tive American wild Blackberry, Riilnis Villosus, found all over this northern continent, and propagated by judicious crossings and selections, etc. This 173 SMALL FRULT GKQWLXG. form of berry is one of very great value not merely to the farm garden, but also to the larger professional fruit grounds, and to all cultivators in general. But on account of some public prejudice against its large straggling growth and its very disagreeable hooked thorny appendages, we find it very much neg- ods on the part of the cultivator. I will therefore attempt very briefly to describe a method of growing and managing the blackberry that has been adopted by some very successful growers and has been quite satisfactory all round. In the first place, as to the soil and climate : it is known to he I'lC. 1114. -Hl.AIKIlKUKV. lected and not nearly so generally grown and enjoyed as its great merits and lovely qualities as a table and preserv- ing fruit properly demand it should be. These prejudices against its growth very largely arise from a misunderstand- ing of better methods of treatment, or from an entire ignorance of good meth- soniewhat sensitive, for tliese must be exactly suitable to its needs and requirements to attain the best results. Just here I may be excused, should I embody a little personal observation of my own, i)earing on tlie (juestions of the case. I Hiring the very pleasant season of SMALL I'RULT GROWING. our Canadian year, known as August, last, I was completely delighted by a few weeks' visit to some dear friends living in the far-famed fruit regions near Leamington, Co. of Essex, on the north shore of old Lake Erie, about eight miles east of Kingsville. This fine fruit region is known as one of the most favorable spots of Ontario for the most successful growth and production of peaches and strawberries and grapes, etc., and it also possesses those essentia) qualities in soil and climate for the pro- per development of the finest blackber- ries, and that to an extent I never before saw in this country. It may he that similar qualities may be found in other parts of our country, but I am not per- sonally acquainted with them. Before this opportune visit, I never before knew what blackberry growing properly meant, or its products counted for amongst our cultivated fruits. Both the soil and the climate here seemed conjoined to produce the largest sizes and the fullest and highest perfections attainable in the fruit, and these were something far beyond my feeble powers of description to properly convey to you. This soil is a rich mixed gravelly loam, apparently so made by the action of deep overflowing waters during past geologic ages. The climate is that fine quality of pleasant and enjoyable balmy- ness, with a certain admixture of moist- ure in it that is so characteristic of this whole extent of shore of old Lake Erie. In these fine conditions the finer sorts of cultivated blackberries, planted in large fields of great extent, made a most surprising growth and produced fruit of the most surprising size and rich shining blackness and most delightful genuine blackberry flavors that would defy competition. The pickers here had what we might most properly call a snap, for the way they could fill the baskets and crates, it was something quite astonishing. This led me to understand the essen- tial requirements and proper conditions necessary to successful blackberry cul- ture, as so grown and so perfected, they were the very climax of blackberry fruit products. The growers in that region, after carefully preparing their soil, selected good strong one-year old plants of the variety most desired, and carefully planted them any time in the early spring and kept them well cultivated throughout the season. They plant in long straight rows, 6 feet apart and 3 or 4 feet in the rows ; that is 2,610 or 1,815 plants per acre, these making a fine strong growth they cut back the following spring to about 18 inches. This summer the growth is very closely watched and as the young canes are pushing forward, some three or four of them are allowed to grow to the height of about 3 feet and then the lead is pinched out and all other shoots are cut out clean. This causes a vig- orous growth on the side shoots, which also may be checked should they be- come too strong before autumn. The following spring the whole is cut close to about 3 feet and all dead wood is removed, and even the side shoots trimmed in snugly, so as to ease the work of the pickers. This year there will be a full and beautiful crop, and in this way black- berry growing may be made a very pleasant and paying success in almost any good fruit section. The plantation so put out and so cared for is e.xpected to be good and yield good crops of fine fruit for fully ten years or longer. After the fruit is all cleanly gathered, the old bearing wood is carefully cut out and removed, to make good room for a strong and rampant growth for 75 0 SB ANUS SUMMER PEAR. next year's fruiting. I cannot just now state exact results, but 1 remember they were very large in quantity, and usually they realized very satisfactory results from them when put on the market. The variety they mostly planted was the old well-known variety, Kittatinny, which seemed here to be perfectly at home, as I never saw anything like them before. For general planting, I may say that perhaps the old hardy reliable sort, Snyder, is the best for not very favorable locations, or for our strong clay soils. The plant is very hardy and very productive, and the first is, though not the best, yet fairly good. Wilson's Jr. and Wilson's Early are both large, handsome good black- berries, and in favorable locations and soils may be made very serviceable in a large product of very fine beautiful fruit. Wachusetts is a newer and very excellent blackberry and will do well if planted on good loamy soil. For kitchen purposes during our long win- ter months, there is nothing better for family use than a good large supply of these most luscious blackberries. They can be made up into almost all forms of pastries and are first-class for jams, jellies, dessert, etc. B (}OTT. Strathroy, March lot/i, iSgj. OSBAND'S SUMMER PEAR. VX MONG the early summer pears of /M fine quality for the dessert table ITli is the Osband's Summer, which ripens early in August. It is an American pear, which originated in New York State, so that it is in its own altitude when grown in South- ern Ontario. The tree is fairly vigor- ous, and a good bearer, but the fruit is rather small for a market pear. For home use as a summer dessert pear it is excellent, and a tree or two should be planted in every garden. The form is well shown in the accompanying photogravure, which of course is much reduced. The quality is very good, being rich and sweet, with agreeable aroma. At Maplehurst we havehad this variety many years in bearing, but cannot advise it for planting in the commercial orchard, not only on account of the small size of the fruit, but also because the tree is somewhat subject to blight. 1/6 CLEFT-GRAFTING. CLEFT-GRAFTING is probably in more general use than any other kind. It is commonly performed to change the bearing of apple, plum and various other trees and plants. It may be used on very small branch- es or stocks, but is •he form that is best adapted to large branches. The tools used on stocks of larger size are a sharp, fine saw for cut- ting off the stems or branches and a grafting-chisel for splitting the stock and holding open the cleft. On Fig. 1116. small stocks a sharp knife is used for all the purposes of saw and grafting-chisel. The work is done as follows : The place selected for the insertion of the scions should be where the grain is straight. The stock is then cut "square" oflf, and is split through its center to a sufificient depth to allow the scion to be put in place. The cleft should be held open by the wedge-shaped part of the chisel (a large nail will answer the purpose in a small way) until the scions are inserted, when the wedge is withdrawn, allowing the Fig. 1117. stock to spring back and hold the scions in place. If the stock does not spring back into place, it should be drawn tight against the scions by a piece of string. The number of scions put into each stock will depend on its size, but gener- ally only two were inserted, and on small stocks only one. The inner bark of both scion and stock should come to- gether, as shown in Fig. 1118. When inserted the scions should appear as in Fig. II 17. The scions should be made wedge-shaped for about one and one half inches where they go into the cleft, SCION FlO. 1. Fig. ills, and also be wedge-shaped crossways, as shown in Fig. 11 17, so as to bind the inner bark of scion and stock securely together. They should each have two or three buds above the cleft. The scions must be wood of the preceding year's growth and no older. It is im- portant to use a sharp knife for making the cuts. When the scions are in, all the cut surface should be covered with grafting-wa.x, as in Fig. 11 16, or with a ball of stiff clay and cow dung mixed ; but grafting-wax is most convenient. — Farm and Fireside. 177 BUILDING AND HEATING SMALL CONSER- VATORIES. 'OW, that greater interest is taken — mainly through the efforts of the Fruit Growers' Association — in improved hor- ticulture in this province, many inqui- ries may be expected similar to No. 917, in the March number of the Jour- nal, page 118, respecting the construc- tion and the fittings of small greenhouses or conservatories attached to dwelling- houses. The replies by Prof. L. R. Taft, Michigan Agricultural College, to the three questions in part 2, (a), (l>) and (c) in Question No. 917, were not satisfactory. He says, (a) " Four would be ample and three would answer if the coil is at least thirty feet long, pro- vided the temperature does not fall below 25 degrees." But with us the temperature sometimes falls fifty de- grees or more below that point. What might the result be in that case? Some- times, for several weeks, the tempera- ture may seldom rise to 25 degrees. (b) " Four or five lengths, three or four feet long, should supply sufficient fire surface." This 15 or 16 feet of 2-inch pipe, if properly placed, would be ample for four times the length of pipe men- tioned, (c) " If properly arranged, the pipes should work all right, as the entire circuit will not be more than 50 or 60 feet." The working of pipes does not depend on their length, but on the height of the upper surface of the coil above the point where the return pipe enters the furnace. Mr. German did not give this most important measure- ment. Below, I submit a few pointers, which intending builders of such additions to their dwellings may do well to make a note of (i) The building should be con- structed of the best available material (especially the glass), the workmanship nrst-class in quality (not necessarily ornamental), and the overseer of the work should have had some practical knowledge of the difficulties to be en- countered in conservatory management. (2) There should be no glass at the sides or ends of the building above the level of the benches, and a wooden or metal strip about 2 feet wide can be placed (nearly level) advantageously at the top of the roof next the house. (3) The roof should have a pitch of 45 degrees and a southern exposure. (4) The cheapest building is that one, the cost of maintenance of which, i.e., the yearly cost of fuel, repairs, in- surance, etc , being capitalized, will be the least sum. (5) Such buildings can be heated cheaper, with less labor and attention and more satisfactorily, with water, than by any other means (6) The power of its heating ar- rangement should be easily capable of maintaining a temperature of not over 90° to 95° by day and not less than 45° by night, even if the temperature of the outer air should fall to 25° or 30° below zero. (7) The measure of the heating power is the quantity of water necessary to maintain this temperature under all possible variations of temperature of the outer air. (8) It is found in practice that 20 gallons of water for each 1,000 cubic feet of space is sufficient for this pur- pose, and as (9) It requires 147 feet 3 inches (nearly) of 2-inch pipe to contain 20 gallons of water, therefore, either of 178 SOME OF THE NEWER FRUITS.— I. these factors can be used in estimating quantities for a similar building of any size. (10) It has been found by practical experience during the past six years, that II feet of iVo-inch pipe (equal to about 6 feet 2 inches of 2inch pipe) is ample fire-surface for a greenhouse of a little over 1,000 cubic feet; lit addition to heating a dwelling-house measuring about 15,000 cubic feet. (11) The difference in weight be- tween two columns of water 6 feet high, contained in 2-inch pipes, with a dif ference in temperature of 6°, is 114.6 grains, or less than the weight of one- half of one cubic inch of water (in practice, neither this altitude of the coil above the fi.e-box in such buildings, nor the difference in temperature of the two pipes is often exceeded); there- fore every means should be used to get the level of the upper part of the coil as high as possible above the level where the return pipe enters the fur- nace, as the convection of the heat is produced by the difference between the weight of the two columns of water. Thos. Beall. Lindsay, March, iSgj. SOME OF THE NEWER FRUITS.— I. By E. Morden, Niagara Falls South Japan Wineberry. — The bush of the Japan Wineberry resembles a black-cap in its mode of growth, and like it propa- gates from the tips. The entire surface of the drooping canes is covered with red spines or soft bristles which give a peculiar and ornamental appearance to a plot of these bushes. The fruit is like a sour red raspberry, but smaller. Up to the time of ripening it is enclosed in a capsule which resembles that of a mo.ss rose and the fruit becomes visible as it ripens It appears in bunches like berries, but from a considerable thicket of it I got very little fruit. As a bit of novel shrubbery with chances of some small edible fruit it answers very well. Lhvarf Juneberry. — This has several merits. It is a dwarf grower, reaching three or four feet in height. It is very hardy. It produces a great mass of white bloom very early in the spring. It produces a full crop of edible berries about July I St and continues to ripen •ts fruit for two weeks or more. The fruit resembles huckleberries closely but not so good in quality. Nearly every one likes to eat it from the bushes. When canned and cooked it is sweet. It would answer nicely mixed with cur- rants. With us the birds do not eat many of the berries, which shows that the birds are not properly posted. The people too need posting. We sent two crates to the Niagara Falls mar- ket. Many asked questions, said the berries were very nice, but they forgot to buy any of them. They were there- fore entered for home consumption and we are consuming them. A few nice clumps for ornament and for home use would be interesting and useful to any one who likes to try a new fruit. In more northern localities I think they should be found in fruit gar- dens. In the present state of public opinion I can scarcely recommend any one to plant them largely for market purposes. 179 -^7t?C ©pcbs^i^cl c^od ^p(jit (srSkPdcQ.N'i ABOUT JAPAN PLUMS— ARE THEY HARDY? AM frequently asked the question, " What about Japan plums, are ,_L they valuable and hardy enough for Canada ? " There is no ques- tion about their value if they are hardy, at least many of them. They are early, of good quality, and much less subject to rot and fungus disease than our varieties and European varieties. I have been a little skeptical about their suc- ceeding farther north than our peach belt, as my own experience with them has been that when the fruit buds of the peach were destroyed by extreme cold, they were also injured, though I know the trees will stand more frost than the peach, without killing back. I have lately received a communication from Dr. A. B. Dennis, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa (a gentleman who is testing a large number of varieties of plums there), upon this subject, and as I think it will be of interest to the readers of the HoRTicuLTURLST, I will give you some extracts from it. He says, " Among the best commercial plums here of the Japs are Burbank, Normand, Boton, Ogon, Chabot, etc. I have not found any of these plums extremely tender except the Kelsey, which killed down to the ground. The thermometer has been down to 28 below zero, and yet trees were ladened. I am aware Prof. Budd has persisted in stating the Japan plums will not do in any part of Iowa, but my experience has demonstrated that some of them are valuable in our severe climate. We are considerably out of the peach belt, and but very few ever fruit here except a few hardy seedlings. Some of my Jap trees are eight years old, yet all are as healthy as my natives. Prof. Budd assured me ten years ago that Japan plums were tender as weeds, so I commenced with one or two trees, and when it went 20 below zero, and these little trees were ladened with fruit it surprised me. One winter it went 30 below, and killed many of Prof. Budd's Russian sorts, and not even a tree of the Japs were killed nor were the fruit buds injured. Of course I can not say what they will do with you, but the facts I state and the 25 bushels of plums of Japan type raised the past season, speak better than I can write." From this letter I am encouraged to believe that these valuable plums may be grown over a large portion of Ontario. We are having them tested at some of our Experimental Stations, and I trust others who have tested them will give us their experience through the Horti- culturist, so we may know their true value and where they will succeed, in the near future. In the meantime planters living within the peach belt need not hesitate to plant largely of them. A. M. Smith. S/. Catharines. 180 GOOSEBERRIES. £y\ pv^HIS is a good fruit to grow for sale, as they can either be dis- posed of ripe or green — in which state they often give the best returns— or they may, in the case of the red varieties, be left until ripe. In Kent, England where large quantities are grown, they are generally gathered by women and girls, who earn good wages at the rale of 4d. per half sieve for green ones, and 2'jd. to 3d. for ripe fruit. Planting. — The best time for this as for all fruits, is when the leaves begin to change color ; but any time between October and May will do if there is no severe frost or snow at the time. Gooseberries may be raised from. cut tings in a similar way to black currants, except that gooseberries are best grown with a stem, from 6 inches to i foot high, to allow of digging, etc., under- neath, and to keep the fruit from the ground, also to prevent so many strong shoots growing in the centre of the tree. The cuttings should, therefore, be not less than 9 inches in length, as 3 inches should be put into the ground and trod den in firmly All the buds should be cut off gooseberry cuttings except three or four at the top, to prevent suckers springing up from the root. The dis- tances for planting should be the same as for black currants. The gooseberry will thrive in a stony soil belter than currants. The cost of planting per acre will be about the same as for currants. Pruning. — For young bushes this con- sists in selecting six or eight main branches springing out evenly not far from the top of the stem. Thus, if the cutting throws out three or four shoots the first year they may be cut back to within 4 inches at pruning time, when each one will throw two or three good Shoots the next season, and enough may hen be selected to form the future tree, keeping the centre open and cutting always to buds that point in the right direction for the branch to grow. Some varieties, and especially Warrington, persist in bending over towards the ground, and require pruning back well to get the main branches as upright as possible. All strong roots in the centre of the tree should be cut clean out and the small side branches cut off within an inch of their base, leaving one almost full length occasionally in the thinnest jiarts of the tree, and always leaving a good leader at the point of the main branches until they get 4 feet in height. Summer pruning is also of great benefit to the gooseberry. This consists in cut- ting out all young shoots in the centre of the tree and elsewhere which would otherwise be cut out at the winter prun- ing. By cutting them out in summer as soon as the fruit is gathered the re- maining buds on the main branches get a better chance to ripen and store up nourishment for the next year's crop. The work is also much better done in mild weather than in the winter. In the Kent plantationsgooseberries are pruned by the " tree cutters " in "piecework," during the short days of winter at about IS. 6d. per 100 trees, according to size Cultivation and Manuring.— Like all other bush fruits, gooseberries pay well for an application of manure about once in two or three years. Night soil is often given to them in Kent, and ma- terially assists in bringing very heavy crops of fruit to perfection. The soil is removed from under the bushes early in the spring, forming a basin-shaped cavity into which half a pailful of night soil is poured, and the next day the earth is put back again which had been removed. 181 GOOSEBERRIES. Large quantities of London manure is also brought down the river in barges, and after partial decay is applied during the winter months before the plantation is dug over, but there is no manure so good as that from a cowyard when it can be got. The plantations should be kept perfectly clean by hoeing and hand- weeding if required, and the ground should always be dug roughly in the winter after the bushes are pruned. Varieties.- — Whitesmith for gathering green, Crown Bob either green or red, Warrington for late red fruit. A new variety called Early Kent has lately been very highly spoken of for its earliness, which is a great consideration in goose- berries for market. Gathering and Marketing. — Goose- berries, if early, pay well for gathering and sending to market green, and for this purpose Whitesmith is the best among the older varieties for early work. But Early Kent is said to be much ear- lier. The early sorts should be planted in the warmest part of the ground, in order to get the full advantage of the early prices, and all of the " White " Gooseberries should be gathered in a green state for market, as they do not sell well when ripe. Some of the Crown Bobs may also be gathered green, or all of them if prices are good. Warrington generally pays best when ripe. I say ripe, but ripe gooseberries for market must only just be red If allowed to get quite soft they are apt to split in damp or showery weather, and there is thus a risk of great loss, which is avoided by gathering earlier. Also they will not stand handling at the market if over- ripe ; neither will they travel so well ; but if recjuired for sale near home, the wishes of the buyer must be considered. Green gooseberries should realize from 2S. to 3s. per stone at the market, ripe fruit IS. 6d. to 2s. 6d. An acre planted 5 feet apart each way should yield the first year about 40 stones of green fruit, or 60 stones when ripe, worth ^4 to ^5 clear of expenses, and this will increase yearly as the trees grow (if the crop is not spoiled by frost), until at six or seven years after planting they should have reached a full size, and give a crop of 5 tons per acre, worth ^50 at a low estimate clear of expenses. It is possi- ble to have double this amount occa- sionally by high cultivation and getting the best prices in the market. As goose- berries may be grown among standard apples and other fruits, they will add considerably to the returns, although it is not possible to grow such large crops of under fruit in mixed plantations. They should be packed for market in half sieves containing 2 stones, or 28 lbs. nett, and finished off as advised for black currants. Enemies. — Birds are very troublesome to the gooseberry grower, both when the fruit gets ripe (at which time they must be scared off by shooting), and also by eating the buds off when the trees are in a dormant state. It is at this stage when most mischief is done, as every bud eaten then means the loss of two or three gooseberries. Strings of white cot- ton crossed in various ways over the trees by twisting them round four of the most prominent branches is one of the best methods of frightening them away. When damage from this cause is ex- pected the trees should be pruned, and cotton put on them before January, as pruning is not easily done after the cot- ton is on. Bullfinches and sparrows are the most destructive among the buds- All of the former should be destroyed, as they do no good to the fruit grower to counterbalance the mischief. Spar- rows do some amount of good in sum- mer by devouring caterpillars, and must not all be destroyed, or the remedy may MOTES ON APPLES. be worse than the disease. The goose- berry caterpillar often does a vast amount of damage if not destroyed as soon as it appears. Handpicking is the best and safest remedy for these. Dusting the bushes with white hellebore powder is often recommended, and is very effec- tual — Journal of Horticulture(England). NOTES ON APPLES. THE Red Bietigheimer Apple, which was so favorably noticed in Gar- den and Forest for September 25th, page 390, has fruited here several years. While it has valuable qualities for culinary and market purposes, its flesh is rather coarse, and it would not be called a good dessert fruit except by those who like a brisk subacid flavor. On account of its symmetrical form, large size and handsome color no apple in the station collection attracts more attention than this at fairs and exhibi- tions. Under good cultivation it is a free grower and a regular and abundant bearer. The fruit is very large, and quite apt to drop before it is well colored. This fault is more serious with the Red Bietigheimer than with Wealthy, Alex- ander or Gravenstein, and probably will prevent its being planted extensively in commercial orchards. Among the comparatively new or lit- tle known varieties of considerable merit is the Sharp. The fruit resembles Maid- en Blush somewhat in shape and color, and it is better for dessert use than that variety. Its flesh is nearly white, fine- grained, tender, moderately juicy, nearly sweet, of mild pleasant flavor and very good quality ; seasSn, October. The tree has fruited here but three years, but it appears to be a good bearer. One of the handsomest late August and early September apples in the station collection in the Stump, which is excel- lent for market or home use. It begins to ripen soon after Chenango Strawberry, which it resembles in shape. The tree is upright and productive. The fruit, borne on short spurs close to the limbs, is pale yellow, beautifully striped and shaded with red. Flesh firm, crisp, tender, subacid, mild in flavor. Switzer is a very handsome German apple that begins to ripen about the first of August. The fruit, which is of me- dium size, is nearly white, with a beauti- ful blush. It is very good in flavor and good in quality either for dessert or for culinary use. The tree is productive. Williams' Favorite, is a dessert fruit that should be more widely known. Its symmetrical form and deep red color make it an attractive apple in market. It is also desirable for home use, as it is good in flavor and quality. The tree makes moderate growth and is a good bearer. Among the October apples desirable for culinary use may be mentioned Cox's Pomona. It is an old variety of English origin. The fruit is large, highly colored with crimson on a clear, very pale yellow ground, making it an attractive market fruit. The flesh is white, crisp, subacid. It cooks evenly and ranks good in quality. — S. \. Be.ach, in Garden and Forest. 183 TOMATOES FOR ENGLAND. THERE have already been several attempts to place our Canadian tomatoes on the English market successfully. There is little doubt that the fruit would bring remunerative prices if it could be placed on the Brit- ish market in proper condition, because the English tomatoes have to be grown under glass, and are sold at high prices. If we could get 3 or 4 cents a pound net for our tomatoes in the month of September, we would find touiato grow- ing very profitable, but very often we cannot realize one cent a pound for them in our own markets. Shipping them to Great Britain under ordinary conditions is not a safe under- taking A report is before us of 764 cases of tomatoes shipped by Mr. E. P. Ainsworth on September 4th, 1896, which turned out disastrously. They arrived in such a bad state that they could only be sold for a mere trifle, and left a bill of expense to be paid the steamship. It is recommended that tomatoes for such distant markets be packed in little cells, as eggs are packed, or in sawdust, to prevent their being crushed one on another. But the great hope for a successful export trade in tomatoes is in the cold storage scheme, now being worked out for us by the Dominion Department of Agriculture. Messrs. Elder, Dempster & Co., of 23 Scott St., Toronto, on whose line of steamships cold storage accommodation is being provided, are disposed to make an effort to encourage the export of Canadian tomatoes. Mr. John Craig, whose bulletin ap- peared in our last issue, writes that he believes tomatoes may be exported with profit after September ist, when there is little demand for them in the home market. Whether or not it will pay to export them during August, when the demand in Canada is fairly brisk and the prices remunerative, is a question that can be decided only by actual trial. The small case proposed for use in the export of tomatoes, in our last num- ber, would hold about four dozen me- dium-sized tomatoes. Each tomato should be wrapped in tissue-paper, or in a light cheap grade of printers' paper. They should be carefully packed stem- end down, in such a manner as to have them firmly in place when the case is filled. Each case should bear the ship- per's name, with the quantity, or the number of tomatoes which it contains. Intending shippers who may desire further information may apply to Prof. Robertson, Agricultural and Dairy Com- missioner, Ot'awa; Messrs Elder, Demp- ster & Co., Montreal ; or to R. Dawson Harling, steimship freight agent, 2^ Scott St., Toronto THINNING FRUIT BY SEVERE PRUNING. HNOTEl) pear grower in 'I'oledo, being thrown into the portion of fruit O., who takes many premiums buds left after pruning gives very fine at the State Fair, gives very fruit, which commands a ready market, high culture and then prunes even when ordinary fruit is rotting in the severely in March. In this way he gets dealer's store. I asked him once if such a strong, vigorous growth, and the vigor high pressure system would not shorten GOOSEBERRY MILDEW. the life of his trees. " O, yes, I suppose so, but for a pear tree a short life and a merry one is the most profitable. What use is a tree of any kind if it does not give regular crops of saleable fruit? If by this method, I can get a crop that will more than pay for high-priced land every year, what matters it if my trees do die twenty or thirty years sooner than those of some man who is coddling a lot of barren trees ? What I want is more results while I live." At the recent Western New York Horticultural Meeting, President Barry showed some very fine winter pears. He has done the same thing for many years, and this year I asked him to tell the Society how he managed to grow Winter Nelis to about four times the size that it commonly reaches under ordinary management. His answer (somewhat abbreviated) was that trees growing in rich ground were severely pruned in late winter, and the fruit thinned so;r!ewhat, if necessary, when partly grown. The latter, how- ever, under his man's severe pruning, was rarely necessary. His man pruned more severely than he himself would if he had it to do, but the results certainly were all that could be wished for. The same results may be reached by thinning the canes of red raspberries and black- berries — Green's F G GOOSEBERRY MILDEW. T has been a theory of mine for some years that all one requires to produce a perfect gooseberry is to give them plenty of sunlight, a free circulation of air, and keep the soil about them well mulched with hard- wood ashes. Whether this theory is sound and to be depended on in all seasons I would not like to give a voucher. But I will say with positive- ness that gooseberry mildew cannot be prevented by the use of Bordeaux mixture. Three years ago I gave up the use of ashes. Two years ago 1 saw indica- tions of mildew on the leaves of my bushes, the fruit all having been ki'led by the spring frosts I at once sprayed with Bordeaux mixture, it being then in the month of August. Last year I pre- pared early and w^hile the buds were opening I gave the first spraying. .\n- other application was given when the blossom was fading, and a third about ten days later, when the fruit was form- ing. The last application was a very thorough one, as I saw indications of mildew on the tender shoots. In less than three weeks the ground was covered with fruit, and there was scarcely a clean berry to be found on the bushes. One side of the fruit would be coated with the mixture and the other with mildew, and the many cases the mildew had developed under the coating of the mixture. My neighbor. Dr. Hurlburt, had an experience with Bordeaux mixture pre- cisely similar to mine ; but on his bushes, which he had treated early in the spring with an application of ammoniacal copper corbonate solution he had a clean handsome crop. I still believe had I continued ray system of cultivation with the annual application of ashes, I would have had no mildew; but the disease once in it requires a more radical remedy than air, sunlight and ashes, though all are good. What that remedy is I would like to know That it is not to be found in Bordeaux mixture I am now satisfied. T. H. Race. Mitchell. 185 WHEN TO PRUNE STREET TREES. fASSING along one of the streets of our city to-day, I noticed a man trimming some very fine shade trees of about twelve years' growth, consisting of maples and elms. From every cut on the maples the sap was dropping almost a stream, in some cases it was oozing out and spread- ing over the bark of the tree ; the elms, of course, were not bleeding so freely. I ventured to remark that I did not think it the proper time to trim shade trees, giving as my reason that at this season of the year there was a great loss of sap, especially in maples, and that I did not think that a cut made now would heal over as quickly as if cut in June, after the sap had gone up and the foliage was out. The trimmer stated that so far as he was personally concerned, he did not know much about that, but said he had been told that March was a good time in which to trim such trees. And I have no- ticed that our City Park Commissioner is busily engaged with a staff of men trimming the city shade trees. Now, Mr. Editor, I write for infor- mation in reference to this matter ; for my own part I do not consider that shade trees, or any other trees, should be trimmed at this season of the year. I would like very much if you would give your opinion on this subject, as you no doubt have had actual experi- ence in trimming, both shade and fruit trees. I should also like to have the opinion of others, through your valua- ble Journal, especially on the trimming of shade trees, such as maples, elms, etc., and what is the best time to trim. Will a large limb, say, from one to three inches in diameter, cut now, heal over as quickly as if cut in June ? or do you think a cut made now will heal over at all? Is a tree not injured more by the sap running from a cut made now, than by the loss of vitality in pro- ducing the foliage on these limbs, if taken out in June ? I trust my enquiries are not out of place, and that anyone who may have studied this important matter of trim- ming street trees, may give the result of their experiments, or knowledge, through your paper. A Constant Reader. Toronto, Match, i8g~. HOUSE PLANTS. Dust, insects, dry air and over-water- ing are the principal difficulties that they have to contend with.- By arranging some light covering to put over them while the room is being swept, and an occasional syringing in the bath-tub, kitchen sink or elsewhere supplemented by a sponging the leaves of all sniootli leaved plants, this great enemy to plant health, may be kept under. Insects may be mainly kept off by hand picking and a brush; if needed apjjly tobacco water, or arrange a liox or barrel in which they may be thoroughly fumigated with tobacco smoke. Over watering kills many plants ; pots in the house, especially the handsome glazed ones, should be provided with abundant drainage — broken pots, cin- ders, oyster .shells, anything to make open layer at the bottom ; then a layer of moss to keep the earth from washing down, and then a soil made so open by sand that it will allow the water to pass through. With these precautions there is no danger, but where the surface of the soil is muddy an hour after watering, there is something wrong and plants will not thrive. A. H. Ca.meron. Th'crlon, Out. 1 86 SPRAVIXG FRUIT FOR SCAB AND ROT ti^iS'Sii 4 APFLICtTIONS OrBOKOCAU/U K}.>;f^\ jAfruCttlONt tr BoKOCAUJr M I 1 ^pfLCs FneerHouScAB, ls^\^ PARTLY ScAaeeo ^HH ,8ADLr ScAeeco DiAGK AM V. Showing the Percentage of apples of different grades. From spraved and unsprayed trees. Fig. 1119.— Supt. of few perfectly free, and those sprayed with iHE Report of the Spraying for Ontario will soon be issued, in connection with our Fruit Growers' Report, and, notwithstanding the comparajtive immunity of apple scab generally last season, it will still show plain and posi- tive proof of the benefits of spraying. The real question for our experiment stations to consider is not how many ap- plications may be given with benefit, but how many will give sufficiently better results to warrant the expense. Six ap- plications are too many for the ordinary farmer, if half that number will give ap- proximately as good results. Experi- ments in Delaware Experiment station gave results as shown in accompanying table in which the unsprayed gave very Bordeaux mixture very few scabbed ones. It is noticeable that there is very little difference between the results from three and four applications. It appears that the early spraying is what counts, and that which is done after the fruit is the size of peas does not always give sufficiently better results to warrant the expense. In one instance three appli- cations of the Bordeaux were found to give an increase of first grade fruit of five fold over the quantity from trees not sprayed. These three applications should be made as follows : — (i) Before blooming, (2) after bloom drops, and (3) when fruit is size of peas. We are speaking only of the scab and rot in the remarks above made. RICHARDA OR CALLA LILY. The bulbs are planted in the fall in a 7 inch pot, the soil used being a mixture of sand, loam and well-rotted manure, in which place the bulb, and after watering freely, place the pot under a table or bench in the conserv- atory, not necessarily excluding the light entirely. They will appear not to make any progress for at least five or six weeks, just as in the treatment of hyacinths, tulips and other winter- flowering bulbs. After having remained under the bench for the required time. they may be brought to the light and freely watered until they have finished flowering. Previous to blooming a lib eral amount of liquid fertilizer may be applied, which will greatly improve the flower, as well as brighten the white spots on the leaves. After flowering allow the plant to grow for at least six or eight weeks longer, when the bulb may be taken out of the pot and exposed to the sun until thoroughly dried, when they will be in proper form for replanting in the fall. 187 c a 13 3, a. • = -a 111 T y = I £.=■= if « 1 5 c u a Z ■/-. < ¥ £ c 3 E U > ? Si o - £ o 1^ •3 y 10 = = kl S k - = ti XI 3 II 9} ■H a Z « 3 .2 c- J o . s K a O a . ■* Hi .':^ 3 0 a o o i J - « I "^ = — ii -o j= •- 5 •OS ast" 3 d a, 2 5 S^ 2 c a e 23 CS hfoE »•? «-i B •S Ss •C* . o "3 -^^ eeui ■ III . o a^ = a.CE d OIK = cca = = — St S "J2 £g 1?5 1, ,0 S -2 S o — Jute— £ , 03 ~ td 8 •^5 j'i ■ ■ • C O « '• ■a sSc fg 5 *5 C) OJ2 Ed • • -J .J 5 J : :£ o.g 3 : ;!•§::»: : .0 o S « 3< .^ .J 2 I > I , o ■o « _ S c- a. £=S I Og S-'O I -ill! Il ^tfl _ g.^ o ^|£ '^i j= o a -- s ^ S - = =• ;= if =^|? . S": 'Ztl 2 S —'S ' J> ^^ nil ga s = Si; jj ti w y p _ 1^^ li^^i .5 b ! 6£.= < ,•9 iSJ=3r.-T:_ S-T-S i oi?-- |si Sags S I ^2ra ^^-o I. a * =^ S S i- ■5' mm M flok^j' @apd^Q aod ]^alor). ^» CYCLAMENS. Sir, — Will you kindly give treatment of Cyclamen. I see by a late number of this paper that the bulb should never be allowed to dry off, and looking up instructions in catalogue, I am told to dry them off. I have followed the latter plan, and have never suc- ceeded well. A SuRSCRiHKB, Seaforth. It was formerly thought a good plan to dry off the young Cyclamen bulb in summer ; but the best cultivators have now abandoned the custom and better success is obtained. After blooming, they may be grown a second year by drying moderately and resting and re- potting. The second year the flowers are earlier and smaller, after which it is not advisable to save the plants, as young seedling plants will give so much better results. A writer in Ftrk's Maga- zine writes : I last year resolved to try Persian cy- clamens in the same way we treat cal" las, eupatoriums, and a host of other things, viz. : planted out in the open ground in May. We selected a border close to a wall, and having dug it deeply and given it a good dressing of manure, the cyclamens were planted out about one foot apart each way ; and, beyond keeping them free from weeds, they re- ceived no attention whatever until Sep- tember. Then they had produced fine heads of young foliage, and many were showing flowers. They were therefore carefully lifted with good balls of earth, and the way in which the roots clung to the manure, and their healthy, vigorous look proved that they liked a good rich diet and plenty of it. They certainly were altogether more satisfactory than if they had been kept in pots. PROPAGAIION OF ORNAMENTAL SHRUBS. r is much to be regretted that the propagation of many of our orna. mental shrubs is so little under- stood by amateur gardeners. There is nothing more pleasing to the eye than this class of plants, and as they can be had in a succession of bloom through- out the whole season from early spring until late autumn they should be as eagerly cultivated, especially by the rural population, as either flowering or foliage plants which decorate the gar- dens of the small city lots. Where grounds are of a sufificient size to show their beauty there is nothing to compare with these queens of Nature. A very interesting book might be written on the propagation of shrubs, their season of blooming, height and general appearance, color and form of flowers, general situation of sun or shade, their capabilities of resisting cold, best method of protection during winter months, etc. The multiplying of many of them is a perfectly simple matter, and when under- stood is both easy and interesting. To propagate from cuttings as a rule, wood should be selected from the cur- rent year's growth that has been well ripened ; make the cuttings eight to ten inches long, dig a trench along a stretch- ed line, keep the rows straight and from two to three feet apart or even more if the plants have to stand many years in the nursery row. Place the back of the spade to the line, the earth should be thrown out on the side furthest from the operator making a V shaped trench, so that when the cuttings are laid in on the side next the line they will not fall over, place the cuttings in the trench from four to six inches apart, partially fill in with the soil thrown out, and firm the soil at the base of the cuttings with a piece of wood made for the purpose, say five feet long, two by six inches O square at the lower end, the rest may be rounded ofif to make it handy and light, the earth is only to be " firmed " not rammed too tight, but it must be brought snugly against the base of the cuttings which should be placed in the trench so as to leave the top bud or eye exposed above the ground after the trench is filled in level. The cuttings are best made the end of October, or beginning of November, when the wood has well ripened ; some people advocate planting cuttings in the autumn, but I prefer to tie them in bunches by twisting a wire round them (twine sometimes rots) and burying in a dry place where the water will not re- main on the surface of the ground, doing the planting in the spring as des- cribed. The object of making the cut- tings in the fall is so that the callus may form at the base ; this effort of Nature always takes place previous to the young rootlets being formed, and this callus process goes on during the winter months so that growth begins earlier in the spring, than it would other- wise do if the cuttings were made in spring, giving the plant a longer season and consequently greater growth during summer. Many shrubs may be grown by taking cuttings in May or June, after the leaves are expanded and some new wood is made, but they must be kept watered and shaded for a short period until they get time to root ; a little mulch on the ground will also help to keep the soil moist. The lower leaves of these green cuttings must be removed, but the upper ones are left above the ground. If the 91 HOW TO GROir ASTERS AND PHLOX. cuttings have to be kept for a long time, oiled paper should be used for an out- side wrap to keep the parcel damp. Appended is a few of the shrubs that may be grown from cuttings : any plant can be propagated hy layering : — Althea, Cytisus, Carolina Allspice, Deutzia, Honeysuckle, Hydrangea pani- culata, Japan Rose, Siberian Pea tree. Smoke tree, Spiraea (a large class of plants), Weigelia, etc., will all succeed without much difficulty. P. E. BUCKE, London, Out. HOW TO GROW ASTEES AND PHLOX. ANY owners of small gardens are deterred from growing as freely as they would like, such very desirable flowers as Asters and Phlox Drummondi, from the mistaken idea that to be successful with them they must buy plants ready to set out or grow them in a hot-bed. If plants are bought the expense is quite a serious item if many are wanted, while the care of a hot-bed I have found m my experience to be one of the most troublesome things connected with a garden, only those who can give their whole attention to it can hope to suc- ceed. The weather is so fickle in the spring that only constant watchfulness will prevent disaster ; the neglect of an hour may result from a sudden change of temperature in the freezing or burn- ing up of your plants. I find it quite satisfactory with all such plants to sow the seed in the open air as early in the spring as the ground can be got into a seedable condition, in a warm sheltered spot, and transplanted when large enough. The best sort for a seed-bed is a good heavy loam, stiff enough not to fall away from the roots when you are transplanting, as a sandy soil is apt to do. Rake the bed with a sharp steel rake till the soil is as fine as you can make it. Mark furrows 15 inches apart and ^ in. deep, drop the seed 2 to 3 in. apart, cover and firm the earth well over the row. A common hoe is a very con- venient tool for that purpose, a good pat with the back of it brings the earth into close contact with the seed, which is a very important element of success in the planting of all small seeds. As soon as your plants are — for asters 3 to 4 in., and for phlox 5 to 6 in high, they are ready for transplanting, which is best done on a cloudy day after rain. Re- move with a garden trowel two out of every three plants in the row to wherever wanted ; those that are left are at a suit- able distance apart for flowering, and make a good reserve for cut flowers, when you can cut freely without robbing your border, and also serve if you grow named varieties to keep the names of each sort without labeling the plants in the border. Last season plants of Phlox Drum- mondi grown in this way from seed sown May 4th, came into flower on July 12th, and remained in bloom till November. Asters sown April 21st, came into flower August 2nd, were at their best from August 15th to September 5th, and were all over when frost came. To have the best flowers, which are always the first to open, in bloom at exhibition time, it would be well to make a second sowing two or three weeks later. There may be some kinds of asters that require a longer season to reach maturity than is available planting in this way, but I have found it a perfect success with the following varieties : — • Comet, Victoria, Dwarf, Chrysanthe- mem, Queen of the Market, doliath, limperor. Rose, Globe, Truffants, Peony, Perfection, (^)uilled ("lerman, Prince of Wales, Japanese Ciiant, etc Ottawa. R. B. W iivri;. 192 VIOLETS. Z^ rsiHESE "wee modest blue flow- ers'' are never out of fashion, all the world loves them for their sweet refreshing fragrance. Favored indeed are they who live in climates where the violet will live with- out protection and flourish out of doors. Among all violets, whether wild or cul- tivated, our choice for outdoor culture at least, is the Double Russian. With us it is decidedly the hardiest double violet. The foliage is distinct, the flowers are unusually double, very large, and a lovely deep unshaded pur- ple in color. For fragrance it is almost unequalled, and it is the only double variety that will survive the winter here in good condition without protection. It is to be regretted that so fine a va- riety positively cannot be forced for winter flowers. With the aid of a cold frame they may be had in flower very early in the spring. This simple cover- ing of glass starts them growing long be- fore those in the open ground, bringing them into flower here easily by the loth of April, and when grown in this manner, nice long flower stems are always se cured. The double English violet of some catalogues turns out to be syn- onymous with this. The single varieties are mostly quite hardy. There are dozens of varieties. European catalogues generally show long lists of them, but comparatively few of them find favor in .American commerce. The variety California is at present im- mensely popular, it bears flowers of sur- prising size, and has the additional re- commendation of very long flower stems, and robust growth. It forces admirably; the flowers have found a ready market during the past two winters, and the subtle violet disease, the nightmare of those who grow the violet for winter flowers, seems as yet to have spared the California. Luxonne, a new French introduction, is now heralded as having a larger, more open bloom than the above variety, and likely to eclipse it. The double flowering sorts have a charm all their own, and excepting the Russian all are capricious here under out- door culture, and many and ingenious are the devices we hear of to winter them safely. Water seems almost more fatal to them during their dormant season than frost. We have seen plants growing in a real favorable situation, utterly destroyed by a quick thaw followed by frost surround- ing thecrowns by ice; plants beside them, enclosed by rough boards and covered with hot-bed sash, to keep off" rain and snow, come through grandly. Again, if the sash were leaky, they have killed quite as badly, as those unprotected. -Anything that holds much water like coal ashes or rotted manure, must be avoided, newly fallen tree leaves or ever- green branches are most satisfactory. To cover a bed in late fall with a simple frame of one inch boards and a well glazed sash, is really very little trouble, and one may then always depend upon a profusion of flowers in the spring. Swanley white, a sport from Marie Louise, is really unique, it bears large, very fragrant pure white flowers. Marie Louise, the best known of all, very popu- lar for winter flowers, has blue flowers with base of petals white. Neapolitan light blue a very pleasing color. Lady Hume Campbell, is in color identical with M. Louise in color, ex- cepting that it is a shade deeper, its con- stitution is stronger, and in many places •93 KA TSURA TREE—CERCIDOPHYLL UM JAPONICUM. it has supplanted that variety for forcing. Farquhar is a new candidate that proves scarcely as dark in color as the intro- ducer claimed, however, it is grower, distinct in color and foliage; well worth further trial. Webster Bros. Hamilton, Out. KATSURA TREE — Cercidophyllum Japonicum. "r^ICH as we are in native species ^i of trees and shrubs, each having ,I\i. its own peculiar charm, there is always great interest and delight in growing those from foreign coun- tries, especially when proved to be of exceptional merit. The katsura tree, although introduced into the United States more than twenty years ago, has not yet found its way to many Canadian homes ; but anyone who sees this graceful tree cannot but have the desire of possessing a speci- men. This tree has been tested at the Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa, for seven years, and has proved perfectly hardy. It is of pyramidal form, branch- ing thickly from near the ground ; the leaves are heart-shaped and red-veined, somewhat resembling those of the Judas tree (Cercis canadensis), and are very pretty. The specimens at the Experimental Farm have not bloomed yet, but we learn that the flowers are small and inconspicuous. The katsura tree is closely related to the Magnolia family. In Japan, of which it is a native, it attains a height of from 75 to 100 feet, and is a rapid grower. W. T. Macoun. Central Experimental Farm, Ottatva. EGGLAYING OF THE CODLIN MOTH. rROF. Slingerland has been investi- gating the habits of the Codlin Moth. He finds that the egg is deposited upon the side of the fruit, and not in the calyx. It is a little smaller than a pin-head, flat- tened and transparent, so that the color of the apple shows through it. Under the microscope the surface is marked with lines, and looks like a fish scale At first they were difficult to make out, but afterwards easy. After careful investigations he found hundreds of eggs in the orchard, scat- tered over the fruits. The young worm was hatched out in about ten days, and at first is little larger than a hair. It re- mains on the surface several hours, then crawls about till it reaches the calyx. where it works its way between the lobes, and enters the cavity. The practice of spraying as soon as blossoms fall, is effective, because the calyx lobes are then open and the Paris green is readily deposited within the eye, and as the worm does not eat till it en- ters the eye, its first dose will be its destruction The closing of the calyx and lobes soon after spraying is an advantage, be- cause it keeps the poison from being washed away by rains ; but if the spray- ing is delayed till after the calyx closes, it will not be so effective. The second brood does not always enter the calyx, but eats in the side of the fruit, especially if protected by an overhanging leaf •94 ^©<^p Affiliated ^ocietic?. ^ Advantages of an Affiliated Hor- ticultural Society. Sir. — Would you kindly furnish me with •lie following points of information re Affili- ated Horticultural Societies in their relation- .sliip to the Ontario Fruit Growers' Associa- tion? 1. Are these societies founded on Provin- cial Acts, or on a constitution formulated for the purpose ? 2. If a society on the old plan now exists in a town, how can it be changed or affiliated with your society ? 3. Describe the exact terms of relationship existing between an affiliated society and your society. 4. What part of the collected funds goes to the parent society, and what advantages come to them by virtue of their relationship with the Ontario Association ? 5. By what means are the greatest advan- tages secured to the members of each society, by internal draft or by initiation fees ? 6. If the plan of affiliation is successful or helpful to local societies, how is it that this is not more generally known and everywhere adopted ? If a constitution is needed, send an example copy. This is a matter in which we could be easily much interested, and in this town of some three or four thousand people, we should be delighted with such a society working suc- cessfully amongst us. Please give whatever information you have at hand bearing on the matter, and it will lie most thankfully re- ceived. B. GOTT. Slrathroy, On/., March loth, 1S97. (i) Horticultural Societies are or- ganized under the provisions of the Agriculture and Arts Act of 1895, and the Agriculture and Arts Amendment Act of 1896. (2) By alteration of by-laws as pro- vided by Section 13. (Note. — This must be done by the members of the society, not by the Board of directors). (3) The members of an affiliated society, besides being entitled to every privilege of membership in the Fruit Growers' Association, receives the bene- fit, once a year, of a free lecture on some horticultural topic. (4) Eighty cents per annum for each member. The free lecture mentioned in last paragraph, the Monthly Magazine. (5) By the expenditure of its funds as provided by sub-divisions (a) (b) (c) (d) and (e) of subsection (2) of section (9) of the Act. The premiums men- tioned in sub-division (e) being nomi- nal only. And also, otherwise ; see sub-section (3) section (9). The words " by internal draft or by initiation fees " are not understood. (6) The members and all others interested in the district and township agricultural societies, as also horticul- tural societies which had existed for perhaps twenty years or more, were fully impressed with the idea that the sole object of their organizations was to hold an exhibition once a year. Of late years the fact became apparent that these exhibitions, as conducted, had not ad- vanced the objects contemplated by the Act. Three or four years ago an effort was made to have a few horticultural societies established and conducted more nearly in accordance with the Act. This course was regarded by most persons who were consulted as chimerical, on the principle that it was next to impossible to remove from the public mind such a deep seated impres- sion. The societies organized and worked on this basis now number about thirty, and, judging from late develop- ments, there is good reason for believ- ing that the plan has passed its trial stage, and has become a decided suc- cess. SiMCOE.— Mr. D. W. Beadle, of To- ronto, lectured to us on the evening of the 9th March. His subject was " The Production of New Varieties of Fruits and Flowers by Cross-Breeding." Af- 195 OUR AFFILIATED SOCIETIES. ter this, Mr. W. F. Kydd, of " Oakhill Farm," Simcoe, gave us a paper on " Growing and Marketing Strawberries." This was followed by a discussion on several topics, during which time Mr. Beadle answered a number of questions that were submitted to him. All pre- sent were pleased at the way Mr. Beadle handled the subject of the evening. A vote of thanks was tendered Messrs. Beadle and Kydd. H. Johnson, Secretary. Report of Western New York Horticultural Society, giving pro- ceedings of the recent meeting in Roch- ester, last January ; sent only to mem- bers, but anyone may join by sending $1.00 to John Hall, Rochester. Kincardine, — We were much pleased with Mr. McNeill's lecture here on " House Plants and How to Care for them." We had an attendance of nearly 200, in spite of the rainy night. These 200 were all true lovers of fruits and flowers, and they gave the closest atten- tion from 8 to 10 o'clock. The chair was occupied by Mr. W. M. Dack, edi- tor of Bruce Reporter. AVe had also a brief musical programme. Joseph Barker, Secretary. Durham. — Mr. McNeill's lecture was given us on the 20th, on "The Horti- cultural Possibilities of a Town Lot." We had an attendance of 150, presided over by Mr. Campbell, School Inspector for South Grey. We expect larger num- bers for future lectures. Bra.mpton Horticultural Society. — The membership is steadily increasing, the number at present being no, an ad- dition of 20 over the number for 1896. Of course the inducement is attractive, every member getting the Horticul- turist for the year and its gift of one plant, tree or bulb, besides our spring distribution, which this year consists of I oz. sweet peas, i clematis, i hydran- gea (hardy) and 4 tuberoses. In the fall, each one will receive in the neigh- borhood of 80 bulbs, besides getting the Annual Report of the Fruit Growers' Association. Mr. McNeill, of Windsor, is to give us a lecture on the 22nd of March, on " How to Grow and Care for House Plants," with answers to questions that may be put to him. We have issued posters requesting all the members to be present and inviting the general pub- lic, and as the Brampton orchestra will enliven the meeting with a musical pro- gramme and the members intend, as far as possible, to have plants in flower on the tables, we expect the meeting to be a pleasant and successful one. Henry Roberts, Secretary. iq6 rSUBSCRIPTIOX PRICE, $i.oo per year, entitling the subscriber to membership of the Fruit Growers' Association of Ontario and all its privileges, including a copy of its valuable Annual Report, and a share in its annual distribution of plants and trees. REMITTANCES by Registered Letter or Post-Office Order are at our risk. Receipts will be acknowledged upon the Address Label. ADVERTISING R.\TES quoted on application. Circulation, 4,000 copies per month. LOCAL NEWS.— Correspondents will greatly oblige by sending to the Editor early intelligence of local events or doings of Horticultural Societies likely to be of interest to our readers, or of any matters which it is desirable to bring under the notice of Horticulturists. ILLUSTRATIONS.— The Editor will thankfully receive and select photographs or drawings, suitab'e for reproduction in these pages, of gardens, or of remarkable plants, flowers, trees, etc. ; but he cannot be responsible for loss or injury. NEWSPAPERS. — Correspondents sending newspapers should be careful to mark the paragraphs they wish the Editor to see. DISCONTINUANCES.— Remember that the publisher must be notified by letter or post-card when a subscriber wishes his paper stopped.- All arrearages must be paid. Returning your paper will not enable us to discontinue it, as we cannot find your name on our books unless your Post Office address is given. Societies should send in their revised lists in January, if possible, otherwise we take it for granted that all will continue members. The Proposed Bill regarding the San Jose' scale to be brought before the American Congress is still more restric- tive than the one advocated for Canada by this Journal. Not only are all trees, scions, plants and buds from foreign countries to be subjected to rigid quar- antine, but they cannot even be moved from one state to another without a cer- tificate from the Secretary of Agricul- ture, and if found infected, dealt with at the expense of the owner. The American nurserymen are indignant with the terms proposed. We think the least that our country could do would be to enact that no trees, plants, buds, scions or fruits be allowed to enter the Dominion, unless accompa- nied by a certificate from the Secretary of Agriculture for the U. S., or from the State Entomologist, that they are free from the San Jose scale. Our Energetic Me.mber at Simcoe, Mr. H. H. Groff, who writes so fre- quently for these pages, has received an honor, which is well merited. A prominent and wealthy U. S. scientific hybridist has offered him a partnership in a very important line of scientific experiment. Such men as Mr. Groflf are a credit to Ontario, for their enter- prise in originating new varieties. Canada as a Fruit Country was the subject of an address by Mr. John Craig before the Field Naturalists' Club at Ottawa, on Thursday evening, March nth. The whole Dominion was touched upon and special emphasis was laid upon the capabilities of the Province of Onta- rio. He stated that the total area in orchard, garden and vineyard in Ontario is 320,122 acres. There are about seven million bearing apple trees and about 197 OPEN LETTERS. half as many more not bearing. The yield of apples last year was about twenty million barrels. Self-sterile Apples.— The following varieties of apples are more or less self- sterile, that is, to be comparatively un- fruitful when planted in blocks by them- selves, without having other varieties near, from which their blossoms may be pollinated, viz.: — Bellefieur, Chenango, Gravenstein, King, Spy, Red Astrachan, Roxbury Russet, Spitzenburg, Talman Sweet. RoBT. JToGG, LL.D., author of "Fruit Manual " (English) and of " British Po- mology," Secretary of the British Pomo- logical Society, and of the Fruit Com- mitteeof the Royal Horticultural Society, died on the 14th of March last. Since 1886 Dr. Hogg has been editor of the Journal of Horticulture, which work is now in the hands of his son. Mr. Alex. McNeill's lecture before the Waterloo Horticultural Society on the 23rd of March, was on "The Horti- cultural Possibilities of a Town Lot." There were about one hundred present, and the lecture much appreciated. Past Experiences and Future Pros- pects of Fruit Growing in the Canadian North-West, is the subject of a paper read before the Royal Society of Canada, by Dr. William Saunders. The Cold Storage Warehouse for experimental shipments, which has been located at Grimsby, was completed and iced by about April 15th. It is just large enough to hold about one car- load of fruit at a time. The first ship, ments will be made early in August, and kept up weekly until the scheme has been well tested. Tomatoes, early ap- ples, and peaches will probably consti- tute the first cargo. The Japan Chestnuts promise to be profitable in Delaware, possibly they would also succeed in Southern Onta- rio, and it is quite worth while that our experiment stations should test them and report. One good point about them is their early and abundant bear- ing, but the quality is not equal to the American chestnut. There are also several varieties of European chestnuts, e.g.. Paragon, Ridge- ley, etc. Of these, the Paragon is counted the finest. A writer in R. N. Y., speaking from experience, says it is a healthy, robust grower, very prolific, and usually produces from three to seven nuts to the burr. Cold Storage. — The Hon. Minister of Agriculture has made arrangements with the following lines of steamers for cold storage service, viz. : — The Elder, Dempster Co., Montreal to Avonmouth; Allan and Thompson lines, weekly, Montreal to London ; Allan and Dom- inion lines, weekly, Montreal to Liver- pool ; and, possibly, Allan and Thomp- son lines, Montreal to Glasgow ; also the Furness line, from St. John, N.B., and Halifax, N.S , to either Liverpool or London, fortnightly. A special service of refrigerator cars will also be furnished on the leading railway lines. The Dominion will have an officer in Montreal to supervise the transference of the perishable products from car to boat, or if necessary to place them in a cold storage warehouse until the ship is ready. Another officer will no doubt be placed in England to give us shippers all needed information. 19S OPEX LETTERS. Professor Crak:'s Exi'erlments in Southern Ontario. — On the 20th inst. we had a call from Prof. John Craig, Horticulturist, of the Central Experi- mental Farm, Ont. He is investigating the grape trouble, known as the "Yellow Leaf," and arranging to carry on plot experiments with fertilizers, as the as- sumption that soil conditions at the present time are unfavorable ; and that this condition may be corrected by the judicious use of chemical fertilizers. For the prevention of plum and peach rot, and peach curl, Mr. Craig is con- ducting some experiments with Mr. Hil- born in Essex, and Mr. Burwell in Lin- coln Counties, with the object of finding a mixture that will not be injurious to the peach foliage, and at the same time be cheap, effective, and easily applied. Pe.\ch Planting, according to Mr. Craig, is going on vigorously in the County of Essex. At Ruthven, for ex- ample, a small station near Kingsville, he saw four car loads of peach trees, all for planting near that point. SiN'CE the San Jose Scale has been found at Chatham, on trees imported from New Jersey, and the evidence seems to show that it has lived through one Canadian winter, Mr. Craig advises the utmost caution in importing trees from our neighbors to the South. ALBERT KEGEL'S HONEYSUCKLE (LONICERA ALBERT/, KEGEL). rEW hardy flowering shrubs outrival the honeysuckle in beauty and pro- fusion of blossom, delicacy of fra- grance, and general usefulness for orna- mental purposes. The well-known bush honeys\ick\e( L. tartarica )\s a prominent object in nearly every old garden, while the Scarlet Trumpet (L. sempervirens) and English ( L. Periclymenum) honey- suckles are used very extensively for training over verandas, summer houses or walls. Of late years many new species of greater or less merit have been intro- duced from foreign lands, and among them one of the most beautiful and desirable is Lonkera Alherti. This charming honeysuckle, which is a native of Turkestan, has been thoroughly tested at the Dominion Experimental Farms, and has proven hardy even in the North- west Territories. It is a small but grace- ful shrub, with pendulous branches, and is intermediate in habit of growth be- tween the bush and climbing types ; the leaves are narrow, dull green above, and glaucous beneath. The flowers which open about the first week of June, are of a bright pink or rose color, almost bell-shaped, and growing in clusters. When in full bloom this shrub is a very pleasing and attractive object. It is well worthy of a place in every Cana- dian garden. W. T. Macoun. Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa. ^^m^ 199 -^ ^b^<^\]or) ^pa^^p. ^ Crinums. 933. SiK, — (Jan _you tell nie, through your valuable Magazine, how to succeed in growing Crinums and how old they need to be before blooming t T. ToBiN, Ferym. Reply by Prof. H. L. Huit, O.A.C., Giielph. All the authorities I have read on the subject speak of it as free-flowering and easy of culture. Our own experi- ence, and that of several to whom I have spoken about it, shows it to be quite the reverse. We have a few fine Crinum bulbs, which have been well cared for for the past two or three years, since we have had them, but they have not yet favored us with a flower. C. L. Allen, Floral Park, N.Y.. has written an excellent book on " Bulbs and Tuberous-rooted Plants," and might satisfactorily answer the question. Reply by C. L. Allen, Floral Park, N. Y. SuBSCRiiiER. — I St. The Crinum is a provoking subject to manage ; while it is of the easiest culture, it is a very dif- ficult one to grow, away from its native habitat. Most of the species are ever- green, and require but little rest ; dur- ing this period they do not dry up, simply rest, and must have occasional watering — very light — but sufficient to make good the loss by evaporation. This necessitates their being grown in a greenhouse, where they can be grown without any difficulty, only that they require a very large pot, and consider- able room, which, in view of their short period of bloom, can be better em- ployed. C. Amabele, the most showy of the class, will require a tub, two feet in diameter, which for an uninteresting plant, excepting when in bloom, is an expensive waste of room. Many of the species can be grown nicely in the garden, when treated in the same manner as the Gladiolus, but they will annually grow smaller, from the fact that our seasons are not suffi- ciently long to perfect their growth. Grown in this way they will rarely flower more than twice. 2nd. Offsets, in the greenhouse, will make flowering bulbs in two years. Cherries for Ppoflt in Lincoln Co. 936. Sir, — Please name most piofitable chenies to grow for market in Southern On- tario. A SrBSCRlBER, Qrimshy. We would recommend of the sweet, Early Purple, Governor Wood, Black Tartarian. Mezel, Napoleon and Wind- sor ; and of the sour, Richmond and Montmorency. Wliite Grubs in Strawberry Beds. 937. Sir, — What must I do in order to destroy the large white strawberry root- eating grub or maggot ? R. BuRN-s, ParkhiU, Ont. Reply by Br. /as. Fletcher, Ot/atva. The insect referred to is probably one QUESTION DRAWER. of the White Grubs, a name given to the preparatory stages of the different spe- cies of the June Beetles These are frequently very destructive in strawberry beds, in the second year of their growth. For this reason many fruit growers have adopted that method of growing straw- berries in which the young plants are set out one spring and the crop, is taken from them the next season and the plants are then ploughed up, and a fresh bed is started. The first year the plants are so small that the beetles are not attracted to them to lay their eggs, and by plow- ing up the second year, if eggs have been laid that season the young grubs are de- stroyed before they have grown large enough to be very destructive. Mr. Craig tells me that this method is now generally practised by growers who cul- tivate strawberries in a large way for commercial purposes, so that in this happy instance we have both a satisfac- tory horticultural method, and one which serves as a good remedy for controlling one of the worst insect pests of this im- portant crop. Small Flies in Window Gardens. 938. Sir, — How can I get rid of those very small Hies that come out of the rich earth in the potted plants ? Does it show it is too rich ■; R. H. Light, Kingston. Reply by Dr. /as. Fletcher, Entomologist, Experimental Farm, Ottawa. It is impossible to give the exact name of the fly referred to above without spe- cimens, because there are several spe- cies, the lanw or maggots of which occur in the earth of house plants. It is pro- bably a species belonging to the genus sciara, and is possibly sciara iiiconstans of Fitch, but it is just as likely to be some other species. I do not know of any better method of preventing the presence of these mag- gots than the liberal use of very finely ground tobacco du^. This, of course, is a very safe thing to use, and other remedies would probably be less safe with the comparatively tender house- plants. The use of such substances as kerosene emulsion, or hot water even, and especially of bisulphide of carbon, are all attended with some danger, ex- cept when used with caution and some preliminary experience. The efficacy of the tobacco dust is much greater if finely ground. The question as to whether the soil is too rich must be decided by the be- haviour of the plants. If too rich soil is used, the plants are apt to run too much to leaf instead of blossom. The maggots of these flies feed on the decay- ing vegetable matter in soils, so that their presence would merely indicate that the soil contains this material. The tobacco dust not only destroys insects but has valuable fertilizing qualities. Borer in Acacia. 939. .Sir, — Can you give me a preventive, or a destroyer of the borer that has begun working in the blackthorn acacia ? We have beautiful specimens of the honey acacia, forty feet in height and thirty-five years old, and our grounds would be spoiled if these were de- stroyed. Mrs. \V. L. Tvson, < larUhunj. Reply by /as. Fletcher, Experimental Farm, Otta^va. I regret to say that there is no prac- tical remedy for the Locust Borer. When the trees are not too large, they can, of course, be washed with one of the alka- line washes, which are so efficacious against the well-known borers in fruit trees ; but when the locust or acacia trees have grown to a large size, it is impoisible to do anything to preserve them against the attacks of the borer. QUESTION DRAWER. Fertilizers for Strawberries. 910. Sir,— lu June number of HoRTl- CULTUKIST I noticed you reeommeud nitrate of soda and pliospliate of lime as a fertilizer. I have a few acres of strawberries, and wish to apply it. Please tell in next No. what proportion, and how to apply it without in- juring foliage ; or would wood ashes do in place of lime ; also, when to apply it. Reply by H. L. Hutt, B. S. A. of O. A. C, Guelph. Articles recommending this or that fertilizer for this or that ciop, without any reference whatever to the kind of soil upon which it is to be used, are very often misleading. Probably the most unsatisfactory kind of questions we are called upon to answer are those relating to the use of conmiercial or special fer- tilizers, because they can be answered only on general principles. Barnyard manure is a general fertilizer, and we seldom go astray in applying it to any soil for most any crop. Com- mercial or special fertilizers are intended to supply some special element of fer- tility, and their value upon a particular soil depends very largely upon the rich- ness or deficiency of the soil in that particular element. The question then is not only what is the best fertilizer for some particular crop, but what is the best fertilizer for my particular soil ? I believe this cannot be njore satisfac- torily answered than by each one experi- menting for himself on a small scale. The information so obtained would be of infinitely more value to such an experi- menter than all the theories laid down by writers. Camellias and Heliotropes. 9ty (20) feet. Kindly make correction. L. b"'AiRBANKS, Whitb;/, Ont. Falling Gooseberries. 943. Sir, — What is best to prevent the dropping off of gooseberries when about half, or two-thirds grown ; there is a worm in every fallen berry ? R. Burns, Parkhill. Reply by /as. Fletcher, Central Experi- mental Farm, Ottawa. The dropping of Mr. Burns' goose- berries is undoubtedly due to the inju- ries of the gooseberry fruit worm {Da- kruma convolutdla.) The egg from which the caterpillar emerges is laid by a small dull gray moth on the green fruit. As soon as it hatches, the young caterpillar bores into a berry and feeds upon the pulp. After it has eaten out one berry it fastens another to it by silken threads and devours its contents. In this way it sometimes destroys 4 or 5 berries before it is full-grown, which is about the time the gooseberries attain QUESTION DRAWER. their full size. It then lets itself down by a silken thread and buries itself a short distance beneath the surface of the ground, where it spins a dark brown cocoon, inside which it remains until the following spring. The only remedy which has given any results, is picking by hand all the injured berries as soon as they show by turning prematurely red, that they are attacked. Letting chickens run among the bushes both before the fruit is ripe, and late in the autumn, it is claimed is a good plan, as the hens devour many of the insects. It is also advised to destroy the fallen leaves and rubbish from beneath the bushes in au- tumn, so as to destroy any cocoons spun at the surface of the ground. Cranberry Growing. 944. .'^iR, — Would you or some of your members give me iuformation about planting anil cultivation of Cranberries. Would you plant seed in the marsh or start in a beut there are one or two important difl'erences, which make the San .Jose .Scale infinitely harder to exter- minate. The Bark Louse has but one hrood a year and winters over in the egg state. The San Jose Scale is viviparous — that is, it does not lay eggs — and there are several liroods during the year. The female winters over in the nearly full-grown condition. It commences to bring forth living young in May, and continues the process day "after day for six weeks. By that time some of its pro- geny are also breeding ; from 38 to 40 days being about the time occupied by a single generation. Three female .Scales if left unmolested on a tree would probably kill the tree in three or four years. These facts indicate the rapidity with which this new enemy increases and the consequent difficulty of controlling it. Kerosene emulsion applied in May and June has been recommended ; but the diluted emulsion, while fatal to the crawling larvae, will not destroy all the .Scales ; and as the young larva- have formed a protective scale two days after birth, this remedy would not be satisfactory unless it were applied day after day for a long period. Pure kerosene emulsion even, is not always fatal to all the Scales, and will seriously liurt a peach tree. In the experiments I have referred to, of which there were more than forty in number, a great many washes and emulsions were used, including all the California washes. The following conclusions were arrived at. 1. The California washes are hardly effec- tive in the East, even when the usual strength is doubled. ■J. Lye washes are too expensive when used at the necessary strength, and then the health '"i the tree is endangered. 3. Pure kerosene kills the Scales, and the peach tree, too. The apple might stand it in midwinter, but an element of risk is in- troduced. 205 OPEN LETTERS. 4. Kerosene emulsion, pure, endangers the life of a peach tree, anil diluted with one part of water is not thoroughly effective. 5. The Resin wash, to be effective, must be six times the summer strength, and its preparation then becomes cumbersome and expensive. 6. The Whale-oil soap wash, 2 lbs. to the gallon, is absolutely effective against all the Scales. Two thorough drenchings, one after the foliage has dropped in the fall, the other just before the blooming period, are enough. This wash is thin enough when cool to lie sprayed through the ordinary nozzle. The evidence gathered everywhere is all in favor of this whale-oil soap wash. Of course where trees are very badly infested— which one hopes may never be the case in Canada — it would be advisable to cut out and burn the infested portions at once. As to this vile addition to our too numer- ous pests, it is an excellent thing to be alarmed in time. Forewarned is forearmed. Martin Buerell, ,5c. Catharines. Fruit Growing- in Manitoba. Sir, — The following are a few brief notes and observations on the fruit harvest here during the past simimer : Apples. — Nine different varieties bloomed, six of these for the first time, but five only carried fruit to maturity, namely, Lieby, Anisette, Wealthy, Whitney and Blushed Calville. The latter is from Prof. Budd, of Iowa Agricultural College, six years planted. The fruit was larger, one specimen measuring ten and a half inches in circumference, but there w'as no blush : fruit dead ripe when picked on 15th September. Lieby, medium size, flatfish, highly colored ; ripe 26th Sept. Anisette, medium size, somewhat pointed, dull green in color : ripe •2.5th September. Wealthy, large, highly colored ; ripe 30th Sept. Whitney, ripe 30th September. Crah Applen. — These were an extra heavy crop, the limbs of Transcendent and Montreal Beauty having to be proped up with sticka to prevent them from breaking down. (General (irant, Virginia and Sweet Russet borethisyear for the first time The first mentioned variety was poor, but the last tw.) were extra large, and fine in quality. All parties having crab apple trees in this locality had fine crops. One grower sold eight barrels. A good mar- ket is found in Morden for all we have to sell. The fruit is superior to that which comes from Ontario. I know this will sound rather strange, but it is nevertheless true. Plums — The early ones were a failure. Cheney nuitured a full crop of "plum pockets," and the same may be said of Wyant, Chip- pawa anil Hockford, although not to the same extent as the first named. Luedloffs Long Red and Newton Egg were loaded almost to the breaking down with plums of very fair quality The trees were almost entirely free from " plum pockets." Bicksley, a new var- iety, gave a few specimens this year for the first time, of very fine quality. The Weaver spurs are growing finely. (Jherrieji. — Bessarabian, planted in the spring of 1893, matured a few specimens of very fine cherries, for the first time. One of Budds Seedlings (No. 475), planted 1892, carried a number of fine large, bright reil cherries to maturity. Shubianca also carried some fruit, but the quality did not impress me very favorably. Grapes. — Moore's Early carried over one hundred bunches. One-third of these ripened fairly well. I tried girdling the limb by taking out a ring of bark from the bearing canes early in August, and found that it has- tened ripening eight to ten days One of the three Gibb grapes, planted in 1894, died the first year ; the remaining t» o have grown well. I expect some specimen bunches next summer. Bacchus and Virgennes, planted 1895, are alive and made fine growth last summer. Small Fruits.— Black- Cap Raspbei-ries bore an extra heavy crop. Older came into full bearing last summer. The crop was some- thing grand. I am advising the planting of this sort here. The canes are easier managed, being of a more sprawling habit than the old varieties, which counts for a good deal in a prairie country where winter protection is essential to success. Fruit, rather soft, a poor shipper. The red raspberries bore a full crop. Kenyon, a good deal more than the others. I never saw red raspberry bushes carry so much fruit Of the six Sarah rasp- berry bushes, planted spring 1895, five lived and have done well. I will have enough young plants this spring to plant a row 150 feet long. No protection is given to any variety of red raspberries. Gooseberries were an entire failure with me. Currants an average crop. Strawberries, where not drowned out, were a good crop. I have been growing the Snider blackberry for years, but the fruit fails to ripen sufficiently early enough to escape in- jury by frost. Windom Dewljerry vines were the most heavily laden with fruit on the farm the past season. 1 have only a few plants, but their bearing the past two years encour- ages me to enlarge my patch. The rabbits have done a great deal of dam- age to me this year. About (iOO have been already killed around the garden, but they appear to be as thick as ever. I have tried various washes, but with poor results, (iunny sack wrapped around the trees is the only reliable protection. A. P. Stevk.sson, Nelson, Man. Canadian Hokticultlikis' Vol.. .\X 1897. Xo. 6. A \IEW IN A GREENHOUSE AT AYR. L" R readers who have taken an in- terest in the views of the chrysanthe- mums at Guelph, will also be pleas- ed with a glimpse of what is being done in a private greenhouse at Ayr. Thewealth of huge blooms of chrysanthemums is magnifi- cent, and is enough to inspire the most uninterested with some ambition to grow these beautiful children of Japan. The other photograph of Brugmansia arborea is also good, showing this plant in a cool Sir, — I notice in Dec. '96 No. of the Can.adian Horticulturist, your query as to why more of your readers do not take more interest in your journal by writing for it. I have for some time wondered whether you cared to have any notes of experience from your read- ers or not, and therefore to show you my appreciation of your Journal, beg to send you a photograph of a view in the greenhouse here during chrysanthemum time ; our local artist failed to get a view of the entire length of the house which contained some hundreds of these lovely flowers Out of some thirty varieties the ones principally seen in the picture are Ivory, Nircus, Queen, V. H. Hollock, house This plant belongs to a class of (lolden Weddmg, Mutual Friend, Thos. ornamental plants, trees and shrubs, called Datura, which name is usually given to the annual species. The shrubby ones are known as Brugman- sias. This one is a greenhouse shrub from seven to ten feet high, which was introduced into England from Peru in '7',v We ap])end a letter, which accom- panied the photot;ra()hs : Emerson, Ada .Spaulding and Louis Bonheur Should you care to have it I would be very glad to give you some of the methods followed by me in growing these flowers to be published in some future issue. I am sir. yours very respectfully, Tnii ("lARKKNtR, (1^ " T/ie Gore." 209 FiC. lll!t. — UkUC.MANSIA AKIKIKKA, IN TIIK (iUKKNllOrSK AT AYK. \ IKC.IXIA CREI'PKR AS SCR X going over some negatives secured on a trip taken last autumn in com . _L pany with I'rof. Waugii, Horticul- turist of the Vermont Experiment Station, through the principal apple growing region of \'ermont, viz , ( Irand Island county, I came across one of which the accompanying illustration is a copy. It is offered to the readers of the HoRi'icui.iUKisT with a view of A LAWN OR 15ACK YARD El'N. with the very general use that was made — particularly about Burlington — of the Virginia Creeper, in covering stone walls, summer houses, and back yard fences. 'I'he effect late in September was pleas- ing in most instances. Here and there it was over done. The illustration shows how it was used with good effect as a lawn screen. ' The growth was luxuriant and completely hid from view the lattice l'"i<:. 1120. — Residkni calling to mind one of the useful ser- vices our vigorous and sometimes unap- preciated native Virginia Creeper may be called upon to perform. Many people, especially those from the British Isles, like to secure to them- selves a certain amount of privacy within the limits of their lawns. Hedge plants and stone walls give a stiff" formal and forbidding expression to the front lawn — other causes may also prevent the use of these tioundary agents. I was struck K AT BURLINC.TON, Vt. work fence over which it ciambered. The varying height of the screen from 5 to 8 feet took away the hedge like effect which it otherwise might bear. The grounds about the house had evidently been laid out and planted only a few years ago which suggested the possibil- ity of the vine screen being used to cover the nakedness of the lawn till the shrubs and trees were sufficient of them- selves. The effect at any rate was very pleasing. J. Cr.-mc. THE VIOLA. iN the alps in central Europe, on the Andes in S. America, as well as in our British fields and hedgerows. Violas of many species grow and flourish — true " Wildings of nature," and many of our modern garden varieties retain a robustness of constitution and are re- gardless of extremes which they must have acquired and inherited from pro- genitors who were wanderers by Hood and field. This will almost serve to show that their culture is a very easy matter for in any good ordinary garden soil which has been enriched by manure, Violas will grow, and grow well. They are not particular as to situation or ex- posure, provided they are planted out early, and get thoroughly established before the warm weather sets in. The ground should be deeply dug in spring, or as soon as frost disappears, and a liberal quantity of decomposed manure incorporated with the soil, and also a quantity of soot — say a spadeful spread over every ten square yards. Just be- fore planting, the surface should be broken up with a rake and made firm and fine, a good dry day being cho.sen for the work. Seeds may be sown now, in a shady portion of the garden, but I would advise amateurs to procure this year's requirements from any florist or nurseryman, as seedlings I think would need protection in winter. 1*'. Bkunton. Mixpkhiirst, Grimsby. DAHLIAS. Fli:. Il-Jl. II.MIM.A. 'I'-.-MvLV all the various forms and varieties of Dahlias have been obtained from some sin gle flowered varieties im[)orted tolMigland from Spain nearly onehundred years ago. Being so easily grown, Dah- lias are always prominent among our garden flowers, although of late the stiff show varieties of large size seem less popular than formerly. Indeed, the single flowered varieties have been much sought after by those who admire the Daisy and the Marguerite. Cornell Bul- letin 28, gives many interesting pointers about Dahlias, from which we give some extracts with illustrations Of late those single Dahlias have been made dwarf and compact in habit, and a race of them is known as "TomThum Single Dah- lias," which are much appreciated. To show what numbers of varieties of Dahlias have been originated, we note that in 1841 one English dealer had over 1,200 varieties. " In the forties and fifties variegated flowers were in great demand. Dahlias were striped, banded, speckled, penciled, dotted, blotched, and marked in all sorts of curious ways. There was as nmch DAHLIAS. ingenuity in the invention of these un- stable compounds as is now displayed in designs for wall paper and oil cloths. These things were catalogued under the " Fancy " class, for the English divide the large-flowering varieties into " Show " and " Fancy." The '' Show " section contains the " selfs,'' that is those varie- ihirty pure, distinct single colors in forty different forms of expression ! There was not a single new or original idea in the evolution of the dahlia until 1873 at the very earliest, and whatever freedom or grace the dahlias now have is traceable to a single plant that bloom- ed for the first time that year. Instead 1I-. .\lif A. 1'kakt. .V Wmitk (aitin 1)ahi,i\. single ties each of which has but color.'' In the evolution of the Dahlias too much attention has been paid to color, and not enough to form. Those 1,200 varieties of 1841 were too much like 1,200 variously painted balls of two sizes. How much better would it be to have of short, stiff, artificially formed rays, this flower had long, loose, flat rays with pointed or twisted ends and the peculiar red that is associated with cacti. This variety was named y«n/'f:/V, in honor of Juarez, President of Mexico, and first offered for sale in 1874, by a Dutch merchant. This was the parent of the THE OXA/JS. so-called cactus dahlias, a name which seems far-fetched now-adays. It was the color and not the form that gave the point to the comparison in the first place, and we now have a very great variety of colors in that form — colors that do not necessarily remind one of cacti. The white variety, Mn. A. Feart (¥\'-j,. 1122), has a form very similar to that of the brilliant red cactus dahlia pictured in 1879. The cactus type has been kept quite pure, and of late years it has also been modified into some of the loose and flowing forms of the Japanese chrysan- themums. The place for dahlias is the garden. — They can never have a place in land- scape gardening because the first fro^t kills them. I often think their strength is dissipated when they are strung along a walk or other border. Personally, I believe in flower beds, but not in the middle of a beautiful green lawn. Tlu' grass has a quiet story to tell, and il dahlias intrude they should be put out for disturbing the peace. THE OXALIS. M' O.ST of our housekeepers who ,..,,,, are flower lovers have taken /\ V ]_\ pleasure in the thrift and daintiness of the old-fash- ioned Oxalis rosea and also Oxa/is all'a. which they generally know as pink and white Shamrock ; but they have not dis covered half the possibilities of this gem of plants. It embraces a number of species of pretty, neat growing plants, elegant in foliage and bi'.om, the latter being produced in great profusion, and embracing a wide range of color. It is one of the most satisfactory of bulbs for window culturt For potting, use a good rich soil with a sprinkle )f sand in it, placing from one to three bulbs in a four inch pot ; stand in a dark cool place for a few weeks to root thoroughly, then remove to a sunny situation in the win- dow, or conservatory, in a temperature of about 60° Fahr. One of the best varieties for window culture is Oxalis alba illustrated by the accompanying cut. It will be seen that this is not the old Oxalis alba, but an improved Oxalis alba, having much larger blooms and of which the foliage branches out from a parent stem. Its dwarf, spreading habit and profuse bloom make it unsuriiasscd as a table plant. Flowers and leaves fold at night and open in the morning as with the old variety ; unless the plant is grown in a partially shaded situation, when the flowers remain open all night- O.xalis Bermuda buttercup, the newest of yellows, is of more luxuriant growth, and blooms in greater profusion than 0.xalis alba ; one bulb will be sufficient for a five or six inch pot. The flowers are of purest buttercup yellow, and of great substance. Well-grown plants have produced as many as seventy- five flower stems, and over one thousand blooms in one season. The bulbs of this Oxalis have been grown in the congenial soil and climate of Bermuda, until the bulbs have attained great strength, hence the wonderful flower productiveness. I might here mention Oxalis lutea, a splendid large, canary yellow, of strong, upright growth ; the leaves of a dull green color, with a deep purple tint on the reverse side. This, in a small pot, will materially brighten up a collection of plants. \Vhile growing, the plant should be frequently turned so that all sides may get the power of the sun, that the growth may be symmetrical. Water regularly, mak- ing sure the roots, as well as the ujipcr ■4 STF./'H.tXOr/S. soil, get the water, if you wish a thrifty plant, one which will, through its season remain a thing of beauty. During the resting season, which varies somewhat with different varieties, but which usually takes place about autumn, the plants should be watered sparingly, once or twice a week according to the moisture of the atmosphere. One last word ; if you can only grow one kind, grow alba. M. HoiKJES. Coiniiwrfial (rirf/i/iDiises, Orillia. Klli. ll;i;). — 0\AL1> .\LliA (l.Ml'KUVEll). STEPHANOTIS. R WALTER T. ROSS, Sec- retary of the Picton Horticul- tural Society, sends us the photograph from which the accompanying engraving is made, with the following lines : — " I'rof. Craig, asked me to send you the photo of my Stephanotis for The Horticulturist, giving you the history of it ; he said a new picture would be STEPHANOTIS. better, and if you would prefer it, 1 will try and get one printed from the nega- tive, as I suppose the photographer still has it, and send it to you. " I grew the plant in my ofihce win- 'I'he picture does not do the plant jus- tice, as the photographer instead of hav- ing the plant and the camera on the same level, placed the plant in the street and the camera on the sidewalk, which dow, after it was started from a slip. It was nine years old when the picture was taken, and had forty-five large bunches of fragrant flowers and buds on it, which perfumed the air for i|uite a distance. was much higher, so this gives the plant a dwarfed appearance. The plant be- side the Steplianotis is a small orange tree, with two oranges on it." 216 217 ;-N7f?€ ©PCb^f'd c^i)d ]^p/jif (srapd^i}.^! STRAWBHRRY EXPERIMENTS AT GUELPH. URING the season of 1896, P' ■" '^utt carefully tei ^d one nd twenty vi. ties ries, and as a result was able in excellent paper for our meetiii^ at Kingston. In our engraving of the Garden at the College, may be seen the strawberry plot, with the stakes indicating the varieties, twelve plants of each being planted for the ex- perimental purposes. We quote the portion of the paper referring to early, late and large-sized varieties, as follows : Eaklv \'arieties. The first two or three pickings from a good early variety often prove more pro fitahle than the whole crop from a later variety. In the following list the best early varieties are ranked in the order of their yield for three pickings previous to June 15 1 « r J= TJ i jarly Varieties "o 3 J= ~ ■?> li ji • -3 S •~^ Ji'a i K ■s °- •2h2 3 "P OS tn a > ' H »■" ounces. ounces 1 Van Ueiiian B June 8 80.00 141.75 47 2 Rio B 70.75 i.-.;i.-,o 4:{ •A Mioliefs K irly H 6S'i.i 140 .M) 48 4 WartieUl.. P P n (i7.75 59.7.i 55 50 '204 110 ■204.00 li:{.-25 1 (i Kossuth . . 04 ■- B B 53 25 51 00 1S7.00 179.50 51 8 Gertrude'. 23 Fan Deman {B.) — A good grower and fairly free from rust. i\n early, perfect bloomer, one of the best to fertilize early pistillates ; season of fruiting extra early ; ranks first for early yield. The fruit is uniformly of good size and very hand- some, of a rich dark crimson color and varnished appearance ; firm and of good • ^ A 1 P B V July (i 54.50 53.25 46.25 244 50 i:w.oo 206.25 3 o 50 S Mrs. Cleveland 9 4 Dr. Arp V 29. 7.^ 163 75 32 Belle (Crawford's 51) V, 2,S.50 ISO. 50 22 6 Hatch Experiment Station 24 B 27.00 97.25 72 Edgar Queen (P). — A new variety of great promise Plant, very vigorous, but rusts considerably. Fruit large, rather light in color and moderately firm, valuable on account Fig 1 12!).-Edgak o*" ''s '^rge late yield ; Ql-ee.n. ranked first as a late variety, and second for total yield. Equinox ( B). — Plant, a free grower, but very liable t( rust. Berry, larL;i dull scarlet ; seeds few and deeply pit ted : rather unattrac- tive ; ranked second Fig. ll3o -Evli.no.x. Fig. 1131.- Mks. Clevela.m>. Mrs. Cleveland r/*;.— This vari- ety has received adverse criticism elsewhere, but has done remarkably well here. Plants are very vigorous. But rust badly ; ranks ninth for total yield, and third among the late yielders. Berry is of medium size, rather light in color and only moderately firm. L.^RiiE Berries. The comparative size of the berries of the different varieties is recorded by L^iving the weight of 50 average sized berries. In the following table those varieties bearing the largest berries are ranked according to the size of berries. 219 STR.IU-n/:R/xV /:\PERIME.\TS .IT GVEI.PIf. o Large Varieties. ° MIg J'^ % g ,0) s j: 1 K !S K ti. ounces. 1 Mary 21.50 ■■)/ V.F. f Bubaoh 1 20.50 18 F. 2 \ Philips 1 20.60 '>7 F. 1 Gaudy ....j 1950 19 s. J Belle 18.00 22 67 F. \ Marshall 18.00 F. ". ( Ohio Centennial 17.50 54 F. 17.50 HI 62 V.F. 9 Aroma 17.0C F Marshall {B). — The plants of this variety are very large, make .plenty of runners, 'and are but light- ly affected with rust. The berry is very large, dark crimson and at- tractive ; firm for so large a berry ; only moderately pro- ductive, but worthy of further trial. Mary (P).— A new variety of great pro- mise. Plants are strong and vigorous. Berry larger than any other we have ever seen ; well shaped; of good dark crimson color, and quite firm. Well worthy of trial. Bulw/i (F). — Plant large and vigorous ; beautiful foli- 9 * free from \9 « * ^ « 'U 0 ♦j/rus'^; ^ocs not \M « I? » * « # « Fig. 11;U.— BrBACH. throwout many runners, but enough for a narrow malted row. Berry Fic:. [i:« — Maky. very large and of bright showy color ; firm for so large a berry and of good quality; one of the best for home use or near market. Bi-l/e or Craivford: s 5I (/>').— Plant vigorous and healthy ; berries very large, irregular in shape, long, and many of them fan-shaped. The cuts are the e.xact size of specimens grown here. Color, bright crimson : flesh firm and of good quality. Late and very productive. EXTEXS/ON 01- FRUIT GROWIXG.—H. Williams (B).— Plants are vigorous i^^C^4 ' *-A '^ but somewhat .'■t (.y'J*,^ *,' /9X liable to rust: fairly r'^'y o 9 ' ' ' <^Sv ["■"ductive; ripens K~''ja!«a*'» ':r^ mid season. Berry * f large, very seedy : and dark crimson, and firm. A good market variety. STRAWHiiRRY Whipped Cream.— Rub two pounds and a half of strawberries through a sieve, and add half a pound of powdered sugar and one quart of whipped cream. Place a layer of maca- roons or any small sweet biscuit in a dish, add a layer of the strawberry whip, then another layer of biscuit, and con- tinue alternately until the cream is used up. Set aside in a very cold place, or on ice, and serve in the dish in which it is prepared EXTENSIOX OF FRUIT GROWING. II. By E. D. Smith, Winona. 'E can grow plums cheaper than any other place of wide area in America. We can grow them and make money at 10 cents per basket, basket included, in a year of heavy crop like the past year ; if we get an occasional crop at good prices, which we are sure to do. There is no limit to the market for plum jams, when our jam factories and can- neries can rely upon a steady supply of plums every year at moderate prices, they can then open up with confidence a trade with the tropical countries, that want our acid fruits and are willing to pay a fair price for them. I believe the low prices for our plum crop of 1896 was the best thing in the long run, we could have had. It will introduce our fruits into distant markets where they where hitherto unknown, and create a demand for our plums in countries that will in future become good customers, to say nothing of the home market in Quebec and the North-West, that will take enormous quantities of canned plums if cheap enough to compete with the 2,500,000 pounds of prunes import- ed into this country from ("alifornia. annually. The truth of the matter with regard to jilums is, that in good plum districts we have been making unusual and unreasonable profits, but like grapes many years ago, we have up to the pre.>ent, only had small areas under culti- vation. Now when our ten acre fields are coming into bearing we must not ex- pect the fabulous profits, per acre, of the past, but must rather compare our profits from a ten acre field of plum trees with the profits from a ten acre field of corn or oats or other farm crop. It costs little more to care for a field of plum trees than a field of corn. We should be content to make a reasonable profit in these days when the major- ity of farm crops are grown at a loss rather than any profit at all. Let any man figure up the net profit of ten acres of oats at 20 cts per bushel, or 10 acres of corn at current prices and if he can figure out any profit on the crop and allow wages at $1 per day, and other actual cost's of growing the crop, he is a better arithmetician than 1 am. Now there yet remains two most impor- tant fruit crops to discuss, viz., pears and apples, both of which can be grown over widely extended areas. 1 am very opti- mistic about both of these crops, I believe at present the outlook for the EXTEXS/O.V OF FRUIT GROWI.XG ^11. greatest profit in fruit growing lies in pears ; we have not enough good pears planted to supply the Canadian trade. Pears can be grown as cheaply as ap- ples, our lowest figures so far have been $2 per barrel, net, here on the ground. At this price there is a mint of money in this fruit. Everybody says "Oh ! the blight will kill them," and this bogy scares them out of the notion entirely ; but they will go planting potatoes that rot and are destroyed by bugs and that can't be sold when grown during two years now past, or wheat that is winter killed two years out of three and produces five or ten miserable bushels per acre or oats that rust, and are never afraid of these blights. A pear orchard can be grown with little appreciable loss from blight by careful attention It is not the purpose of this paper to discuss diseases, but rather markets. I have said there are not enough pears now grown to supply our own market, some one wishes to know the proof. The proof lies in the fact that scores of car- loads of Bartletts are imported into this country every year. Another proof is that we could not find enough Bartlett, Anjou, .Sheldon or L. Bonne pears of first class quality to supply our orders at Winona this year. Another proof is that none of these varieties sold for less than $3 to 4 per barrel in Montreal this year with all the loads of cheap fruit of all kinds from this and foreign countries on our market. But aside from this home market which if supplied with our pears properly put up would use double what we have now to ofTer, there is without a doubt a grand opening in Britain for this fruit, which can easily be laid down there by cold storage. All through the autumn pears brought fabulous prices over there, at least they seem fabulous to us. Think of four cents each at wholesale. The following is an extract from a letter writ- ten by W. N. White & Co., Ltd , pro- minent fruit merchants, of London, Eng- land : "Pears — Not much doing in this article, in fact, we have never known the market so bare as it is at present. The few coming from France are realizing very high prices, in fact, were it not for their worth here they would have remained at home. We sold Catalacs, a stewing pear, yesterday, 56 in a crate, at IIS the crate, and 96's 15s. Some Californians on the market sold from 15s to 28s per bo.x, according to ([uality. If any of your readers have got some good pears, no matter what country Cali- fornia or American, that will stand the journey to this country, they are sure to realize good prices." This speaks for itself, no doubt these extraordinary prices were caused by a short crop in France from whence Eng- land draws her supplies, but France may have a short crop again, doubtless often has, and if such prices obtain in years of such low prices for apples, may we not suppose that at least fair prices are obtained other seasons? Unfortunately I have no record at hand, but this I do know ; California growers ship their pears to England, double the distance we have to ship, and sell them at a pro- fit. I know furthermore, we compete with France and every other country, in apples, wheat, cheese, and many other commodities, why cannot we do so with pears, a fruit we can grow to the highest state of perfection and in unlim- ited quantities over a wide area of On- tario and Nova Scotia. Undoubtedly the planting of pears has been badly neglected, as the packing of pears and all our domestic fruits has been. I want to ask a question now, and it is : " Why does California sell fourteen car • loads of fruit in Montreal on a single day when we have fruits infinitely bet- ter in quality and appearance ?" Surely EXTENSION OF FRUIT GKOUJNG.~II. if they can find a profit in shipping this fruit 3000 miles over roads that charge very high freight rales and pay a duty in addition, we ought to be able to make a profit when in SMch close prox- imity to the markets, with moderate freight rates and no duty. I will an- swer the question. We are poor packers — California growers put up their fruit in tasty packages, they send only choice specimens, what they do with the sec- onds and thirds I do not know, I pre- sume they can or evaporate them or make them into jam, but certain it is that only choice fruit comes here and it at- tracts the buyer and our fruit goes begg- ing. I have heard merchants say that they ceased buying our fruit altogether, they could not depend upon getting it well and honestly packed, and they handled only California fruits. Now is not this our own fault ? There are enormous quantities of these very fruits we grow, viz.: peaches, pears, and plums, etc , displacing the growth of our own orchards, simply because we are try- ing to dispose of every available speci- men to the city consumer whether he wants them or not. Better by far send only the choice specimens to market and feed these seconds and thirds to the hogs, if we cannot find a market for them at the factories. Let us make an effort to regain our lost trade, for I tell you, fruit growers here assembled, our home market is slipping away from our hands by reason of our gross neglect and supineness we have a market in Canada for double the fruit we can grow at present if we put it up in an attractive form, and never, never, cheat our customers by false packing. Now before I close ; one word about apples the king of all fruits, for no matter how much we may praise up this or that locality for other fruits, apples are bound to be the great export- able fruit of Canada, for not only can we grow them to a higher state of excellence than any other country in the Northern Hemisphere, but we also have a larger area capable of producing regular crops than any other country where fruit of good enough quality to compete with ours is grown. We have the fruit ; Great Britian and the continent of Europe, our own great Northwest, quite frequent- ly the populous Western States wants it. Here are surely the conditions of a profitable trade : there is but one thing lacking, that is safe and cheap transport- ation facilities. It is of no avail to say apples were too cheap this year, they cannot be grown at prices current this year. I well remember hearing older men tell of the very low prices of grain when this country was first settled and yet later for fifty years prices averaged much higher ; as soon as transportation facilities were offered grain brought good prices — so today grain in Manitoba is cheaper than here because of the cost of transportation to Europe. I contend that every first class apple in Canada could have been marketed in Europe this year, and our growers have received 75 cts. per barrel net on the ground for every barrel had we safe transport to Europe, to say nothing of cheap trans- port. Buyers of apples never have had confidence to buy apples at their fair market value, simply because they do not know when they ship them over whether they will arrive sound or whether half the cargo will arrive cooked, and be sold at any price obtainable for rotten and nasty fruit. I have conversed with numbers of gentlemen who have gone over with their apples and they say there is no doubt about our apples arriving as stated by receivers on the other side. They would not have believed it possible for apples put up here sound as possible to become ruined in two weeks on the cars and in the hold of an ocean steamer. EXTENSION OF FRUIT GROWING.— 11 Now knowing Ihis to be the condition of apples very frequently on arrival, not this year alone, but every year in the past, can it be wondered that buyers hesitated this year to pay over 50 cts. per barrel, for the big crop of apples in sight and their judgment has been shown to have been correct. I doubt if any man who has shipped forward regularly has made over 50 cts. per bar- rel out of the fruit, net on the ground, but had there been no slacks and no wasty apples on arrival 75 cts. would have easily been realized in spite of the freight rate to Britain 25 cts. per barrel higher than we frequently have had in previous years. Now see what this means to the farmers of Canada, 75 cts. per barrel for the enormous crop of this year could have been doubtless $r,ooo,- 000 more than they have realized, and would represent clear profit. The all important question arises : can we have safe transport ? I say decidedly yes ! it is the easiest thing in the world, if pres- sure can be brought upon the Steamship Companies to put in air fans or air pumps. All it requires to carry our apples over in perfectly sound condition is that the temperature of the hold of the vessel where the apples are stored shall be the same as the ocean air in October and November. Wc know very well that a barrel of apples put up in September may lay in the orchard exposed to sun and rain and a hundred changes of temperature and still be sound in November as the day it was packed, barring premature ripening caused by such rough exposure. Why then should the same apples shipped, fresh packed and stowed for ten days in an equable and cool temperature of the ocean, decay ? No sane person would believe for an instant that they would, how then does it come about ? In this way — the excessive heat from the engines so heats the hold that even the compart- ments containing the apples are so hot that the apples in some cases become cooked and in almost every instance parts at least of the cargo are damaged, and the whole lot of apples so advanced in ripening that they cannot be held in Britain for any length of time. If this were necessary we would simply have to put up with it, or send by the more cost- ly cold storage, but it is not necessary any one can see at a glance that pas- senger steamers could not be run on this happy go lucky principle, passengers would soon kick if the hold gradually got hotter and hotter as they neared the other side until at last they had to under- go the cooking process : and how do they prevent this heating of the hold in passenger steamships, why simply the air fans, that can be run by about one horse power, which conduct the cool air from the outside down to any of the decks and can be let on as required by a tap, there is no more reason for cooking our apples or injuring them in the slightest degree in going across the ocean, than there is in cooking them on the cars between here and Montreal. But the Steamship Companies will do nothing until forced to do it by the pressure of the votes of the people through the Government, and this surely will not much longer be delayed. Again, had the safe transport been provided our dealers would have long ago opened up markets in not only Great Britain, direct with the dealers and storekeepers there, but with dealers in Germany and other Continental countries where this season every applegrown in Canada could have been marketed at a good price. The illimitable North-West can force us to the wall growing wheat, oats and beef and ultimately when milking ma- chines become perfected also in butter and cheese, but apples they must buy EXTEA'SION OF FRUIT GROWIXG.—II. and there is no apple they will look at, when they can get our Northern Spys and Greenings. Are they all going to become mer- chants or mechanics or the paternal acres still going to be worked ? Are these acres to become barren wastes or are they still to be planted with some- thing to produce a crop to sell ? I judge they will be planted each and every year with something. Fruit plant- ing will not be overdone until the pro- fits are less than the profits from some other branch of farming. We cannot grow more grain here in the valley per acre than they can in other sections, so when fruit growing ceases to be more profitable than other lines of farming, land will be worth no more per ' acre, a fall of one half from its present value. Is there a grower in this room believes that such will ever be the case. I scarcely see on what ground any man can look for a permanent betterment of present conditions in the grain, dairy, or meat industries and I can scarcely see how any profit lies in any of these branches now. What then are the farmers of Canada to do. It seems to me reason would teach us to plant that which our competitors cannot gro.v. If you live in a peach section and have land suitable, plant peaches, for there are few sections can grow these. If on the other hand you cannot grow peaches, cherries or grapes ; perhaps you can grow plums, if not plums then perhaps pears, and if not pears then you cer- tainly can grow apples, the choicest in the world ; neither the North-West or the Western States, nor the Southern States, neither Australia, Argentine Re- public, India, Denmark or Germany, all our competitors in some one or other lines of farming can grow apples to com- pare with Ontario or Nova Scotia. We have the whole world for a market, with safe transport and reasonable rates. In no other branch of farming have we so much of an advantage ; so I can safely say planting of fruit orchards, vineyards, etc., has not been overdone in Ontario. FLOWERS FOR WET CORNERS. O not despair if a portion of your lawn is swampy or boggy ; con- sider yourself well favored, for here you can plant moisture loving plants, the poor man's orchids as some writers call them : irises, or i[ag% fleur-de- lis (the royal insignia of France), than which there is nothing so beautiful and nothing that repays so well the little labor expended on them. The different species are English, German, Siberian, Spanish, and Kaempfer's from Japan. Plant the Japanese beauties in the wet- test places, and the others along the edge of your bog. Place a clump of our native typha, or cat-tail in their midst ; bring some yellow spatter-docks, with their rich, shining green leaves, from the ponds or low shores of the river. In this swampy situation astilbe does well ; and by all means bring home with you from the brookside. myosotis, forget-me-not ; some cinnamon ferns : the native brilliant cardinal and the giant blue lobelias, the swamp milk- weed, asckpias incarnata : the native pitcher plant sarraeenia : calopogon, a lovely bog orchid ; sagittarias, or ar- row heads, and pontederias, or pickerel weeds If there is sufficient water to form a basin, you can add nymphea, our native pond lilies, and the stately um- brellas of the Nelumbium. Vour swamp will cease to be an eyesore, and you can feast your vision on the artistic beauties of its denizens all summer. We have said enough about herbaceous peren- nials ; a volume could be written on their beauty and excellence. — Report Hort. Soc, '95. '■^5 LETTERS FROM RUSSIA.— XVI. Fi(i. 1IS7. — Jaru.slav Niemetz. 'E have a great many inter- esting and novel plants from middle Asia, and the rail- road now being built will furnish us with more. Some of these are edible and may be worthy of culti- vation. At present they are under trial in the Imperial Botanic Garden at St. Petersburg. Being desirous to serve the Dominion Experimental Farms at Ottawa, the officers of which, willingly give me information concerning Cana- dian fruit culture, I have written to Siberia for seeds of the following plants, the further trial of which will b^ made at Ottawa and will show whether they are of use in Canada. I. Rubus Xanthocarpus. Bur. and Franch. This new species of raspberry was found in i88s'bythe Russian travel- ler, G. N. Potapin, in China, Province of Kanzu, and was previously described by French Scientist Bureau and Fran- chet. It is a low plant, about one foot in height with herbal, prickly, suspended leaves. The fruit is ovoid, light yellow, sweet and palatable. At St. Petersburg it ripens about the middle of July. This plant has proven hardy in Northern Russia and is fit for cultivation on a large scale. 2 Ribes Dikushn. Fish. (Blue cur- rant of Siberia). This species was discov- ered by the Russian botanist N.T. Turch- aninoff in Eastern Siberia and was de- scribed by botanist Fisher. It very much resembles the common black currant (Ribes nigrum) but there is a difference in the forms of leaves, calyx and pistil. In size and flavor, the ber- ries resemble those of black currant, but are blue and green in color. Turch- aninoffsays that if eaten, they will make people drunk. The plant grows in moist places and is hardy in the botanic gar- dens at St. Petersburg. 3 Ribes Procumbens. Fall. Moss currant, this was found by botanist Pallas in Siberia. It is not new, but cannot be got in European gardens, be- cause of the difficulty in distributing it by seed, and live plants could not endure so long a journey. Formerly the Botanic Garden at St. Petersburg got some live plants from Nerchinsk. The bush is low with creeping twigs, and yields brown berries, twice as larger as those of common black currant. It grows only in moist soil, along rivulets. The edible berries ripen late in summer and are very much esteemed by the inhabitants of Eastern Siberia. 4. Ribes Diaaintha. Pall. Siberian gooseberry. The bush of this variety resembles the currant, but has prickly twigs and leaves. The berries red, sub acid and are about the size of common 226 SOJIING SEEDS. red currant and are much used in Si- beria. Along the lake Baykal there are found varieties of this plant with bright red and dark red berries. 5. Lonicera coerulea L. var edulis. Turch. This grows in tall bush form, and resembles Lonicera coerulea Lon., but yields dark blue, oblong berries that are edible notwithstanding other varieties of lonicera, that yield bitter inedible ber- ries. Around Nerchinsk it is very widely distributed on the mountains. The berries are picked in large quantities and sold in the local markets. They are very palatable and good for drying, for pies and other purposes. J.AROSI.AV NiEMETZ. / Vinnitsa, Fodolie, Jiiissia. SOWING SEEDS. £y^ rsXHE operation of seed-sowing is one of the most important ._L stages in the life of garden plants. We believe that it is often here that the future success or failure of the gardeners productions is' determined. In the other stages in the growth of his plants the cultivator may, as a rule, do much to rectify the results of improper treatment, but in the case of the sowing of seeds, especially where first-class specimens for the show table are wanted, he cannot afford to exercise the least slovenliness. If he does his chance of having specimens up to the showing standard and in time for his show will be reduced to the mini- mum at the very outset, and his subse- quent care and trouble greatly increased. It is extremely difficult to give definite rules for sowing, circumstances vary so much The sizes of seeds and their con- ditions at sowing time, the state of soil, the appliances in the way of heating, etc., at the command of each grower, and other circumstances will affect the question. Yet, there are certain well- defined bounds which must limit the variations of method in seed sowing, in order that success may be ensured. Seed to Sow Now. Mignonette, as a border plant, must be sown to remain. Pulverise the soil well, make it somewhat firm, do not sow too thickly. It is important to thin early and severely, for any one plant left alone will soon cover a square foot. In pot culture it should be remembered that mignonette does not transplant well. The young plants must be thin- ned down to five, or even three, in each pot : if large plants are wanted later leave only three, or even only one. Mig- nonette is so accommodating that it may be forced for early flowers. A rich, friable soil is requisite, and plenty of light. But the plant will bear a close atmosphere, and even damp, in winter, fairly well For blooming in winter or spring, sow' in 5 inch pots in August, and keep the plants as hardy as possible until it be- comes necessary to put them under glass for the winter. Shirlev Poppies. These are especially adapted for grow- ing in masses, in beds, or borders, are of very free growth, and profuse bloom- ers. Sow where they are to remain in well-prepared soil, enriched with a little decayed stable manure ; thin the plants out to give room for growth of those that remain ; they do not transplant well. If the buds are cut early in the morning before they Expand, they will last for some time in water indoors, and have a most charming effect if arranged with their own foliage. On the whole, annual poppies are par exce/knce the best APPLE TREE TENT CATERPILLAR. type of annual for those who have little skill in flower gardening, and who want something that will yield a good display of color with little trouble, PORTULACCA. Purslane Family This annual should be in every gar- den, it is a neat, bushy little plant, with saucer-shaped flowers, of very easy growth. The shades of color, are from white, or almost white to rich magenta. Sow when the weather is settled. Put the seed into the open border, and the lighter the soil, the hotter the season, the more brilliant will be the display of flowers. Sow in rows six inches apart, and cover the seed with fine soil. F. Brunton. Maplchitrsf, Grimshy. Fii: 1I38--EAKLV .STA(iK of Uevki.oi'me.nt. APPLE TREE TENT CATERPILLAR. Ci,i>iocAMi'A Americana, Haki. OMI-: interesting phases in con- weather of April 26th. On April 20th nection with the life history of we had 19 degrees of frost, and on April this insect were noted this 21st 7 degrees. Again on April 27th spring. A remarkable feature we were visited with 6 degrees of frost ; was the rapidity with which the hatching yet, notwithstanding these low tempera- took placesucceeding the exlrenifly cold tures, on -April Jijih I noticed on some 2 2iS APPLE TREE TENT CATERPILLAR. cherry crab trees, Pyrus haccata, the young caterpillars crawling about very actively and beginning to feed on the then partially expanded leaf buds. This, it will be noticed, was only the third day succeeding a night when the temperature fell 5 degrees below freezing, and illus- trates forcibly the vitality of the insect in the early larval form, and thepromptitude with which the eggs hatch when food is prepared and on the arrival of favorable weather. It is a striking fact, too, that one notices in connection with the habits of this insect, that a large propor- tion of the egg masses are deposited upon varieties of trees which leaf out particularly early in spring, for instance, Pyrus baccata and other forms of the Siberian crab, Choke Cherry and various species of genus Prunus ; also, that the eggs do not hatch till food is within easy reach. The accompanying illustration is from a photograph taken by Mr. F. T. Shutt, Chemist, of Experimental Farms, on April 29th, and shows the early stages of development of the destructive form immediately succeeding the hatching period. After taking the photograph the twigs with the young caterpillars still on them, were held under a water tap for five minutes, from which water of a tem- perature of 39 degrees was running. The larva? not washed off appeared quite lifeless. The twigs were then placed in a sunny window. Before half an hour had elapsed the caterpillars were appar- ently in good health and enjoying a promenade up and down the twigs, not omitting though to show a marked pre- ference for the portions represented by the partially open buds. They would seem to be well litted to withstand the vicissitudes of the climate peculiar to " The Lady of the Snows," even outside the peach belt. Fruit growers and farmers should pay more attention to these unsightly webs and promptly remove them from their trees as soon as noticed in the spring. If pains were taken to examine trees and remove the egg masses in the autumn or when pruning during the winter, the work in spring would be very much lessened. John Craig. Experimental Farm, Ottaiva. TRIM THE SHRUBBERY IN many country and village door yards or lawns, the shrubbery consists of rose bushes, lilacs, wistaria and honeysuckle. Often these have not been trimmed for years and they present a most ungainly mass of tangled growth, often rendering it quite difficult to obtain even a fair view of the house by the passers-by. This untrimmed collection is frequently supplemented by rampant growing evergreen trees, that were all right for the first five or six years of their growth, but they were neither cut back nor topped and many of them now have branches spreading from ten to twenty feet. Where it is not thought best to remove them entirely, cut off the lower branches close up to the body of tree for a distance of about eight feet. This will remove the foliage that ob- structs the view, and the remaining lower branches will droop a little, giving the tree a pleasing appearance. Other fruit and ornamental trees, by branching low, may obstruct the view, but judicious pruning will regulate this trouble. Use the pruning knife freely on the shrubbery and if the bushes are of some desirable kinds try to improve the flow- ers they produce. Turn down the sod about them, applying well-rot'.ed manure, ground bone or wood ashes, well mixed, and you will be more than paid for your trouble. Let this pruning be an annual operation — L. D. Snook in Fruits and FLnvers. 129 TRAINING YOUNG PEACH TREES. |()NSIDERABLE judgment needs be exercised in the training of a young tree, especially a peach, as it be- ing a rapid grower, it requires more attention than any other of the tree fruits. The training should begin at the moment of planting and be continued through the life of the tree. Growers differ as regards manner of thinning, at the time of transplanting, some prefer trimming to a whip, while others leave short spurs with one good strong bud on each. Although good trees can be grown by either method, the " whip plan " is preferable as stronger growth is more apt to be obtained. It is better to grow a low head tree, the first branches starting about 2 or 2)^ feet from the ground. They will shade the trunks from the sun, which will lessen the liability to sun scald and be less subject to the forces of the wind. The fruit can be more easily gathered and prun- ing be greatly facilitated. The trimming of the roots of the young tree is about as important as of the top. When the tree comes from the nursery, the roots as well as the limbs are more or less bruised The machine used in digging them in the nursery, will often tear the roots in a severe manner. All the roots that have been broken or bruised should be cut off clean and the others, shortened in at least X, the cutting should be from the under side that the raw surface may be down. The care of a tree before and at transplanting, requires nothing but com- mon sense to make a tree succeed. A tree will suffer as much when its roots are exposed to the sun and wind, as a fish will when out of water. Protect the roots and replace them in a position as near their former one as possible, with the soil firm and of good quality and nature will do the rest. It is well to have some definite plan as to the shape of the top to be formed. A good way is to sketch the outline of the proposed form, on paper, then when pruning, the plan may be carried along and the tree fashioned as near to it as possib'e. The trees must be watched closely the first season that all shoots which are not required to form the head, may be removed. In forming the head, select four or five of the strongest branches which are distributed along the trunk for 12 or 16 inches and branch in different direc- tions so that they may be evenly bal- anced. The following spring the top should be cut back ^, the place on the limb has much to do with the formation of the top. If a tree be inclined to grow more rapidly in one direction than in another, by cutting back to a leaf bud located upon the inner or outer side of a branch, that branch may be made to grow to- wards or from the centre of the tree. I had sevefal trees which had one part broken off, and by this plan I was able to re-grow a very evenly balanced top. Each succeeding spring the cutting-back should be ■ ,^ of the past season's growth, this answers also as a means of thinnmg the fruit when the trees come into bear- ing. If this pl.in is followed, a block of trees may be grown which will be long- lived and profitable as well as a " thing of beauty " to the owner. B. A. Woon. Kalamazoo Co , Mich. 230 SOME OF THE NEWER FRUITS.— II. Bv E. MORDEN, NlACARA FaLLS SOUIH. Russian Apricots. — Those who some years since listened to glib tongued agents, and planted large areas with these trees lost a lot of money. After years of trial they are mostly dug out, and the planters ought to be wiser men if they are not. These apricots blossom very early, but the fruit rarely sets, and even when set seldom endures to the end. Apricots, in general, seem to be a delusion. Curculios favor their con- tinuance. Mulberries. — If we imagine a very sweet blackberry without its seeds, w^ have a mulberry. For those who like sweet, rich fruit, the mulberry will be ranked as delicious. The large fruited varieties seem to be rather tender for Ontario. , The Russian mulberry gives in some cases a large crop of small berries. As they fall about as soon as they ripen, we need sheets in order to gather the fruit. The birds are willing in this case to assist. By planting several trees, some pistil- late ones will be secured, and from these we may get delicious fruit. The tree, too, has remarkable foliage. Some ot the leaves are entire, and many of them are notched and lobed in a great variety of ways. JapanesePlums. — The Japanese plums are quite different in foliage from the European and American varieties. They blossom very early, hence, are not likely to be reliable every year. In appearance, quality and season of ripening, the fruit varies greatly. As there is some confusion in their nomen- clature, there is naturally a conflict of opinion in reference to varieties of merit. The Ogon with me is a very early white plum with a deep suture. It ripens and drops from the trees much in advance of the ordinary plums. Its quality is nothing to boast of. The Abundance, which ripens later and is sometimes quite large, is likel> to take a place and hold it. The Burbank seems to be gaining in favor. Hataukio, a late reddish plum with a white bloom is worthy of trial. The fruit resembles the Lombard, but is handsomer and of better quality, I think. Some of the fruit falls, but some of It remains on the trees for three or four weeks. Picked in season it ought to bear shipping well. As many of the Japansripen with the European plums, and must compete with them, it will be seen that they must possess a good supply of all around merit, if they hold a place permanently. Some of them may do this, while I think that growers should try them, I do not see how they can displace the older varieties. In summing up the newer kinds of fruit, we cannot claim any commercial value for any of them, that would justify large plantations. Fruit growers with some enterprise and some spare space, should plant nearly all of them for home use and ornament. Should any of them develop commercial value, larger plantings may follow. He who, upon the advice of some agent, plants largely of a new fruit, in order to get ahead of the other fellows, need not be surprised if he finds himself in the rear. 231 JAPAN PLUMS IN IOWA. EVEN years ago, I planted a few Japanese plums in my trial orchard, that is situated eight miles south of this city. I had been led to believe, by Prof. Budd, that these plums were entirely worthless in our severe climate, he often having stated they were as " tender as weeds," therefore, my surprise was intense, when the second year from planting, my small trees were not only perfectly sound, after the thermometer had registered 22" below zero, but were loaded with handsome fruit. Since then, my first experiment with this oriental fruit, I have spared neither money or pains in collecting Japan plums, till I doubtless have the largest number of varieties in the entire North-West. I do not have the ground to set many trees of each variety — two to ten of a kind — except the Burbank. I now perhaps have over 50 trees in bearing, most of them just commencing to bear. On the older trees last year I had 25 bush, of these Japs. The Burbank, Normand and Abundance are best in quality, so far as fruited The former is extra fine for canning. These older trees have stood 28° below zero, and bore a good crop of fruit ; 1 refer more particularly to the Burbank. Kelsey is the only variety, so far, that winter killed ; it is entirely too tender for this latitude. My object in planting these plums was not so much for commercial fruit, as to secure new seedlings cross-fertilized with our best natives, for I firmly believe all our best plums for this Praiiie region must come from our native species, and my faith is backed up by a collection of over 100 varieties of our best improved natives, that gave me over 200 bushels of fruit last season : of many of these, like the Japans, I have but a few trees on trial. Some of these natives are better in qual- ity than most of the Japs, but the latter possess other qualities that our natives do not possess. Some of these are extremely small pits, and long keeping and shipping qualities. In my judg- ment— judging from my success with these Japan plums — they have come to stay, if for no other purpose than indi- cated in this article, inter breeding with our hardy natives, and in the near future evolving a new race of plums that will be far superior to either species. I select the Japanese for this purpose, because they are very closely allied botanically to our natives, hence, easily cross with them ; also their beautiful color and extremely smalt pits make them more desirable for the purpose indicated, than the domestic class. I have found the first and second winter, after setting these plums, the most criti- cal, for after that they seem to become more acclimated, perhaps also the rooted system becomes better established, so the vital forces of the tree become stronger, and hence can resist extreme temperature far better than when first set out As I further test these plums and their American seedlings, I shall be glad to give my report of their success or failure to the readers of your valuable journal. A. B. Dknnis. Cedar Rapids, Lnva. 232 HOW TO MAKE MONEY ON FRUIT Z^ psiHERE are some precepts so important that they never grow old or go out of date. They are worthy of being impressed on the minds of all men, and some men evidently need more than one impress. One of these venerable but patent precepts, these ever old and ever young truths, is the imperative and increasing importance of intensive culture in fruit growing. By intensive culture I mean diligent and time culture and liberal feeding with manures rich in the proper- ties essential to perfect fruit. It has been demonstrated that inten- sive culture in that it greatly increases ■ the yield per acre, pays the general farmer, the grower of wheat, corn, cotton, tobacco, oats, etc. In fact that no other system really does pay him in the long run. How much more does this apply to fruit growing, where not only quantity is vastly more increased than is possible with the above staples, but where quality is also so vastly improved. And in fruit, quality is almost or quite everything. A man who by intensive culture doubles his yield per acre of wheat or corn, simply doubles his dollars per acre. But the man who by intensive culture doubles his yield of fruit is pretty sure to so improve it in size, beauty and general e.xccllence that its net value per acre will be quadrupled or even sustain a still greater increase. My experience in fruit growing reaches back nearly twenty-five years. It has been chiefly in the culture of small fruit — strawberries, dewberries, blackberries and raspberries, but has embraced also grapes, peaches and apples. As there is an exceeding diver- sity of soils hereabouts, it has embraced likewise nearly every conceivable soil, the stiffest of red clay, rocky knolls, almost pure sand, black sandy loam with pipe clay subsoil, and so on up and down the gamut of soils good and soils bad. This experience has impressed on me the paramount importance of two things, absolutely clean cultivation for small fruits and grapes, the sowing and turning under of pea vines or some green crop in apple and peach orchards, and the liberal application to all fertilizers rich in potash. Ten or twelve per cent potash, five per cent, phosphoric acid, and two or three per cent, ammonia, I find to pay best generally Kainit or muriate of potash for the potash, acid phosphate or dissolved bone for the phosphoric acid, and nitrate of soda or cotton seed meal for the ammonia, should be applied in a larger or smaller quantity as actual ex- periment dictates. But a liberal appli- cation I have always found to pay best, provided always that in small fruits the weeds and grass are kept down. If a man is not determined to give clean culture, the less manure of any kind he uses the better. And I may say, the fewer plants he sets the better. While none at all would be best of all. The largest yield of strawberries that I have ever seen reported in the state — over I i,ooo quarts an acre — I made by clean culture and the liberal and re- peated applications of above fertilizing ingredients. Of course where large quantities of fertilizers are used, it must all be thoroughly mixed and applied broad- cast. For small fruit, say one-third thoroughly mixed with soil before plants are set in spring, one-third as a top dressing over plants, middles and all in October, the remainder in same way 233 THINNIXG FRUIT. just before the plants are put out the fol- lowing spring. When thus used, even a larger quantity than above stated can be profitably applied if thoroughly mixed with soil before planting, and if the fall and spring top-dressings are carefully applied, so as not to let too much fertil- izer fall directly on the plants, especially if they are then growing and tender. No possible harm can result if they are in a dormant state. For vineyards and orchards I should apply as top dressing over whole surface, half the fertilizer in late fall and half in early spring. O. W. BLACKX.4LL. Kittrell, N.C. THINNING FRUIT. L^ pvl H I] time has about gone by when the Canadian fruit grower can afford to despise the scien- tific side of his business, and follow haphazard methods. At one time peaches of all sorts sold at a high price, even without grading, and there seemed little need of spending time and labor in fertilizing the ground or thinning the fruit in order to make sure of fine large samples ; but now the conditions are reversed, and small, mean samples of peaches, pears or apples are almost un- salable. Now the haphazard grower, the lazy cultivator, the careless packer, will fail, he will be discouraged, and con- clude that fruit growing does not pay, while the grower that spares no effort to produce fine samples, and puts them before the public in an attractive style, will always meet with success. The thinning of fruit is a practice little observed in Canada, but one that should be adopted without delay. It requires some courage at first to pull off and throw away one-half of the weight of plums or peaches on a tree, but it will pay, and pay well. Indeed it won't pay to neglect it for the half quantity will bring double, if not four times the price, because of increased size. Last year Prof. Beach, of Geneva, N.V., made three experiments at the station in thinning apples. The first was to take out the inferior fruit ; second, to take out enough to leave the apples four inches apart ; and third, to take out enough to leave the apples six inches apart. After the first experiment he found that the fruit had a better color, and one-tenth of it went into first-class fruit. After the second experiment 22 per cent, of the crop was first-class fruit, and after the third experiment nearly all of the apples were of the first grade. At the Mass. Expl. Station, experi- ments have also been made with very distinct results, and we quote from Bul- letin 44 : — The past season has emphasized the necessity of reducing the number of specimens of fruit on heavily loaded trees in order to save the strength of the tree and improve the size and quality of the fruit. With the apple crop this necessity is more marked than with any other fruit. Nearly all of our fruil trees possess the characteristic of producing one year so large a crop that they can- not mature a crop the next season, re- quiring sometimes several years to re- cover from the exhaustion. On the station grounds it has been the practice for several years to thin all the kinds of fruit more or less, and we present in this bulletin a few illustrations of the beneficial and profitable results. No. I. Two full-sized Gravensteiiis of uniform vigor and productiveness were selected. One was thinned July 34 THIXNIXG FRUITS. ist, the other being reserved for a check. The fruit set in great abundance and at the time of thinning, the two trees appeared equally productive. It should be said that if the tree had been thinned at least two weeks earlier, better results might have followed. As the fruit ap- proached maturity a decided diflference was noticed in favor of the thinned tree, but unfortunately for the experiment, a large per cent, of the fruit dropped pre- maturely, as many Gravensteins did in other sections of the State. The results therefore were far from satisfactory ; nevertheless they indicate what may be expected when conditions are more fa- vorable. GR.WEN.STEIN. Firsts. 7bu. •24 bu. Seconds Market Value. Market Value. Gain. 1 bu. 2ibu. 9i bu lOj bu. 4 4.5 2.12 2 H3 Check Cost of Thinning 48 $1.85 Deducting from this 48 cents, the actual cost of thinning, we have a net gain of $185. THE CARE OF WINDOW BOXES. riNDOW boxes are more often failures than successes. Why ? Because they are not properly cared for. It must be borne in mind that a window box, from the exposed position in which it is placed, loses moisture very rapidly by evapora- tion The wind and air get at it from below as well as on the side, ends and top. Only that side next the building is sheltered. It will, therefore, be read- ily understood, if one stops to think about it, that a great deal more moisture must be taken from the soil in such a box, in a given time, than it would be possible to extract from the soil in a pot or box whose exposure is less. The secret of growing plants well in such boxes consists in giving not only a great amount of water, but in giving it often. Enough should be applied every morn- ing and evening to thoroughly saturate the soil, and the way to make sure that the soil is wet is to keep on applying water till some runs off at the bottom of the box. If it is given in small quanti- ties, it will not be long before the leaves begin to turn yellow, and very soon you will have a sickly-looking plant, and in a short time it will be dead ; just be- cause there was not enough water given to moisten and keep moist the roots be- low the surface. One of the most satisfactory plants I have ever used in a window box is the common single Petunia. It will bloom profusely, is bright and fragrant, and soon covers the entire surface of the box, and droops over the sides until they are wholly concealed. The Madeira vine is pretty when planted about the edge and allowed to droop in festoons. The Heliotrope is a good flowering plant for such use, if care is taken to give water enough. It is fond of strong sunshine, but soon suffers if i:s roots are allowed to get dry. A scarlet Cleranium will brighten up a window wonderfully, and a good plant to use with one, about the edges, is the Nasturtium, with its bril- liant yellow and maroon flowers and pretty, pale green foliage, with which the box will soon be covered. — American Agriatlturist for June. 235 M ^lolcef' (grs^r^d^Q ar)d LaLor). ^ DWARF HARDY PERENNIALS. T is now that those who are happily the possessors of perennial gardens are being delighted, as one after an- other of their old favorites or new acquisitions display their individual charms under the influence of summer's onward march. There is a charm in gardens of small dimensions, at least in those perennials that are of dwarf growth, and as yet as handsome in appearance as their rela- tions of sturdier habits. Some of the plants here mentioned have already contributed their share to the brightening of the garden and re- tired till another spring shall wake them to activity. Watch for them however if you have not already the pleasure of their acquaintance. The Subulata Phloxes are indeed among the most showy of all perennials. Here they begin to show about May loth, and remain a solid unmarred mass of flower for a full month. As a border- ing for a walk they are always admired, for edging a bed of perennials or spring flowering bulbs we have never found anything more appropriate. The foliage which can hardly be seen during the flowering period, is small and narrow ; none of the varieties attain a greater height than 6 inches, but they spread quite rapidly. The pure white one Alba, when in flower reminds one of a drift of snow. One is white with a scarlet eye, another dark, rose pink, and very attractive. The dwarf Irises claim attention in the garden of small dimensions. The English and Spanish Iris are bulbous rooted, valuable where hardy, but they are not entirely so here. The Siberian Irises grow about i8 inches high, are quite hardy and bear neat long stemmed flowers that are useful for cutting ; the best are the pure white and the clear bright blue varieties. Iris pumila attains a height of not more than seven inches ; the first flowers open about May 5th, and the plants are soon thick with clear purple blossoms, in shape exactly like a miniature Iris Germanica. There is a white variety of this species, and sev- eral that closelyresemble/«w;7(r in color. Aqiiilegia Bergeriuna received from the Ontario Fruit Growers Association several years ago, proves one of the ear- liest, most dwarf and handsome of all. With us it grows only about 12 inches higl- and produces unusually large, well- expanded flowers, light purple in color, and tach petal tipped with white. The cup is also purple handed at the outer end with sulphur yellow. >36 HA RDY H\ -DRANGEAS. The Alpine Auriculas are easily raised from seed, if a first class strain is pro- cured one is sure to get some marvel- lously well-colored flowers ; about seven years ago we raised a batch of them and they grew well for the start, but we had to give them the protection of a cold frame to make them behave well during the winter, as the plants attained size we thought the game scarcely worth the candle, as they say, and planted them in the garden with the intention of letting them live or die as they chose. Their situation was, quite unintentionally, on the north side of a spruce hedge, just about three feet from the lower branches. They wintered there perfectly, and have done so ever since ; they show some good flowers and really fine colors. Hardy pinks, among which the white variety, Her Majesty, deserves special, mention, are splendid for cutting ; they are always prime favorites in the small garden, as are the hardy Primrose or Polyanthus, including the English Prim- rose. In some places these latter will require the protection of a cold frame. Alyssum saxatile compactum is a superb, dwarf, yellow flower, a veritable sheet of gold in its season. The Iceland Poppies {Papaver iiudi- caule), in the various colors are much thought of. Aubretia Grceca too, with its pretty purple flowers, deserves atten- tion. Arabis albida is a neat, very early and showy white-flowered plant, without which no collection is complete. Webster Bros. flaiiii/toii, Out. HARDY HYDRANGEAS. STANDING preeminently among the most noble shrubs for the lawn is the Hydrangea paniculata gran- diflora, introduced comparatively few years ago from Japan, it now beau- tifies the choicest gardens throughout America, and is grown for sale by the millions. The snowy white or pinkish panicles of flowers which open in early-September, are very lasting; in fact, if cut before they begin to wither they last splendidly all winter. Just how to obtain the largest and finest flower heads from this shrub is not generally understood. Left to itself the bush will make a large growth in two or three seasons, the growth will then not be so rapid or vigorous, the new wood will be short-jointed, and the flowers while they may appear in great numbers, will look the size of those on young, vigorous plants. It is possible to have large, fine flowers from this variety for an almost indefinite time if the correct treatment is given. Hard pruning, after the style that Hybrid Perpetual Roses are pruned for finest flowers, should be adopted. That is to say, instead of allowing all shoots to grow up, thin out, in the spring, all but the strongest, and shorten these to from six to eight inches from the ground, the result is large healthy foliage, and fewer flowers of greater size. A specimen bearing a few panicles, say 15 inches in length, will command attention where one left to itself may not. It seems hard to cut down the fine strong stems the following spring, but this sacrifice of good wood is the price of fine flowers. The variety Paniculata has darker colored bark than the preceding, and its season is earlier, the panicles are borne more upright and are nearly pure white -37 PRUNING STREET TREES. in color ; fine in itself as a variety, but never producing such immense flower- heads as the Grandiflora. H.Pekinensis — This varietycame to us from France ; it is not yet widely dis tributed. In general habit of growth it resembles the paniculatas, the flower- heads are nearly flat instead of conical, the individual florets are white and ex- ceedingly large, but the panicle is rather open and loose, not as preposessing as it might be. H. qut-rcifolia the Oak-leaved Hydran- gea, is a most beautiful shrub for foliage effects, but will not put up with the tumbles that the mercury sometimes takes here in Ontario. At New York and southward, however, it grows in all its beauty. For this climate H. paniculata graitdi flora is decidedly our favorite ; given a well enriched spot, and proper pruning, it will satisfy the most exacting. Webster Bros. PRUNING STREET TREES. n Constant Reader, in last number of /l\\ Horticulturist asks when to illi prune street trees, and as this is a subject I feel very much interest in, and I have been experimenting in that line for 25 or more years, I have found to my cost that pruning in winter when the wood is frozen is a splendid way to destroy a good orchard. A neighbor of mine whose orchard had been neglected for several years, got a man who professes to be an expert in that line to prune his orchard in January, and he did prune, cutting large as well as small limbs and branches, and the proprietor has never had even a fair crop of fruit since. Be- sides, about 40 out of 100 trees died outright inside of three years. I find invariably that all deciduous trees do better when pruned in spring, but trees like the Maple and Birch, Basswood, Walnut and such varieties as flow sap rapidly, should be pruned about the time the leaf is coming out, after the sap is up. Plums and Cherries should be pruned about the first of April ; Apples and Pears a month later, and the wounds will heal sooner than if pruned at any other time of the year. Besides, if ap- ples are pruned before growth starts, a Is 'g'; number of shoots start out where the branch was removed. When I speak of pruning I mean the removing of branches that are one inch and over in diameter. Every Maple or other street tree should be" regularly pruned till a trunk is obtained from 10 to 12 feet from the ground, when the top may be allowed to form. When a row of such kept trees appear on a street they are a " thing of beauty and a joy forever " to every passer by, who enjoys the beauty of Nature and Art combined. My ex- perience is that nearly all fruit trees are allowed to form branches too near the ground, and the only advantage seems to be that the fruit can be gathered easier ; but I question if that is a suffi- cient reason to allow trees to be headed low thereby preventing any cultivation of the soil, which to my mind is of far more importance than the trouble of going up a step-ladder to gather the fruit. My advice to growers of orna- mental or other trees is to prune regu- larly every season, and you will never have a large limb to remove ; and by pruning after the growth starts, no injury from loss of sap will appear. R 1-. Hui;(;.\RD. Whitby. 238 $&Up ^ffiliaM ^ieti^?. ^ Brampton Horticultural Society. — A meeting of the members and others who are partial to flowers and fruit grow- ing was called to receive the Spring dis- tribution, which consisted as follows — any one of the following : — Dempsey Pear, I-ily, Japanese Lilac or Courath Raspberry, given by the Fruit Growers Association, besides i oz. Sweet Peas, I Hardy Hydrangea, i Clematis pani- culata alba, and four Tuberoses. The members turned out in fair numbers and Dr. C. Y. Moore, the President, presided and opened the meeting with a few appropriate remarks, introducing Mr. H. Dale, the great Rose grower of the Dominion, as the first speaker, who made some very interesting remarks upon the " Hydrangea," in a most prac- tical manner. Mr. Ed. Dale followed, on the culture of the " Tuberose," fol- lowed by Mr. Adam Morton, on the Sweet Pea — a very mstructive address, which was well appreciated. Dr. Heggie continuedj with some remarks on the Clematis. Many questions were put to the various speakers and discussed, showing the interest taken by those pre- sent in the diflTerent divisions of Horti culture. After the meeting the plants were distributed by Mr. Henry Roberts, the Secretary. Niagara Falls South Horticul- tural Society. —The Horticultural Society held its regular monthly meeting on May 17th, in Mrs. Land's hall. A very interesting discussion took place upon pruning and spraying fruit trees, and if those present will adopt the methods advised, there is little doubt but that the quality of our fruit this coming harvest will be greatly improved. With improved quality, the grower may 3 2 reasonably look for greater returns, and a more ready market. The flower kingdom received its ihare of attention. Mr. R. Cameron gave some very valuable instruction for the Spring and Fall care of flowering shrubs, chiefly Forsythia and Hydrangea. It was mentioned, that as the Rose thrip had made a very early appearance this year it bids fair to be a dangerous menace to successful rose culture, there- fore the members were advised to look well to the method of spraying. Too much care cannot be given to the rose, ■ under the existing circumstances. To get good results in flower, much depends upon the clean, healthy nature of the stock. The following was moved by the Rev. Canon Bull and adopted, — Where- as all British subjects are rejoicing in the favors of the Almighty in permitting our beloved Queen, to outreign any former sovereign in peace and justice, and whereas this board does desire to visibly express its sense of thanks and loyalty, be it resolved that on June 20th, we do wear upon our breast the rose. Natures own gift to our beloved land, and that this board does try to promote the same idea among our citizens. Messrs. Pyper, Dobbin, Cameron, Morden and Lyon were appointed a committee to promote the idea and have a sufficient stock of roses on hand to meet the requirements. Yours truly, W^L L. Lyon. Grlmshv. — The Society here held a most successful spring meeting in the Town Hall, on the evening of May 14th. Through the energetic efforts of the President, Mrs. E. J. Palmer, the Secre- tary and the Lady Directors, a fine exhibit of palms, coleuses, begonias, 39 OUR AFFILIATED SOCIETIES. fuchsias, roses, geraniums, cacti, hydran- geas etc., besides numerous cut flowers was shown, both from amateurs and professional gardeners. The largest ex- hibit was made by Mr. A. E. Cole, a young gardener at Grimsby, who is always on the mar et with fine stock dent. A Grimsby orchestra gave some delightful music ; a violin solo was ren- dered by Miss Taylor, and a violin duet by Misses Taylor and Brodie. At the the close Secretary called out the names of the members, who came forward in turn each to receive in a basket five Fio. 1139.— Mr. A. E. Coi e's Flowkk ExiiiBrr. We show a glimpse of Mr. Cole's exhibit which occupied the whole of one side of the hall Fig. 1139. Mr. M. Pettit, of Winona, an ex-president of our associa- tion, was chairman, and a paper on Chrysanthemums was read by the presi- choice chrysanthemums, each plant grown and transplanted into a five inch pot. Three hundred and fifty potted plants were thus distributed, and with them we hope for a fine chrysanthemum show next November. SUBSCRIPTION PRICE, $i.oo per year, entitling the subscriber to membership of the Fruit Growers' Association of Ontario and all its privileges, including a copy of its valuable Annual Report, and a share in its annual distribution of plants and trees. REMITTANCES by Registered Letter or Post-Office Order are at our risk. Receipts will be acknowledged upon the Address Label. AnVERTISIXG R.\TES quoted on application. Circulation, 4,000 copies per month. LOCAL NEWS.— Correspondents will greatly oblige by sending to the Editor early intelligence of local events or doings of Horticultural Societies likely to be of interest to our readers, or o? any matters which it is desirable to bring under the notice of Horticulturists. ILLUSTRATIONS.— The Editor will thankfully receive and select photographs or drawings, suitab'e for reproduction in these pages, of gardens, or of remarkable plants, flowers, trees, etc. ; but he cannot be responsible for loss or injury. NEWSPAPERS.— Correspondents sending newspapers should be careful to mark the paragraphs they wish the Editor to see. DISCONTINUANCES.— Remember that the publisher must be notified by letter or post-card when a subscriber wishes his paper stopped. All arrearages must be paid. Returning your paper will not enable us to discontinue it, as we cannot find your name on our books unless your Post Office address is given. Societies should send in their revised lists in Janu irv, if possible, otherwise we take it for granted that all will continue members. -^ J^otes ar)d (fonr)nr)er)t<^. ^ Prof. Panton of the O. A.C. Guelph, delivered a lecture before the Paris Hor- ticultural Society on the igth of May, on " The Horticulturist's Foes " illustrated by a stereopticon. Errata. — In Mr. Beall's article on heating small Conservatories, in para- graph (2) p. 178 read " below the level of the benches," instead of " above," etc. Correction. — The replies to Mr. Gott's questions regarding the advan- tages of affiliated Horticultural Societies were written by Mr. Thos. Heall, our Director at Lindsay, whose services have been so valuable in the formation of these Societies. Cold Storage. — It appears probable that the export shipments of tender fruits and dairy products are likely to go forward on a large scale even this sea- son. In order to complete the transport- ation facilities from all ports of the province, the Department of Agriculture has proposed to the Grand Trunk Rail- way to run cold storage trains weekly to Montreal as follows : — From Wiarton. via Stratford and Toronto ; Sarnia, via London and Hamilton ; Meaford, via Allandale and Toronto ; Orillia, via Peterboro' and Belleville ; Chaudiere Junction, Coaticook, Massena Springs. On each alternate week the first men- tioned train will leave Goderich instead of Wiarton. The proposal is now under the consideration of Mr. Loud, the gen- eral freight agent, and a decision will be reached in a few days. Weekly storage car service will be provided also on the C. P. R. as follows : — Windsor, via To- ronto ; Owen Sound, Teeswater, Pem- broke, via Ottawa ; Labelle to Montreal ; Quebec to Montreal ; Scotstown to Montreal and other points on the C.P.R , in Quebec and Montreal ; Edmunston, N.B , to St. John, on the I. C. R. ; Ri- mouski to Quebec ; Moncton to St. John ; Moncton to Halifax ; Yarmouth 241 JVOTES AND COMMENTS. to Halifax ; Chicoutimi to Quebec by rail and also by steamer. This com- pletes a network of rails over which cold storage trains will be run throughout the season. It is evident, therefore, that opportu nity will be given for fruit shipments from all quarters, in addition to the regular weekly carload which the Department will forward from Grimsby. This latter will be necessary in order to thoroughly test the English market for our tender fruits, and the results will be fully made known as a guide to fruit growers in all parts of Canada. Speci.^l Packages are being prepared at Grimsby for use in exporting tender fruits in cold storage cars to Great Britain. The basis of the package is the apple box, which is two cubic feet, outside measurement. Inside this trays are fitted, to hold one layer each of choice peaches, or tomatoes. Aeration System. — We have re- ceived a pamphlet and letter from Mr. R. M. Pancoast, of Camden, N.J., re- garding a new system which he has in- vented of saving fruit from decay in shipment by a constant and free circula- tion of pure air. It has already been demonstrated that this process does re- strain waste in many fruits, and it re- minds us of the Perkins system of which we have read so much. The Russian Baldwin is commend- ed by Dr. Hoskins of Newport, Vt., as very promising on account of hardiness, perfection of fruit, and wide spread use- fulness for both growers and consumers. He is himself planting 2000 trees of this variety. It was the Doctor who intro- duced the Yellow Transparent and Scott's Winter to general notice. Instructions in Spravino, is the title of bulletin 105 from the O. A C. Guelph, by Prof. J. H. Panton. This is free on application to the Department of Agriculture, Toronto. It gives re- cipes for the various mixtures, and for the treatment of the various insects and fungi affecting fruits. Fruit Growers may think that un- due prominence is being given floricul- ture by this Journal, indeed several complaints of this kind have been received. We may explain that our new Horticultural Societies have requested greater attention to floriculture and we have endeavored to meet their wishes. On the other hand our fruit growers may count upon as much matter as ever, bearing on that business. We expect to continue enlarging this journal until we have in it abundance of matter to please both classes of patrons. The Prospects are bright so far for the fruit grower in 1897, but he need not count too soon. The peaches have blossomed abundantly in the Niagara peninsula, but some report that the leaves are affected with curl leaf and that the fruit is dropping fast, pears show well even Bartletts which bore abundantly last year, cherries are full and setting unusually well. But what surprises us most is the promise of a fairly good apple crop, notwithstanding the over abund- ance of last year. The Baldwins will be very light, and many orchards almost bare of fruit. Greenings will be much better, while Cranberry Pippins, Spys and Roxbury Russetts promise an abun- dant crop. In about a month, when the fruit has begun to grow, and nature's thinning out has taken place, together with a possible touch of Jack Frost's fingers, we can report more positively. In the meantime we ask our readers in various sections to write us brief notes on the fruit crop about the middle of June, so as to be in time for July number. >42 I^Iotes ]^Pon) 0(jp ^P(^if Exp^pin^er)! ^tatior)sing a late frost. Of the varieties planted at the station in 1S96 as mentioned in the Annual report for that year I had nothing injured by winter killing, and in Plums I have the Chas. Down- ing. Whitaker, Hammer and Weaver that will bloom this year. Pears do not show any in- jury as yet. In my commen;ial orchard, which is composed mostly of Fameuse apple I have prospects of a good blossom, even though it was heavily loaded last year. Fungi have been m!iking rapid growth this year during the wet weather, and orchards left uusprayed will run a '.'leat risk of having the fruit badly affected. Green aphis is also present in large numbers, and tent catapillers are numerous and are now feeding on the open- ing leaves. Strawberries wintered very well, a few reports of heaving on c'ay ground, but where well covered they came out m perfect condi- tion. Xo bloom yet even on early varieties, but wild berries are in bloom to-day. Next n\onth after ilanger of late frosts are over, I hope to be able to give a good account of spring growth and prospects. H.^ROLu .Tones. MailUuul, Out. Plums and Pears at Whitby. I think the Abundance and liurbank are as hardy as any plums I have tested. I have grown them for some years, and they winter as well as any other variety. Duane's Purple is rather tender, and (ieneral Hand a very shy bearer. Pond's Seedling does splendidly, and although a neighbor complains that it is not productive, I have had to support branches of my trees to prevent their break- ing from the load of fruit. My choice for an early plum is McLaughlin Two years ago we picked thirteen 12 qt. baskets from one tree, and sold them ai SI 2o a basket. I think a good wlndbrciiK a great help to a plum orchard, as well as adding to the beauty of the surroundings. How cheerless the farm homestead is without an evergreen or other tree I 243 QUESTION DRAWER. I am glad you are giving more space in the journal to floriculture, so as to encourage your readers to study the beautiful in nature. I have a good many varieties of pears. I find the .Sheldon a profitable variety of fine quality, and not fully appreciated as yet by the public. I have made more money out of the Keifl'er than any other variety, i-imply because of its productiveness. The tree is an e.xcellent grower and very haidy. The Flem- ish Beauty succeeds since it has been sprayed persistently with Bordeaux. R. L. Hpoo.ard. Whitby, Ont. From Simcoe Fruit Station. The past winter has been the mildest for years, the temperature scarcely reaching 20 below zero, and that only once. All fruits have come through in fine shape, e.xcept the Japan piums. Abundance and Shensie, which have killed back at the tips of the new wood, and I doubt if they will stand our climate. The hardy Russian cherries will be an acquisi- tion for this section, for the growing of cherries has been almost entirely neglected here. The hardy varieties seem less susceptible to knot than the old varieties, and bear very early. The oldest I have are only three years planted, and yet some of them boie several samples last year, and several are full of bloom this year. I note that the fruit is handsome in appearance, and hangs on the trees until dead ripe. I believe that the Bordeau.x mixture is a good preventive of the black knot, and indeed no fruit seems to benefit so much from this mixture as the cherry. The Mann apple has a bad fault, namely, splitting of the bark. The prospects are favorable for a good crop of fruit of every kind in this section. Apple trees are full of blossom buds, and present indications are for an abundant crop. The blackberries I am testing are doing well here, except the Kitta- tinny. We once thought we could grow no other variety except the Snyder, but now we hope for better things, and may after a time be alile to advise the planting of the finer varieties in this section with assurance of success. The Columbian rasplierry is not entirely hardy, as it has been killed back in the tips. However, it was planted in rich soil anil made a rampant growth which may account for that to a certain extent It is a wonderful bearer. Smith's Giant black cap is alive to the ends of the tips, and seems to be hardy. G. C. C ASTON. Craighurst, Ont. -^©^^(^tioQ ^paLo<^p. ^ Clivias and Cypripediums. 94S. Sir, — What are Clivias and what are (Cypripediums ? I see them recommended for winter bloom, A SUBSCKIBKR, Seaforlh. Clivias belong to the Amaryllis family. They are evergreen bulbs for the green- house, and need plenty of moisture and high temperature when growing. Cypripedium is a variety of Orchid, commonly known as Lady's Slipper. This is a good variety of Orchid for the beginner, because inexpensive and easily cultivated. It flowers freely, and re- mains blown a long time. Clairgeau and Lawrence Pears. 9 Hi. Sir, - I have lialf an acre of ground which I intend setting with Clairgeau pears. I have one tree of t||^8 variety that bears pro- fusely every year, and I find it an excellent market pear, being late. Is the Fmwrcnce a late pear, ami suitable for our northern climate ? Mrs. M. I'\ R().s.s, Otoett Sound The Clairgeau seems to succeed re- markably well on the southern shore of the Georgian Bay. The Lawrence is a late pear, which yellows after being gathered, and ripens for dessert use in December. The qua- lity is very excellent. We have as yet no reports concerning its success in your latitude Fertilizers for Small Fruits. 947. Sir.— I hive given my small fruit bushes and vines a dressing this winter with ashes from the Tanneries heie, made from tan bark, soft wood and coal, also middled them with hair from the Tannery. Would you recommend a dressing this spring with Phosphoric Acid and Nitrate ot .Soda and what (juantities of each per acre, when and how to apply it or what would you recom- mend. I o in get large (|uantitii-s of fleshings and hair mixed witli lime. Please say how it is best to use il on the laml to get best icsults. Any information will be IhanKfully received. J. M., Alton, Ont. 244 QUESTION DRAWER. Reply by Prof. H. L. Hull, O. A. C".. Guelph. Coal ashes are of little or no value as a fertilizer. The elements of greatest value in wood ashes are potash and phosphoric acid, the percentage of which varies greatly according to the kind of wood from which the ash is taken. Analyses made in the Chemical Department here last year, of the ash taken from difTerent trees, showed that cedar ash contained only 3 30% of pot- ash and .98% phosporic acid, while elm ash contained 35. 37% of potash and •45% of phosphoric acid. If you can get plenty of good wood ashes you will have no necessity for buying phosphoric acid or nitrate of soda. The principal element of fertility in the hair and flesh- ings would be nitrogen, which, however, would be largely liberated and lost if mixed with much lime. The best way to use such material would be to com- post it with a large amount of earthy matter, which would retain the am- monia as liberated by the action of the lime. Apply the compost as a top dressing for some field or garden crop. To Destroy Ants. 949. Sir, — What is tlie best method of preventing yomig ants going up young plnm trees, and what will drive them entirely out of the ground? I find them very destructive to the young tree?. I have tried using a rag about the trees, soaking it with coal tar, but that soon dries up. Tuos. NoRKis, Parin. Reply hy Dr Jas Fletcher, of the Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa, Ont. I shall be interested to hear from Mr. Norris, how he thinks that young ants injure his young plum trees, I have never in my experience seen any injury to trees by ants, and I am much more inclined to think that their presence on Mr. Norris's plum trees merely indicates that his trees are infested by plant lice or scale insects. It is just possible that ants may sometimes do harm by mak- ing their nests under the roots of trees, but I am not sure even of this, although I receive very many reports from fruit growers to this effect. The relations between ants and the aphidas or plant lice are well known and have been most delightfully described by Sir John Lub. bock in his book " Ants, Bees and Wasps." The plant lice are actually kept on trees and bushes by ants, so that they may feed on the honey-dew which is secreted by the plant lice, in fact they serve them as cows and have been called "Ants' cows." Some spe- cies of ants collect root-feeding plant lice and carry them into their nests, and not only do they protect them in this way, but they actually collect their eggs in the autumn and take care of them carefully in their nests during the winter. Many other insects are also domesticated by ants, and Sir John Lubbock says " It is not going too far to say that ants have domesticated more animals than we have." I would advise Mr. Norris at once to examine his trees and see if they are not infested with scale insects, or whether he does not find upon the twigs the small black eggs of plant lice. If he does find either of these the trees should be at once spayed with kerosene emulsion. A Scale Insect of the Maple Tree. 949. .Sir, — I enclose you a twig of a ilaple tree covered with a scale insect, for identitication. \V. Reply by Dr. Jas. Fletcher, of the Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa, Ont. Dr. Howard first described this insect as Lecanium persica;, but he has since decided that it is a new species, Lec- anium patelliforme. It can be destroyed by spraying the trees, once before the buds burst, with kerosene emulsion. 245 " ©ur fiiby of 1\k ^notDs," Fi077i a HmtKuUmal point of tttw a chap called Rudyard Kipling, Who is said to be no stripling- When it conies to writing: poetry or prose ; Put at times he seems to stumble And he made an awkward bunjjfle When he dubbed this country " Lady of the Snows.' Now my dear Mr. Kip. If you'll kindly take a trip A.crnss the pond, and bring your summer clothes And see our splendid weather. \nd our country altogether, \ ou would never call it *' Lady of the Snows." See our noble sons and daughters. Our unrivalled inland waters, Vnd our products that to Foreign Markets go; Why, Rudyard, you will wonder What in the name of thunder. Tempted you to call it " Lady of the Snows." ^pples, peaches, plums and cherries. With five hundred kinds of berries. Pears, apricots, grapes, in this country grow Swaying in the balmy breeze, , figs, nut bearing trees, products of the " Lady of the Snows.' 246 As.to quantity and tillage. When you come to (Irimsby Village, Ask Woolverton, for he's the man who kno He doesn't deal in mystics But, he'll give you some statistics. About this charming " Lady of the Snows." And if more you want, you'll get it Just enquire of A. H. Pettit, Who is posted on our record at the shows. Of the big Chicago Fair. And the laurels gathered there By this enterprising " Lady of the Snows." In your land of boggy weather Vou have gardens in some measure Pears upon the wall, gooseberries I suppose But the whole blooming batch Wouldn't be a garden patch When compared with "Our Lady of the Sno True, in winter we have snow. And the temperature is low And at times the roads get driftsd when it blows But with winter sports and pli We enjoy it altogether. Healthy, happy, with our " Lady of the Snows " And now. dear Rudyard Kipling, I won't say you've been tippling. Nor to scold you for you error I propose ; No doubt you meant it kindly. But you did it rather blindly, When you called our country " Lady of the snows ^ . . G. C r\ ueioumans.) «. 1" this writing (Iiine 3) the pro \ mise of an abundant yield of ]iL-aches in the Niagara district is becoming dark, because of the peach curl which is so bad in some orchards that the trees will no doubt be entirely defoliated ; and probably strip- ped of their fruit also We regret we of the interior of the leaf, and is thus shielded from reach, except as it breaks out to mature its fruiting spores. The twigs and leaves are l)Oth affected by the fungus, which has the effect of increasing the cell's growth in the parts affected, and in consequence the leaf is made to curl out of shane as shown in Fig. 1 147 Fig. 1147. — I'runits ptrsica (/,.), Perch. lExoa.^i-uti {B.t Fitckel. have no sure remedy to give our readers for this fungus : some have seemed to rea[) benefit from an early spraying with Bordeau.x mixture, and we hope this may prove effective. The difficulty in the way of an effec- tive remedy is easily understood when we explain that the fungus is intercellu- lar, that is it urows between the cells an illustration from Cornell Bulletin page 73. The evil is perennial in the leaf buds, in which it passes the winter, and quickly develops with the growing leaf in early spring. When ripe the asci (or spore cases) pierce through the outside skin of the leaf, and are freely discharged to continue the si)read- ing of the evil. 259 VALLEY OF THE DON. Fig. 1 14S. — I'l.n.M Pockkts. E. hnijip^'S. There arc several forms of exoascus, affecting tlie cherry and plum, but the effects differ ; that in the ])lum for causing what is commonl}' i-alled "plum pockets " (Fig. 1148). Since the fungus is perennial and lives over winter in the leaf buds, it is evident that trees once affected is likely to show the disease the succeed- ing season, providing climatic condi- tions are favorable. The remoxal of old canes, leaves no hiding place for worm or bug, or eggs for same. It also allows the free circulation of air and the sun penetrates the centre of the bush, making canes strong and vigorous with a good development of fruit buds for the following- season. VALLEY OF THE DON, TORONTO. C/^ rs^HE surroundings of our Queen ( 'ity are most picturesque, and the inhabitants can blame no one but themselves if Toronto is not bounded in several directions by the finest parks in Ontario. The accompanying scene in the Valley of the Don, is an ex- ample of the beauty which Dame Nature has bestowed upon the east end, a ravine which might afford the most delightful drives imaginable, and numerous views of equal beauty may be taken any day by the camera of the artist. Considerable change has taken place since a hundred years ago, when the wolf and deer were almost in undisturbed possession In October iSoi, for ex- ample, Joseph Willcox writes in his Journal, 8th, " I saw a deer in the bog, I fired at him and missed him." 12th, Set off for the mill, and on our way killed a deer in the bog ; I fell out of the canoe, and had to swim ashore, but carried the deer to the mill, and dressed a quarter of him for our dinner." This Mr. Wilcox came to Toronto from Ireland in February 1800, and held an office under Mr Russell, then Receiver-General for Upper Canada. His MS. Journal is quite a curiosity, but not al.vays reliable, as when he speaks of the " Hitmher as navigable nearly hvo miles for large ships?" 260 26l THE CANKER WORM. L^ pAHE Canker Worm is reported as being very destructive to apple orchards in some parts of tlie Niagara peninsula. A box of apple twigs already half denuded of foliage, was brought to this office on the 31st of May, accompanied by the anxious inquiry for some remedy. Of course we suggested spraying with Paris green, but the person claimed that he had already tried this without effect, and that in the summer of 1896, his orchard looked as if a fire had been through it, owing to the devastation of this worm. Fig. 1150. — Moths- of Canker Worm Probably the Paris green was not put on in a sufficiently fine spray, and conse- quently ran off without covering the foliage, or perhaps it was not applied underneath the foliage, and the worm could find plenty of food free from poi- son, or perhaps not continued faithfully enough. We also suggested the trial of a circle of sticky substance about the trunk, applied in early fall on a paper band- age, or a circle of cotton batting. The object is to trap the female moth be- fore she lays her eggs. She is wing- less (see Fig. 1150 b) and after com- ing out of her chrysalis, her first aim is to ascend the trunk of an apple tree, and meet the male moth (Fig. 11 50) This plan is effective if persevered in, but must be kept up for a long time, for the females successively emerge from their cocoons during the mild days both of the fall and the early spring ; it is consequently much more troublesome than spraying with Paris green, and is rather a pre- vention than a remedy. But it has been thoroughly demonstrated that Paris green will effect the des- truction of the Canker Worm if persevered in. Of course when the worm has been neglected until it has become very numer- ous, it will require a large quantity of poisoned foli- age to effect their com- plete route, and consider- able expense. Prof. Bailey used 1500 gallons of Paris green water in seven days, on 240 trees, from May loth to 17th in the work of destroying these worms in a badly infested orchard, but he was successful in utterly routing it at last Professor Fletcher, Dominion Entomologist, writes : — Notwithstanding sional complaints that Paris green is not a very satisfactory remedy for the Canker Worm, this is still the best remedy and the one that we have to rely on for the conirolling of this insect. The chief thins to be remembered is V\u. II.- liulletiii. the occa- 262 MAULES JAPAXESE {HEXCE I'YRUS JAPOXICA MAULEI. that the appHcation should he made early, as soon as the young Canker Worms appear. I know of nothing better to do than to repeat the spraying, being sure to add to the Paris green an equal amount of fresh lime, so that the trees may not be injured. There are two species, Aiiisopteryx Vernata is the spring Canker Worm, which usually does not escape from its cocoon until spring, see Fig. 1152 (/) male, {g) female ; {c\ the worm which is olive green or brown ; and {b) eggs, dark with a small cluster of eggs natural size near at {a\ and {d) a chrysalis. The other is Auisopteryx poi/ietaria, the fall Canker Worm, which is easily distinguishable from the former, by observing the differences in any stage of development, as e. g., the shape of the egg, or the markings of either the male or female moths. The latter appears to be the one more commonly met with in the Niagara peninsula. Hitherto our Superintendent of Spray- ing for Ontario, has directed his efforts almost wholly against codling moth and apple scab, two of our ills ; but we be- lieve it would be well to make one or two special experiments on the destruc- tion of the Canker Worm. MAULE'S JAPANESE QUINCE— PYRUS JAPONICA MAULEI. THE Japanese (|uince, Cyrus japonka or, as it is often called, Cydonia japonica, is a very beautiful and desirable shrub where the climate is not too severe ; but at Ottawa, where the winters are very cold, it is quite unsatis- factory : the wood killing hack more than one half and the flower buds only sur- viving when well protected, and rareb' more than a foot above the ground. A more recently introduced variety, P. Jap- onica Alauki is t]uite hardy at Ottawa. the leaves starting from the tips of the branches and the flowers being much more abundant than in the common species .\ hedge of this pretty shrub at the Experimental Farm has been almost covered with bright red blossoms since May loth. It fruits freely and in the autumn the yellow quinces make it ver}' attractive. These have a strong, pleasant, aromatic odor, but are usually considered as unfit for food. W. r. Macoin. Ccnlral Expi'l Earm, Otlawa 2b7 CULTURE OF GOOSEBERRIES. Z>1 p.^HE gooseberry, under favor- able conditions, is enormous- 1\' productive. It is a fruit that does not like too much hot sunshine, or a hot, dry soil. The best gooseberries I ever grew w as on a rich, cool, moist, heavy soil, well underdrained. It does better on a clav loam than on a sandy loam, and in a young orchard, where it will he the American Pomolo^ical Society who, for health and pleasure, culti- vates a good-sized garden, in which he grows most of the species of fruits that will mature in that climate. 1 saw there twenty varieties of the English gooseberries, which he as- sured me he had grown for nearly twenty years, free from mildew. They were planted on the north side of partially shaded, than in the open currant bushes, by which thev are sunshine. I have seen many very partially sliaded. They are highly productive bushes, or shrubs, of fertilized and well pruned. Last gooseberries growing in rows of bear- summer I saw growing on the home ing apples, pears, peaches and plums. grounds of Mr. Green, editor of When planted in such positions they Green's hVuit Grower, Lancashire should be heavily fertilized that Lad, a large English variety, exceed- neither trees or shrubs should sufl'er ingly productive and free from mil- for want of food. dew. These successful attempts en- The great obstacle to the produc- courage the hope that the finer varie- tion of the finer varieties oi' goose- ties of the gooseberry may be success- berries in this coimtry, has been that powdery mildew, caused b\ a parasi- tic fungus, called Sphaerotheca mors- uvae, which attacks both leaves and fruit. Our attempts to grow the large, delicious English varieties have been bafJIed b\' that fungus until most horticulturists have abandoned the fully grown in this country with suit- able effort. The gooseberry succeeds in the cool, cloudy, moist climate of England. If we as nearly as possible approximate the conditions luider which it flourishes there, by planting on cool, moist soil, partially sliailed, mulch heavily during summer and attempt and restricted their efforts to spray a few times with a simple solu- growing such .American sorts as are but little subject to mildew, such .is Houghton Seedling, Downing and Smith's Improved. Of late years, many have succeeded in producing large crops of liulustry, an English sort, less subject to the fungus growth than the others. Recently there have been some promising .American varie- ties introduced, notably theColunibns. In October, 1892, while on a \ isit to Cambridge, Mass., I calleil upon Benjamin Green Smith, Treasurer ol tion of copper sulphate, or potassium sulphide (liver of sulphur) there is no reason why we may not succeed. tiooseberries are propag.ated to some extent by cuttings, but gener- .ill\ b\ la\ers. The earth is heaped in a nunind around the bushes and the young' sprouts will strike roots. Thev should be planted in rows 4 b\- .(, on ;i rich, liea\ \ soil, well culti- \aled and hea\ il\ primed. The fruit grows on buds lormctl on two-\ear- old wood and on siiurs ami buils of 264 FRUIT 1\ COLD STORAGE. older growth. Pruning' shoulcl be shrub tbrm as the more natural way directed to cutting back the new of growing. It will richly repay for growth and occasionally cutting out very thorougii culture. Green's Fruit superfluous shoots. Some cultivate Grower, in low tree form, but I prefer the FRUIT IN COLD STOR.AGE. The folhnving details are from the evidence of Mr. Jas. W. Robertson, Dairy Commissioner before the Committee of Agriculture. FECIAL provision has been ing of the fruit generates heat. In made for trial shipments of that way the fruit will become self- fruits, particularly those that destructive. A cold storage building have not hitherto been ex-' has been erected at Grimsby, Ont., ported \vith any degree of success, at the expense of the Department, for such .IS grapes, pears, peaches, and these trial shipments. Several of the tomatoes, which may be called either growers there have agreed to furnish fruit or vegetable. In 1895 a trial at least one carload per week. The shipment w as practically entirely fruit will be thoroughly cooled before ruined on the railway car between tlie it is put aboard the refrigerator cars ; place it was sent from and Montreal. refrigerator cars will carr\' it to Mon- .A cold storage chamber on the steam- treal ; a special cold storage chamber ship had no regenerative magic to will receive it on the steamship ; and bring back what was spoiled, to its there will be some one in England to primitive condition of excellence. look after the reception and distribu- tion of the fruit there. In this way By Mk. MiGkec.or . two things will be determined : First- ly, the practicability of shipping this Q. Have you inspectors at Mon- class fruit to Great Britain. It may treal now? A. One is engaged for not be practicable. Pears may decay this season. One of the essential from the heart. Gr ipes may lose conditions, for the safe carriage of the the bloom on their skins from some tender and easily injured fruits, is cause we do not understand. It may that they should be thoroughly cooled not be practicable. 1 think it wholly befoi-e they are put into the railway practicable ; this will furnish proof. car. If cooled to a temperature o'i Secondly, we shall learn whether the 35 or 36 Fahr., practically all fer- trade can be made profitable. It mentation will be stopped, and the might be practicable and not be boxes of fruit will not generate heat profitable. These two propositions by their own ripening. When fruits will be demonstrated ; and the truit- : Ottawa (reduced one halt). Wliyte, OUR NATIVE CYPRIPEDIUMS. Ladies' Slippers or Moccassin Flowers. N every collection of orchids a but none of the high priced foreign sorts prominent place is ^iven, and justly surpass in beauty our native kinds. so, to the genus Cypripedium. Few floriculturists are aware that in our The number of species and hybrids bogs, scattered all over the country, is now very great, and yearly increasing, there grow no less than five species of 269 OUR NATIVE CYPRIPEDIUMS. this most beautiful genus of flow- ers. One of them, C. Arietinuni is only of botanical interest, as it is rather small to be an effective garden flower, but the other four are among the most beautiful and desirable of all hardy plants, and can easily be transplanted from their native haunts to our garden borders. Of these, the most beautiful, most abundant, and singularly enough, consider- ing the great contrast between its habitat and the most favor able spot in a garden, the most easily cultivated is C. spectabik or showy Ladies' Slipper, a large pink and white flower. The moccassin or, as it is botanicall) called; the lip, two inches long by one and a half wide, borne in pairs or sometimes singly on the top of rather coarse leafy stalks 1 8 to 24 inches high. It is found only in sphagnum bogs sometimes in small clumps of a few plants, but often in great abundance. The most wonderful pj„ ii-,4 floral display I ever saw was in an open glade in a bog thirty miles north of Ottawa, where two to three acres were literally covered with this magnificent flower, many thousands of them being in bloom at the time, the last week in June. The best time to transplant it is, of course, when the roots are dormant, but as they are difificult to find then, the next best time is after flowering, when the leaves begin to wither, or as they show themselves above the moss in the spring. I have known them to be suc- cessfully transplanted in the blooming season by taking up a liberal portion of the surrounding bog, so as to disturb the roots as little as possible ; but the nearer you can get to the dormant period the greater will be your measure vo\UIL, liuir photo. Ijy K ]!. Whyte, (1 educed one iialf). of success. The best location in the garden is under the partial shade of trees, or on the north side of a close fence. The soil must be moist and rich, and should never be allowed to become dry in the growing season. They will not thrive in a dry soil or if exposed to the full glare of the sun. C. acaule. — The stemless Ladies' Slipper is a good deal like speclahile in appearance, the lip is a little longer and narrower, over two inches by one inch across, with a deep fold inwards along the top ; the color is a good deal darker, more of a purple than a pink, and the white is not so clear. Its habit is quite different ; instead of the strong leafy stalk of spectabile, two large leaves lie on the 270 ]VET CORNERS— CLIVIA, CYCLAMEN. surface of the ground from which rises a bare scape 12 to 15 in. high, bearing on the top a single flower ; by some thought to be even more beautiful than spectabile. It is somewhat rare in this part of the country. I have never found it except in small clumps, though 1 be- lieve it is abundant in some sections. Its habitat is dark, wet, rocky woods, often on hillsides. It is much more difficult of cultivation than any of the other species. C. pubescens. — Large yellow Ladies' Slipper, a much smaller flower than acaule or spectabile, the lip being about 1^ inches long, bright yellow, with' purple lines or spots, slightly flattened or. the sides, more like a moccassin in shape than either of the others. Found in most woods and meadows, generally several stems growing from the one root, each terminating in a single flower. It is one of the easiest of wild flowers to naturalize in the garden, and is perfectly hardy. Some that I transplanted eight years ago are still blooming beautifully. C. Parviflorum. — Small yellow Ladies' Slipper about two-thirds the size of pubescens, is thought by some botanists to be only a variety of it, but it is cer- tainly a distinct form, differing from pubescens not only in size, but in being more freely spotted and in being com- pressed on the top and bottom instead of the sides. It also prefers moister quarters than pubescens being often found in wet bogs in the company of spectabile, it is, therefore, somewhat more difficult to transplant. R. B. Whvte. Oitazva. WET CORNERS— CLI\TA, CYCLAMEN. T-7 PORTION of my grounds beinS Ml wet and boggy has been made ilji one of the most interesting spots for a spare half hour. I have prepared a winding path through the cedars, wil- lows, cranberries and other growth, and filled convenient spots and glade like openings with some of the valuable plants listed in your June No., adding many clumps of our native pink and yellow Cypripediums, the most beauti- ful of North- American orchids ; also the white and pink hardy Hibiscus, the lat- ter color grows wild in our lake marshes. The Clivia resembles the Agapanthus in habit. The root growth is thick and fleshy, not bulbous ; and as their sea- son of growth is during our summer, they are of easy culture Blooming plants winter best in a fine temperature of fifty degrees, which is as low as most amateurs keep their conservatories, hut five or ten less at intervals will do no harm. When skilled growers find difticultv in drying off the Cyclamen without injury or loss, the amateur is almost certain to fail. Plunge the pot in a cool shady frame or border without watering until growth starts afresh, then re-pot and give full exposure to the light, shading from the direct rays of the mid day sun. H. H. Grofk. Simcoe, Ont. Rothamajjensis alba. Madame Jules' iMiltrc Michael Buehner, Alphonse Lavalei 272 THE LILACS (SY RING AS). magnifictnt ci)llcction of" lilac flowers from the nurseries at Fonthill, received on the I St of June, representing thirty- eight named garden varieties. Such a grand display was well deserving of 'E in Canada are but no- vices in Hor- t i cu 1 1 ure, and know as yet little about the many varieties of beautiful shrubs with which to decorate our lawns and gardens. — Much less do we know concerning the number- lessvarieties of each which our friends, the profes- sional nurserymen, are or- iginating and propagating for our (and their own) benefit. One of the best known of ornamental shrubs is the lilac. Almost every one knows there is a white and a purple lilac, but how many know there are doz- ens of cultivated varieties of great beauty ! These numerous garden varieties are artificially improved from several species, such as S. Chinensis from China, Emodi from the Himalayas, S. Japonica from Jajjan, Persica from Persia, S. Vulgaris from Persia and Hungary, and others. The writer is in- debted to Messrs. Morris, Stone & A\^ellington, for a notice, and was the means of gathering together several members of the Board of the Grimsby Horticultural Society to studv their characteristics. THE LILACS. -0:^ -^0 1 ^.- "^r^^ f^^ ^ j€*^ s 1^0 ^^f>. ^-. It roN 2 S B 2 5 £ aH c a c pEaS-g Fig. 11,")". — LiiAc Hi.ooMS. 274 THE LILACS {SYRIXGA. Among tlic double white \arieties be- fore us, we note Madam Lemoine, beau- tiful thyrse of double flowers, Mark Legranqe, magnificent panicles of single rosy red, fading to pink, very double, panicles closed and compact : Michael ^//rA/;cr pale lilac, rose margined, flowers very double ; panicle erect very large white, and Frau Dammaii, tress Fig.i 195 pyramidal, one of the most striking: /V«/- V ^V/'V;^^^H ^^^B^y!* X > 2^ J^H^fr^:?'-*: ; ^^^^^B V nH H ''9if'^"jf- r ''l^^^^l H| ^ Jean Bart. Gaint de Battailes. Fig. 1158.— Madame Lemoine. Marie Legrange. President Camot. immense, flowers medium, single, one of the best. Of other new double varieties we note Jean Bart, Fig. 1156 long tress, 12 in. flowers rosy carmine : Senator Vo/laiid, dent Carnot, spikes compact, large, flow- ers erect, doubled in a peculiar manner, by having one floret stand out from the inside of another,and sometimes a third ; color delicate tint pale lilac, said to be 275 THE LILAC {SYRINGA. the best bloomer of the double varieties : Renoncule, panicles under size, compact, but looser than Volland and petals of flowers longer and more pointed ; color azure mauve, very fragrant. Of the single varieties we notice Phile- mon, a grand showy lilac of the darkest shade, almost purple: Pyramidalis, pani- cles very large and pyramidal in form, inches in length, and bending to the ground with their weight of flowers. The accompanying cuts from photos may further assist in giving some idea of the varieties mentioned. Our Association has introduced to its members quite a number of these beau- tiful varieties in the plant distribution of this year, not sparing considerable e.\- Fic;. U.vj flower large azure ro.se, carmine in bud. Dr. Lindley, large compact panicles, purplish lilac, one of the finest. Rothamgensis alba and R. rubra are two interesting varieties of Rothamgensis a species produced by crossing S. vulga- ris (common) and S. Persica (Persian), and excelling the latter in robustness of growth : ])aiii(les sometimes lo to i6 J'K.M' Da MM AN. jjcnse in so doing, and we hope this may be the means of creating a deeper inter- est ill the rulli\ation of these beautiful shrubs. A collection of \arieties would interest any amateur, not planting separately, but in large clumjis along the carriage drive, or near the border of the yard. 276 DINNER TABLE DECORATIONS. THE prcUicst and most effective vase that I have ever seen is a plain dark green globe-shaped glass (Fig. 1 1 60), which I have found in four sizes and wish very much I could find some of still larger size than these. The rich green harmonises perfectly with every- thing I have put in it. Flowers look well arranged in silver dishes and vases, if the vases are plain, of simple outline and artistic in design. Ordinarily vases are better if clear or of neutral tint. All dinner table decorations should be either very low or very high — low enough to look over from one side of the table to another, or high enough to look under. Nothing is more annoying to one seated Fio. UUO. at table that to dodge about a mound of flowers to catch a glimpse of one's oppo- site neighbor. Where ribbons are used they must always match either the flowers or the foliage. They may be a lighter or a darker shade, but the color must be the same. Gilt and tinsel are in bad taste, and in fact I have never seen either tin- sel, gilt or ribbon used on a dinner table with good effect. A common mistake is in crowding the table with flowers and ferns, leaving no place for the service. The prettiest dinner table decoration I have ever seen was this. The table was long enough to seat twenty- four guests ; it was si.\ feet wide and had oval ends. A margin of eighteen inches of pure white damask was left all around the table upon which to lay the service, and a set of pans an inch deep was made at the tinsmith's to entirely cover the oval center left after reserving the eigh- teen inches of margin. These pans were made in sections so that they could be used again upon smaller tables. 'I he pans were filled with little plants, ferns, palms, Ij'copodiums, etc., none of which were over nine inches high. The shallow- pans being in sections were readily ar- ranged first, and then placed upon the table. They also protected the table linen, for the little plants were growing in their own earth and were simply lifted from the pots and arranged in the pans with the higher ones in the center and the lycopodiums, etc., drooping over the edge. In among these were placed some delicate cut flowers, violets, lilies of the valley, small roses, etc. — American Gir- denins;. Barnyakd M.\nl're suffers much loss in leaching and drying. Prof. Roberts shows that horse manure when thrown out in a pile unsheltered from the wea- ther, loses nearly half its value in six months ; mixed barnyard manure when piled in a close pile so that fermenta- tion is very slow but without protection from rainfall, loses about one-tenth of its value ; while the loss if thrown under eaves to be leached by rains and thaws of the winter, is much greater. At the N. Y. Experiment Station, fresh manure piled in conical heaps in January, shrank 65 per cent, in weight by April, and the loss of its fertilizing ingredients was equal to $3 per cord of manure.— Am. Agriculturist. 277 SUBSCRIPTION PRICE, $i.oo per year, entitling the subscriber to membership of the Fruit Growers' Association of Ontario and all its privileges, including a copy of its valuable Annual Report, and a share in its annual distribution of plants and trees. REMITTANCES by Registered Letter or Post-Office Order are at our risk. Receipts will be acknowledged upon the Address Label. ADVERTISING RATES quoted on application. Circulation, 4,000 copies per month. LOCAL NEWS.— Correspondents will greatly oblige by sending to the Editor early intelligence of local events or doings of Horticultural Societies likely to be of interest to our readers, or of any matters which it is desirable to bring under the notice of Horticulturists. ILLUSTRATIONS.— The Editor will thankfully receive and select photographs or drawings, suitable for reproduction in these pages, of gardens, or of remarkable plants, flowers, trees, etc. ; but he cannot be responsible tor loss or injury. NEWSPAPERS. — Correspondents spending newspapers should be careful to mark the paragraphs they wish the Editor to see. DISCONTINLIANCES. — Remember that the publisher must be notified by letter or post-card when a subscriber wishes his paper stopped. All arrearages must be paid. Returning your paper will not enable us to discontinue it, as we cannot find your name on our books unless your Post Office address is given. Societies should send in their revised lists in January, if possible, otherwise we take it for granted that all will continue members. -^ |v[otes arid (?onr)iT)ei)t(^. ^ Spraying plu.m trees for leaf spot appears to pay well judging by results given last year by Mr. S. A. Beach, of Geneva, N. Y. The total yield of mar- ketable fruit, in pounds, was 45 per cent, greater where the trees were sprayed, than where they were not sprayed. The trees were sprayed twice with Bordeaux mixture, once about May 25th and once about three weeks later. The Nova Scotia F. G. A. met at Wolfville, on the 20th of January, and passed a resolution inviting the Ontario Association to co operate with them in engaging the Federal Government to grant more liberal aid in establishing and conducting fruit experiment stations in the various ])rovinces. If the Nova Scotian Department of Agriculture would establish fruit experiment stations, such as the Minister of .Agriculture for On- tario has done in this Province, perhaps the Federal Government would co-oper- ate. The Dominion is utilizing these stations in Ontario, and spending some money in making them more effective. Spraying a large orchard like the one at " Maplehurst," of nearly one hundred acres of all varieties of fruit, is no small undertaking. It requires about one hun- dred pounds of copper sulphate, twelve pounds of Paris green and one hundred pounds of lime for each application. It greens everything, men, horses, clothing, all come in from the field a sight to be- hold. Clothing used for this must be ke])t for the purpose, for it is never fit to be seen at other work. But it im- proves the vigor of the trees and lessens the attacks of both fungi and in.sects — so it pays. The only question is, how ol'len ? W'c do not tiiink many can lie 278 XOTES AND COMMENTS. indiucd to spray five times as is advised. Indeed very few will ever do it more than two or three times, unless the clearest jiroof is given that more applica- tions will pay in dollars and cents ; viz., once before the leaf buds open, once he- fore bloom, and once after. The Industrial Fair at Toronto this year promises to surpass that of any previous year, as indeed it should. The poster is a credit to the management, and is quite artistic. It is headed " Can- ada's Great Victorian Era Exposition, and Industrial Fair," and shows fine pictures of Her Majesty in 1837 and in 1897 ; also of the Premier in 1837 (Sir John A. McDonald) and in 1897 (Sir Wilfred Laurier). P'ortunately the Presi- dent of our Association is on the Board of Management, and is doing every- thing in his power to give prominence to both fruits and flowers. About three hundred named vari- eties of apples where shown by the Fonthill Nurseries last year at the In- dustrial, the largest collection ever ex- hibited in Canada. The largest named collection of fruits of various kinds ever shown was made by our Experiment Stations, and their exhibit will increase in interest year after year. The Habits, Food and Economic Value of the Toad, forms the sub- ject of bulletin 46, Mass., A. C. It is shown that only eleven per cent, of the food of the toad is composed of spiders and insects in any way helpful, and eighty per cent, of those which are injurious, such, for example, as sow-bugs, myreapods, grass-hoppers, crickets, may-beetles, tent cater- pillars, gypsy moths, cut worms, army worms, etc., etc. Gardeners, therefore, should encourage the pres- ence of this animal ; artificial shelters may be made by digging out shallow holes in the ground, and partially covering them with a board. Double Apple Blossoms. — Mr. W. J. Kerr, of Renfrew, wTites of a freak in the way of a double apple blossom which he found on a I )uchess apple tree in the County of Renfrew. Mr. Kerr says he will take note of this from year to year and report concerning its constancy. Possibly a double-flowering apple tree might be propagated from this branch, which would make a fine ornamental tree. Mr. Kerr compares the blossom to that of a double white rose. Cook's Hard Soap Emulsion is con- venient because it may be used with either hard or soft water. It is made by dissolving ^ pound of hard soap in two quarts of boiling water, and while still hot add one pint of kerosene, and stir rapidly. This will emulsify at once and when needed for use is diluted with twice its bulk of water. The Riley- Hubbord formula is y^ lb. hard soap dissolved in I gallon boiling water, to which is added two gallons of kerosene. ^\'hen wanted for use, dilute with 9 times the quantity of soft water. One of the finest Peach Orchards in the Niagara District is that of Mr. E. McCardle, near St. Catharines. We visited it on the loth inst. and cannot speak too highly of its excellent condi- tion. First the cultivation was almost perfect, not a weed or spear of grass to be seen, and constantly worked up; — Secondly the fertilizing was liberal, chiefly with wood ashes ; Thirdly the pruning was an example for imitation, not only the dead wood well thinned out, but the growth well shortened back every spring. The only ap]Mrent evil is the Peach Curl, which affects the best orchards as well as the worst in wet 279 NOTES AND COMMENTS. seasons ; but otherwise the large orchard is a picture of health, and is loading well for a fine crop of peaches. The Lecture by Prof. Panton before the Paris Horticultural Society on the 1 9th May was a most instructive one, and the accompanying steriopticon illustra- tion of prizes were greatly appreciated. There were twelve entries for the apple exhibit, one gentleman showing eighteen varieties, a large number considering the season, and all in excellent condition. We, note with great regret the an- nouncement of the death of Mr. Jas. F. Webster, Hamilton, on the 5th ot June. Mr. Webster has been a frequent contri- butor to our pages, and was ever ready to serve the best interests of our various Horticultural .Societies. Fruit Preserving Fluids. — \Ve de- sire to caution our readers against ven- dors of recipes for preserving fruits for culinary use, who go from door to door. Humbugs are the order, and some people seems to be more ready to spend their money on them than upon useful articles. Fifty cents for a recipe to dissolve 36 grs. salicylic acid in a quart of hot water! It does preserve the good appearance of the fruit ; it is one of the chemicals which the writer used for preserving fruits for exhibition at the World's Fair, but is not intended for taking into the human sys- tem. Indeed salicylic acid, if used con- stantly, is very injurious to health. The S.\n Josis Scale is pretty widely distributed in the United States, by means of both nursery stock and fruit. The national nursery man is sure that one is about as important a factor as the other, and any Act that does not in- clude the prohibition of the importation of fruit will be a failure. The most suc- cessful winter wash for the destruction of the insect is said to be 2 lbs. of potash dissolved in i gallon of water. The DiSTRiKUTiON of the Scale by infected fruit is declared by many ento- mologists also to be quite possible. In a bulletin published in 1896 Professor Howard of the Department of Agricul- ture, Washington, says : — " Its impor- tance from an economic standpoint is vastly increased by the ease with which it is distributed over wide districts through the agency of nursery stock and the marketing of Jruit, and the extreme difficulty of exterminating it where once introduced, presenting as it does, in the last regard, difficulties not found with any other scale insect." The Nation- al Nurseryman says : — " A federal bill providing for the inspection of nur- sery stock and not for the inspection of fruit, will, according to the best authori- ties, leave the way open for the dissemi- nation of the San Jose scale through an avenue known to the scientist and prac- tical orchardist." The Gas Treatment of stock has been tried by the Entomologist of the Sewers Experiment Station, with some degree of success. Fumigating bo.xes, costing about $10 were used, in which packages were placed, and treated with hydrocyanide and gas. Possibly this treatment will be a success, generally. Messrs. Reford & Co. write they have fitted up the steamers lona, Hurona and Gerona for London, and Kastalia for Glasgow with cold storage for perishable freight under contract with the Government. Any one may have list of sailing dates from Montreal on application to them, 23 St. Sacra- n)ent -St. 280 NOVELTIES. The Fruit C. rowers of Hamilton, Burlington and Winona met at the Royal Hotel, Hamilton, on the 19th, re San Josd scale. There was a large gathering, Mr. W. M. Orr, our Vice-President, oc- cupied the chair. Prof. Panton, of the O. A. C, Guelph; Mr. Craig, of the Ex- perimental Farm, Ottawa, and others addressed the meeting. A committee, consisting of A. H. Pettit, E. I). Smith, A. W. Peart, George E. Fisher and N. M. Black, was appointed to bring in a resolution. The following is a copy of the resolution, which was unanimously carried. To the Dominion Governmtnt of Caitaila: Resolved, — (1) That the importation fiom the United States, or any other country where the San Jose scale is linown to exist, of nursery stock and siicli fruits as are af- fected by the scale, be entirely prohibited. ^ (2) That a thorough inspection of all nurse- ries and of orchards in those districts in which the scale has been found to e.\ist, be at onoe entered upon, and that tlie trce^ so att'ected shall be uprooted and burned ; and that the growers who may huve trees atfected with the scale, and thereby be subjected to serious monetary loss, be in a ntCa-surc coni- pcnsate Sir, — I send you sample of insect attacking Norway Spruce. They number thousanils, though mostly in chrysalis state yet (May -iStli). What will kill them, and not the hedge ? Adam Bonn, Gait. Reply ly Dr. Fletcher, Ottaiva. The spruce twigs from Mr. A. Dunn, of Gait, came safely to hand. The in- sects are the same species as was very abundant on a spruce hedge belonging to IJr. Smale, of Wro.xeter. It is a spe- cies of Retiiiia, and as the moths are just now issuing, the remedy which sug- gests itself is to spray the hedge at once with kerosene emulsion, which will de- stroy many of the moths and prevent them laying their eggs again on the same hedge. This moth is well known, but it is only occasionally that it is so trouble- some as you describe. Hog Refuse for Fertilizer. 951. Sir, — Please give me recipe for preparing a mixture of hog refuse, blood, bones and hair, for a fertilizer. D. BoLDEN, CoUinfiviood. Reply by R. Haramrt, Assistant Chemist., O. A. C, Gnelph. The best way to prepare a mixture of hog refuse, blood, bones and hair, for a fertilizer, is to thoroughly dry them and then grind to a fine powder. This will bring the whole mass into a convenient form for handling, and, at the same time, render more available the various fertili- zing constituents which it contains, espe- cially the phosphoric acid of bone. This method may be impracticable for the farmer or fruit grower who wishes to make use of these crude materials. Oood results have been obtained by breaking up the bone as finely as possible, by use of mallet or otherwise, and mixing it with the hog refuse, blood, etc., and composting with stable manure. Where a large amount of bone is to be treated, this method may not give the best re- sults, as phosphoric acid of bones would be but slowly rendered available. A good plan for dissolving bones is to mix them with wood ashes and place in a tight box, covering the whole mass with damp earth to prevent loss of nitrogen, which will be liberated from the bones by the action of the lime in the ashes. Gooseberries. 9->3. Sir, — What do you consider the best Red Englisli Gooseberry ? Also, the best White or Yellow ? What is the average yield per tree, when not troubled by mildew ? Mildew is unknown here. What is the gen- eral price obtained for ripe English Gooseber- ries ? Can English Gooseberries be made a success on light sandy soil ? Downing, Houghton, Smith's Improved and other Am- erican varieties yield well here, when man- ured, as does also the Industry ; but the Industry is a very feeble grower, seeming to put all its vigor in fruit. Red .Jacket is a rampant grower, but a shy bearer of late, poorHavored berries. D. J. Stewart, AitktrCs Ferry, P.B.I. We would like some of our gooseberry growers to reply. At Maplehurst we have thus far grown only the American varieties, such as Houghton, Downing, Smith and Pearl. Recently we have added about fifty English sorts, which are not yet in bearing, excepting Indus- try and U'hitesmith, the latter of which mildews considerably. We have always looked upon Whitesmith as the best white, and Crown Bob as the best red for growing in Canada. jS2 QUESTION DRAWER. The Alexander Apple. 9S6. Sir, — Can you give nic the date and place of origin of the Alexandc-r apple ? D. J. S., A. F., P.E.I. The Alexander apple originated at Moscow, Russia, toward the end of the 1 8th century. It was called Aporta, until in 1817 Mr. Lee, a nurseryman near London, introduced it into Eng- land under the title of Alexander the First, in honor of the Emperor of Rus- sia. The Cabbage Maggot. 9.57. 81K, — 1 have he«n a siibscrihcr for some years of the Hokticclturist and take a great pleasure and pride in its improvement, but I have not seen the Cabbage Maggot spo- ken of. Is there any way of getting at them ? 'i'hey appear to work at the root, are very ilestructive on cauliflowers, and last season they destroyed nearly my whole lot, up to the time they were the size of a man's fist. Any information you could give me will be appreciated. (Jko. \V. Hascom, Gah, On'. Reply by Dr. Fletcher., Central E.xperi- mental Farm, Ottaiva. I must apologize for not having an- swered your favor with regard to the Cabbage-root Maggot sooner, but I took it with me in my pocket when I was going to meet you at Mr. Thonger's orchards, and then forgot to speak to you about it. The Cabbage Maggot is an extremely difficult insect to control, but I have always had sufficient success to pay for the application of the remedy, by treat- ing the plants with White Hellebore. My method is to draw away the earth from around the roots and then syringe in, with some little force, a decoction of White Hellebore, made by steeping four ounces of White Hellebore in an ordi- nary pail-full of water. This not only throws out many of the maggots which lie in the earth close around the stems, but the hellebore also has the effect of killing the insects. The potash salt known as kainit is very highly spoken of by some of the large New Jersey onion growers for this same insect, and is wor- thy of a trial here. This salt both kills the maggot and acts as a strong fertilizer for the cabbages. DAI'HXK CXEORUM- CARLAND FLOWER. THI.S charming little shrub, native of ICastcrn Europe, began blooming on the 13th of May, and was still in full flower at the end of the month. A cluster of the sweet scented, bright pink blossoms terminate nearly every branch of this slirul), and when these are all opened it appears almost one mass of flowers. Although a low, slow growing shrub it is very desirable for the flower border and (]uite hardy at Ottawa. W. T. M.^couN. Central E.xperimental Farm, Ottawa. 283 f Tl}e f p^it (?Pop. $ Present iiulication.s aie l)y no means so favorable as the promise at lilooming. Cher- ries have blighted and thinned out very much ; plums are badly taken by curculio ; peaches, apples and pears are a fair crop of certain varieties, in the Niagara District, but not overabundant ; while, in some parts, peaches are reported a failure. Indeed, in most of the peach growing States of the Union, except Missouri, the peach crop pro- mises to be very light. Norfolk County. Sir, — In the neighborhood of .Simcoe Co. Norfolk, fruit prospects were never better. Apples, in spite of the great crop of last year, promise an average yield. Plum and cherry trees are heavily laden. Peara are a good crop. Small fruits of all kinds promise an abundant yield. Strawberries are coming on slowly and will be late. Peaches are not much grown ; have heard of some fruit, but the trees are badly afiected with leaf-curl. Yours truly, J. A. CAMl-nELL. (^berries will be a fair cr.jp. Karly Rich- mond injured by May frost. Montmorency and English Morello very well loaded. Very few sweet cherries grown here. Plums give great promise, especially Lom- bard I have fifteen trees in chicken yard, a>id they are already bending with the fruit. I have not sprayed and [ see no stung fruit yet. Varieties— Lombard, Bradshaw, tiolden Prolific, Imperial Gage and Quackenboss. In another lot I have Pond's Seedling. Shipper's Pride, General Hand, the latter a very shy bearer. I have also Abundance, VVillard and Burbank, but no fruit, though blossom. I begin to fear that the Japan plums will only do in the more favored sections of Canada, or where the peach will thrive. Blackberries are in bloom now and promise an abundant crop. Vours truly, A. W, Gkaham, SL Tho/nii", Unt. St. Thomas Notes. Sir, — Everything here is about two weeks later than a year ago. The May frost injured the early strawberry blossoms, but the crop promises to be up to the average. Raspberries, notwithstanding the mild win- ter, are considerably injured by the cold, especially Shatter and Marlboro' ; Cuthbert and Turner are all right. Currants will not be half a crop ; Victoria and White Grape are well loaded, but Fay, Cherry and Ver.sailles have only here and there a bunch. I find Victoria my favorite, Prince Albert next, and, for early, the Ver- sailles ; Fay the greatest bearer of the lot. Reii Dutch and North Star too small. ( iooselierries will be about half a crop, which will be enough with last year's condi- tions. I only picked about half my crop (Downing and Smith's Improved), I could not get enough to pay for jiicking. Your corres- pondents keep on telling how to grow ; can't some of them tell us how and where to sell them at a profit. It appears to me we must (juit growing suuiU gooseberries and selling them green, and grow the large ones and sell them ripe. People won't can green, sour gooseberries, when they can get other fruit as cheap as they could last year. Apples, contrary to expectations, will be a fair crop. No Red Astrachan, but plenty Yellow Trans|)arcnt and Oldenburg, and many of the winter kinds arc bearing well. Huron County. Sir, — I went through my orchard recently. The cherries are a heavy crop, plums very good and very free from curculio ; pears well loaded, small fruits in abundance, grapes showing well ; apples, although very thick with blossom, will be a very light crop, nearly all oH ; all the time they were in bloom it was very wet weather ; I faid then I was afraid the apples would w t .set well, the pollen was all washed off, besides the bees couldn't work on it ; we had no frost to hurt. I have found the Spys and (Jabasheas generally shy bearers, but this year they were covered with bloom, young Spys as well. I find the BalJwins to be standing the best of all, but they will be a light crop ; all other varieties a'most no crop. Walter Hick, Godericli. Ontario County. Sir, — I have just got in after a drive of twenty miles through the fruit growing part of this district, and from notes taken, sum- m vrize the following : — Apples, 70 to SO per cent, of a full crop ; pears, 90 per cent. ; plums, a full crop, and more, as many vaiie- ties are literally crowded ; cherries, nearly a full crop, say, 90 per cent. ; gooseberries ami red currants, heavily loaded. Some com- plaints of mildew on gooseberries, where not ])roperly sprayed : black currants, about 70 per cent ; strawberries, good ; grajies are late, but plenty of clusters formed. Taken all round, the fruit crop will exceed last year, except in apples, which will be about the same, according to present appear- ances. THE FRUn CROP. The waiin weather, tlie past week, has made a marked difference in the si/.e of the fruit ; some neglected orchards are literally crawling with tent caterpillars and canker worm. When will farmers learn to protect their fruit trees, insteaank and .Abundance. -'85 ^ ©pel? I®etfep(?. ^ Windsor Cherry. Sir, — Young Windsor Cherry trees made a good growth last summer, but this spring there are ver}' few leaves ; the only buds that seem to be in good condition, that is, are sending out full-sized leaves, are those at the end of the growth of '95, and the second ter- minal bud on the growth of '96. The buds seem to open out at the proper time, but con- tained nothing. Some of them are now send- ing out very small leaves, but no fruit-buds. Lutovka and Minnesota O.stheim are in the tame condition. I enclose you a sample bud. What is the matter ! Thermometer fell to 20° below last winter, and was reported 24' below— the coldest known for 30 years. The wood of young trees of Spaulding. Burbank, Bradshaw, (Jenii and many other plunrs, is uninjured, except perhaps a loss of an inch. D. .J. .Stewart, Ailk-en's Ferry, P.E.I. New Fruits. Sir, — Seeing in the .June number of The HoRTici LTURisT, iri " New Fruit." by E. Morden, a rather severe discrinjiuation against Ku.ssian Apricots, I wish the writer of said article couhl visit my orchard this season before Apricots are ripe. I think we could convince him that they are come to stay. There are several tiees of dift'erent varieties as heavy loaded as the trees can carry, and I cannot find a curculio mark on any of them. The tiees are more hardy than Peach, having borne Fome fruit even in the past two years, when Plums failed here. One of the trees measures 2 feet 6 inches across the trunk. Japan Plums, too, come in for a share ; oue thing, thty have an advantage over Pru- nils domeslica, in being entirely free from black-knot. S. Hunter. Haalhurn Phce, Scbllaml, Out. A Long- Keeping- Apple. Sir, — I have a young seedliug apple tree that bore heavily last year. I put a peck of the fruit in a barrel of Russets, and when I sold the Kussets, I found the others were still sound. So I put them away again and tliey are nearly sound at the present date, .June 19th. The (juality is not very high, but the apple is a woncferful keeper-, and the tree is very productive. W. G. Watsom, Dixie, Onl. Price of Grapes. Sir,— Grapes here look fine and promise a fairly good crop. All grape growers should combine, who have an acre or nrore of virre- yar'd. and sell no grapes for less than IJ cent per lb. All grapes unsold 1 airr willing to take at that price, aird make into wine. There is a large wine cellar here, with marry empty tanks, so I can make it up with little e.itpense. I will send a sanrple of my last year's wine to any person irrterested. D Gruenp.eck, TiUnnlmri/h. SWEET PEA WINDOW SCREEN. ^>]-[N^HE sweet pea is suggested by a go to seed, a constant succession of writer in the [.adies' Home Journal, for a screen against the ugh'ness visible from many hack windows. C;iven a long, narrow box for this purpose, with a simple trellis work of ordinary wire or twine, well pulverized and enriched earth, with a small addi- tion of sand and a moderate amount of sunshine — sweet pea vines being easily scorched — and a pretty window, a fra grant room, and plenty of blossoms for cutting may be confidently counted on, says the authority quoted, and an ac- companying illustration verifies the statement. Following are additional notes gleaned from the same source : A peculiarity of sweet peas is that the higher they are trained the more pro- fusely they will bloom, and if all fading blossoms are removed before they can bloom is secured. Kio. UUl. — Sweet Pea Window .Screen. 286 TH E Canadian HoirncuLTUKLST Vol. XX. 1897. So. S. ms^ STONY CREI'K AND FONTHILL FRUIT GARDENS. OT a very poetical, or even appropriate name is Stony Creek for a naturally beauti- ful section where fruit gar- dens abound and the .scenery is most picturesque. We would humbly suggest a change to some more euphonious and appropriate name, if the owners of land in that section ever expect a boom in landed property Having an hour to spare, while waiting for the Buffalo train, we climbed the mountain and secured some fine views of the pretty country below. In one direction lay Stony Creek, with its power house for the H. G. & B. electric road, and its beautiful orchards, reaching away to the shore of Lake Ontario ; and in another a distant view of Burlington Bay, Burlington Beach and IJurlington Heights, and near at hand the famous battle field of 1812, where a few Canadian Militiamen routed a camp of American soldiers who f5ed to Niagara, leaving behind camp-kettles ammunition, and many other articles now treasured by the antiquary as relics of that Aar. The bridge at the right in Fig. 1162 marks a ravine which is the entrance to Stony Creek Park, eight acres in extent, now being improved b.y the Davis Bros. In it is a beautiful fall, which, though small in width, yet in height is said to rival Niagara. Fruit land here is very valuable, especially since the H. G. & B. trolly has been built. For instance a nice orchard of 23 acres to the right of the bridge, planted to peach and fruit trees with house and barn, is held at $5,500, and generally speaking fruit land is worth from $150 to $300 per acre. From Stony Creek and Winona, the T. H. & B. creeps up the mountain, showing below the most charming views of orchards and gardens of peaches, plums, pears, apples, grapes and small fruits, such as cannot fail to attract the attention of the great travelling public to the advantage of this section for that department of agriculture. The country from Winona to Fenwick is uninteresting, but the drive of four miles from Fenwick to Fonthill reveals acres of as good garden land as can be STOA'V CREEK AND FONTHILL ERl'lT GARDENS. found anywhere, which only needs better shipping privileges to be ranked as first- class fruit land. Even as it is, with the Ci. T. R six miles distant, and the T. H. & B. four, large acreages of peach orchards and small fruits have been planted, and give excellent returns, for there is no finer peach soil in Canada. The country about Fonthill is rolling and near by is the highest point of the Niagara Peninsula, an elevation whence at times lakes Erie and Ontario are both discernible. Our frontispiece shows a view from near Fonthill, looking north east, with Mr. E. Morris, the nurseryman, in the 290 STO.VV CREEK AXD FONTUILI. FRUIT GARDENS. foreground, and just below some of his nursery stock, while in the mid-distance Thorold and to the left St. Catharines is barely distinguishable. A visit to Fonthill would be incom- plete, if it did not include the Fonthill Nurseries, the most extensive in the Ho- minion, covering in all, about 700 acres tain ash, in the middle background a fine hedge of Spiraea \'an Houtti, and on the right one of Norway Spruce, beautifully trained, and in the reara rowof Pyramidal Arbor Viije, which is adapted to become a beautiful ornamental hedge. On the left is seen a variegated Dogwood, Paul's Double-flowering Thorn, and a Scotch Fig. lliiS. — P.to.xiE-, Xorway Sprcce Hedces .wd Ofkices, kkum Photo r.v Miss Mauel F. Woolverton. of ground. Desiring to see the rose plantation, then in their full glory, we visited these nurseries, and were very curteously treated by the proprietors, Mr. W. E. Wellington & Mr. E. Morris, who furnished carriages for carrying the writer and his assistant, with accompany- ing cameras, through their grounds. The entrance (Fig. i i6.j)is very pretty, having on the right a fine \\"eepingMoun- piiie. Driving in past the greenhouses and ofliices, we passed some large gar- dens of beautiful ptconies of all colors. A snap from this point looking back toward the entrance with a Xorway Spruce hedge near at hand, was loo good to miss (Fig. 1163). In addition to the trees before mentioned it shows a fine Cut leaved Weeping birch near the office. From here we were driven through 291 STONY CREEK AXD FONTHILL FRUIT GARDENS. Fk;. lllU — View i THE ROSE SEASON, 1897. rose season for 1897 is past, and we might al- most say that for bloom and magnificent dis- play it has been a jubi- lee season for that queen of flowers Never before had I such a gorgeous dis- play and for many days my garden was X source of general attraction to lovers of the beautiful. But the season was course has much to do with this varia- tion. Among the darker sorts the Jean Liabaud has easily led all the others, Baron de Bonstetten coming second, Fisher Holmes third. Prince Camilla was not at all satisfactory. Of the crimson varieties the Jack still leads, and though not as compact a rose as one would like it is not likely to be sur- FiG. 1193, — View i>j Mr. Race's Harden, Mitchell. nevertheless disappointing in that it was so short, owing to the extreme hot weather which set in with the first blooming, and continued till every bud was either forced into bloom or withered before opening Every year seems to bring a new e.x- perience to the rose grower, and every season fresh favorites. Roses that I have given only second or third places heretofore have easily taken first rank this season, and some of my former favorites have done only fairly well this year. The character of the season of passed for years to come. Another magnificent rose of a lighter shade is the Ulrich Brunner which among its class has easily taken first rank this sea- son. Among the still lighter shades the Jules Margottin has quite outstripped the Magna Charta this season, but both have been beaten by the Francois Michelon, Baron Prevost, and Duke of Edinburgh. Going a shade still lighter what can surpass Madame Gabriel Luizet for beauty of form and profuse blooming ? It is truly a charming rose, and should be first choice in its class in 312 THE ROSE SEASOX, iSi^j. Fig. 11!)4. — Vikw in Rose Garden. every collection. Coming to the whites, all others for outdoor growing must take a second place to Madame Piantier, and Merveille de Lyon. I cannot close, how- ever, without saying a word for climbing Jules Margottin and climbing A'ictor Verdier. The former, cut back to three feet, forms the centre of Fig. 1193, hav- ing at the time it was taken over 40 full blooms. I may, say hovever, that those views give but a faint idea of the mass of bloom or brilliant display they are supposed to represent. On the extreme left of Fig. 1 1 94 in the m OUR NATIVE CYPKIPEDIUMS. distance, is a bush of Madame Plantier, with nearly one hundred full blooms on it, though it does not show any number very distinctly. Fig. 1 195, with the side- house view, contains a double row, 20 feet long, comprising fifty varieties, all splendidly in bloom. The photo, does not do the display anything like justice. Just a word in conclusion about treat- ment. The first thing that attracted the attention of every visitor svas the rich- ness of my foliage This I attribute largely to a strong application of un- leached hardwood ashes early in the season. Besides supplying potash the ashes help to retain moisture in the soil after the dry season sets in. I dig in a coat of manure during August or Sep- tember and leave all the growth thus encouraged till the following spring. I used no insecticide this season except my finger and thumb until the 28th of June when the leaf slug got so bad that I was compelled to give a spraying of Paris green water. T. H. Race. Mitchell. OUR NATURE CYPRIPEDIUMS. FlO. Il!»(>. — (;. .Sl'KCTAIllLE. C I'UHEscEN.s not spcclabik, was the orchid shown on page 269, in illustra- tion of Mr. R. B. Whyte's article on "Our Native Cyjiripediums." We now give the engraving of C. spertahik-. which should have appeared in that connection, though reduced in size fully one half. We highly value Mr. Whyte's communication, and hope he will con- tinue as a constant contributor to our floral department. In Growinc, Filiierts never grow the plant shrublike, but grub up every shoot but one and train it in the form of a tree. All young shoots should be kept grubbed up until the tree begins bear- ing, after which young shoots will cease coming up. Filberts can be planted lo ft. apart in the rows and rows should be 100 to 150 ft. apart for satisfactory re- sults. The intermediate space can be planted to many varieties of grain, vege- tables, strawberries or anything that suits the views of the owner. Filberts require an abundance of water and should be irrigated often in an irrigated country: in localities where the natural rainfall is depended upon, they should be planted wljere the soil is moist and damp. I'arm .ind Home. SCBSCRIPTIOX PRICE, $i.oo per year, entitling the subscriber to membership of the Fruit (.'.rowers' Association of Ontario and all its privileges, including a copy of its valuable Annual Report, and a share in its ai nual distribution of plants and trees. REMrrT.\KCES by Registered Letter or Post-Office Order are at our risk. Receipts will be acknowledged upon the Address Label. ADVERTISING R.\TES quoted on application. Circulation, 4,000 copies cer month. LOCAL NEWS.— Correspondents will greatly oblige by sending to the Editor earlv intelligence of local events or doings of rlorticultural Societies likelv to be of interest to our readers, or of anv matters which it is desirable to bring under the notice of Horticulturists. ILLUSTRATIONS.— The Editor will thankfully receive and select photographs or drawings suitab'e for reproduction in these pages of gardens, or of remarkable plants, flowers, trees, etc. ; out he cannot be responsible tor loss or injury. NEWSP/\PERS.— Correspondents sending newspapers should be careful to mark the paragraphs they wish the Editor to see. " "^ DISCONTINUANCES — Remember that the publisher must be notified by letter or post-card when a subscriber wishes his paper stopped. All arrearages must be paid. Returning your paper will not enable us to discontinue it, as we cannot find your name on our books unless your Post Office address is given. Societies should send in their revised lists in Januriry, if possible otherwise we take it for granted that all will continue members. ' -^ jvfotes arid ^onr)fi)er)t(^. ^ Wooi.vEKTON Strawberry. — Mr. J. B. Bruce, N'ernon, B.C., thinks there must be a mistake in calling the Wool verton a late strawberry. The following is a record of his varieties with dates of ripening: Michel, June ist; Wilson, June 3rd : Woolverton, June 3rd ; Clyde, June 7th. All berry picking is best done by the quart. Indeed, with the present low prices prevailing we must figure closely if we make any profit, and a uniform price ought to he -paid by growers. We have been paying i cent a quart for picking gooseberries, currants, straw- berries and blackberries ; i to 2 for cherries, according to variety and crop ; I '2 for raspberries, except for first and last pickings, ADr which we pay e cents. Is this about the scale of prices adopted by our readers ? " Chrvsanthe.mcms ok 1896," is the subject of Cornell Bulletin 136, which contains several full sized photogravures of choice blooms, e. g. : Oriental Glory, (iood Gracious, Miss Magee, Rosy Imperative, and Lenawee. As good blooms as are shown, it is stated, may be grown in the house window : and to succeed well, amateurs should grow plants with from three to si.\ large characteristic flowers. Canada's Great Victorian- Era li.xi'OsiTiON AND Industrial Fair. — \Ve have received a copy of the Prize List for the great Victorian- Lra Exposi- tion and In(^strial Fair, which is to be held at Toronto, from the 3otn .\ugust to the nth September next. It promises to exceed in magnitude and attractive- ness all previous exhibitions held in Canada. Among the many special 3«5 NOTES AND COMMENTS. features to be provided will be a dupli- cate of the principal features of the great Jubilee procession in London, England, on the 22nd of June, all the uniforms, costumes and properties being brought from England for the purpose at an enormous cost Anyone desiring a copy of the Prize List can procure one by dropping a post card to the Manager, Mr. H. J. Hill, Toronto. CuRR.\NTS have been a very dull sale this season in Ontario, in some cases only 2 and 3 cents a quart. Indeed, some of our near markets will not take them at all, a most discouraging state of affairs when the crop is so good. Fortunately some of the more distant markets, in large cities, are more satis- factory, perhaps because of the demand for currant jelly among the wholesale confectioners. Buffalo reports 4 and 5 cents a quart, and a Commission house in Chicago quotes $2.50 per bushel, or, about 8 cents per quart. We have ship- ped two or three hundred baskets to Chicago to test the matter, and will re- port the result. There is one thing in our favor, and that is the refrigerator cars, by which we can transport fruit in car-lots at little more than freight rates. The San Jose Scale on Fruit. — Our British Columbia friends are wide awake to the danger from the importa- tion of fruit infested with the San Jose scale. More than a year ago we re- ceived a copy of the Act providing against the importation of fruits and fruit trees affected with insects or fungi, and the provisions are being rigidly en- forced. So far the orchards in their fer- tile valleys are free from Codling moth, and every care is taken to prevent its introduction. About two years ago a carload of fruit from this province was seized and destroyed, because affected with Codling moth ; and now the same energetic measures are being employed to protect the country from San Jose scale. The following is a clipping from The Vancouver World of Sat., 3rd of July :- Inspector Cunningham, whose vigi- lance in protecting fruit-growers and consumers from the introduction of diseased fruit is worthy of all praise, has seized and condemned a consignment of California apples, which arrived by the last California steamer. The apples are badly infected with the deadly San Jose scab. The samples which a World representative has inspected show the fruit to be not only unfit for human food, but constitutes a serious danger to our own orchards. The samples can be seen in The World office. The Board of Horticulture is doing good work ifi protecting our people from imposition. Mr. Cunningham believes that this shipment of apples, which comes consigned to a prominent firm, was condemned in San Francisco, and sent here as a last resort. When the consignor has paid the expenses inci- dental to this venture he will think twice before again taking the risk of dumping diseased fruit on British Columbia mar- kets, for no chances of infection will be taken in permitting infected fruit to be landed at any quarantine port in the Province. A member of the Board of Horticulture leaves for the interior next week whose duty it will be to inspect quarantine stations and effect such re- forms in the administration of the regu- lations of the Board of Horticulture as may be deemed necessary. American shippers will do well to make a note of this incident and of the determination of the Board of Horticulture to guard our fruit growing interests. The board will fight to the end any attempt made to make this Province a dumping ground for bad fruit. 316 NOTES AND COMMENTS. Seedling Cherry. — Mr. John Gorm- ley, of Pickering, sends samples of a wonderfully firm cherry, that would be of great value for distant shipments. The form and color is about that of the Wragg, or English Morello, but the flavor is very superior, being like that of a Bigarreau, which it also resembles in texture of flesh. It appears to be su- perior to the Bigarreau in its resistance of decay, these samples keeping a week in perfect condition. We would like to hear more of this variety. The Peach crop in the Niagara dis- trict as far as Hamilton is very heavy, many growers are for the first time thin- ning their trees to prevent their breaking down with their load of fruit. Advices from Chicago indicate that the western crop is very light and that the prices of peaches in that market will be very high. This will afford a fair exchange of shipments, for in previous years Michigan peaches have flooded our Canadian markets. Returns from Chicago for currants were not very satisfactory owing to the high express charges of $1.50 per 100 lbs. The first shipment of currants sold for about 6j-4 cents a quart, leaving a net return of about 3 cents ; and the second sold at about 4c., leaving a net return of about i^ cents. A duty of 2 cents a pound- has since been put on currants by the U. S., which will shut out our shipments. Possibly we can export them in cold storage to Great Britain. The Leaf Curl has been fairly well prevented in the Michigan peach orch- ards on the trees which were sprayed with Bordeaux mixture both before and after the buds opened. Child's Rur.v and Wilder Cur- rants have come to hand from B. F.Clos- som, Highland Creek. In size of berry both are about equal to the Cherry, but the bunches of both, like those of Fay's are larger. Of the two, Wilder appears to be the morecompact in bunch. Mr. Clos- som says the bushes are strong, upright and vigorous, not sprawling like Fay. The Wragg and the English Morello are ripening about the same time (July 20th) and show very Uttle distinction. The latter is a trifle the larger as grown at " -Maplehurst," but which is the most productive must be decided later. Of the Sour or Kentish Cherries, the most satisfactory thus far with us is the large Montmorency. The old Pie cherry, or late Kentish, has long been grown in Canada, but is subject to cur- culioand black knot. In flavor it is very acid, as is also the Montmorency Ordin- aire, which much resembles it ; but the large Montmorency is a mild tart, a larger size, and a good bearer. Mr. W. M. Orr, Provincial Super- intendent of Spraying, called on the 23rd July. He is engaged under the Department of Agriculture, inspecting orchards for San Jose Scale, and brought specimens of plums and apples from an orchard near the border of New York State which were literally swarming with San Jose Scale. They clustered in great numbers about the stalk, and caused a reddish hue, which would puzzle the un- initiated. The trees were alive with the terrible pest, which had been imported on a lot of 800 trees from a nursery in New Jersey, and fifty trees of this lot were in the orchard referred to. Inspector Orr states that the owners of infected orch- ards demands unreasonable compensa- tion for the destruction of infested trees. Our government needs to take the most decided and determined action in this matter, or our business of fruit growing 3'7 NOIES AND COMMENTS. will be ruined. Possibly it will be necessary to pass a law compelling the destruction of infested trees, and that with little or no compensation, for of what value is a tree infested with San Jose Scale ? The labor and expense of treatment would be as much as a tree is worth. Mr. Alex. McNeill, of Windsor, writes his grape crop never looked bet- ter. He has just put in 8000 tile, and built 25 miles of trellis, besides prepar- ing to build a barn to replace the one destroyed by the cyclone last year. He is off now to Bay View, Michigan, for two weeks' holidays. Not all Profit. — Mr. McNeill is inclined to criticise Mr. E. D. Smith's article on " Fruit Growing." He writes : " I am a little surprised that no one has written any comment on the papers by our friend Mr. E. D Smith. It appears to me that there is another side to the question that should be presented. My first impulse when I had finished read- ing the papers was to sit down and show where he was likely to lead your readers very much astray. But twelve or four- teen hours a day of manual labor on my part has saved Mr. Smith's reputation as far as I am concerned, and it is just pos- sible that a few hundred more deluded victims will buy nursery stock at a good lound figure in the fond hope that they will at once ' rake in the shekels,' with- out any of the precautions or conditions necessary in other professions. I am in hopes of Imving a word to say on this subject yet." '1 HI! Fruit Prospects have changed very decidedly since wc last reported. The api>les have fallai so badly that the crop will be very small indeed, except- ing a few varieties. The Northern Spy )»ro»ii5e« a bettur crop than «ny other. being well loaded with fine clear fruit. Unfortunately the scab has appeared this season on many varieties ; we have noticed it particularly on Early Harvest, Red Astrachan, Cranberry .Pippin, and Greening. The Bartlett pear is clean but the Flemish Beauty and Louise are very badly affected. White Holland. — This is the finest white currant we have seen. The bush was sent us for testing but we have lost the record of the originator. The ber- ries are about equal to those of the Cherry in size, and more productive. The bunches are very long, many of them measuring five inches in length. The flavor is mild subacid, and the sea- son from July 12 to 25th or about the same as the Cherry. Farming, our excellent contemporary, which deals with the interests of the farming community in the same lines that we do those of the fruit growers, is to be commended for the excellent article which has appeard in the July number on the San Jose' Scale. This deserves perusal by all fruit growers. We quote a sentence or two. " We wish particularly to impress upon the minds of fruit growers that as soon as this insect is found to occur in an orchard the most strenuous measures must be taken to stamp it out. No half way steps will suffice. Fruit growers must be mutually helpful in an emerg- ency like this." We regret that they are not as mutually helpful as we could wish. We know of a fruit grower who refused $250 cash, from the Ontario Inspector of San Jose Scale, for the [xivilege of destroying about 100 infest- ed trees in his orchard. If this is the way our growers act, we must have legislation empowering the inspector to destroy the trees without conTpensation to the owner. 3iS -^©(j^^fioQ Dpdlo^r*. ^ Sag-e. i>-)8. Sir, 1 wouM lie pluasud if some rciiiliM- would give in tliis .lournal some hints on growing sage for njtiiket. .1. 15. Briik, Vei-iioit. B.C. Insect on Currants and Goose- berries. !».>«». SiK. liciii^ iiineli illl(■^.•^.t^•.l iii llortiiultuie ainl Kniil (irowing on a small seale, I would lie glad to learn from what cansc it is, and what it is, that ha-f so hjHied my cH'orts this season in attempting to grow I'Urrants and gooseherries. This season I was expecting some returns for past labor. I have grown small fruits for several years, hut never with ."iuch a discouraging feature as this sea- son. The hushes were well euriched, well mulched and were all that could he desired ; all leafed out and showed healthy habits, were coveied with blossom and looked very prom- ising, when a tiny insect maile its appearance about the size of a pin's nob, in color brown aiul black, and literally infested the new growth and attacked the fruit by the myriads when it was just setting, sapping the vitality of the bushes, causing the leaves to turn brown and in some instance to kill the bushes. I tried a weak solution of Paris green, which I have always used with success for the rav- ages of the currant worm, but in this invasion |)rotited nil ; the black currant bushes were attacked perhaps worse than any. The result is that, from .some forty Hve bushes, there will not be more than a handful of fruit. This pest on small fruits is new in my experience, and that while apple trees growing on the same lot have this season been free of any ravages of in.sects, which is the first time I remember the like. Would you kindly inform me how I. may prevent a repetition of the evil, whe- ther it is a sort of blight, or what? Rkv. W. a. Aihhuk, Snyder Blackberry Blights. OfiO. Sir, — S mie months ago I asked the HiiRTicfi.Ti"Hl.sT why my blackberries dry up, when they ought to grow. I enclose twig, out l.'ith July. It sets fruit, but seems to wither all at once. Last year the whole crop was afl'ected, now only a snuiU part. The soil is moist and fertile. T. M. G ROVER, Noni'ooJ. Reply by Mr. John Craig, E.xperimenia! Faun, Ottawa. In Eastern Ontario and throughout the I'rovince of (,)uebec, blackberries fre(|uently set fruit which they fail to mature. This failure is due mainly to three causes : (i) Winter injury; (2) dry weather; (3) diseases. The specimens received show a certain amount of injury by winter at the ti[)S. In order that fruit may be matured, blackberris canes must be supplied and must carry a rea- sonable amount of foliage to the ends of the tips, otherwise the fruit-bearing spurs have nothing to support them. The lips received lack in this respect. This is a proHfic cause of failure in the colder por- tions of Ontario and (,)uebec. Again, on cultivated ground e.xtremely hot weather during ripening time, freijuently shortens the blackberry, as it does the strawberry and raspberry crop, and the extraordinary high thermometer of the last three weeks was sufficient to cause blackberries to shrivel prematurely. Blackberries are also affected by the mycelial form of orange rust (gloe- osporium). This disease occasionally does not make its presence apparent by the orange rust form on leaves, but is at the same time quite injurious. I believe as a general rule that blackberries may be grown with greater success in West- ern Ontario if a system of mulching is practiced instead of that of clean culti- vation. Pie Cherries. 1>6I. Sir, — I mail you to-day .sample of cherries, kindly let rue know true name. What are the best kinds to plant in Kssex Co., one for early, one medium, and one late, that is hardy and will yield a good crop every year, and if the three you will mention will fertilize each other if planted in blocks, or would they require other kinds planted be- tween ? Is theie an early kind that will yield as well as Early Richmond and ripen a week or 10 days earlier ? By sending me particulars yo\i will oblige. fi. FiNDLAY, Wa/Herrille, Onl. The sample sent is apparently the large fruited Montmorency. This variety is not so tart as the Early Richmond, or the Late Kentish, larger, and the tree is more productive. However, none of the Kentish can be called very produc- tive, not averaging more than half the quantity yielded by the Hearts or Bigar- reaus. The three hardiest and most regularly productive pie cherries are ICarly Richmond, Large Montmorency and English Morello. These three ripen in succession and would cover the season fairly well. The Early Purple is fully ten days and more earlier than Richmond, but is of an entirely different class. No doubt it would succeed in Esse.x. 3'9 ^ ©pet7 L)etfep(?. $ A Fruit Grower's Retrospect. SiK, — Tin: amazing advauceinents iu the methods and results in Canadian fruit grow- ing today, appear to us as one of the most prevalent evidences of real permanent ad- vancement in all that goes to make life so desirable in the historj' of any country. But very few of our younger people to-day, can have any proper conception of the early struggles of their forefathers in their etiort* to bring aljout what is now seen and enjoyed. For purposes of salutary retrospect, allow ni» to take rapid glances backward in the history of this Western Ontario, and view the times that are now very far oti V In 1847 much of this great country was very new and much not inhabited. Forests of great extent abounded everywhere and the scattered in- habitants were struggling with them to get an opening to let in the life-giving sunlight. It was then that the germs of what we now see were first cast into this rich and fertile soil, and began to show the beginning of fruitful life. From that time to this the process has lieen going on until all the wonders and the beauties of to-day stand out fully before our eyes. At that time I was aged 14 years, having been brought 2 years before, a mere strippling from the old shores across the Atlantic. Then the attempts made in Agri- culture and more especially in Horticulture, were unmistakably primitive, but they had the germs of promise in them. At that time there was no .lames Dougall's Nurseries at Windsor ; iio Arkona Nurseries at that place : no Saunders' Test (^rounds at Lon- don ; No Arnold's Nurseries at Paris ; no \V . H. Holton, at Hamilton, and I very much doubt that there were any Ur. Beadle's Nurseries at St. Catharines, or Geo. Leslie's Nurseries at Toront'o. All the nice things that were wanted in the line of fruit trees, ornamental shrubs or plants had to be brought direct from the United .States, and many sad disappointments we surt'ered thereby. But we have outlived them and now smile at what then caused us such vexation. The patient industry and growing intelli- gence of the people, the agreeable, buoyant and stimulating climate, the extreme virgin richness and fertility of the native soil con- tributed to the best results and filled their barns with plenty, and their hearts with con- Hdent satisfaction, and their lives with purest enjoyment. Towns and cities were few and market communication was dithcult. Kvery- body grow their own as far as possible, and so fruit and vegetables and whatever per- tained to the ruclest gardening was of little value and not esteemed as property. But as the country and its people grew, which they did apace, this state of things was soon changed and a new era began to dawn upon us. Cities and town.-; of great vigor and forceful palpitating life began to be establish- d here and there over tlie land, on sure foundation. The whole country soon felt the force of this onward movement. Cood roads were studied and prapared and "well main- tained. Communication with the rising cen- tres was so made easy and pleasant, and a fine profitable intercourse was soon established und Bo has come the state of things we see around us to day. But the full development of what we now have, has mostly been the steady onward work of the past 25 years. The position of fruit growing in 1872 was in no sense that of a developed industry, at least in Western Ontario. At that time fruit was not consid- ered property and not suliject to the protec tion of property. People considered that fruit could be taken wherever it- was found acces- sible and the owner's fences could be torn down and the fruit plants pulled up by the roots before his eyes or otherwise. Many a time my wife and I have stood the most of the night to try and protect our fruit pro- ducts. All this, and much more, was largely our personal experience in our incipient stages of progress as Canadian fruit frowers. I am now so deeply thankful to be able to say, that I have lived to see all this sort of thing for ever past, nothing of it is seen or felt now. Our people, even to the very youngest of them, know better, and the fruit grower is not only recognized as an honorable citizen, but he i,i protected and even profoundly res- pected. Thanks for the growing intelligence of our people for this state of progress and for what we have attained. In this sense we most sincerely prize a kind a,nd foslerinij pro t.'clioii. In that year, 1872, "The Arkona Home Nurseries," were established on a very favor- able plot of soil well adapted to the inirposc. This was the first thing of the kind in all that part of the country and was lecognized, and rejoiced in as a great public benefit to the country. About that time or shortly after otherswere established in diHerent i)arts of the country and the time for homegrown trees and plants now joyfully come Such vexing inconvenience had been suffered by the people from American agencies disposing of their surplus stock. So when Canadian nurseries became so well established as to supply our own markets with home-grown stock it was considered a great step in ad- vance, or a movement onwards. From that time to the present our progress has been rapid and definite and the fruit products of this region are now assuming imnien.se ])ro- portions. Oreat nuantities of new and choice fruit are now annually grown for home u.se and for the foreign market, ami Mhere\er they go they command a cautious and respectful consideralion, I!. ( ioTT, SIralhrny. Out. .^20 OJ'E.X LETTERS. New Hybrid Cannas. Gooseberries in Simcoe Co. SiK, — You will remc-iiilifi timt at our an- nual meeting at Kingston, I claimed to have etieotcd crosses last season similar to those producing the new orchid-llowered Caiiniis— Italia, Austria and others. It is with plea- sure that 1 advise you, that although only a fraction of the seed referred to has bloonjeil under glass, several similar forms have already appeared — producing the tirst hybrids of this type of Canadian origin. These crosses were largely eftected on a seedling of my own originating, and like the foreign varieties, present all the characteiis- tics of true hybrids, aside from distinct change in the form of the flower; the plant variation from this seedling was more diveise than that from similar crosses made on my large collec- tion of foreign hybrids. At the same meeting I also referred to tw o seedlings of unique form, the inferior petal being abnormally developed, and much longer and larger than those usually classed as supe- rior. Prof. Saunders showed his interest at the time, in this variation, by several critical queries. Since then the leading Canna spe- cialists of the United 8tatcs have advised me that this novel variation has not yet come under their notice. I hope to refer to these and other items of interest at our Waterloo meeting this fall. Vl. W. Ckofk, Simcoe, Out. Fruit Prospects in Quebec. Sir, — This year is going to be a poor one for fruit, with the exception of currants and goosebei ries, which are a heavy cro|). The apple trees blossomed heavily, but with a sue cession of heavy rains, late frosts and con- tinued cold weather, the fruit has not set well, and for all the spraying with Bordeaux every week tince the buds began to open, the apples and tiees have a measly looking appearance. The past winter hivsbeeii severe on fruit trees and plants, on account of not having our usual supply of snow to protect the roots, and the the heavy frost at Kaster destroyed a great many trees. I did not lose any trees that were in grass, but of those that weie cultivated I lost about forty trees. The only plums we have bearing are a few of the North West varieties, the fruit-buds of the other varietiis being tender. The Hurbauk Japan and Wil- lard varieties have wintered through as well as such varieties as Lombard and I'oud's Seed- ling The fruit growers have lost a good friend in the death of Mr. J. R. Clogg, wholejale fruit and commission merchant, Montreal. He was a straight, honest man in business, and in his transactions he was the farmers' friend every time. His death is a IjIow to the country ami to the many friends who knew him. R. BkoijIK, Oic/iard Bank, Coltati St. Pierre, ijue. Sir, — The wet spring has ijeen unfavorable for the setting of gooeeberries. Champion shows a large crop, Pearl and Downing a fair crop, and the rest only a fe«. I mulched heavily with theclearingupof the sheejiyard. I have always thought that the heat and drought favored the mildew, but this j-ear, before we had a hot day, while it was raining hard every day and almost cold enough for frost, my English berries were white with mildew. Fungicides washed off as soon aa ap|)lied. I do not like mulching, because the weeds come through in spite of all 1 can do. I intend to burn it all and give thorough cul- tivation instead. Possibly I shall mulch a.s far as I can get well-rotted manure with which to do it. My English berries are an awful mess, even the foliage is rotten, as well as the fruit. In reply to the enquiry regarding English gooseberries, it seems to be a question of soil and locality. Lancashire Lad is a complete failure here. It does not grow enough wood to live, and I have had it about six years. Green Chisel is very promising so far. Suc- cess seems to be an American, and does not mildew ; the fruit is small. S. Si'ILLKTT, Nantyr, Ovt. New Gooseberries. SiK, — I have a gooseberry, without name, which 1 consider tiie most valuable of any in the garden. Samples sent you by post. It was given to me by Dr. Harkness, Lancaster, who had it from the garden of the late .lohn McLennan (By-the Lake), where it liail been in cultivation for at least ill years previous. The history of the plant is not to be had, V)ut it is presumed to have been imported from England. It is a very vigorous grower, free from mildew, large berry, good Havor, and great cropper. The intense heat of the past few days has cooked a considerable proportion of the goose- berry crop, but unfortunately the fruit is ruined in the operation. Have any of your readers tried the new spineless goo.seberries sent out by -loosten. New York, imported from France, last year, anil what is thought of them ? ('. W. YofNC, Cornwall, Out. Fruit Prospects at Whitby. SiH, — Since last writing you, we have had Tery warm weather, and in consequence the apple crop has dropped otf, so that at present writing I think there will not be more than half of the apples in this district there was 321 OPEN LETTRS. last year. The plum crop, however, is extra, but pears 8u(fereermun gave every necessary dimension of the house and said he would use two inch pipe. Will the gentleman say wherein my statement is " questionable ' ': The relative efficiency of pipes, for heating l)urpo3es, of diftereut diameters, is not rele- vant to this question ; but should the learned Professor wish to discuss this branch of the subject, at some future time, I shall be pleased to " take a hand." TiioM.is Ue.^i.l. Linii^ay, Jiih) Ul , IS'J7. The Black Currant, Success. Sib, — Last year I wrote you about the Suc- cess Currant (Black) sent out by you several years ago, speaking as to its earliness and excellent (|uality. At present writing, .July 3, the fruit of .Success is almost ripe, more nearly so than White Grape, while the Reds are only beginning to turn, and the other Blacks, presumably Black Naples, are green and as hard as bullets. .Success is, to my mind, the best black currant I ever saw, although Mr. Craig told me at Ottawa last summer that he had several other kinds that were very much like it. The early ripening is a valuable quality, and should made it most desirable for market growers. Insect pests of all kinds are very prevalent here this season. My plum trees are completely cov- ered with aphis. C. \V. Yors.;, ('orii)rull. Fruit About Goderich. ■Siu, — .Since writiua; my last there seems to be a change, and not for the better, for fruit growers in this section. I find the few apples there are, are almost all dropping oH", now about the size of hickory nuts, besides there seems to be a blight, the leaves curl up and turn black so it makes the trees look rather sickly, and some trees look like the fall of the year with the .seai- and yellow leaf. Plums also near half size turn yellow and drop. Peaches not much grown here but what there are have the leaf curl bad and some of them are falling Pears a very good croji but some varieties very scabby, had not much lime to spray as we have been very busy with mixed farming, and the season has been very favor- ably for weeds, that we have to keep the hoes going near all the time. Raspberries are a good crop. I think what Mr. Allen said in last month's Hortu^ui.ti-rist is notquite cor- rect, as all I have enquired of say the apple crop is very light. Hay and grain good crops. Wai.tkk Hicks, (.hnierkU. 322 THE Canadian HoKTicuLruKisT. Vol. XX. 1897. No. 9. THE GRIMSBY HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY and in its floral shows has been con- stantly increasing. Mr. John H. Grout is one of the most prominent citizens of Grimsby ; he is proprietor of the Grimsby Agricultural Works, and the Grimsby Basket Fac- tory, but nevertheless takes a deep inter- est in floriculture. For two years he filled the position of president with credit to himself and to the Society, and then he resigned, believing it was for the best interests of the Society to have a frequent change in otScers. Mr. Charles \'anDuzer was the first secretary, and faithfully discharged the duties of his position for two years also, working up the membership from 56 to 67, a good number for a village society. A successful fruit grower and one all his life engaged in the practical work of fruit growing, Mr. VanDuzer was eminently fitted to be the secretary of a society whose members are as much or more interested in fruit growing as in floricul- ture. His fruit farm is in a fine state of cultivation. He grows the finest Cham- pion Quinces in this section, and his im- mense Blenheim Orange apples always command a high price. His Red As- tracan orchard was last year loaded tj Fig. IlltT — iH \l affiliated Society at Grimsby was formed in 1895, with Mr. \ J. H. Grout as president, and C. W. VanDuzer, secretary : and ever since the interest in its work 325 THE GRlMSfl) HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. Fic. 119S.— Mr. Charles VanDizer, Ex-Sccretary. the ground with fine fruit, but this year it is almost barren. Among his other specialties are Bartlett pears, peaches and grapes, a share of which he pro- poses to furnish for the experimental export trade to Great Britain. In [addi- tion to his orchard, Mr. VanDuzer has opened up a business in fruit shipping, and may always be found at the Ci.T. R. station ready to pay a price for all kinds of fruits, in order to fill his orders. Our frontispiece shows Mr. VanDu- zer's home, near Grimsby Park, with tennis court and front yards. The large tree in front is the common locust f Ri>- binia pseiidaacia ), a favorite tree with the early settlers about Grimsby ; the clipped trees in front are Norway Spruces, and the dense foliaged trees on the side are Horse Chestnuts, a tree that succeeds well in the Niagara dis- trict on high well drained soil. But the great charm of the yard is the beautifully kept hedges ofJArbor Vitae, which arc a 3' proof of the great desirability of this slow growing evergreen for making an ornamental hedge. At the last Annual Meeting one of the lady vice-presidents was elected to the office of president, viz., Mrs. Edgar J. Palmer, the wife of Grimsby's leading merchant, who has lately retired from business. The daughter of a prac- tical horticulturist herself, she takes a special interest in the Society, and frequently calls sociable little meetings of the directors at her own house. She also excels in her own garden in grow- ing early vegetables, as well as with many of the choicer floral treasures. One bed in a side garden is most attrac- tive in May with Crown Imperials, and again in July with white lilies ( L. Candi- dum ). We were surprised at the heighth of the latter this season, many of the stalks standing six feet high, and show- ing from eight to ten blooms each. Fu:. IIIHI. -Mh. E. H. Kkaip, .S.-ci-oUiry. THE GRIMSBY HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. Fi(i. 1200. —View of a Corn The accompanying view shows a cor- ner in Mrs Palmer's yard, with a fine hedge of Norway Spruce along one side of the lawn. This is kept closely pruned during the growing season, and is always in perfect trim. The present Secretary is Mr. E. H. Read, whose father was formerly a man- ager in the Bank of Montreal — and also an officer at Fort Erie in 1837. Mr. Read has had a varied experience in banking and other business pursuits, but for the last six years has devoted him- self to growing flowers, vegetables and fruit. He says that his little greenhouse has been one of the most encouraging departments of his work, and were he beginning horticultural pursuits again he would give more attention to the grow- ing of flowering plants for sale, and less to fruits. We hope, however, for the sake of others as well as Mr. Read, that the last two years does not fairly indicate the profits of fruit growing, for many a fruit grower has not met his expenses, owing to the low prices prevailing. This account of the Society would be incomplete if we did not mention the preparations under way for a Chrysan- themum Show in November. Every member was given six fine plants in the 32 ER OF Mk.s. Palmer's Yard. spring, and each one is now cultivating these plants with great care, hoping to be able to show the finest blooms in November. Fic. 1201.— Mrs. K. .1. Palmer. \Ve have written this account of our (Irimsby Horticultural Society, hoping that now we may expect to have similar accounts from some other sister societies and thus increase the interest of the members in this journal. EARLY APPLES FOR MARKET. \ 1'2()'2. — Eakly Harvest. ^^ p^HIS season, when apple scab is again breaking out in unusual virulence, we are reminded of the importance of growing only those varieties which are proof against this fungus. We want to know just what is the most profitable first early- apple, for market. For many years the Ea>-ly Hanest held this place, but for the last twenty years this variety has been w^orthless on account of scab. This year the trees of Early Harvest are loaded at Maplehurst, but there is not one perfect apple, not one that could be shipped, and scarcely one that even the children will pick up to eat, and they know that no other apple of its season equals it in quality. The season of the Early Harvest is usually about the first week in August, though in 1896 it ripened from 15th to 30th of July. The Red Astracan comes close after it, usually being fit to ship from the loth to 20th; it is a beautiful apple, the prettiest of its season, valu- able for market when not too abun- dant, often bringing from 20 to 40 cents a twelve qt. basket for a selected fancy grade. W'e usually put up the fancy grade in these baskets, rowing them in two deep, and three wide ; the sec- ond grade, of smaller size, or less color, goes in barrels. But unfortunately the scab is attack- ing even the Red .Vstracan this season, and of one hundred trees, twenty-five years planted, there will be very few baskets fit for market. This is a sore dis- appointment this season, when they were needed for experi- mental export shipments. The Yellow Transpaient'xi prov- ing the best variety of its season to resist the scab. Its season is about as early as the Early Harvest, but it hangs much longer on the trees, attaining more transparent whiteness as it hangs. In some instances we have seen samples still hanging about the end of August. It may not be profitable in competition with Astracan and Duchess, varieties of far greater beauty, but when it competes with the Early Harvest in the early part of August, the grower will find it so superior in appearance, uniformity and productiveness, that it will entirely re- I'l.:. VM\ 1;ki. .\sTi!Ar 32S EARLY APPLES FOR MARKET. 1204.— Early Harvest place that variety. For home uses, however, we would not omit the Harvest because of its superiority of flavor as a dessert apple. Mr. S P. Morse, of Milton, has a seed- ling Early Harvest, almost equalling it in flavor, a little larger, less subject to scab, and otherwise much resembl- ing it, which may prove de sirable for home use instead of the original. The Yellow Transparent was introduced from St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1870, and has been steadily gaining in favor among the fruit growers of the Northern States and Canada. Its har- diness, productive- ness, resistance of scab, and early bear- ing, being its desir- able qualities. Our Simcoe Experiment Station reports that it began bearing there four years after planting. Just now, (Aug. 5th) the Yel- low Transparent is selling in Montreal market at 40 cents a twelve quart basket, but of course, the Early Harvest is an unusual failure, and that price is above what could be e.xpected in average seasons. This variety has been fully described in the last report of the Ontario Fruit Experiment Stations, which is sent free to the members of our Associa- tion. 329 Fic. I'iOli -JcHiN M. Dknton. JOHN M. DKNTON. E are indebted to the De- partment of Agriculture, of Ontario, for the excellent engraving of our respected and honored friend, Mr. John M. IJen ton, of London, Ont , whose decease took place on the 241I1 of March. From pure love of fruit.s and flowers, and of all departments of Horticultural Science, Mr. Denton was for years ac- customed to attend the meetings of our Association, as well as that of the Ento mological Society, and truly no face was more welcomed than his. 330 FOOD PLAXTS OF THE SAN JOSE SCALE. He was the son of a farmer in North- ampton, England, and brought up to admire and love the beauties of Nature : it was not very surprising therefore that, in addition to his business as merchant tailor, in the city of London, Ontario, he was of late years also engaged in the cultivation of a fruit farm, just outside the city. He had been in Canada since about 1S55, had built up in Lon- don a fine business, and was personally held in the highest esteem by all who knew him. Nearly twenty years ago he was elected Director of our Association for his dis- trict, and continued to serve for many years ; and only for his modesty in per- sistently refusing to be a candidate, he would have been elected President. He was a constituent member of the Lon- don branch of the Entomological Socie- ty, of which he has been Vice-President and President. We are glad to give place to the ac- companying fine photogravure of such a faithful friend of our Association. FOOD PLANTS OF THE SAN JOSE SCALE (Aspidio- Tus rERNiciosis) IN OHIO. EXCLUSIVE OF FRUIT TREES. ^HE following list includes forest and ornamental trees and shrubs, upon which the San Jose scale has been found breed- ing in Ohio. Nearly all of these have been found in sufficient numbers to indicate that the insect might thrive on any of them. The Cotoneaster was sent for inspection, it having been recently received from a Long Island nursery firm, and when received was literally covered with the scale : Grape, Vitis labt^isca. Linden, Tilia Americana. European Linden, Tilia Europiva. Sumac, Rhus glabra. Japan Quince, Pyrin japonica. Cotoneaster, C. frigidum. Flowering Peach, Priiniis, sp. Flowering Cherry, Pruiius, sp. American Elm, Ulmiis Americana. Black Walnut, Juglans nigra. Willow (imported), Salix verminalis. Cut-leafed Birch, Betiila, sp. Lombardy Popular, Populus dilatata. Carolina Poplar, P. monilifera. Golden-leaf Popular, P. Van Geerti. Catalpa, C. speciosa. Chestnut, Castanea sativa. Osage Orange, Madura aurantiaca. Snowball, Viburnum opulus. To these must be added the several varieties of roses, currants, gooseberries and raspberries. The Early Richmond cherry I believe to be exempt from attack, as I have found trees whose branches interlocked with those of a pear that had been killed by the scale, yet the cherry was uninfested : and in two cases that came under my observa- tion, where this variety of cherry had been giafted upon mahaleb stock, and shoots had sprung up from below the graft, the shoots were badly infested with scale, while none at all could be found on the trees themselves. — Cana- dian Entomologist. GEORGIAN BAY. ,£^ rv^HE above is a fair representa- tion of a point on south shore of Georgian Bay within the fruit belt of that favored region. The mountain shown rises about a looo feet above the water of the bay, and at this point is about 'i a mile from the water, with a gradual rise for that dis- tance, ending in an almost perpendicu- eight miles. Finer apples, pears and plums are not produced in the world, when every thing is considered, than are to be found in some of the orchards in this strip, and the quantities pro- duced have now become so great that buyers from a distance are attracted. The Northern Division of the G. T. R. line runs along the shore from Colling- Fii;, l-.'OT.-llKoitciAN 11 n. lar bluff which can only be ascended with great ditificulty by pedestrians. Between the face of the cliflf and the water, apples, pears, plums, apricots and peaches do well and seldom or never suffer from frost. This elevation, known here as the Blue mountains, varies in its distance from the water and this strip is the fruit belt. It extends from Colling- wood as far as Owen Sound, giving a coast line of about 60 miles and in width from a '4 of a mile to seven or wood to Meaford, with stations at Craigbeth and Thornbury This road, with the lines of steamers from CoUing- wood with the G. T. R. and C P. R., and steamer connections at Owen Sound give excellent shipping facilities for Europe or the West. Above the cliffs is the broad plateau of Western Ontario. The whole section is thickly settled with a progressive people, and yet good fruit lands can be still picked up at reason- able rates. .^.?2 SPRAYING. WOULD strongly advise anyone who intends to spray his fruit trees to invest in a good spraying out- fit. A poor apparatus will dis- courage most people, and I believe many are making a very imperfect job of it, or are giving up in disgust, because they have not a proper outfit for the purpose. The working parts of the pump should be of brass. Never use a pump with leather valves, or that takes the liquid through the plunger, or that requires packing every day to keep it from leaking around the plunger. I have such a pump, and I have lost more time fooling and fixing with it than would buy a good one. It has been twice at the blacksmith's and twice at the local pumpmakers, besides the time lost tinkering at it myself. You may pack the measly thing, and screw it down till you can hardly move the plunger, and before you spray half a row of trees it will be leaking as bad as ever. I will try to squeeze through this season with it, and then the scrap iron Jew will get it. No one should attempt to spray with- out a bamboo extension rod. It is one of the best things in a good outfit. It makes it so easy to reach all over the trees. The collar on the top end pre- vents the liquid from dripping, and your hands need not be wet at all, and you can do rapid work with it. To sum up, get a pump with cylinder and valves of brass ; one that don't require frequent packing to keep it from leak- ing. The pump should sit well down into the barrel, at least the cylinder should, and not be placed away upon the end of it. The hose connections and fittings should stand a pressure of 75 lbs. to the square inch without leak- ing. And one most important point is, that it should do rapid and efifeclive work, and at the same time be easy to operate. With such an outfit, includ- ing the extension rod, and if with two nozzles, good effective and rapid work can be done, and with an ease that makes spraying a pleasure, everything in the shape of fruit bearing trees or canes or vines should be sprayed with the Bordeaux mixture. And while on this subject of spray- ing, I might say that a peculiar blight has struck the apple orchards this year, turning the leaves black, causing the newly set fruit to drop, and in many cases the trees lost nearly all their foliage. Winter apples will be very scarce this year. Duchess and Alexan- der and trees of the Duchess type were not affected at all. My orchard was not sprayed last year, but was sprayed this year. And what I would like to know from Mr. Orr is this, if this blight was prevalent through the country (and judging by newspaper reports it was), how did those trees that were officially sprayed last year (treated six times) stand the blight? Is the foliage all right on them ? Have they held their fruit, and how do they compare with others not treated at all ? Now, Mr. Orr, examine those trees and let us hear from you. If you can show that trees thoroughly treated last year were not affected by this blight, either in foliage or fruit, then you will score one of the strongest points possible in favor of spraying. I believe that in future those who want to make a success of fruit growing, will have to spray everything they grow. Ci. C. CvsroN. Craighurst. Zll STRAWIiERRY NOTES. 'II.I.IAiMS is one of the liest varieties here, the only faul' is the white tip. But the berry is firm, large, good color and first rate quality. Plant healthy and vigorous. Haverland stands hot dry weather better than any other and carries its size well through the season. Timbrel! for home use can hardly be surpassed for high quality, delicious flavor, but it won't do for a commercial berry, as it is too soft for shipment, and does not color well. I see that Mr. Stevenson says that if you give it lots of potash it will color all right. Well, I mean to try that. Its an easy matter, just scatter .some good fresh hard- wood ashes over the plants before the fall rains set in, and it is surprising what a large dose of fresh ashes the strawberry plants will stand without injury. I have tried it and know whereof I speak. Mr. Stevenson is right ; they all require plenty of potash. Little's 44 has done well this year, pro- ducing a good crop of fine large berries, quality first class, delicious flavor, but too soft for shipping. The foliage is the healthiest of any plant I have yet tested, and on account of its good quality, large size and good color, it should have a place in the home garden. Anyone who grows a patch of strawberries for home u.se should give it a trial. Marshall, Noble, Beauty are failures here. W. Belt produced a few fine large berries, but very few of them ; I will give it fur- ther trial before discarding it. H. W. Beecher won't pay for the ground it oc- cupies, and unless it does better ne.xt ■year it will have to go. Aroma, has risen in my estimation this year. It is a andsome berry, good color and quite firm. If it does as well next year I shall plant it largely for crop. It is medium to late as regards its .season. Brandy- wine is a good berry, fine color, large and of good quality, a good [wllenizer as it is rich in pollen, but scarcely produc- tive enough Warfield is productive but needs high culture, and won't stand hot dry weather ; berry moderately firm, dark red, fair size, but very poor fiavor, insipid in fact. I would not can it for my own u.se at all. It lacks the true strawberry flavor. Of all the varieties tested, and their name is legion, we have not yet found the perfect strawberry. Wilson's Albany in its day was about as near it as we will ever get I fancy. There are hosts of new varieties, many of them fine to look at, yes, and of fine quality, but when you pick them twice they are done Or they are too soft to handle or there is some fault. The ideal berry must be large ; the larger they are the better they sell. It must be firm. It must not set too much fruit on one stalk, so that it will carry its size through the season. It should have bright red color and good tla\ or. It should color all over at once ; no while tijis, and aliove all pro- ductive Foliage healthy and free from rust The luan who originates such a berry will he a great benefactor. I find by experience that it pays to grow the very best ; the best you can grow are none too good for \our market. You will never find the market glutted with first class berries. My advice to intending growers would be, always make quality the first point, and when your reputation is once established the rest is easy. G. C C.VSTON. Craighuist. S34 GOOSEBERRIES. 'I'l'H reference to question 955, by Mr. L). J. Stewart, of Ailkens" Ferry, P. E. I., I make the fol- lowing observations : In Eng land, of red gooseberries, the Industry takes the lead, being not only of fine flavor, but also very productive. Crown Bob, Ashton Red, and Lancashire Lad also stand high. Red Champagne is smaller, but of fine flavor ; it has not yet mildewed with me. Sulphur is a good yellow, of fair size, and mildews a little with me. Lewis's Amber is a larger yellow, of fine flavor, and mildews but slightly; generally not at all. White- smith is very productive ; I have seen fully eight quarts on a tree, of an agree- able mild flavor, but mildewed some- what some years, other years it will be quite free. White Eagle is a larger berry than Whitesmith, much less subject to mildew, in fact I have not yet seen mil- dew upon it; of good pronounced flavor, productive, and a more vigorous grower than Industry At present I think more of this variety than of any other English kind. When in a good rich soil, the berries grow surprisingly large ; some- times they are pyriform or pear-shaped, and at other times nearly perfect ovals. Of the English hairy green sweet berries, Glenton Green is very good; I have not seen any mildew on it. It is not a large berry, and about the size of Downing. Crown Bob, Ashton Red (Red War- rington), Industry and Lancashire Lad have all mildewed badly with me this year. There are some American varie- ties, such as Chautauqua, Columbus and Triumph, which have all mildewed badly with me this year, but last year they did not. These appear to me to be only seedlings of Whitesmith, and resemble it closely. With regard to mildew, I have tried everything to cure it, and I come to the conclusion that it cannot be cured when once it has begun. Sometimes it only slightly affects the tips of the young shoots, but frequently the berries also. I tried liver of sulphur, sulphate of cop- per, kerosene emulsion, digging flower of sulphur in round the bush, fertilizing freely with ashes, watering the bush well in dry weather, and all to no purpose. I have cleaned the infested berries with a weak soap and kerosene wash, and the disease formed again on the berries. But I have not tried spraying the bush before coming into leaf. Perhaps this might prevent it. I have my bushes on two or three classes of soil ; clay loam and light clay loam, on my own farm ; and a sort of sandy, or gravelly loam, on the place where I live. On this latter soil, the mildew is far worse than on the clay loam. In Halton county, at Milton, where I was six years, the soil was a good stifif clay loam, on a clay subsoil. I did not see any mildew there; and in Judge Miller's garden, there were sev- eral kinds of the best English goose- berries, which did well with him. Evi- dentl)', Prince Edward Island would be the place for gooseberries, if there be a suitable stiff soil there ; but the " light sandy soil " is not the thing, either for gooseberries or raspberries. But in Eng- land they have good gooseberries, on all sorts of soils, the sea-air being the main desideratum. W. 1;. Brouks. Mount Forest. 335 ON THE MARKETING OF FRUIT. (Synopsis of lecture by George T. Powell before the horticultural institutes in N'ew York state. In addition to the points tor harvesting and marketing apples, great care is necessary in picking apples if thev are to keep well. Every bruised spot starts "dccav. Pick by hand into baskets. Someass..rt dirntlv into barrels, leaving the heads off f.T a ti w .lays while the fruit sweats, others carefullv dump the apples in long narrow low piles to sweat, and then assort them. Some wrap fancy apples in tissue paper, like oranges, pack in sawdust and store in a dry, cool place to hold for the late market.) 1. Necessity of care in marketing — In addition to intelligent and thorough culture, special attention must be given to the best disposition of crops. In these times of close competition, the suc- cessful fruit grower must be well in- formed upon markets, where heavy sup- plies are coming from, where to ship to best advantage, the expenses in ship- ping to different points, reliability of commission men, their facilities for handling and storing fruits, etc. 2. Selection of the sales merchant — Ascertain information as to a well-estab- lished, reliable firm to ship to. Do not ship to every man who sends out letters soliciting trade and promising prices considerably above the regular market, for many such are only sidewalk sales- men with no established place of busi- ness ; they will return one or two good sales, get a run of trade and then move to another street, failing to make further return for fruit received. With so many good firms of long years of excellent reputation, there is no excuse for losing money through irresponsible salesmen. It is better to send to only one firm in a place, for if fruit is uni- formly fine, a trade will be established upon the trade-mark, and where two or more firms are handling the same mark, different prices are sometimes asked, according to supply and demand, and sometimes lower prices are taken than where one firm has the entire handling of a mark. 3. The grower should know the market — The grower should go to the market in which his fruit is tQ be sold, inform his salesman as to what he has, confer with him about the package most desirable, how the fruit should be packed and displayed. The salesman knows what his trade demands, the grower does not ; hence the grower, to get the best prices, must meet the wishes of those who buy, and he must find this out by going to the market or corresponding with the salesman. 4. The packing — Inferior fruit should not be shipped, in fact, should not be grown. It is not wanted, is in the way, has to be marked " ofi"," and is an injury, to a certain extent, to good fruit. Uni- formity in package and in packing is re quired Undersized barrels should not be used. Fruit should be assorted in two grades, fine and good. The grower's name should be placed on all good fruit, but not on that which is below good. A good class of men only should be employed in the packing and handling of fruit, for the work is of a different character from that of hand- ling potatoes. Employ by the day, not by the job. Women are good in assort- ing and packing fruit, for they handle not only quickly, but as a rule more carefully than men. Ship in carload lots as far as possible, as better rates of transportation can be had, and better sales realized than for small lots. 5. Secondary means of caring for fruit — Every community should be equipped with facilities for using up fruit when markets become heavily overstocked. Canneries and evapora- tors will save losses, and enable a wider distribution of fruit in the home and foreign markets. Cold storage is es- pecially valuable for pears and apples, extcndini; the season over a much 33(^ SHADE TREES ABOUT THE FARM. longer period. It is better to store pears in the city where they are to be sold, as the customer can secure his fruit at the time he wants it, and rent or storage charges at thirty cents per bar- rel per month, are not more costly than to provide storage where the fruit is grown. 6. Importance of co operation — Our fruit business needs to be placed on a better, thoroughly organized business basis. There should be in every town,, where orcharding is attempted, a fruit growers' union or association, to which every grower should belong. All fruit should be properly graded, inspected and placed in the market in the best possible condition. Upon such basis, the income to grower and handler would be materially and permanently increased. — Am. Agric. SHADE TREES- ABOUT THE FARM HOUSE. 'HE annual report of Thomas Southworth, Clerk of Forestry for Ontario, for the year 1 897, is a credit- able one, and a step in the right direction. The terrible famine in India, and the almost annual drought in our province, are warnings that we must beware of denuding of our country of its forest areas, and that it is all- important to make vast forest reserva- tions for the sake of their climatic in- fluence, if for no other reason And not only so, but our country might well spend some money in making, or at least in encouraging, artificial forestation. We give an extract from the report, which deals with the importance of plant- ing shade trees near the house. Nothing will improve the appearance of the farm-house and outbuildings more than a shelter belt, or even a few iso- lated trees planted near them, care being taken to put them not so close as to exclude the sunlight. They will not only serve as protection from the wind, but their shade will keep the house cool during the heated term. A well-planted, attractive looking farm, with the build- ings half hidden in verdure and the lanes and field corners green and shady, will, should it come into the market, bring a considerably higher price than one where all looks bare and bleak from the ab- sence of trees. The length of time that must elapse before a tree becomes commercially valuable or useful for its wood to the owner, is the usual objection raised when farmers are advised to become timber-growers. There is no doubt that this feeling has done much to deter them from utilizing in this way their waste land — which at present contri- butes nothing, except perhaps pasturage, to the returns of the farm. Yet this is a mistaken, short-sighted view. There are many things requiring to be under- taken in every branch of productive in- dustry which involve a large outlay that will not be repaid short of many years. Farmers will build large barns and un- dertake subsoil drainage on an extensive scale without foolishly expecting to be recouped during the next two or three years for the cost and labor involved. They realize that these are investments which add permanently to their capital. It is exactly the same with tree-planting. A plantation of thriving young pines, maples or chestnuts of merely a few- years growth, is not, it is true, bringing l37 SHADE TREEES ABOUT THE FARM HOUSE. in any money, but nevertheless it is an appreciable addition to the value of the farm which increases year by year. Should the owner wish to sell or raise money upon his property, the growing wood — like the new barn or the sub-soil drains — will be an asset to be considered in fixing its value. Even should the man who plants trees die before the wood is matured, he will leave so much more to his family. Men do not, to the credit of human nature, cease all active exertion as soon as they have secured merely enough to maintain themsehes in selfish indolence and comfort during the remainder of their lives. They wish to leave an ample provision behind them for those dependent on them. The labor bestowed upon tree-plant- ing is a ver) trifling contribution, towards the welfare of future generations com- pared with the sacrifice which many men in every line of industry make with an eye to the distant future and without stopping to consider whether they per- sonally will reap any of the benefit, or whether it will merely increase the in- heritance they leave to their children. But for the short sightedness which took no note of probable future needs and met all remonstrance with the answer that posterity must look out for itself, the farmers of Ontario would be in a much better position. There is many a farmer who twenty or thirty years ago has shaken his head forebodingly over his diminishing wood-lot and reflected how advantageous it would be to have a few more acres in timber, who, if he had occupied an off-day occasionally in transplanting saplings instead of consol- ing himself with the reflection, " Well, it'll last my time anyway" — would now have a plentiful supply of fuel instead of having to buy coal or travel half a dozen miles to cut cordwood. It is time that this slipshod hand-to-mouth manage- ment which looks only at immediate results was abandoned and that the les- sons of experience [iroduced more ex- tensive and decided results in inducing the farmers as a class to take an active, practical interest in tree culture as a means of maintaining and restoring the fertility of their lands as well as a source of ultimate profit. Buy Fruit Instead of Candy. — " 1 wish,'' said a doctor the other day as he watched a group of school children troop out of a candy store, where they had been spending their pennies, " that I could form a society among little folks in which each member w-ould take a pledge to spend all his pocket money for fruit instead of candy." It seemed a funny way of putting it, didn't it ? But the physician was very much in earnest, and at the moment it probably occurred to him that, as children like clubs, an anti-candy club would be a very good one for them. He wanted to to do two things — to stop their eating the unhealthful sweet and to coax them to eat more fruit. An apple or a bana- na or an orange can usually, one or the other of them, be bought for the price of a little candy, and the fruit is much better in every way than the sweet. — New York Times. 538 JUBILEE TRILLIUM. KiG I'JOS. — UhiLEt Trillii .M. Sir : — I inclose to you for your jour- nal a photograph of a very valuable new double Trillium, composed of twen- ty-one petals, and pure «hite. One bloom measures three and a quarter inches across and resembles very much a double white Camelia ; the two lower blooms are the double ones, the upper bloom being one of Trillium grandiflo- rum, from which you will get a fair idea of what such a double flower would be. There is no doubt but that this Tril- lium will yet be greatly appreciated in C.ardens, and especially since it has been found on Jubilee year and in Jubilee Park, and that I named it the Jubilee 339 ANNUAL POPPIES. Lily. I have also got a yellow double one, but not tested enough yet to prove its merits. Thomas Meehan says, "Vour Trillium is a beauty, and will be welcome in flower gardens." This, I think, is the first Double Tril- lium that has ever been found. Roderick Cameron, Gardener Q. V. N. F.Park, Ont. Niagara Falls Soi/t/i. ANNUAL POPPIES. F you love color in flowers, there is no way in which you can gratify your desires so cheaply and so fully as by planting a good selection of poppies. For the last six weeks my garden border has been such a gorgeous display and source of pleasure to our- selves and friends, that possibly my ex- perience with varieties and mode of cul- tivation may be of interest to some readers of the Horticulturist. If you want to grow the finest pop- pies, plant the seed as early in the spring as the ground can be worked, and be sure not to plant too deep ; many fail from planting the seed so deep that it does not germinate. The best way is to rake your bed smooth, scatter the seed thinly, then rake gently and firm the soil well with a flat board, or, better still, the back of a hoe. When they are up two or three inches, thin out to about six inches apart for the weaker growing kinds, and nine to twelve inches for the strong growing, Papaver sovtniferum type. They will bloom abundantly, much closer than that ; but to get the best plants, finest flowers and the longest season of bloom- ing, it is necessary to give them plenty of room. If you do not want to save seed, pick all the pods as soon as the petals drop ; it lengthens the blooming season very much not to allow any seed to ripen, and saves a lot of trouble the next season. The seed is quite hardy, and if left to ripen, comes up in count- less numbers the following spring, often where they are not wanted. One ad- vantage of self-sown seed is that the plants bloom earlier — this year, the first week in July : while spring-sown seed, though put in early, did not bloom for about two weeks later. Poppies are so very susceptible to cross-fertilization, that new strains are constantly arising One German firm offer 24 varieties of Papaver somnifer- um, and every year is adding to the number. In a garden where several kinds are grown, it is no use saving seed, if you want to keep your strains true to type. Last year, I carefully saved a number of special colors of Shirley and Ranunculus-flowered ; this summer I had a great show of flowers from that seed, some very fine ones, but not a single plot was the same as the one the seed was saved from. The ease with which new varieties can be originated has led to a great deal of confusion in the seed catalogues ; the names give no clue to the species to which the variety belongs, making it very difficult for the buyer to know what to order, unless he is acquainted with the names and types. The following varieties, which I grew this summer, comprise the cream of the family : SINGLE FLOWERS. Papaver somnifenim — The Opium Poppy. — Grows from 2 to 4 feet high ; 340 ANNUAL POPPIES. leaves pale green, long, wavy, clasping, quite smooth, not bristly. Flowers large, from three to five inches across ; white, cream, rose, white with pink edge, etc. ; petals not fringed ; stamens very numerous, cream colored ; a hand- some flower, worthy of more general cultivation. P. soiiini/eriiiii, var Daiiebrog — Dan- ish Flag Poppy. — The ^'ictoria Cross of some catalogues, is exactly the same as the type in plant and leaves ; the flow- ers are not so large ; petals fringed, light scarlet with a white blotch at the base of each petal, making the form of a cross. P. Rhaas — The common Field Pop- py of Britain.— Plant, many-flowered, a foot or more high, scabrous with many bristles ; leaves pinnately parted, lobes deeply toothed ; flowers on long thin stalks, two to four inches across, bright scarlet with dark colored stamens ; a handsome flower, not much grown now, being supplanted by its more beautiful relative. P. Rhaas var Shirley. — The most beautiful of all poppies ; in plant and habit of growth, the same as the type, but the flowers are of the most delicate silky te.xture and in every imaginable shade and combination of white, pink, and red, with yellow anthers. Unfor- tunately, they are very evanescent, and only last a short time if picked after the sun shines on them ; but if picked early in the morning, as soon as they open, will keep fresh for a day or two in the house. Majestic and Hooker's ever- blooming as grown by me from Henderson's seed, were nothing but rather poor strains of Shirley. P. Rhivas var, umbrosum. — The Fire Dragon of some catalogues ; has most intense dark cardinal flowers, each petal with a jet black blotch at the base, with dark stamens about the same size as the Shirley. Papaver Uevigatum — Persian Poppy. — In general appearance the plant is very like umbrosum, not quite so ro- bust, nor as bristly. The flowers are about the same color, but the black blotches are margined with white and the petals are more upright, not opening out so flat as in P. Rhceas. Papaver glaucum — Tulip Poppy. — A very distinct species ; the plant is a weak, spindly grower, particularly if planted thickly ; leaves pale green, shaped as in P. Rhceas but not at all bristly, not so pale in color nor as glaucus as P. som- niferum. Flowers of an intense brilliant cardinal, — the finest red in the family — without dark base, the outer petals much larger than the inner and overlapping at the edges, stand more erect than any other poppy, giving it the appearance of a tulip. The seed does not germinate as freely or as quickly as the other spe- cies. Among the double poppies the finest are those derived from the Opium pof)- py ; the oldest form is P. somniferum Paeonucflorum or Peony flowered poppy, a large handsome flower 4 to 5 ins. across, very double, a large number of the stamens being converted into nar- row petals i^ to 1/2 in. wide, tapering to the base and rounded at the outside end, generally more or less twisted, giving the flower a fluffy, peony-like look. They can be had in a great range of colors, from pure white to the darkest red and purple. If planted too thickly or grown in poor soil the flowers are much smaller and only semi- double. Among the newer colors Salmon-rose is a lovely flower of finest form and color, the so-called Nankin Yellow is not a yellow, only a dark cream color ; there is no yellow in the Annual poppies. P. somniferum fimhriatum — some- 341 ANNUAL POPPIES. times called P. Murselli. — The Carna- tion Poppy of American seedsmen, dif- fers from paeoniflorum in having the petals straighter and fringed at the ends. The range of colors is even greater than in the peony form, many of them having special names. Of these the best known is the " Mikado," a very showy flower, white, margined with rose pink, very double and finely fringed ; it varies in shade of pink, some of them being much darker than others. Another good form is Snowball, also called Snowdrift and White Swan. Very double, as round as a ball, finely fringed, and as white as snow. " Fairy Blush " is a creamy white just tipped at the end of the petals with rose pink. Pink Pet, sent out to customers for trial by W. A. Burpee & Co-, is a very much improved Mikado. The strain is not well fixed yet, as many of them do not come true to color. When true they are quite round, very finely fringed and of a most beautiful shade of pink. A very desirable variety that will supplant Mikado. Chamois-rose, new last year, is the best of the fimbriatums ; perfectly dou- ble and a charming color, a pink with a dash of yellow in it, decidedly the finest double poppy in my collection this year. SMALL DOUBLE POPPIES. Sometimes P. Lcevigatum comes semi- double, but with this exception all the smaller double poppies belong to the genus Rhieas. The Ranunculus poppy, P. Rka-as fl.pl., has all the graceful- ness of the single form with a wonderful diversity of color, white and every im- aginable shade of pink and red with dark stamens in every degree of double- ness from 2 or 3 extra rows of petals to perfectly double. The varieties umbrosum and Shirley frequently show a tendency to come double, though never so perfectly double as the Ranunculus. The Rosebud is a selection from the Ranunculus, very double and more com- pact than the average Ranunculus poppy- Golden Gate is a mixture of umbro- sum, hnngatum and Ranunculus in sin- gle and double. The New Japanese pompone is evidently also a selection from the Ranunculus poppy. Of those I grew this year the greater part were a poor strain of Ranunculus flowered with a few very beautiful pink flowers resem- bling double Hollyhocks, with the broad outer petals projecting half an inch be- yond the narrow inner ones. If selected to this type it would be a very desira- ble addition. R. B. Whyte. Ottawa, Ont. To Mature Unripe Tomatos. — Ac- cording to M. Chemin in the Annals of the Horticultural Society of the Depart- ment of Haute-Marne, the following simple expedient suffices to ripen off a crop of Tomatos. If the weather has been unfavorable for ripening of the fruit, the plants should be pulled up when the most of the fruits have reached full size. and laid horizontally on a layer of clean straw in a sunny place, and without any further trouble the fruits become com- pletely ripe, and retain their peculiar fine flavor. In this country, we do much the same kind of thing, with the difference that the plants are put under some kind of glass protection. 342 NARCISSUS. " When daffodils begin to peer, With heigh, the doxy over tlie dale. Why, then comes in tlie sweet o' tlie year ; For the red blood reigns in the winters pale.'' Sh.\KKSI"EARK. The lovely nodding flowers of the Daffodil have always been a theme of the poets and when one contemplates a bed of their blossoms of " beaten gold " the thought usually is that the half has not been told. The fabled origin of the poets, and in one of the best English translations we are informed that the attendant nymphs were interested — " And looking for his corse, they only found A rising stock with yellow lilossonis crowned." All varieties are not hardy in Ontario, selections must therefore be made with some care. It is well to note however, that all the strongest growing sorts and finest flowers are capable of standing Fig. 1209. — Narcissi's HoRSEFiiiLDH— type of the Trumpetflowered Uafl'odils. Daffodil is interesting ; in the publication of Barr & Son " Ye Narcissus and Daffo- dil" we find the following : "Nearly all early writers agree in treating this flower as an emblem of that youth whose name it bears. He is said to have slighted the nymph Echo in favor of his own shadow, and Nemesis changed him into this blossom as a punishment for his self- esteem. It is a deep-laid myth, and as pretty a one as often told to us by the well here. The exceptions are some of the white flowered sorts, and the weak and fragile growing species. In long lists a classification is gener- ally made and for those not familiar with them we will give the division mostly used. The Trumpet section, embraces those having flat leaves and a somewhat long trumpet-shaped cup. The Iiicomparabilis section or peer- 343 NAJ^C/SSUS. -1m>E of TUb IN( 0MI'AR\1 II IS OK Pekble>s Daffodils. less Daffodils often closely resemble the above, many hybrids of the trumpet section are included with these. The Trumpet is always much shorter ; more in the form of a cup. The Polyanthus Narcissus are the varieties of N. Tazetta or the bunch- flowered section. The Poets Narcissus are all those which have pure white perianths and a distinct red or purple rim to the crown or cup. Narcissus Jonquilla is the pretty little Jonquils so favorably known in most gardens. All forms of the Narcissus Bulbico- dium or Corbularia may be called the Hooped Petticoat Daffodils. The Hooped Petticoat varieties are rather uncertain as to hardiness and the Polyanthus varieties are more so, both are known to do well when lifted after flow- ering and kept in a place free from hard frost till early the following spring. If the bulbs have been kept in good con- dition they will bloom as well as if they had not been disturbed. The Jonquils 344 have a habit in this climate of making a growth in the fall, which if injured by the winter, ,ns it usually is, greatly im- pairs the vigor of the bulbs. The terms ''trumpet" and '• perianth'' are somewhat con- fusing to beginners. One of the large trumpet-flowered varieties serves best for the purpose of explanation. In Fig. 1209 a flower of Narcissus Horsfieldii is shown ; in this the trumpet is of a deep yellow and the perianth or surrounding row of petals, is white ; in other varieties the color, size of trumpet, and form of perianth, varies a great deal but the trumpet and the perianth may be always easily recognized. In the short-trumpeted or incomparabilis sec- tion and the poeticus section the term "cup" is used in place of trumpet. Varieties like Trumpet Major, incom- parabilis, incomparabilis plena, orange Phoenix, Stella, P)urbidgeii, and poeticus Fic. l'.Jll.— Tyi'E of thk Bni.iiocoDirM (Corbularia) or Hooped Petticoat Narcissus. CROWN IMPERIAL. are often used for naturalizing under trees, between shrubbery and in grass. Being quite hardy these kinds increase rapidly and soon make in such spots sights worth travelling to see, or as some one has said •' sunshine in a shady place." The soil suitable for the majority of varieties is a loam with a mixture of very well decayed manure or leaf mould, for weak growing sorts or miniatureforms a somewhat sandy soil will be found best. Of recent years some very fine hybrid and seedling varieties have appeared, these with the almost endless forms seen in the old varie- ties make the Narcissus deserving of much more general attention as a spring flower. Webster Bros. Hamilton, Out. V\ Vh OI- I'oET s X. Pdeticus. CROWN IMPERIAL. (Fritillari.\ Lmperialis). T is impossible to speak too highly of these for every purpose. Whe- ,_l iher as a single specimen in the mixed or shrubbery borders, as pot plants for the greenhouse or exhibi- tion table ; but it will be seen to better advantage planted in clumps on the lawn. The flowers are exceedingly handsome, pendant, bell-shaped, of very tall form, hardy, and bloom early in spring if planted in good sandy garden soil, about four inches deep. Left un- disturbed for a number of years, they will form gigantic and picturesque groups. The striped - leaved varieties are worth growing for their foliage, but when surmounted by their coronets of bloom, are very beautiful. The best way to grow for conservatory use, is, one bulb in a five or six inch pot, using nice loamy soil with a small proportion of leaf-mould and a little silver sand. The variety used so much in England for pot work is F. rubra folia aurea variegat a (variegated-leaved Crown Im- perial). F. Brunton. Hamilton. 345 ORNAMENTAL TREES AND SHRUBS. Z/n pAOO little attention is given to the culture of ornamental trees __[ and shrubs. In a general way none but a few of the old stand- ard varieties have been planted. This is to a large extent owing to the fact, that the demand for ornamental trees has been limited, and our nurserymen have not gone into the propagation of the more rare and beautiful kinds. Most of the ornamental stock that has been planted throughout the country has been sold by travelling agents. They have done a good work, but have not gone far enough in this direction, as they sell only a few well-known sorts that have been grown by the firms they represent. It was my good fortune to visit the Rural New Yorker Experiment Grounds a year ago. I spent a very pleasant and profitable day with the Editor, Mr. Elbert S. Carman and his amiable wife, both of whom are very enthusiastic hor- ticulturists. I think it would be impos- sible for any one possessed with a love for the beautiful in nature, and a few roods of land, to visit Mr. Carman in his beautiful home at River Edge, N. J., without coming away with a determina- tion to plant some of the pretty trees and shrubs to be seen on their grounds. This, however, was the effect it had on the writer of these lines. My grounds were not ready for planting. I therefore ordered my stock and planted them in nursery row, from which they can be taken next spring and planted where they are to remain, with scarcely any risk of losing a tree, and I will thus gain nearly a year's growth on them. I often think when driving through the country, that it is no wonder so many farmers' sons leave the farm and go to the already over-crowded cities where their surroundings will be more congeni- al. Farmers as a class, are very busy peo- ple, and the majority of them think they have no time to bother with ornamental trees. Did you ever notice that it is those who have most to do that give most attention to ornamenting their homes with nice lawns, trees, etc. ? How often do we see a farmer build a fine house, and give no attention what- ever to the grounds. .Such a place, no matter how much it cost, is not worthy the name of home. A few dollars spent in the purchase of ornamental trees and shrubs, and a little time given to the planting and cultivation of them, will add so much to the appearance of a home. I believe it will not be long till this subject will receive more attention by our .farmers. It is not unusual to buy a pretty tree or shrub from some travelling-agent, plant it out, and then consider your duties ended, thinking that it should know enough to take care of itself when once planted. My advice would be, never to plant a tree until you have firmly made up your mind to give thorough cultivation, especially dur- ing the first few years after planting. Without this you cannot hope for any great measure of success. By keeping the soil constantly stirred around the trees during the growing season you pre- serve a mulch of loose earth at the sur face, which prevents the evaporation of the moisture contained in the soil, which is most essential to the growth of the tree. The following are a few of the great number of the more rare orna- mental trees : Picea pungens (Colorado blue spruce) I will place this at the head of the list as the most beautiful evergreen with which I am acijuainted. The trees are propagated from seed. The seedlings are quite variable in color: some of them are but little better than 346 PREPARING ROSES FOR WINTER. the white or silver spruce. To get the finest specimens it is therefore neces- sary to select those with the darkest blue foliage. The tree is perfectly hardy, and will grow with any reasonable care. Abi€s amcolor. — This is next to the Colorado blue spruce in point of beauty. Selected blue specimens are nearly, and by some, considered equal to the above- named tree. The foliage is more soft and feathery, and tree quite hardy. Picea polita (Tiger tail spruce). — A beautiful tree from Japan ; quite hardy: foliage light deep green, forming a nice contrast with the above. Piaa akocquiana, (Alcock's spruce), is another Japan tree of great beauty. The foliage is deep green, above which forms a brilliant contrast with the sil- very tint of the underside of the leaf- hardy. Reti/wspora plumosa and R. filifera are both pretty. They have soft fea- thery foliage, and are very useful where a small tree or shrub is required ; quite hardy. Mitn^o pine is a nice dwarf-growing tree that usually grows broader than it does high ; very pretty in contrast with tall-growing trees. S. Verticillata (Umbrella pine)— A Japan evergreen, with upright trunk and horizontal branches, bearing whorls of shining green : very broad, flat needles, lined with white on the under side. These needles, by their remarkable size, and still more remarkable arrangement in umbrella like tufts, and their leathery texture gives this tree the most unique and elegant appearance of any known conifer. I have all the kinds named above, growing on my grounds, and consider them well worthy of more general plant- ing. W. W. HlLBORN. ( To he a^n tinned next montit ) PREPARING ROSES FOR WINTER. ri LMOST all kinds of roses may be /q\ kept over winter out of doors, illl Many sorts are hardier than sup' posed, and need but little protection. Many plants which die through the winter are killed by too much care. One of the most common errors is to cover the plants too early in the season before the wood is thoroughly ripened, and while the weather is still far from very cold. All that have watched their rose bushes know that the chief injury to them in the winter season occurs toward spring. It is when the heat of the late winter sun sets the sap in motion, and the freezing nights follow, that the bushes are injured. In the Middle States, there is no need at all to cover roses of any kind until after New Year's. By that time, their shoots are well ripened and able to withstand what cold they may encounter to better advantage than if covered early. The hybrid perpetuals, or June roses, as they are popularly called, need no covering at all here, near Philadelphia. Perhaps the extreme tips will be hurt, but there is rarely more to be cut away than good pruning requires. Usually, the shoots are tied together, their tops cut off, and a little straw tied neatly about them. This is a good way when the plants are on the lawn ; but when they are in cultivated ground, the work is as well done by bending the shoots over and covering them with four to six 34/ THE CHRYSANTHEMUMS AT THE " GORE." inches of soil. There is no surer cover- ing for safety than this, not only for roses, but for every kind of deciduous shrub as well. Everblooming roses, which embrace such as the Tea, Noisette, Bourbon, China, and their hybrids, must have some protection, but not nearly so much as many suppose. These roses do not bloom from the shoots of the previous season, as hybrids do, but from fresh ones of the same season. Nothing is gained by preserving all the length of the shoots. In fact, were they not in- jured, they should be pruned away to within a few inches of the last season's growth, as better flowers succeed such a cutting back. This being the case, all that is required is the covering of the plants. This is easily done by placing manure, leaves or soil about them, to about a foot in depth, doing it after the ground has frozen solid, and ren-.oving it when spring has certainly come for good. — Joseph Meehan, in R. N. V. THE CHRYSANTHEMUMS AT THE "GORE," N giving you the methods employed in getting up the above exhibition of Chrysanthemums, I am not going to write as a man who holds secrets or methods of growing, unknown to others, or to give pointers to other grow- ers, whereby they may excel beyond their fellows. I for one do not believe in secrets, so called ; but I do believe that any intelligent gardener, or in fact anyone who, having a love for good flowers, can at little expense get up a display such as was seen in the green- house at the "Gore" last autumn, by simply paying attention to the details which are necessary for the successful cultivation of this plant. This collection was grown in 4 in., 5 in , 6 in., 8 in., 10 in. and 12 in. pots, in single stem, two stem, three stem, and bush plants. The cuttings for the larger specimens were rooted in March. Some were grown on in pots, some were planted out, from these. Cuttings were struck as required in June and August, and grown on into 4 in., 5 in. and 6 in. pots ; the plants planted out were lifted early in August and taken under glass to save them from the Chrysanthemum bug ; those in 4 in., 5 in. and 6 in. pots were grown entirely under glass, getting plenty of air and a good syringing at least once a day. Whenever the plants showed signs of having filled their flow- ing pots with roots, they were fed with liquid manure ; horse and cow manure being used alternately, about a bushel to 50 gallons of water. The potting material used was the ordinary material in use for all [ otting, viz., good rotted friable loam, mixed with decayed manure. A few of the principal points to be observed in growing this plant are : use no cuttings but what are in good healthy growing condition. See that from the time the cutting is started, the plant never gets a check, either from a want of water, or by getting too much. Plenty of drainage when potting. Never let your plants become pot-bound, until they are in their flowering pots. Timely attention to disbudding. The secret of getting good flowers is getting well ripened wood. Ai.Kx. Veitch. Avr. 348 ORCHID. Fa;. 1213. The orchid shown in the accompany- ing illustration, is Stanhopia oculata, a native of Mexico, sent to F. Wiley, Esij Paris, and grown by him in his censer vatory. It is a novelty easily grown, and blooms three times a year. In de- tail it is beautiful beyondcomprehension. There are two or three flower spikes, one proceeding from near the centre of the base of the hanging basket, the other pushing its way as seen from the front. Each spike has eight fully open blooins, which reminds the writer of old fash- ioned ornaments and carvings seen in the British museum. The pistils and stamens are located in the bent, and pointed pendant section of the bloom ; two of them are seen, one directly above the other to the right. Three new flower spikes are showing themselves. The flowers are too large for Mr. Chamber- lain ; only a Welsh jesthetic would care for them in his buttonhole. This lovely specimen attracted the attention of hundreds while hanging in the window of the drug store of the Sec- retary of the I'aiis Horticultural Society, and many had to be told that it was rea ly a natural flower. — (j. R., Paris. The Cllture of Ferns. — It is bet- ter to begin with young plants. Be care- ful not to over-pot them ; wash the in- side of the pots clean, and give especially good drainage ; use open, rich, fibrous soil, light rather than heavy, and instead of filling tlje pot with soil to the brim leave plenty of room to hold water. Ferns should never get quite dry at the root, yet it will not do to keep them soaking wet. Many of them, especially the maiden-hair and gold and silver ferns dislike being splashed overhead, and hot sunshine must never fall directly upon these delicate kinds. Ferns are sure to be killed by little dribblings of water given every day. The same rule that applies to watering other plants is good with ferns : When the top of the soil looks dry fill the pot with water to the brim, so that the ball of soil may have ? thorough soaking. — Vick's Magazine. •^Sr^tv 349 SUBSCRIPTION PRICE, $i.oo per year, entitling the subscriber to membership of the Fruit Growers' Association of Ontario and all its privileges, including a copy of its valuable Annual Report, and a share in its ar nual distribution of plants and trees. REMITTANCES by Registered Letter or Post-Office Order are at our risk. Receipts will be acknowledged upon the Address Label. ADVERTISING R.^TES quoted on application. Circulation, 4,000 copies per month. LOCAL NEWS.— Correspondents will greatly oblige by sending to the Editor early intelligence of local events or doings of Horticultural Societies likely to be of interest to our readers, or of any matters which it is desirable to bring under the notice of Horticulturists. ILLUSTRATIONS.— The Editor will thankfully receive and select photographs or drawings, suitab'e for reproduction in these pages, of gardens, or o£ remarkable plants, flowers, trees, etc. ; but he cannot be responsible for loss or injury. NEWSP.A.PERS.— Correspondents sending newspapers should be careful to mark the paragraphs they wish the Editor to see. DISCONTINUANCES.— Remember that the publisher must be notified by letter or post-card when a subscriber wishes his paper stopped. All arrearages must be paid. Returning your paper will not enable us to discontinue it, as we cannot find your name on our books unless your Post Office address is given. Societies should send in their revised lists in January, if possible, otherwise we take it for granted that all will continue members. ■^ fsFotes ar)d .Sir, -Please tell me how to care for a Norway Spruce Hedge, including prun- ing. When and at what point should the long shoot on the top of each tree be cut oli'. W. S., Toronlo. The first essential in growing a Nor- way Spruce hedge is to induce good healthy vigorous growth. Very often exposure of the roots in transplanting stunts an evergreen so that it is very long in recovering its vigor. If it is light colored in foliage and shows poor growth, it will need cultivation, and en- riching of the soil, and little or no cut- ting of the top, except in fall or spring, when growth is dormant. But as soon as vigor is evident, summer pruning should be practised, and that as fre- 3 355 quently during the season as may seem necessary to preserve the form desired, and render the weaker parts more dense. The leading shoots may be cut back at the option of the owner, without any special rule, the only object being to keep the height down to a certain line. To do this, it is well to stretch a line on some stakes at a certain height and prune accordingly. Each year of course this may be raised until the desired height has been gained. As to form, it is usual to prune to a square top, as with the one shown on page 327, but we our- selves prefer the conical form, and this also requires less labor in pruning. The Norway Spruce is one of the most vigor- ous growers of the evergreens, and there- fore will require more pruning than any other to keep it within bounds as a hedge ; but fortunately it endures the shears well, and the more it is sheared the thicker it will grow. The American Arbor Vitsc (or White Cedar) is much slower of growth, and therefore more desirable as a hedge than the Norway Spruce. Blight on Apple Trees. 966. Sir,— At present I am troubled by some kind of blight affecting my orchard, and thinking you might recrgnize the trouble and be able to advise me, I take the liberty of asking your opinion. In the early spring, after the fruit hae fr^\\ Q^pop. % St. Lawrence District. •"^IR.— The apple crop in this district has changed very little since my report last June, but the quality will be very poor, in un- .sprayed orchards, and only medium to good in those sprayed. The fruit in many cases being badly formed, owing no doubt to im- perfect fertilization of the blossom. Fungus is still making rapid growth on both fruit and foliage. A fair estimate would be : Apples, '2'i "■'^ of a full crop, or about one- half average. fears, too few to make an estimate ; not many grown. Plums, none. Grapes, over average ; not many grown. H.AJiOI.D JoNE.s. Cataraqui. SiK, — The apple crop in this district is under average ; ijuality very good. Orapes, average ; (|uality good. No peaches, and very few pears or plums, grown in this dis- trict. George Nicol. Victoria County. Sir, — Your postal card of 14th inst. duly received. I quite agree witli your statement that the prospects for the apple crop have materially changed since the last published report. The prospects at present are, that the ap- ple crop will be less than one half of average, but good to very good in quality. Pears, Clap])'s Favorite and Flemish Beauty mucli over average and of excellent quality. I!art- lett, average in both cjuantity aud (juality. Peaches are not grown here. Plums, we have none this season. Grapes, under average in (piantity ; vines looking well ; fruit nearly full size, but we expect no ripe grapes here, as the season of growth (now) is fully two weeks later than usual and the weather un- favorable. Tiios Keall. Lindsay, Aug. 16th. Middlesex and Perth. Apples in this district are only about 'JO of a crop ; Duchess among early, and North- ern Spy among late, are doin;; fairly well. The home demind will consume aU the sup- ply. Peirs and plums a-e a good crop, above the average ; the quality ii generally good, except with the Flemish Beauty pear, which is baiUy spotted where it was not sprayed. Local demand for pears and plunm will be pretty well supplied at home. T. U Hack. Prince Edward County. Slu, — Your iiostal card received, »v the apple crop. I'rom all returns received, we do not think the crop will be o\or 'J."i %. The Beauty pears are very rough, cracked and spotted. Bartletts are clean and of Clapp's Favorite we do not think there will be over half a crop. Very few plums and grapes are grown around here. There are no peaches hero at all. II. r.on.Ti'.u, Picloii. THE FRUIT CROP. Wentworth. •*^IR, — In reply to your eii(|uiry : the apple crop in this district is much below an aver- age ; quality poor. I'ears above an average, and very fair ([uality. Peaches, very heavy crop. Plums, above average ; very good. Scotia are below the average. Raid wins are reported light in all sections of the United .States, and the larger part of the crop consists of russets and green varieties. This is bad for the exporter, for the red va- rieties take best in (ireat Britain. Renfrew County. A/:p'es, .Summer and Fall uikUt I he average, Wealthy a fair crop, other winter apples not much grown here. Pliim-s, Native red a failure, De .Soto and .Sinclair varieties a full crop Oiapt.1 under the average upon the whole, vines that came through the winter all right are up to the average, but many were injured by the severe season and bearing very lightly. R. B. Whvte, Ottawa. Oxford County. en(|uirie8 maile, the apple crop will only be medium, ijuality good. Pears very good, quality good. I'caches not much grown in this section. Plums will be very good, qua- lity good. Grapes good, quality good. Jos. ,S. ScARFF, Woodstock. Ontario County. SiK, -I regret to .say that the outlook for a paying crop of apples is very slim, owing largely I think to too much wet weather. Many varieties that were well loaded early in the season, have kept dropping off till a very few are left, especially Duchess and Astra- chan. R, 1. Greenings are very small com- pared with last year, in fact nearly all our varieties are below the average of last season. Very few Baldwins are on the trees, as many of the trees never bloomed in the spring. Spys, Canada Red, Haas, Wealthy, Yellow BelKleur, King, Fall Pippin, Ribst'c^ Pippin and Twenty Ounce are fairly well loaded, but all below the average in size at this time; nor do I believe they will make it up, as the nights are getting cold. In pears the prospect is good, especially early varieties, Clapp's Favorite taking the lead, Bartlett coming a good second, while Louise B)Dne, Keifer's, B. d'Aujou and Cldir- geau are coming on finely, and Rostiezer is literally crowded with beautiful samples. In plums, the crop is the best we have had for y' ars, both in i|uantity and size, and the prospect is good for profitable crop this sea- son. Small fruits were very plentiful and difficult to sell at remunerative prices, in fact gooseberries, which were very fine, could hardly be disposed of at all. Grapes are looking well, but unless we get warmer wea- ther, many varieties will not ripen, as most varieties were late in blooming in the spring. I also find where spraying was done tho- roughly, there is more fruit and better (jua- lity than where it was omitted or only par- tially done. R. L. HuGGARD, Whill>y. The Applk Ckup is reported abundant in Missouri, Arkansas, and Eastern Kansas, but owing to the failure in the Eastern .States, Mr. Goodman, Secretary Mi-s.souri .State So- ciety, expects high prices, owing to the failure in the east. •■^'R, — I think from what I have seen and The grape crop is reported very abundant. 357 I THE FRUIT GROWER'S STORY I A man once determined a rural life Was the happiest, best ami more free from strife Than a life in the city of noise and snot, So he moved in the country and commenced raising fruit. He needs money for help and money for boxes — His advisers are gone like so many foxes, Hut he gets his fruit packed and ready for sale ; And ships, how ? Well— on this letter so frail : He planted some peaches, some apples and cherries. And between tlie tree rows some fancy strawberries. He watched with great care the trees as they grew. And pruned and sprayed as most orchardists do. Mr. Rural Fruit Grower ; — My very dear sir : A very great favor on us you'll confer. If at once you advise us what fruit you can send ; We refer you to Bradstreets, and remain Nour dear frienil. His money gave out, yet still he worked hard. Well knowing that .soon he would have his reward In selling the fruit that the trees would unfold, And bring him returns in silver and gold. He ships after getting the usual wire : "Market good, ship (juick, we think will gn higher.'' He stops not to think that this house w ires all over. And the market's a puzzle, like "pigs in the clover." At last the crop comes, fruit plenteous and line. It's ready for market. Now comes the time When new friends appear; clever fruit men galore Who give much advice, but give nothing more. For many do exactly like our Rural Fruit (Jrower. Result: market higher? not much; market lower. A few days later the returns he receives, Ninety dollars; deduct charges, one dollar it leaves. SOLILOQUY. '■ One dollar the first of my orchard's crop, I'll let the rest of my peaches rot. No ! I can't do this, I'll continue the gamble, I'erhaps in the wind-up of the general shamble, A dollar or two may happen to stray Around to me, and help my box bills to pay." Tlie e bought, were purchased by the Society and distributed to the school in the spring. .Some of the members of the Clinton Horticultural Society kindly sent down some cut flowers to the .Seaforth Society, to give the people here an idea how the Clinton florists compare with the Seaforthites. It is very encouraging to the members of the Horticultural .Society, to see the large number of people who are tak- ing a lively interest in the show. This will in all probability increase the number of names on the membership roll for next year. We omit the list of awards made, as being only of local interest. The show was to have Ijeen closed at 5 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon, but on account of being such a success and so many people wanting to see the flowers, it was held open till 9 p.m. on Wednesday evening. On that evening a night - blooming Cactus opened about 8 o'clock and added greatly to the attractions of the show. The building was lighted by the new Acetylene gas. The members of the Society wish to compliment Mr. Donald Stewart, of Brussels, for the just and effective way in which he performed the difficult task of awarding premiums to the different plants and flowers. 387 OUR AFFILIATED SOCIETIES. The Flowkr Show at Napanee. — The members of the Napanee Horticultural So ciety provided a great treat for our citizens and scored a great success in their grand dis- play in the curling and skating rink last Friday afternoon and evening. The society has been in existence but a few years, but in that time it is truly marvelous the strides they have made, and the interest they have created in the culture and love for flowers in our midst. Each year the society gives a display, and each successive exhibition has proved a marked advance over the preceding one. Last year the town hall proved too small for the proper display of the large collection of plants, and this j-ear the man- agement conceived the rather risky experi- ment of showing iu the large rink. To trans- form the bare and unsightly space into the scene of beauty presented on Friday night was no small task, and only those who planned and labored in its accomplishment, know the work and anxiety expended to secure this end. Our citizens are greatly indebted to the society for the work they have done and are doing in our midst, and it is to be regretted that all of our citizens had not availed themselves of the privilege of being present. The President, Mrs. Wilkinson, and her staff of willing assistants are to be congratu- lated on the success which attended their efforts to make the show such a decided success. On entering, the scene was indeed a sur- prise and delight to all ; and where all the flowers and plants came from was an equal surprise. The display was just a little out of our reporter's line, and too extensive and bewildering to describe iu detail. However, a brief sketch where so much wa£ to be seen and so mnch taste and labor were rejire- seuted, is demanded. The sides, ends and rafters of the large building were gracefully draped with flags aud jubilee bunting in red, white, blue and yellow. Along the two long sides of the structure were arranged shelves, on which were displayed cut flowers, in glass and vases, and abundance of grasses, ferns, vines, etc., filling the spaces and backgrounds. At tlie south end, on entering, was a mammoth sun- flower, stretching up 15 feet plant. This end of the building was banked up with rushes, golden rod, grasses, vines, etc., and above all were a crown and the floral letters " V.R " of daisies draped with Union Jacks, the letters and crown the handiwork of Mrs. Uriah Wilson. The northwest corner was banked with ferns and vines, and across the north end, with the Union Jack for a background, were the initials, " N.H.S.," in letters about three feet high, constructed of Sunflowers. Here also was an ingenious piece of floral work, a beaver, life-size, made entirely of red Sumac berries, the creation of Miss Ballantyne. In the northwest corner was a fairy bower, which we will describe later. Along the east side, besides cut flowers in reckless profusion, were two bicycles, a ladys' and gentleman's, beautifully decorated with flowers, scarcely a vestige of the framework being visible. The centre of the space was devoted to four large platforms, eight feet square, on whiuh were displayed potted plants, common and rare, arranged in pyramid shape, the foliage and colors being arranged with rare taste. Two of these tables were arranged by Mr Thos. Symington, to whose utiring energy and good taste much of the success of the show was due. The other two contained elaborate displays by Mr. James Harnier and Lloyd & Hill, florists. In the centre were also distributed many large vases, filled with folinge and l)loom. The centrepiece for the collection was a " Ferris Wlieel," designed and constructed by the Society's secretary-treasurer, Mr. J. E. Herring. The height of the structure was 1 1 feet, aud the wheel itself was made to re- volve, carrying eight suspended boxes, each filled with brilliant flowers. The entire frame- work was tastefull}' decorated with green and (ioldenrod, flags, etc , and the whole piece was considered verj' haudsome. The decorations were effected by Mrs Burritt, Mrs. W. K. Pruyn, Mrs. J.E. Herring and Mr. Cowan. A crowd was always gathered before the exhibit in the northeast corner of the build- ing, which represented the handiwork of Mr. and Mrs. W. S. Herrington. The corner was cut off by a partition of tall Uroomcorn and Goldenrod, a space being left in the centre through which to view the pitQf du resistance within. Over this space was draped a pair of lambrequins made from Millet and joined at the top by a heart of crimson Verbenas. Looking through this unique and handsome entrance, one saw the exhibit proper, which was a model of a modern battle-ship, con- structed wholly of flowers, and complete in the minutest detail. This was a study in itself, and represented many liours of labor. The hull was of white Verl)enas, the deck of Asters, and a border of tricolor around the entire ship marked the water-line. (Juns of Phlox protruded from turrets of Marigolds and Calliopses. The fighting towers were made of Candytuft, Pinks and Larkspur. The Union Jack with the colors accurately ar- ranged floated over the stern, while an anchor cunningly wrought of tiny Forget-me-nots hung over the bow. The whole floated upon a sea of green. The walls of the building behind this exhibit were covered with green vines, through which could be seen here and there the golden face of a half-hidden Sun- flower. NOTES. The band during the evening played a number of selections, and added materially to the pleasure of all present. A lemon and fig tree were amongst the curiosities of the exhibition. Mr. Walter Ross, Sec.-Treas. of the Picton Society, show- ed a full-sized lemon grown by him. Mr. Ross was present and was greatly surprised at the beautiful display made. OUR AFFILIATED SOCIETIES. The attendance was very good, about six hundred taking advantage of the opportunity to witness the progress the mcmhcrs of the Society are making, and their taste in nius- sinL', decorating, etc. 1 he function was a brilliant one, the great building being l>rilliantly lighted with incan- descent lamps. Chinese lanterns, etc. The throng, young and old, gayly dressed, criti- cising, chatting, inspecting and enjoying the treat, promenaded to the stirring music of the band uutil 10 o'clock, when the exhibition was closed. .Strangers in town and many of our citixens, who had no idea of the strides the .Society is making, were surprised and delighted with the display. .Many new members should now be added to the N. H. S. The Society and its energetic President deserve a public vote of thanks. The beaver and letters N. H. S., were the work of Miss Ballantyne and Mr. W. Waller. The crown and initials V.R., were contri- buted by Mrs. U. Wilson. TENTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE CHEMICAL Dn'I.SION OF THE DO- MINION EXPERIMENTAL FARM, 1896. A copy of this report has just been received and we presume, th^efore, that it is now ready for distribution among the fanners of the Dominion. There is much in it of inter- est and value to every farmer. It would appear that the past year has been an exceedingly busy one for chemist (Mr. Frank T. Shutt), for the forty odd pages of his report are crowded with results of analyses, and deduction therefrom, of soils, fertilizers, cattle foods, well waters and a host of other materials more or less closely related to agri- culture. Among what appears to us as the more im- portant features of this work, we notice the following : — an exhaustive account of certain typical soils in British Columbia. Their rela- tive fertility is noted and suggestions made for their profitable treatment. The economic improvement of muck soils is the subject of a chapter that will be found most useful to all farmers having muck deposits on their farms. Mr. Shutt has been able to demonstrate the value of woodashes (potash) and lime for these soils. The results of pot experiments show a large increase in the yield from such treatment. A well executed cut of the pot experiments illustrates this chapter. Many anah'ses of " muds," " mucks " and substances of like character, occurring natur- ally, have been made. It has been shown that many of these deposits are of a highly nitrogenous character, while others are useful as " amendments " rather than as fertilizers. Instructions are given how to make composts with swamp muck, and attention also is called to the value of this material as an absorbent in and about the farm buildings. Some instructive results obtained by rot- ting manure are given. They show that even under fairly good conditions "there is consider- able loss of fertilizing material. Manure must be kept compact, to exclude the air, and moist (not wet) if the loss during fermenta- tion is to be minimized. Some valuable experiments regarding the use of clovers as green manures have been made. The data shows the extent to which the various clovers enrich the soil with nitro- gen. This chapter contains information of the greatest importance to e\ ery farmer who is anxious to obtain an increase of fertility of his land. A large number of materials of fertilizing value, such as woodashes, fish meal, etc., have been analyzed and their composition is stated in plain language. On the question of cattle foods, the Chemist presents his results on the " Chemistry of the Corn Plant," an important piece of work which clearly indicates the changes in food value that take place during the growth of the crop. Scientific data are given to show that the corn should be allowed to arrive at the "glazing '" condition before it is harvested. The results of the Chemist's examination of waters from farm homesteads is anything but encouraging. They show that on many soils polluted water is being used. Mr. Shutt points out the great danger to health of both man and be;ist from the use of a contaminated water supply. All thoughtful farnr.ers, we believe, will be iuterested and benefited by a perusal of this report and we should therefore advise them to apply to the Chemist of the Experimental Farms at Ottawa for a copy. 389 ■^ Qb^<^\\or) ^Pd^bj^r*. ^ Corn Smut. 967 Sir, — What is the cause, and what the cure for Smut in Corn. A SCESCRIBER. Hepfy by Prof. T. A Patterson, O.A.C. Guelph. Corn Smut {UstUago mayadis) is a disease of corn, the remedies for which must be largely of a preventive nature. Professor Kellerman states that the mode of infection if not thoroughly understood at present and therefore we cannot be sure of the most rational remedy. The fact, however, that smut thrown or left upon the ground produces the disease in succeeding crops, and the apparent probability that infection may be brought about by the distribution of the spores, or sporidia, indicate (i) that rotation of crops should be practiced, and (2) that as much of the smut as possible should be destroyed before it comes to maturity. The smut balls should be collected and burned before the membrane covering them bursts, and thus prevent the spores from escap- ing. Do not feed smutted corn to cattle as the spores will be distributed in the manure. The best remedy is to adopt a system of rotation. By planting corn in different ground each year, and sow- ing unaffected seed the losses from smut will not be appreciable. How to Grow Sage. (See Question No. ^58.) I have been growing herbs for the last ten years for the retailers, and have found no difficulty in growing sage. I simply set up ridges 30 inches apart, rake the ridge down flat. This will remove stones, sticks, or any matter that is on the ridge that would impede the drill. Use Mather's hand seed drill, and sow at the gage. For sage keep free from weeds. With new seed a crop is certain. N. B. — Have several hundred dozen of herbs for sale. Wm. Spendlow. Billing's Bridge, Out. The Worden Grape. 96§. Sir, — Will you please inform me through The Canadian Horticulturist what year the Worden grape was sent out by the F. G. A. I think it is as much as fifteen years ago. I have one sent me Ijy the Asso- ciation, and I believe this grape to be the king of all grapes for this section of country. I have only the one vine, and it has never failed any year to produce a large crop of grapes. It has been growing side l>y side with the Concord, and the \\'orden gives me about as much grapes in one year as the Con- cord does in four. The Concord fails here in some years to get ripe, but the Worden never fails to get ripe ; it ripens its fruit two or three weeks earlier than Concord. The vine is very heavily loaded with fruit this year, and there are some bunches ripe now at tliis date. It starts late in the spring and escapes late frost. I let it down on the ground in the fall, and turn some brush on it to catch the snow ; this is about all the winter protection it gets. I have one vine of the Niagara, it is just commencing to bear, it is well loaded this year, I think it will be a success here. A. Bridge, Wtsl Brool: Grape Jam. — Separate the skin from the pulp of the grape, putting them in different dishes, then put the pulps in the preserving kettle with a teacupful of water, and when hot run them through a colander to separate the seeds, add the skins to the pulp and weigh, allow- ing three-quarters of a pound of sugar to each pound of fruit, and just suffi- cient water to keep them from burning. Cook slowly for three-quarters of an hour and bottle. 390 $ ©pep Letfepc^. ^ Gooseberries in Simcoe Co. Sir, — I have read the letter from Mr. Stanley Spillett, in the August number, and feel sorry that his gooseberries turned out so bad this year, as lie has given us some good adviee about mulching, etc. I have two kinds of goo8el)erries growing in North Simcoe ; 1 do not know their names, but they are both large and prolific, and there is no sign of mildew on them. In the spring I put a small half ounce of bluestone in a large bottle and till up with water, and when 1 spray with I'aris green, I put in a small talilespoonful out of this bottle to the pail ; perhaps that may have souielhing to do with keeping otl' mildew. Robert H. Platt. Insect on Gooseberry and Currant Sir, — In the August number of the HoR TicnLTUKisT, the Rev. \V.' A. Adcock, of Kast Angus, Que writes about a small insect which has blighted his gooseberry and cur- rant bushes, and upon which Paris green had no effect In Qucljec there is (|uite a lot of tobacco grown, and if he would get some of the dry stalks, which arc no good for other use, and cut them up and make a decoction in a pail or barrel of water, ami as soon as he would notice the leaves turning dark, give them a good spraying with this tobacco water, I think he would settle tliem for the season ; and if done for two or three seasons, would exterminate them altogether. If I am mistaken in the insect and the recipe does not answer, then try spraying with kerosene emulsion. KOBKHT H. Pl.ATT. Whitesmith Gooseberries. Sir, — The illustration of Mr. F. \V. Por- ters gooseberries, given on page 296 of the HoRTicCLTURi.sT of last year, taken with the writers statement that "The samples of W'hitcsmith were so fine tliat we photo- graphed one branch for the public benefit, exactly the xi'ce of t/ie oriyinii/," (the italics are mine, T. B. ), showed— as 1 then thought — the berries much too small for a good sam- ple as grown here : and if so, then the picture did not do that excellent variety the justice it so well merited ; but the season w&a then too far advanced (about 1,5th September) to compare the picture with our specimens ; but now, when we can do so, the superior size of the fruit grown here is apparent. As big gooseberry stories, like fish stories, do not receive much attention without good corrobo- rative proof. 1 herewith send one dozen ber- ries taken from a one gallon measure of fruit 3 39 that was being cleaned for market (and the sample was not thereby sensddy injured), which weighi .7', ounces. Compaie these with the size of the berries ao shown on iHU'e ■2 uld certainly seem as if the general condition of things was more f.ivorable there than with us, several of the northern sections reporting moderate to full crops, and altogether we think it reasonable to assume that fair quan- tities will find their way to the various markets in this country. These, however, will not last very long, and what is more, they are but little appreciated, as compared with American and Canadian growths, so that for fruit of fair size, and of really good quality, prospects, in our opinion, are fairly encouraging. Uy this we do not mean that all grades may be shipped to advantage, as some shippeis unfortunately concluded last season ; in fact we would recommend the same care being given to the grading and packing in a light season as a heavy one, as poor apples are rarely, if ever, wanted on this market. London. Messrs. Garcia Jacobs & Co., write : — According to all reports the crop of apples on the Continent of Europe will be a little below the average, not so much in the matter of quantity as quality, the latter being below the normal. It means that a more than usual quantity will be packed and shipped to the ditt'erent markets, and lots of it will find its way to the English ports of distribution, to come into competition with local supplies there. The crop in the United Kingdom is esti- mated by the best authorities as follows : Out of three hundred districts or points of production, ten districts show more than the usual average, seventy an average crop, and two hundred and twenty districts under an average cro)). Our reports cover the ground fully, and our aplies, and that the latter must be good in quality to com- mand satisfactory values. Beginning with Nova Scotia and following the great St. Lawrence Valley to the Ukes as far a3 Michigan, the crop of a]>ples will be below the average of ordinary years, and the ([uality will not compare with last season. In the great fruit belts of Canada our reports indicate a very largely increased quantity over what is generally being published, and .^92 THE MARKETS. there, a* in other districts, it will all be barreled upon tlic sup))osition that anything will sell thib year. Fruit will be packed closer, and made dangerously poor in quality. It will, as you can see, also tend to increase the out-turn very materially. In New Eng- land the same condition exists— a moderately light crop, every possible barrel of which will go to market. The crop on the Hudson River is heavier than generally supposed, and runs in streaks, there being now no "oil" year for their apple crop. This is now beginning to move, but is later than usual, ana will not go in quantity for two or three weeks yet. In Western New York the crop of green fruit is fair. Red fruit is not heavy, and will be of poor i|uality as a rule. In the great Western districts of Illinois, Missouri, Kansas and Arkansa.s, which are now coming rapidly to the front as apple producing States, the crop is tine in <|uality and abundant in r|iiantity. There is also more than the usual ([uantity in Virginia and one or two more of the Southern tier of .States. Maryland, Pennsylvania and New .Jersey all have apples in more or less quantity, ami the aggregate output will be much more than is now generally supposed. To sum up the situation, while there will likely be ou the whole, a little under, rather than over, the normal supply of good fruit, there is every pros))eet of a fair e.\portable surplus, much of which promises to be of a quality that ought not to be shipped, and that will have a tendency to keej) pi ices down in Europe. Fine fruit, we think, will meet with a ready sale at satisfactory values ; but it should be packed well, and culled freely. KniNntTRCii. Messrs James Lindsay & .Son write under date of August 31 :— We again take the liberty to ailvise j'ou re the prospects for Canadian apples. We are pleased to say that it is our o]>inion there will be a very good outlet for that article this season. There will not be any local supply as the weather has been entirely against the growth of apples, too little sun- shine ; and what apples we have had from the continent are not of a quality that will afifect the sale of fine Canadian fruit, so any- thing that is of this nature, and good color, is sure to make satisfactory prices. Clrcenings and Falawat' rs although not of the red va- riety will also sell well, as those are both favorite apples in our market. We would strongly recommend that ship- pers ought to be careful in selectting and packing, and distinctly lirand any barrels of a common grade, so that they may be sold on their merits. It is a great mistake to have such grades in a parcel of good ((uality, as when exposed for sale it might just hap- pen that such packages were taken for samp- ling, and when exposed to buyers would simply spoil the sale of the bulk ; but when distinctly marked with a counter-mark, or with a lets number of crosses, then they are sold separately and in no way interfere with the sale of the finer quality. Also we recommend that packers should l>e careful and write the proper name upon the barrel. \m»\, season there were many green apples branded Baldwins. Also com mon Pippins, branded ^pies and Haldwins, even some of them were marked Kings. When purchasers find that there are parcels of this description, they generally give them a wide berth, and those interested lose much more on the price of the stock in general, than they would by those barrels being dis- tinctly marked and sold separately. We strongly recommend that the paper felt should be put on the top, so eis to keep the skins of the apples smooth, and as soon as they are ready for packing we recommend they should be shipped. It is much safer than waiting till the cold weather cmes. Last season many fine apples were completely destroyed by being caught in the cold chill. Prospective Apple Crop Report. Dear Sir, — Wc beg to submit for your persual and guidance our ideas regarding the indications of this year's apple crop and prospects, formed both from observation and from reports by us received from reliable correspondents from various apple-producing sections whei e\er apples are gi own. Great JirUaiii. — Considerably less than last year, as from ,S14 reports reoeiveil, 10 are over average, while 74 are average, and 230 under average. Continent — Spain and Portngal. — Early kinds average yield, but late ones light. France awl Bil'jium. — Fair average crop, especially early varieties ; later varieties (although showing fair crop) are being re- duced by apples falling. Qe.nnanij and I lot and. — .Similar to France and Belgium, but with this ditt'erence, that later kinds will be lighter, and apples are dropping. Unilfd Slates. — The following are the esti- mated percentages, beised on a 100 as a full crop : — New England States i")"^ New Yoi k .State 35 n Pennsylvania 50 n Maryland 60 .■ V^irginia 70 n West Virginia 45 n Kentucky 65 m Ohio 25 ,. Indiana 65 n Michigan 35 n Illinois 85 II Iowa 75 II M issouri 85 h Kansas 70 h Arkansas 90 „ Tennessee 70 .i Colorado 100 „ California 100 i, Oregon 100 n Wisconsin 50 n Minnesota ... ."iS m Canada — Nora Scotia. — Under average, being appreciably less than last year. 393 MAKING AND PRESERVING GRAPE JUICE IN BOTTLES. Ontario. — From reports received, about 35 % of an average crop, with all winter varieties short, except Northern Spies, which appear to be in many sections quite up to the produce a large quantity of apples, yet the sections yielding best are in the West, which usually are n )t extensively expjited, but it is quite possible this season a considerable quan- tity may be exp )rted from the Western States. It is quite apparent our reliable market this season, will be (Ireat Hritain, and we are of the opinion that for choice apples, properly packed, at reasonable pi ices, the outlook is encouraging. We, however, would warn intending ship- pers, that great care should be exercised m handling only good apples, and only such quantity as you yourselt, or .some other one or ones of experience, in whom you have con- fidence, can personally oversee. It is reported, buyers in some localities, owing to undue excitement, have offered astonishing prices, but it is the misfortune of the apple trade, that prices paid by buyers are often not justified, as the custom is that the apples are purchased before any large percentage is marketed. W'e do not care to suggest the proper price to be paid, as so much depends upon the quality and varieties hj,nilled, but there is a limit to the price to be paid, which may be discovered when too late. Buyers should bear in mind that buying orchards by the lump early in the season is a dangerous practice, as a wind or hail storm might easily mutilate the apples as to make them unmarketable. M. H. Pbter-SON, Toronto. Making- and PFesepving Grape Juice in Bottles. I notice in -Inly number of Fruit Grower a request for instructions in detail for ex- pressing and preserving unfermented grape juice in bottles, by some person who has had actual personal experience in the |)ro- cess, and as I have been doing more or less of it every year for over fifteen years, for my famdy use, and ia evidence of my success in the simple process, can show sample bottles of that age and of later bottling, that we test one of occasionally, and find them "fit nectar for men or gods. ' In proceeding, use only clean, well ripened grapes. I prefer expressing the juice in an ordinary hand cider-mill (same as making cider), by grinding the grapes ; the advan- tage is, you get the juice at once, that which is expressed by grinding is clear and retains so little foreign matter or pumice. It may, by careful straining through double thickness light llannel, be immeiliately bottled, while that obtained from pressing the skins, pulp, seeds, etc., will rei|uire, beside straining, a little time to precipitate a sediment resultin.; from ])ressiug. I sometimes filter through a few inches of clean, washed river or creek sand. The sooner, however, it can be bottled and corked, the less fermentation and the more of the peculiar grape aioma may be retained. Whereas, if the grapes are crushed in a tub or barrel, I find it ditticult or impos- sible to express the juice until fermentation dissolves the pulp, thereby losing much of the grape Hivor: but the fermentation cuts no figure in the keeping ijualilies," as I some- times, for variety, let some ferment to a cer- tain llivor, wheu I heat aud seal it with the assurance that, when opeaed in the months or years following, the same flavor will pre- vail. I use the ordinary wine and beer bottles — carefully wash a.id drain them, fill to within about three inches of the top. Set an ordi- nary wash-boiler on the stove ; put an inch of sand on the bottom, or fit a thin board over the l;)otton^ to prevent the liottom of bottler over-heating, to break or give the juice a cooked Havor ; fill the boiler with bot ties as close as they will stand without crowd- ing, and fill the boiler with cold water within about four inches of the top of the bottles. Lay on the lid and start the fire ; bring the water slowly to a distinct sinmier, but in no instance allow it to come to a boil, as this, too, will cook the juice. Have your corks steanung. I use a one-quart fruit can ; fill half full of water and put in the corks, lay on the cap, set alongside the boiler to heat and steam while bottles are heating. As soon as the juice gets pretty well heated the air will be thrown off in a volume of minute bubbles rising to the surface, which eventually brings to the top a thick scum or pumice in propor- tion to the amount of impurities in the juice ; this scum increases and pours over the tops of the bottles, which suggest the air is surti- cieutly driven off to proceed with corking. Lift out a bottle, place on a low table, blow off this pumice, pour off any surplus juice in excess of tj fill to two inches of top of bottles, else the cork will not go down; insert a cork, giving it a twistmg pressure with the fingers, pushing it down a little below the mouth of the bottle, or can use a cork diiver, to be had ,at any hardware store. Wipe the bottles with a damp cloth and set aside ; proceed till all are corked ; in refilling the boiler, take out part of the water and fill with cold to a tepid temperature ; fill up as before and re- sume the fire, then proceed to seal those already corked. I use the ordinary canning wax or cement. When melted, add a tea- spoonful of linseed oil to each stick of cement, which renders it more adhesive, it should then be well stirred and applied ipiite hot. I experience no dilhculty in the juice keeping with the bottles in any position, bnt if up right, if any sediment has precipitated, the juice will pour off clear of the sediment. I keep the bottles in my cellar, which is cold, dry and frost-proof. .Seldom indeed that a bottle bursts, and then only by defective sealing. I do not jiut hot juice in the bottles nor bottles in hot water : have never used a thermometer to test the temperature of the water, but had I one, would not let the water exceed a temperature of 1!1(1 to :J00 degrees Fahrenheit, as water boils at 'J 12 degrees. The same treatment applies to apple juice or cider. — (Jreen's Fruit Grower. 394 BEURRK CLAIRGEAU. ( From p/ioloijra/i/i hy J//,s-.v Jimili,'. ) TH E Canadian Hokticultukist. Vol. XX. 1897. No. HEURRE CLAIRGEAU. i]S a commercial pear, es- pecially for a distant market, we know of no variety of the same sea- son that is superior to this variety. Its large, size, and the beautiful cheek which it takes on during the month of October, its excellent shipping and keeping quali- ties, all these combine to make it a pro- fitable variety, and one that is easily grown, either as a dwarf or standard, though usually large and fine sized as the former. The quality is variable according to conditions of growth ; in France it is counted first quality ; in England, third quality ; with us, when well ripened, it is second rate. Origin — Nantes, in France, with a gardener named Clairgeau, about 1834. Tree — Y'ust class in vigor, hardiness and productiveness ; wood stout, and upright in habit of growth ; branches numerous, gro>vn as a dwarf can be plj^- trained to make a fine pyramid ; an early bearer. Fruit — Large, 4J2 inches long by 3^;? inches in width, one sided, pyriform^ skin green, turning pale yellow ■ at maturity, almost overspread with splj ings and dots of russet, which pletely covers it about the stalk ^M about the calyx ; orange red on sunny side ; stalk, 3^ inch long, stout, fleshy at the base, usually set at an angle with the axis ; calyx small, open, in a shallow furrowed basin. /7e'^//— White, coarse grained, juicy, with sweet, aromatic and vinous flavor. Season — October to January. Value — Home or foreign market, first rate. Quality — Cooking, good ; dessert, second rate. Adaptation — Succeeds admirably as far north as Thornbury : and east as far as Prescott. 397 A> Fy Vj^ "3-1 ;||/ % ^m ^ L liHj hE3I !^^^ Fu;. 1282. — Mrs. W. H. Wilkison. PresuInU of (he Najiume Hnrllculhiutl Society. 398 THE NAPANEE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. HE Napanee Horticultu- ral Society was organ- ized in March, 1895, through the untiring ef- forts of Mrs (Judge) Wilkison, who has been the President since its first inception. This was the first instance, we believe, of a lady being elected to the position the Society. The directors started out upon the principle that the easiest way to induce the members to cultivate flowers, was to present them with seeds, bulbs and plants, together with com- plete instructions for the management of them. Accordingly the Society has made e.xtensive purchases from the most reliable dealers, and up to date has dis- FiG. \-2Xi — "Chest.nut L.wv.n," REsiPENCt OF Mrs. W. H. Wilkison. of President of a Horticultural Society in Ontario ; and the success which has marked the Society's existence has proven the choice then made to have been a most judicious one. We notice that other Societies have since followed the course of the Napanee Society, and elected a lady President. Mrs. \Vilkison has associated with her an active direc torate, each of whom strives to outdo the other in advancing the interests of tributed among its members — 7600 Tulips. 65 Brugmansias. 66 Begonias. 66 Dahlias. 59 Chrysanthmeums 70 Palms. 4000 Crocuses. 1028 Hyacinths. 1966 Gladioli. 327 Cannas. 59 Primulas. 15 lbs. Sweet Pea, Aster, Poppy, Hol- lyhock and Dahlia seed. At the meetings of the Society the elementary requirements of floriculture .^99 THE NAPANEE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. Fici. 1234. — Mr. J. E. Herring, Scc'y-Treas. are studied and discussed. Occasionally an essay is read. Last year the Society offered prizes, open to students of the Collegiate Institute, for the best collec- tion of classified Botanical specimens of plants growing wild or conamonly culti- vated in Canada. The pride of the society, however, is the annual Flower Carnival which now takes rank as one of the events of the year to which the citi- zens generally look forward with plea- surable expectation. A very good ac- count of the one held in September, appeared in the October number of this journal, and our readers will see by reading that account, that the Napanee Society was at considerable expense, and spared no pains in striving to make their " Flower Show " a success. The Society has for some time past had in view the establishing of a small model park in the central part of the town, and have hopes, with the assist- ance of the town, that the matter will, in the coming year, be brought to a suc- cessful issue. JAPAN PLUMS. SPEAKING of plums, which by the way rank among the highest from a nutritive and a hygienic stand- point, the Satsuma Blood is unexcelled, if equalled, by any other of the Oriental types. Unfortunately, however, the trade knows nothing whatever about this fruit, nor how to handle it. The dealers, bless their hearts, most of them evolved from a Minnesota blizzard, or an entry clerk's high stool in some down town warehouse, are in complete ignorance of the almost infinite variety of new fruits which are every year being sent from California orchards. Take this Satsuma plum, for instance; it will hang on the trees till late in Au- gust, or even September, and then is actually superb in quality. But the trade orders it shipped early in July, and for no other reason except that a Brad- shaw plum must be picked as soon as it gets a little colored, or it will get soft. The Satsuma gets deep red a month be- fore it is even mature ; the Grand Duke gets black and stays black for several weeks on the tree before it gets soft ; Wickson must be picked before it gets a speck of color, and yet in ten days, wrapped in paper, it is completely cov- ered with an intense carmine. Fruits of all kinds differ vastly in their habits of maturing and ripening, and it is these hordes of draymen and office boys, who have saved a few hundred dollars, who make such hash of the best California products ; nothing is easier than to go into the commission business. — Leonard Coates in California Fruit Grower. Fio. \2Sri. — " Fountain Hall, Residence of Mrs. Archibald McNeill, a Director of N. H. S. UNFERMENTED GRAPE JUICE. ONE SURE WAV. Weigh out 20 pounds of clean, ripe Concord grapes. Pick from stems into a three gallon granite kettle, rejecting spoiled or green ones. Put in four quarts clean, fresh well water, and set kettle on the fire. Heat to boiling point, but don't boil ; remove from fire, mash well with a wire potato masher, and pour into a cheese cloth bag ; hang up to drain into an earthen crock or granite vessel, or pour into a wire drainer set into a crock, this is more con- venient. It will drain dry in two hours or less. Now measure this juice and add one pound granulated sugar to each gal- lon ; set on the fire and heat again to boiling point, and let it boil just one minute (more boiling thickens it) ; skim ofT the surface skum and remove from the fire. Meanwhile have some quart bottles or Mason jars heating in a pan of hot water. Now set a funnel (one with wide top and medium fine wire gauze strainer is best) into a bottle or jar and fill with hot juice. Screw on Mason covers, or cork bottles at once and cover top of corks with hot sealing wax. It is best to soak corks in hot water twenty minutes before filling bot- tles. Stand up in a cool, dark cellar. This keeps five years as well as one year so long as it remains sealed. This makes a very fine, rich, strengthening drink in sickness or health, alone or diluted one half with water, warm or cold, and agrees with almost everyone. 401 Fic. 1236.— Clematis Pankui.ata, (Japanese Origini. Perfectly hardy and a rapid climber, prod-ucinij; a mass of pure white, sweet scented flowers. Unlike any other Clematis, the flowers arc borne in long pantcles and appear in August ; the foliage remains fresh and green into early winter. This Photo was taken from a vine which had only been planted five months. 402 THE HOME SI' RROl'X DINGS. ^TTnI HIS Canada of ours is acharming country, with its rich and varied autumn hues, and picturesque views, and pleasant homes ; but alas how little has been done by man to take advantage of his privileges. Driven by sheer necessity, our farmers begin life by working early and late, and lose sight of almost everything except the intensely this regard Canada is before the world as the foremost of British Colonies as the most important part of Greater Britain. Let us then stir up our self- respect, and add to the stern necessi- ties of life a little of the ornamental, that our exterior may keep pace with our real worth and progress. This it will be the object of our Horticultural Fk;. 12.S7. — MR.S. Macklkm s Kkunt roKni, t hippewa. practical. To mow the lawns is a waste of valuable time that should be given to hoeing potatoes ; a lawn mower would be wild extravagance ; and to prepare a flower garden would be entirely out of the question. Even the front lawn of the farmers' home is too often strewn with chips and brush, and the walk left to follow the cowtrack in utter disregard of all Ksthetic rules. It is time that a change was made in Societies to attain, and many of them are already doing themselves and the country credit by the enthusiasm being aroused in beautifying the public parks and the home surroundings. We have received from a member at Chippawa, a photograph showing a little view of the front porch, prettily decor- ated, evidently the work of a lady's fingers. Mrs. Herbert Macklem is the one, and she writes : — 403 THE HOME SURROUNDINGS. " I saw in one of the numbers of your paper a paragraph requesting the mem- bers to send some views of their flowers, etc. I herewith enclose a corner of foliage plants and begonias and vines growing on our porch, which has been very much admired ; trusting it will find a place in your paper." Too little use is made of climbers for beautifying the porch, festooning the the Morning (llory is not to be despised, growing up from seed so quickly, and climbing up a cord with its wealth of color. Then we have in Muskoka a native clematis of considerable value — C. Virginiana. Samples of this climber were sent us a few years ago by Mr. J. P. Cockburn, one of our members at Gravenhurst, and we have been much pleased with it, for it is a graceful ■il'IK.Kl \ A.N lIulTTl. gables, or hiding defects of our houses. The finest home may be made attrac- tive by their use, and the most dilapi- dated house, without paint or ornament may become artistic and interesting through their transforming grace. Nor need the cost be much. The Virginia Creeper grows well in Ontario, in many places festooning the trees from trunk to branch. It may easily be transplanted, and being a vigorous grower it soon cov- ersa barewall with triflingsupports. Even climber, dying back only a portion of the new growth each year, while its numerous corymbs of small white flow- ers are very pretty. Besides these we have the ('limbing Bittersweet, the Sweet-scented Wild Cirape, and several others. Then there are a great many elegant exotic climbers for those who can afford the expense. The clematis especially affords a great variety, the best-known of which is C. lackm.ini with its wcaUii THE HOME SURROUNDINGS. of large showy purple flowers. A beau- tiful variety is also shown in our full page plate, viz.,C. Paniculata, taken from a photograph of a vine only five months planted. The flowers are pure white and sweet-scented, borne in long pana- cles, and appear in August. In some future article we may be able to give fresh illustrations of some of the numerous other creepers within reach, This picture shows the bush in full bloom, as it appeared early in June, 1897. Of all spira;as this one is, per- haps, the most satisfactory for lawn eflfects, where pure white color is needed. Some have used it as a hedge plant with excellent results, as it bears the shears well, but of course it would be for orna- ment only. In previous numbers of this journal Fig. 1239. — Estrante to a (tArden is Xmni-Novgorod, Rc.-;.sia. as, for example, Akebia quinata, Japan ivy, Hall's honey-suckle, English ivy, etc. ; also, of some of the many inter- esting native exotic shrubs suitable for the lawn. We have before us an excel- lent photograph by Miss Brodie, of SpirKa Van Houtti, which is w^orthy of a general introduction to our readers, because it is hardy, a free grower, and so easily propagated that if you have one bush you can soon have an abundant supply. we have drawn attention to the import- ance of the Approach in laying out the grounds surrounding a house that has any pretentions to elegance. In such a case it should not be too nearly in front of the house but so much to one side as may be convenient in order to give a fine sweep of carriage road up to the door,and to allow of such planting as will hide the beauties of the lawn within, and house front, until the entrance at least has been made. A beautiful example of this is 405 PLANT LICE OK APHIDS. here given ; it is an entrance to a garden in Russia, more elaborate than would be attempted by many of our Canadian gentlemen, but giving some suggestions well worthy of consideration. The pic- ture is from the American Florist, and belongs to a garden at Norgorod, which is one of the finest in that city. PLANT LICE OR APHIDS. T is becoming more apparent every year that to be successful, the ,_1 horticulturist must be familiar with the essential principles and facts of economic entomology. Every season has its especially bad insect pest, and, generally speaking, so little is known of the life histories and character- istics of even our common forms that they are often neglected till too late, or are fought with inadequate and ineffec- tual weapons. No better illustration could be given than the case of plant lice. We have had a scourge of these most injurious insects this year. I do not recall so bad a visitation for six years, and the damage done by them has been greater than that by any other insect, yet, in a very limited experience, I have heard of many cases, where afflicted gardeners and fruit growers have dosed the enemy with Paris green, and have been very much astonished and disgusted to find that it " didn't fizz on them." A very little insect lore would have saved them from such a mistake. The question of why we get a big plague of this and that insect, and then are free from trouble for years is an extremely interesting one, but would take too long to enter into here. Clima- tic conditions are largely responsible, and the other main cause is the absence or presence of nature's checks, the para- sitic and predaceous forms of insect life. A decrease in a predaceous species means an increase in its prey. After a while the predaceous insects catch up, the oscillation is continued ad iiifiniium, and the balance of natural forces is thus maintained. It is, of course, comforting in a vague way to know that Nature is on our side ; and to feel that next year our special enemies of this year may be wiped out. The comfort is very con- siderably lessened by the fact that we are "getting it in the neck " meanwhile. We must forge our own weapons, but a knowledge of the foe's vulnerable points becomes indispensable, and so, revetwns a nos moutoits. Plant lice are members of the family Aphidaa, belonging to the section Homoptera, and the order Hemiptera. This section or sub-order Homoptera, includes all the bark lice, leaf hoppers, plant lice, mealy bugs, scale insects, etc, and contains practically nothing but injurious forms of insects, some of them extremely difficult to fight. They are characterised in common with all the hemipterous insects, by the pos- session of a suctorial mouth apparatus, only taking their food in a liquid form, whether it be animal or vegetable. They are further marked by the general insignificance of their size, and the extraordinary rapidity with which they breed, dangerous characteristics as far as we ate concerned. Of the family Coccidie in this order one would like to speak, if time permitted. The Coccids or scale insects are lice that form over their bodies a protective, waxy scale of various kinds. The most injurious of 406 PI.AXT LICE OR APHIDS. these insects are found in the sub family in the early part of the season always DiaspinK, — "the armoured scales," — familiar species being the oyster shell bark louse {Mytiluspis pomorum) ; the "scurfy" bark louse {Chionaspis fur- furus\ and the dreaded San Jose' scale " Aspidiotus perniciosiis). These, like the plant lice, are inconspicuous, and extraordinarily prolific. The life histo- ries vary somewhat, but the feeding habits are much the same, and the prin- ciples which govern the methods of fighting the one, hold good also against the other. The family Aphida; contains so many species of plant lice that it is out of the question to give even the briefest description of many of them. Probably the two best known to fruit growers are the black cherry aphis (Myzus cerasi), and the green aphis. Less familiar species are the hop-louse, melon-louse, cabbage-louse, etc. Some of these species feed on an immense variety of plants. A large number of species con- cern themselves mainly with the roots of plants, and are extremely difficult to eradicate ; the corn-root louse and the peach louse (aphis persica-niger ) are examples. Then there are the gall pro- ducing types, such as the " cock's comb " gall, and finally the " woolly plant lice," which are highly injurious, and are typified in the •' whoolly apple louse." The life history of most of the plant lice is as follows : They winter in the egg stage. Directly warm weather arrives and growth commences, the eggs hatch, and in a very short time the wingless aphid gives birth to living young. In five or six days the young aphids are ready to reproduce, so that by the end of a few weeks the progeny of the original "stem-mother " mounts well into the millions. All this time no males have been produced ; plant lice breeding agamically, that is, without the intervention of a male. If reproduction is very rapid a scant food supply is guarded against by the birth of winged forms, which hie off to " fresh fields and pastures new." As the cold weather approaches, and growth of vegetation ceases, the plant lice develop both sexes, the female being wingless. A few eggs are laid, sometimes very few, usually at the ends of the twigs, or near buds where vegetation is likely to start first in the spring. The eggs are tough, and resist successfully ordinary insecticides and severe climatic conditions. The lice, of course, live on the juices of the plant or tree, the effect on the tender growing shoots being woful. When sap is abundant, and the lice are present in great numbers, the '• honey dew " which they excrete to ease themselves, glazes all the adjacent foliage, and a fungus disease develops which rapidly kills the vegetable tissue. It has been thought till quite recently that this " honey dew " was ejected from two little tubes frequently found on the upper part of the sixth abdominal segment. Professor Comstock Slates that this has been found to be a mistake. The flow of this sticky liquid is from the hind open- ing of the alimentary canal. The relationship of ants to the plant lice is now so well known that it is hardly necessary to refer to it. Readers of Sir John Lubbock's works, of Dar- wins' " Origin of Species," etc., will readily recall the interesting chapters dealing with the relation of these insects to each other. The principal food of the ants seems to be this same " honey dew," and though ants are not directly injurious to vegetation, they are, un- doubtedly, indirectly injurious, inas- much as they protect and colonise the various species of aphids. I look upon 407 PLANT LICE OR APHIDS. the ant, however, as an extremely use- f\il warning signal. Half the time we should be unaware of the existence of the lice on the trees, if it were not for the ants scurrying up and down for their favorite food. Now, as to the practical bearing of all this. It is a case evidently where delay is disastrous. It is true that fighting these pests is a highly disagreeable busi- ness, and that applications are useless if not thorough. It is also true that some seasons are so unfavorable for their development that it hardly pays to bother with them. Nevertheless, tak- ing one year with another, it would un- doubtedly pay, and pay well, to fight them systematically before the colonies have increased to any extent. Some of us left our cherry trees this year, in the hope that matters would not be so bad. We know the result. The black aphis literally covered the trees. A large pro- portion of the cherry crop (one of the few " paying " crops this season) was utterly ruined. Branches, twigs, leaves and fruit all carried a load of lice. The state of things was simply loathsome. No wonder that pickers " kicked,' and that buyers complained of " sticky " cherries. The work of the green aphis on the new shoots of plum and pear trees was equally injurious. Growth was stopped or retarded, and the trees terribly weakened. The really satisfactory remedies are confined to about three, viz. : — kerosene emulsion, fish-oil soaps, and tobacco. It cannot be too often stated that no stomach poison, such as the arsenites, are any good whatever against plant lice or any other hemipterous insect. We can only " fix " them with applications that clog the spiracles through which they breathe. It should be borne in mind that the darker species of aphids are much harder to kill than the green species. Kerosene emulsion diluted with ten or twelve parts water is effica- cious against the green lice, but to be effective against the black aphids, es- pecially the mature ones, it is necessary to dilute only with from six to eight parts water. Fish-oil soap may be diluted with half the above quantity of water. Tobacco is often recommended at the rate of one pound to six gallons of water, but unless a good sample and thoroughly boiled, it is not effective in that proportion against the black cherry aphis. The addition of a small quantity of fish-oil soap to the tobacco water will be found helpful. The thing to be continually borne in mind is that the work must be thorough and, above all things, must be begun in time. A stitch in time saves nine hundred and ninety- nine in this case. I have spoken above of the natural checks against injurious insects. There are many predaceous enemies of the aphids, and though we should be unwise to place too much reliance on their assistance, that assist- ance is sometimes of great value. Some of these beneficial insects may be re ferred to at a later date. M. BURRELL. .SY. Catharines. Baked Pears. — Put into a pan pears which have been washed, but which are unpared, add one or two spoonfuls of water, and then bake ; sprinkle with sugar, and serve with their own syrup. Many pears which are not as nice as they might be originally, when baked as above turn out to be very good indeed. 408 Fig. 1240. — Tropical Pla.nts in Canada. A FINE CACTUS. =^E{"iARDIN{"f the cactus, I r\^ might say that twelve years _[ \^ ago I got a small cactus leaf from a friend in Wingham, which I planted. It received very little care or attention, but appeared to thrive well from the start. During the winter months little or no water is given to it, but in summer it is watered freely. It commenced to bloom when seven years old, having about a dozen flowers the first year, and has flowered every year since, and the past summer it contained at one time 150 blossoms. During the winter months it is taken into the house and kept in a room with moderate tern perature, but on one or two occasions other house plants that were in the same room, were slightly injured by the frost, but the cactus did not appear to be hurt. In summer it is put out on the lawn, where it is left till late in the fall. It is eleven feet nine inches high, eight feet wide, and the stalk is eighteen inches in circumference. Thos. M.atthie. Zuck»07t'. 409 GRAPE CULTURE. R. J. W. (;OODELL, of Lynn, Mass., contributed an article to the " Transactions of the Essex Agricultural Society," on the subject of " Grapes and Grape Culture in Essex County," of which the following is an abstract : The use of grapes stimulates the digestion, and is an acknowledged blood maker, building up the system in wasting diseases. In certain foreign countries the use of the grape has the title of " the grape cure," each patient eating several pounds of grapes per day, and gaining both strength and flesh. This should lead to increased culture of the grape in our gardens. The vine may grow in almost any soil but does not flourish unless the ground is well drained, sandy loam, well en- riched with old, well-rotted fertilizer. It requires water, though that should be supplied from the surface, rather than from the subsoil. The situation should be fully exposed to the sun and a free circulation of air. It should be shel- tered from the north and west winds, which are liable to cause blighting of the young fruit. An important factor is the variety to be planted and the length of time re- quired to grow and ripen both fruit and cane. The season of 1891 should not be taken to guide the decisions, when three weeks of October passed without the tenderest plant being injured by the frost. It is safe to say that any grape which requires any portion of October to ripen its fruit in this section should be discarded. In the average year we have damag- ing frosts by Sept. 25. The fruit will seldom improve after the foliage has been chilled. If left on to absorb the frozen sap, the fruit will lose its original character, become flat and tasteless, also decaying in a short time, ' Any vine which does not ripen its wood in September will run the risk of being winter-killed, and should be discarded, or simply tested as an experiment. If one has a well sheltered location, or is willing to take the vines down from the trellis in the Autumn, cover them with some coarse, loose material, and put them back each Spring, he may succeed. The great majority of New England grape growers raise grapes for their own consumption, and not for market, hence the first consideration is quality and early ripening. The first vine selected would be Monre's Early, which possesses all the good qualities required. Second, the Hartford, whose greatest fault is dropping. This can be in a great measure prevented by free irrigation while the fruit is ripening. This irrigation will also improve the size and quality of the fruit. Third, Brigh- ton, one of the finestflavored grapes we have, that will ripen in September. Fourth, Concord, a good grape, hardy and prolific, yet often overtaken by the frost before its fruit is well ripened, therefore uncertain. The planting of the Worden, as superior in many respects, and ripen- ing one week earlier, is advised. The Niagara has not given satisfaction to its patrons and cultivators in this section. Neither has the Pocklington done as well as was expected of it. Our average season is too short for the last two varieties. Of all the Rogers 30 odd varieties, ISfo. 4 (Wilder) stands at the head, and is worthy of cultivation. Most of the Rogers varieties appear to blight, and are prone to take on all the 410 RUSSIAN APPLES. fashionable vine diseases. If you have room for only two vines, plant a Moore's Early and a Worden. If you desire to plant more grapes in vineyard form, set cedar posts lo feet apart and six feet out of the ground. Then commence i8 inches from the ground and run strong galvanized wire from post to post, fastening firmly with fence staples. Three other rows may be placed 15 inches apart. Plant your vines at each post, and train both to right and left, fastening the vine to the wire by means of leather or of soft pieces of cord, Copper wire is some- times used for this purpose, and is very durable, though it is liable to cut the vines when heavily laden with fruit. All dressings for the vine should be thoroughly composted. Bone for the phosphorus and wood ashes for the potash ; sulphur, iron and some vege table mold as an absorbent are needed. Mix well, and sprinkle the pile well over with land plaster to prevent the waste by the evaporation of gases, especially ammonia. Apply in early spring, and work in thoroughly. Saving your soap suds on wash days and applying about the roots will well repay the trouble. Better still, partly fill an old barrel with ashes, soot, old iron and ground bone. Pour your suds on it, and apply the mixture from time to time. Thinning the fruit requires courage. Take your clippers and go through the vines, and cut out all small and imper- fect bunches sometimes even to one- third or one-half the number of bunches set. By this method you will grow larger and finer clusters and more pounds of fruit. Careful cultivators bag the best bunches AVhen the grapes are about one-half grown they slip a common grocer's paper bag over the bunch they want to protect, and bind around the vine, on both sides of the stem. This keeps it free from dust and many insect pests. Though this method may retard the ripening for a week or so, yet the frost that would cut the foliage would not harm the grapes thus protected. Another method to improve the fruit is to grow as little wood as possible. When a cane has attained the length you desire, nip it in. Go over the vines every week or so, nipping any straggling shoots. Cutting away leaves to let the sun in is a great mistake, and should never be done. The leaves are the lungs of the plant, and any injury to the foliage is an injury to the vines, and leads to disease, often death. I'he largest and finest bunches are found hiddt n beneath the dense foliage. RUSSIAN APPLES. HFTER several years of careful trial of a large number of the best Russian apples, I have come to the conclusion that, except for the most northern localities, where good, old, well known sorts will not live and bear, we have not gained much from those varieties hitherto intro- duced into this country. There are a few exceptions however. In the " Yel- low Transparent " we have an exceeding- ly early apple of very good quality. This is probably the earliest kind ever introduced, and for family use and a very near market is valuable. Absolutely hardy — it may be planted anywhere. Another very beautiful early apple that may come to be a strong rival to RUSSIAN APPLES the " Yellow Transparent " is the " Low- land Raspberry." This is of better quality and much more beautiful. It is of fair size — full medium — and bright color, yellow, marbled with bright crim- son— and is a good bearer ; flesh tender, breaking pleasantly sweet and juicy ; a good, handsome apple of its season. The tree is besides very hardy. " Switzer " is another surpassingly beautiful apple. It is not as good a bear- er as either of the preceding varieties, nor as hardy, and it blights badly and begins to drop from the tree as early as the end of August, though the bulk of the crop may hang, and continue to in- crease in size, till the loth of September. It will also continue to deepen in color, till at the last it is of a deep glowing crimson scarlet. For size, beauty, and quality it leaves nothing to be desired. It is impossible to say, honestly, with our present knowledge, that there are any long keepers amongst the Russians, though now at the end of March, the winter " Arabka " is still sound and good, crisp, and fair flavored. This is a large apple, of good shape and deep dark red color. It is not of first rate quality, but fully equal to the " Ben Davis " — a variety that sells well in Eng- land— vide the Montreal "Star." The winter " Arabka " is rather slow to come into full bearing, but when it reaches that condition it bears well, and will, possibly, be a profitable kind. Its weak point is that it scabs badly and splits, and then it is worthless. Spraying may obviate that defect. " Borsdorfer " — perhaps not a Russian though usually called so — is a good bear- er of small apples of good quality, that keep a long time say till March at least — perhaps longer. The fruit of this variety is not larger than the " Pomme Grise," and like that old favorite is of good quality. It is a firm, crisp, sugary apple, a good family fruit, but too small for market. " Autonovka " — This is an apple that promised well, and of which good hopes were entertained, but it has proved dis- appointing the last two seasons. The tree is of the hardiest character and bears profusely large, handsome green apples, but they do not keep till the first of November. Perhaps when we understand them better, and pick them just at the right time, they may keep longer. Picked last fall in the first days of September, they began to spoil almost immediately. " Longfield." — This variety shouldnot be omitted. It is a most extraordi- nary bearer of apples of a very good quality. It is small however, never get- ting above medium, and the color is dull. It would consequently never make a good marketing variety. But for home use, or for cider making it will prove a very useful kind, especially as the tree is one of the hardiest, and begins to bear at once on being planted. This year it was still sound and good at the New Year, and delightful eating then. A few that up to this time have borne only one or two fruits may yet turn out good keepers. Fully ninety-five per cent, of the long list of Russians on trial are either sum- mer or fall apples, and of the remaining five per cent, there will not probably be one that will be sound on the first day of May. — Robert Hamilton, in Canadian Horticultural Magazine. ^^Sf^tx- <)I2 SOME OF THE NOVELTIES. JAPAN GOLDEN MAYBERKV. £y^ f<^HE appearance of this com- paratively new introduction is very prepossessing. Its habit is erect and bushy with num- erous slender branches and leaves. It is quite prickly and attains a height of about two feet. It has many adven- titious root buds and is hence readily multiplied by suckers or root cuttings. When this is said, all is said. We have propagated .and grown it for three years and have not yet succeeded in coaxing out of it a flower, much less a fruit. Yet it is puffed by the dealers who handle it as the earliest berry known — preceding in ripening even the straw- berry— while the cuts of the fruit which they publish are beautiful and tempting. I regard it as an unmitigated hum- bug— and equally as great a fraud is the SIRAWBERRY RASPBERRY. This is really a dwarf Japanese rasp- berry {R. sorhifolius), which grows, under favorable circumstances, some ten or twelve inches high. It has graceful, delicate, pinnated or feathery foliage and multiplies with the persist- ance of a strawberry by underground stolons — even to such an e.xtent as to become a veritable pest or nuisance. But when you come to look for fruit — you fail to find it. It blooms scatter- ingly through the summer, the blossom much resembling in size and appearance the flower of the blackberry. The petals of the corolla drop ofT, leaving the receptacle bare and dry ; on it, here and there, is occasionally found a single ted drupelet (or seed grain) which has been accidently pollinated and adheres — but there is nothing that could be possibly magnified into a fruit. It is much less edible, in fact, than the berry of the little yellow flowered wild straw- berry— the Fragariii Itidica — of our church yards. THE JAPAN WINF.BERRV is somewhat less of a fraud, but still a disappointment. It is a species of rasp- berrywith stout canes, bearing numerous weak-red prickles and with foliage some- what resembling that of the Logan berry. Its peculiarity consists in the calyx or hull entirely enclosing the fruit during the earlier period of its development. This husk, however, opens when the fruit is fully matured and before it ripens, exposing the berry within, which is small, much resembling a Turner raspberry, but harder, more crumbly and of a brilliant scarlet color, with a brisk, tart flavor. While the berries are borne in clusters and it is tolerably pro- ductive, it is not of any commercial value. It presumably propagates by tip-rooting, though I have sometimes found suckers at a good distance from the stools, indicating adventitious root- buds. TREE CRANBERRY. This plant ( Viburnum opulus) is quite a novelty in the South. It belongs to the great honeysuckle family. It is a tall, nearly, smooth shrub, with gray bark and scally buds, and seems to withstand our southern sun eflfectually. We only planted it at the Station last February, but it has borne this season large clusters of fruit somewhat re- sembling elder berries, but larger and more oval shaped. They are now (Aug. i8th) a bright red color, but still hard and evidently have not yet finished their growth. Whether they will form a satisfactory substitute for cranberries at THE STRA WBERR Y RASPBERR V. Thanksgiving time, remains to be seen. It is claimed that the bush, which grows some four feet high and is perennial, will hold its fruit well after frost. It is perhaps not exactly correct to class the ROCKY MOUNTAIN CHERRY as a "small fruit," since it belongs, botanically, to the plum family — but a small fruit it is, in fact, and the public has been already put on notice that this was not intended as a scientific but a popular paper. The plum generally known as the " Rocky Mountain Cherry,'' is the Pru}ius pumt'la, which grows, perhaps, four or five feet high and bears a small, oval, tasteless and worthless fruit. But this is not the Rocky Mountain Cherry that I mean. I refer to its sister, the Pntmts Besseyi of Bailey, which is of much dwarfer, scrubbier habit, seldom reaching three feet in height, and send- ing out numerous laterals as long as its main stem. In fact, as my foreman. Mr. Jones, sententiously remarked, "it tries its best to wallow all over the ground ! " Its leaves are larger, rounder and thicker than those of the P. pumila. As for fruit, it is simply one mass of it, clustering thickly around the stem and laterals. I honestly believe a three- year-old bush will bear a gallon. The size and shape is that of a good sized Bigarreau cherry — larger than a Morello — color being black and flavor dis- tinctly that of a cherry, with a similar pit. It contains, however, both dis- tinctiveness of acid and sugar, although possessing but little acid, and is quite agreeable eaten off the bush. It grows anywhere and yields, as I have previously stated, phenomenally. Up to this season I should have recom- mended it without reservation ; but the present year its blossoms were caught by a late frost — an accident I have never before known to happen to it, as it does not usually bloom prematurely. — Georgia Experiment Station Report. THE STRAWBERRY R. A. E. SHERRINGTON, experimenter in Huron County, sends us samples of the Strawberry raspberry as fruited on his grounds, and from one of them we have taken a photograph which gives a truthful representation of its size and appearance. It is a singular fruit, quite interesting as a novelty, but in our opinion inferior to either of the fruits of which it is a supposed hybrid. Its property of continued bearing throughout the season, and the sweet- ness of its bloom, make it desirable for the amateur's garden, but for profit it would be of no value. The plant is a herbaceous hardy perennial, like the peony, and probably not in any way related to the strawberry. Mr. Sher- 414 RASPBERRY. rington's experience with this berry seems to be more favorable than that at the Georgia Experiment Station, given on page 413. Fio. Vl^\. — .Stkavm'.kkkv Kasi'BERRY. PRUNING AND TRAINING RASPBERRIES. rE are too fond of shortening all the reserved canes to one height, and, as a consequence, there are usually thickets of fruiting shoots, at the tops of the stakes of fences and few lower down. The canes, whether trained to single stakes, fences, or espaliers formed with other wires or stakes, or grown market-grower's fashion (that is to say, without supports of any kind), should be shortened and laid in at least three different lengths, the smallest of those reserved at the preliminary thinning being the hardest cut. Shorten the latter to a length of i8 inches, leav- ing others to from thirty inches to three feet in length, and in the case of the taller growers the strongest canes may be left to a length of five feet or rather less. In this way perfect columns, fen- ces, or hedges of fruiting growths are had, and a greater weight of fruit ob- tained than by shortening and training in the common fashion. It is true some- what hard pruning is apt to favor sucker growth from the roots, varieties of me- dium height being particularly liable to produce far more sucker growths than desirable. This may to a certain extent be checked by either hoeing or hand- pulling, those left in the rows or near to the old canes also requiring to be timely and freely thinned out. There must be no hesitation about pruning newly- planted canes. Unpruned or only lightly shortened canes may and do pro- duce fruit, but it is usually of an inferior character or comparatively worthless, added to which the plants will be ex- hausted in the attempt, and form no young canes worthy of the name. Cut them down to within six inches of the ground, and if they were properly planted all will push up strong young canes equal to bearing fruit next year. In this way the foundation of profitable rows of plantations of Raspberries will have been laid. Newly-planted canes should also be mulched, as owing to not having had time to send their "anchor" roots down deeply into the soil drought will quickly affect them. They ought further to be assisted by watering during dry, hot weather. THE ADVANTAGES OF JUDICIOUS PLANTING. UDICIOUS planting and the skillful culture of plantations Q\Jy combine national and private interests in an eminent degree ; for, besides the real or intrinsic value of the timber or ostensible crop, with other produce of woods, available for the arts and comforts of life, judicious forest tree planting improves the general climate of the neighborhood, the staple of the soil, as regards the gradual accumulation of vegetable matter, affords shelter to live stock, beautifies the landscape, and thus greatly and permanently increases the value of the fee simple of the estate and adjoining lands. If we turn to these soils emphatically termed wastes — exposed, elevated lands, moors, marshes and sterile sands — com- posing a fair average of this Dominion, and naturally clothed by the lowest and least valuable products of the vegetable kingdom. The inferior grasses, rushes and sedges, we find that upon them the more valuable domestic animals can not exist. If we consider the reason 415 THE ADVANTAGES OF JUDICIOUS PLANTING. why they are so barren, waste, and un- productive, when compared with other lands not more favored by nature, and under similar circumstances of latitude and elevation, the cause will, in many instances, be found in the want of.shel- ter and shade of trees, and of the ameliorating influence which plantations exercise on ungenial local climates. The essential, permanent pasture grasses cannot be established on naked exposed situations, but when assisted by the shelter of forest trees they become permanent and productive. Plantations supply us with fuel, with materials for fencing, enclosing, building, corn crops, soiling plants, and root crops are ob- tained in succession under their genial protection. Many thousands of acres now unprofitable to the owners and to the community, might, by judicious planting, be reclaimed, and rendered highly productive ; and it may be safely affirmed that there is hardly a spot of waste land in the Dominion so barren, which, by the exercise of skill in plant- ing, and selection of proper species of forest trees adapted to the soil and exposure, might not be covered with profitable plantations. Numerous instances might be cited from different parts of England, Wales and Scotland, where exposed and sterile lands have, by planting, been made capable of producing valuable arable crops and the best pasture grasses, and of rearing and fattening stock of im- proved breeds. This, in effect, is add- ing to the territorial extent of a country, to its wealth and strength, by conquest over the natural defects of local climate, soil and exposure. Hamilton. Frank Brunion. (To be continued.) POT CULTURE OF HYACINTHS. THE cultivation of hyacinths in pots will always be the most popular form in which they are grown for early and indoor use ; and in the common flower pots, single bulbs plant- ed in 3^ inch pots will answer admir- ably for the ordinary amateur's use. In the first place, the soil is important ; it should be light, preferably mixed with half well-decomposed manure is an advantage, and a supply of turfy loam, which will produce best results if moist when the bulbs are potted. Charcoal in the form of a cobble is advised, and, if used, should be placed in the bottom with a piece of broken crock to ensure drainage. In potting, simply fill in the soil, press the bulb into the earth and bring soil round and up to the sides of the bulbs. They should be pressed well into the soil, for firmness in this direction is a great advantage. After potting, place in a coolish location, and they will not need any other treatment until they begin to sprout. Directly the potting is finished, we think it is best foi the pots to be placed in a cool dark pit, and if they are plunged in coal ashes all the better. If they are potted for forc- ing, they may be removed as soon as their spikes come through the ashes. — The Salisbury Series. 416 ]^Io(j0^p ^^apd^Q arid I^aLcr). ^ THE NARCISSUS, OR DAFFODIL. £/-1 fN^HE 'genus Narcissus is a very extensive and remarkable one, from the great diversity in the types and color of the flowers. It includes that most beautiful section known as the Polyanthus narcissus, the well-known Jonquil, and the several types of single and double narcissi popularly known as daffodils. The wonderful improvements in the way of new varieties has awakened an increas- ing interest among the lovers of the narcissus and placed the plant in the front rank of popularity, and well do the different varieties deserve all that can be said in their praise as plants for the flower border, producing, as they do, masses of gold and silver hue, and a delightful fragrance. They are equally valuable for growing in pots for winter blooming in the greenhouse or window- garden, while the cut flowers of some varieties are highly prized for bouquets and vases, and for this purpose are grown in immense quantities The flowers of the narcissus show in the different varieties many forms, and shades of color, ranging from pure white to deep orange, and all have most pleas- ing fragrance. They are easily grown, requiring no particular skill or care, and the bulbs can be planted at any time from September to December, but it is advisable to plant them as early as possible. In potting use pots propor- tionate to the size of the bulb, and as some of the bulbs are quite large, a single bulb will, as a rule, require a four-inch pot, and if it is desired to grow them in groups of three or more bulbs, larger pots should be used and the bulbs placed equal distances apart In potting let the pots or pans be properly drained, and use a soil com- posed of two-thirds turfy loam, one third well rotted manure, and a fair sprinkling of bone dust ; mix well and use the compost rough ; fill the pots with soil to within three inches of the top, then set in the bulb and fill with soil to within half an inch of the top, water thoroughly and place in a cool, dark cellar to make roots, giving water when necessary. In about six or eight weeks after planting, or as soon as indications of a vigorous top growth are noticed, a few of the most forward can be removed to a light, sunny situation, where an average temperature of fifty degrees is maintained, giving water freely and as much fresh air as possible. Keep the plants free from dust, and remember that the flowers will last for a long time 4«7 THE NARCISSUS, OR DAFFODIL. if placed in a cool temperature when fully expanded. By starting a few of the most forward into growth at different times during the winter, a continuous bloom may be enjoyed. After the flowers have commenced to decay remove the stalks, and as soon as the foliage commences to turn yellow the supply of water should be gradually reduced and the plants removed to the cellar or placed under the greenhouse stage, where they can remain until fall and then be planted out in the mixed early in December, and gradually re- moved towards the end of March. In the border the bulbs do best when planted in October ; they should be planted about four inches in .depth and in groups of five or six, keeping them a few inches apart. Here they can remain for four or five years without being dis- turbed and by that time the bulbs will commence to crowd each other, then they should be carefully taken up, divided and replanted. The bulbs can be purchased in mixed colors or in Fig. 1212. — Narcissus Poeticu.s. N. I.ncompar.\bilis Fl. Pi. N. Trijmpkt Major. flower border, or the larger ones re- potted for another winter's use inside. For inside use, however, I advise the purchase of a fresh supply yearly, as they can be procured at a reasonable price and the result will be much more satisfactory. When grown in the flower border the narcissus should be given an open, sunny situation, and a deep, well enriched soil, and during the winter be heavily mulched with coarse littery manure ; this mulch should be applied named varieties, but I consider it advis- able to procure the named sorts as the cost is so little and they always produce the best results. Of the many varieties in cultivation the following are some of the most desirable : Orange P/ucnix, or Eggs and Bacon, as it is popularly known, is a very double, showy and distinct variety of N. incomparabilis aurantius. The flowers are of a soft sulphur or nearly pure white with a crimson center. N. bicolor Emperor. Entire flower of 418 THE NEW SWEET PEAS FOR 1897. the richest yellow ; trumpet of immense size. The petals of the perianth measure three and one-half inches across and are so broad that they envelope. N. bicolor Horsfieldi. The King of the Daffodils. Very large flowers of pure white with rich yellow trumpet. An early and free flowering species. N. incomparal'ilis is popularly known as the " Peerless daffodil." It has large primrose yellow flowers with a short sulphur crown. N. iiicoinpiirabilis Stella. Flowers star-shaped, three inches across ; in white, with a bright yellow cup. One of the earliest and most free flowering varieties. N. Poeticus is the Pheasant's Eye, or Poet's narcissus. Although one of the oldest varieties, it is the finest for all purposes. Flowers pure white with a showy orange-red ringed cup. N. Poeticus flore plena. The Oar- denia-flowered daffodil has double, fragrant, snow-white flowers. Exquis- itely scented, and should not be omitted from any collection. N. trumpet major. Flowers large and of a deep yellow, with long, showy trumpet. Highly prized for forcing, and is extensively used for bedding purposes. — Vick's Magazine. THE NEW SWEET PEAS FOR 1897. 'E\'ER before in the history of the sweet pea have there been so many new varieties offered by the seedsmen. The inter- est in the sweet pea the last few years has been so great, that every sport or chance variation has been seized upon, and in addition many specialists are working to produce new variations in shape and color by cross fertilization. The interest taken by sweet pea lovers in new kinds has stimulated the dealers to supply the demand, and some kinds have been sent out that are no improve- ment on existing varieties, and many are sent out too soon, before the type is properly fixed. The high prices paid for new varieties proves too great a temptation for the average grower to withstand, and varieties are sent out before they have got over the tendency to revert to the parent type, which is inherent in all variations, whether they originate from sports or are the results of scientific hybridizing. It takes sev- eral years careful selection and persist- ent " rogueing," or pulling out of all plants that do not come true to type, before a variation is sufficiently well fixed to be offered for sale as a new variety. A very marked feature of the new peas of this season was their poor ger- minating power, particularly of the American varieties. Several of them did not grow at all, under circumstances that made it perfectly certain that the seed was at fault. Red Riding Hood and Maid of Honor were most vigorous growers, while along side of them in the very same soil. Brilliant and Creole did not have a single fertile seed. In their anxiety to save all the seed possible, the growers had evidently pulled the pods before they were properly ripened. Among the varieties of European origin only three out of fourteen failed to do well, while out of fourteen varieties of American origin, eight germinated badly, most of them a total failure. My ex- perience is not at all in harmony with the claims of the introducers of the 419 THE NEW SWEET PEAS FOR i8g7. American sorts, which were widely advertised as more vigorous, hardier and better suited to our climate than the foreign kinds. In the following notes on the new sweet peas of 1897 is included what is known as Eckford's '96 set, as they were grown by so few Canadian gar- deners last year, that they are practi- cally new this season, and were not included in my notes on sweet peas in the January Horticulturist. The only new varieties not noted below is an extra set of seven varieties sent out in limited quantity by Mr. Eckford, which, as far as I know, have not been grown in Canada this year, and only to a very limited extent in America. Eckford's '96 set consists of six kinds, Little Dorrit, Captivation, Alice Eck- ford, Crown Jewel, Mikado and Coun- tess of Aberdeen. Little Dorrit is an improved form of that old favorite Blanche Ferry. It is slightly lighter in color, decidedly larger, but unfortunately has the same defective form, the standard is too wedge shaped and too much reflexed to come up to the modern standard of excellence. It has the same tendency as Blanche Feny to sport into a strain with rosy pink spots on the back of the wings, and sometimes on the standard as well. It is a sufficient improvement on Blanche Ferry to supplant it. Captivation — Large size and iine sheU shaped form, a strong vigorous grower, the color a rosy-purple. While not agreeable to some, is very striking and unique. It is more like Uorthy Tenn- ant than any other of the older varieties. Alice Eckford — One of the most vigor- ous growers and most profuse bloomers in my collection. Standard straight, cream colored, faintly streaked reddish- pink, wings cream, hooded. A very handsome flower, one of the most desir- able of the set. Croivn Jewel — Good size and form, standard slightly hooded, pale pink tint- ed and veined with rose, wjngs cream tinted pink, very broad, a handsome flower. Countess of Aberdeen — .A lovely shade of soft flesh pink in both standard and wings, the standard very much curved forward at the sides, running to a point at the top, wings over-lapping at the top, almost pointed at the"sides. Much the same shape as Royal Robe, but a more delicate shade of pink, and a much more profuse bloomer. Mikado — A seedling from Mrs. Joseph Chamberlain, said to be an orange cerise striped white. With me it was very variable in shape and color, some had hooded and others expanded stand- ard, often both on the same spray, in color it varied from clear rose pink veined carmine, to rose pink streaked white, and some were as light as Mrs. Joseph Chamberlain, evidently sent out before it was well fixed in type, at its best the poorest member of the set, and not worth growing. Eckford's '97 set also consists of six members : — Coquette, Lovely, Prima Donna, Mars, Royal Rose and Countess of Shrewsbury. Of these the finest is Coquette, considered by many to be the finest of all sweet peas. Large size and fine hooded form, the stardard close to the wings, curved forward at the sides, of a charming shade of primrose, flushed lavender, wings clear primrose. A strong vigorous grower, stalks long, fre- quently four flowered. Lovely — A beautiful shaded shell pink of good size and fine hooded form. Changed shape and color considerably the latter part of the season, the stand- ard became more expanded and the THE NEW SWEET PEAS FOR /S€l 434 QUESTIOX DRAWRR. Fig 1248. — Larva of Cecropia Moth. 435 QUESTION DRAWER. Fig. 1249.~1' I'iiii.enok. It is very commendable in a boy of nine years of age, that he should become so interested in the study of insects as Master George. We will attempt to reply to his questions. The eggs he found between the prick- les of the Cecropia larva no doubt be- long to the long-tailed Ophion a large yellowish brown Ichneuman fly. The eggs are deposited on the skin of the the Cecropia moth goes into its chrysalis it spins its cocoon therein, and in the following spring escapes as a fly. Of the genus Papilio, or Swallow-tail butterflies, there are about three hun- dred species known, but most of them are tropical. Only seven are found in Canada. P. PhilenorK black with whitish spots and a metallic green lustre on the hind wings. We hope that Master George will succeed in hav- ing his chysalis open out next spring, so that he may see one of those interest ing butter flies for himself. Fio. 1250. — P. piiiLBNOR (larva). Cecropia larva, soon hatched out, and then sustain themselves by sucking the life blood of their victim. Such insects are called parasites, because they live at the expense of others, a despicable habit in men, but an important pro- vision in the insect world. The larva of this fly is a footless grub and when ll.")l.— 1'. I'HII.KSOK (I'UI'Al. 336 THE Canadian HoKTicuLTUKisr. Vol. XX. 1897. No. THE EXPORT OF TENDER FRUITS. HT the Annual Meeting of the Ontario Fruit Growers' Asso ciation at Kingston, in Dec- ember, 1896, the advisability of making some experimental shipments to Great Britain of tender fruits, such as peaches, tomatoes, pears, grapes and summer apples was fully discussed. An address was given by the Hon. S. Fisher, Minister of Agriculture, for the Dom- inion, to the effect that the Department of Agriculture was desirous of assisting Canadian fruit growers in this enterprise, and would like to know just what provi- sion would be needed. A committee was appointed to reply to his enquiries, consisting of L. Woolver- ton, \V. M. Orr, G. E. Fisher, A. H. Pettit, and E. D. Smith. This Commit- tee met and recommended that ship- ments go forward during the month of August, September, October or later, of at least one carload per week, and of three or four carloads a week during the month of September ; that cold storage would be needed at the point of ship- ment, as well as on the railway cars ; that the varieties of fruit be as many as pos- sible, and packed in the very best man- ner ; that only the best stock be allowed to go forward ; that an agent be sent to Britain to look after the interests of the fruit grower ; that cold storage ware- houses be erected at such points as can be agreed upon, where growers will furnish the amount of fruit required, and agree to buy over the warehouses at the end of three years provided the experi- ment proved a success. At a meeting of representative fruit growers from Grimsby, Winona and Burlington, held at Grimsby on the 26th of January, two resolutions were passed, one asking for three warehouses, one at at Grimsby, one at Winona, and one at Burlington, each place to provide one- third of a carload per week ; and another resolution which while approving of the former, recommended as a preferable scheme, the erection of one warehouse by the Department, and the guarantee to the shippers of a fair market price for the goods The Department approved of the lat- 439 THE EXPORT OF TENDER ERUITS. ter scheme and decided to place one wharehouse at Grimsby, providing grow- ers there would agree to provide the necessary fruit to make up one carload a week, and buy over the warehouse, provided the experiment proves a suc- cess. Nine prominent growers of peaches, years, grapes, tomatoes, etc., agreed tp the scheme, and on the yth of September the first shipment was made, consisting of Bartlett pears, Crawford peaches and grapes, for Covent Garden, London, England. Our frontispiece shows these nine shippers loading the first car of these fruits, and a corner of the warehouse. In all seventeen carloads of our choice varieties were sent forward, the last car leaving on the 12th of October, mostly loaded with grapes. The two markets chosen were London and Glas- gow. The result of the season's experi- ment has been of great value, although not without considerable loss at the first shipments It has been proved that our Canadian Crawfords and Bartlett pears are just what the trade wants in England being identical with the favorite Eng- lish pear Williams known in France as Bonchretien. Some half cases containing about 6 dozen each of this pear sent over on the steamer Georgia, arrived in excellent condition and sold about Oct. ist for $2.30 per half case, or the equiva- lent of about §15.00 per barrel! This is sufficient to prove the market for such goods, especially for well-grown samples ; while on the other hand, it has been proved that a second grade cannot be exported without loss. The first ship- ments arrived in an over ripe condition. This was not the fault of the growers, for the fruit was gathered very green, nor of the packing, as the papers state ; for if the fruit men of Southern Ontario do not understand packing fruit, after a life- experience, it is passing strange ; but of the temperature in transport, which was from 40" 1048° F.— altogether too high- to carry such tender fruits withou^ change of condition. For this reasori the Crawford peaches were over ripe, and unsalable, and the Bartlett pears were also over ripe. For these fruits the average temperature in the refrigeratoiS; should be between 33° and 35°. ' The first packages used (see Fig. 1253) were too large for peaches and pears, and too expensive, being bushel cases, each containing eight wooden trays, in which it was very difficult to pack fruit closely, so that it would not move about when shaken. Toward the latter part of the season a half case holding about six dozen pears, was adopted, which proved much more satisfactory, for while a case of Bartlett pears sold for 15 , a halfcase at the same sale brought 9 7. The tem- perature also of the later shipments was held somewhat lower, averaging about 38°. If this can be still further reduced perfect success will result. It will no doubt interest our readers to see some extracts from the account sales showing some of the lowest and some of the highest prices obtained for our fruit, viz : Covent Garden, London, Oct. 21 — (ex " Hurona," sold by Garcia Jacobs & Co.) Duchess pears, §1.04 to $2 1 9 per bushel case \y Aiij3u \.?,\ Louise .S.90 Howell 54 cts. to 'iOT Bartlett '•! cts. to 3 00 Early Crawford peaches, 1. -2.5 to 2.44 Wager 1..58 " Centenuial 2.44 " Quackenbos plums 3.77 " I'lunis (other var'es )60 to l.lo " Tomatoes 1.28 to 1.71 " Rogers grapes 97 per case 45 lbs. Delaware " 55 " Concord " 24c. to 74 Wordcn " 2.5c. to 36 " Niagara " 12c. to 47 " .■\8soited " 22c. to 2.fi.S •' 442 THE EXPORT OF TEXDER FRUITS. Cilasgow, Oct. 15, (ex Kastalia): Ribaton apples Sl.U'J to $-2.50 per bushel ciwe Anjoii [Wars 'J <»" " Flemish Beauty pears "J. 00 " Liverpool, Oct. 21, (ex Numidian.) C'rawfortl peaches S^?.66per bushel esse Tomatoes 1.25 " Grapes, all varieties, about one cent a lb It is worth noting that about the date above mentioned, California pears and peaches cease to arrive in Great Britain, thus leaving Canada a special opportu- nity to capture the market for these fruits from the middle of October onward. It will therefore be worth our consideration whether we cannot hold back our Bart- lett pears and Crawford peaches in cold storage in Montreal until about the loth or 15th of October before forwarding them. Also whether we cannot grow such desirable late varieties of pears and peaches as will suit the British Market at the time above mentioned. The Louise pear for example succeeds beau- tifully in Southern Ontario, especially when grown as a dwarf ; and the same may be said of the Duchess and the .\njou. Another magnificent late pear is the Clairgeau, which would be one of the finest for the export trade. Even the much abused Kieffer would export in fine condition. Tomatoes have succeeded as well or better than any other fruit, so far as condition is concerned, and prices have been good considering that the variety Ignotum was too large to suit the Eng- lish taste. Some smaller, round smooth variety would give excellent results. Grapes have been a complete failure, the fruit having been almost given away, the very best not bringing more than one cent a pound, the cost of transpor- tation. The salesmen write : " The grapes are of no use here, the peculiar flavor not being very palatable ; and in quality they are in every respect inferior to those grown in Spain and Portugal — thin-skinned, white, sweet grapes, which are brought here and sold from 4 to 6 cents a lb." A consignee in Liverpool, however, writes more favorably, and we hope yet to create a demand for our grapes that will ensure a profitable trade. Peaches — In the export of this fruit there appears to be great possibilities both of loss and of profit. For ex- ample one shipment of one hundred and thirty cases of beautiful Craw- fords reached Glasgow in such bad con- dition as to bring the shipper in debt $73, besides the loss of his fruit valued at $325, or a total loss of $398; and another shipment of 40 cases sold at an average of $3.66 per case I Early apples were so great a failure this season that it was impossible to make up any cases fit for export. Next year, should the crop be first-class, some experimental shipments will be made, beginning with Red Astrachan and Duchess in August, Gravenstein, Ribs- ton and Blenheim Orange in September: and Fameuse, Wealthy, King and Cran. berry Pippin in October. These are all excellent varieties, of beautiful coloring which are bound to bring the top prices in any market. Altogether we can report encourage- ment, although the season's shipments on the whole have been a serious loss. We have learned (1) to use smaller packages ; with better ventilation ; (2) the importance of lower temperature ; and (3) that fruit should he placed in a cool room as soon as gathered, and cooled even before it is packed, in order to attain the best results. With these conditions observed, we expect to report success next year, such as will lead to private enterprise in the export of our tender fruits. 443 HOW I GOT STARTED IN SMALL FRUIT. 'HEN I first thought of en- gaging in fruit culture as an occupation for recrea- tion as well as revenue, I decided that the small fruits were what I should first plant, that I might receive some income as quickly as possible, as they were quicker to come into bearing than the stone fruits. I wished to learn all I possibly could concerning the methods of fruit grow- ing, and I knew that the surest and most effective way was to begin at the bottom and work up. So I purchased a few plants of most of the small fruits and began propagating the plants. The way I got started in currants and gooseberries was to purchase a few hundred two-year old bushes of the most reliable varieties of a responsible nur- seryman and set them in November, before the ground became frozen. The soil where I set them was made as rich as possible with rotten barnyard manure. The ground was plowed deep and fined well. The plants were set six feet each way that I could cultivate both ways with a horse ; the plants were kept clean all summer, and by fall I had a fine growth of new wood. In the last of September I took what cuttings there were on the five hundred bushes and found I had nearly 3000 of them. These I heeled in, with tops down, for a few days that the cuts might callus. The ground where I was to set my cuttings was prepared similar to the way I prepared the ground the fall before, and made richer, if such a thing was possible, the ground was furrowed out into rows three feet apart and 7 or Scinches deep. I stuck the cuttings along the rows at an angle of about 45 degrees and si.x inches apart, leaving about an inch or two to protrude above ground when the trenches were filled. The soil was tramped down solid about the shoots and left mounded up slightly that no water would stand about them. When freezing weather came, I cov- ered the ground with rotted manure, to protect the cuttings from heaving. As soon as spring came I started the culti- vator and did not allow a weed to live the whole summer, and by fall I had a fine lot of year-old plants. These would have cost me over $50, had I purchased them from a nursery, while as it was, they cost me less than $10. With the other small fruits, I did the same, buy a few, and from them propa- gate my own plants. The knowledge I have learned while performing this work, has more than compensated me for the extra time it took to grow the plants into bearing. I can say that I did not go at it entirely ignorant of the best methods, for 1 first spent considerable money for books and journals which treated fully upon this occupation, and am still reading all I can get hold of which will give me any new ideas. B. A. Wood. Ka/amazoo Co., Mich. WORDEN. Frc. 1'2.')-1, — WoKDEN Grai'E. H SEEDLING of the Concord, the Worden naturally much resembles that well-known variety, indeed the vines of those varieties are almost identical in character and appearance. When first introduced it was thought to be superior to the Concord as a mar- ket variety for main crop, but it has proved to be superior only in its earli- ness, ripening a few days in advance of its parent. Otherwise it is not equal to the latter, for its skin is more tender, rendering it unfit for distant shipment, while if left hanging it cracks open very badly, and at the same time loses flavor. 445 KEEPING FALL AND WINTER APPLES. Origin — S. Worden, Minnetto, N.V., from Concord seed. Vine ; strong vigorous grower, with coarse stout foliage, dark green above, rusty underneath ; very hardy, healthy and very productive, often yielding at the rate of three tons per acre. Bunch large, compact, shouldered. Berry large, black ; skin tender, thin, with heavy bloom, cracks easily, flesh, sweet when well ripened, pulp tender, and loses flavor soon after ripening ; a poor keeper. Season, middle to end of September. Quality, third rate for dessert pur- poses. Value, second late for near market, and 4th rate for distant market. Adaptation — Well suited to the North- ern sections because of its early ripen- ing. KEEPING FALL AND WINTER APPLES. N order to keep well, apples must be picked at the proper time. Care must be exercised in handling to prevent bruises, carefully assorting the ripe from the unripe, the perfect from the imperfect, and storing in a cool, dry place, with plenty of pure air free from all odors of decaying veget- ables or other substances. The average fruit grower does not exercise enough caution in handling and assorting his fruit. The degree of maturity will have much to do with the keeping qualities. A late fall or winter apple should be mature, but not ripe, when it is picked, if it is expected to be kept for any considerable time. The process of ripening is only the first stage of decay, and if this is allowed to continue before picking, till the apple is ripe, or mellow, this break- ing down process has proceeded so far that it is a difficult matter to arrest it. As soon, therefore, as the stem will se- parate freely from its union with the branch, the apple is sufficiently mature for storing. The proper temperature for keeping apples is as nearly 35 degrees F., as it is possible to keep it, and in order to maintain this, it will often be necessary to provide a separate place for storing the fruit, as the average cellar under the dwelling house is wholly unfit for this purpose. If the cellar consists of sev- eral compartments so that one can be shut off completely from the others and the temperature in this kept below 40 degrees, it will answer the purpose very well. If this cannot be done, a cheap storage house may be built in connec- tion with the ice-house, by building a room underneath, having it surrounded with ice on the sides and overhead, with facilities for drainage underneath, keep- ing the air dry by means of chloride of calcium placed on the floor in an open water-tight vessel, such as a large milk crock or pan. In this way the tempera- ture may be kept very near the freezing point the year round, and apples may be kept almost indefinitely. — American Agriculturist. 446 THE KLBERTA PEACH. £?p[^HIS is the first season that large orchards of Klberta have fruit- ed around Rochester. Fruit growers here are wildly en- thusiastic over this remarkable variety. The peach is extraordinarily large in size. The size of Elberta surprised everyone. It has not been proclaimed to be extraordinarily large, but it is far the largest peach marketed at Rochester this year. Even on the trees that re- ceived no cultivation whatever the fruit of Elberta was large and finely colored, golden-yellow skin covered with a bright crimson blush. There seems to be few, if any, cull peaches upon trees of Elberta. The fruit is uniformly large and handsome. A remarkable pecularity of Elberta is that the fruit can be picked long before maturity, and it will ripen up nicely, without rotting. I have yet to see the first rotten peach upon an Elberta tree. It is undoubtedly the best of all the peaches for long shipment. The Elberta is rather a longish peach, not so round as Crawford. Otherwise it might be mistaken for a Crawford. I do not think in quality it quite equals the Crawford, but the quality is acceptable and good. The flesh is yellow and juicy, and it is a free-stone. The tree is a vigorous and upright grower, ex- ceedingly hardy in bud ; hardier than Mountain Rose, Stump or Oldmixon. A peach grower near this city had several acres of Elberta in bearing. Most of the noted Pomologists of West- ern New York visited this orchard and were amazed at the ([uantity, beauty, and size of Elberta, which this orchardist was selling atdouble the price of ordinary peaches. This peach grower says he will set 12,000 trees of Elberta next year. I take considerable pride in the suc- cess of the Elberta peach since I was among the first to call attention of fruit growers to this remarkable variety. .Several years ago I visited with J. H Hales the orchards of Samuel Rump, in Georgia, which is the home of the El- berta peach. There I saw the original Elberta tree. It was one of thousands of seedlings, and the only seedling out of the thousands that was considered of value. All the others were cut away and burned, this alone left to stand. — Green's Fruit Grower. THE BURBANK PLUM. THE Burbank plum is again bearing a large crop of fruit this season as it did last. This variety of the plum has a habit, as far as my experience goes, of setting four times as much fruit as the tree ought to ripen. Five-year-old trees on light sandy soil well fertilized, have borne crops for three seasons, and each sea- son there were so many upon the tree that to have fine fruit thinning was necessary. The Burbank is quite different from some other varieties of plums ; they hang to the tree and do not drop — so that a tree of this variety will carry to maturity a great number of plums, but if not thinned out very heavily the fruit will not be large. This season I have seen the difference in thinning and not thinning in a marked degree. Some trees were thinned early, and in a week the plums were a third larger on these trees than others which had not yet been thinned. — The Central States I'Vuit Grower, St. Joseph, Mich. 447 CONDITIONS OF PLANT LIFP:. N dealing with the conditions of plant life it is well to dwell on the fact that each species and variety even requires conditions of its own for its best development, and that it is the object of scientific culture to discover and provide those conditions as nearly as possible. Thus, recent experimentation has proved in- contestably that flat cultivation is in- comparably the best for corn and pota- toes. The old-fashioned and long continued ridge or hill culture destroyed many of the most useful fibres of the root system, for these extend out much farther from the plant than is usually supposed. It is now known also that frequent shallow cultivation will do very much to prevent the ill effects of drought in the case of all crops where it can be applied, and especially with fruits. The top soil thus kept loose acts as a mulch checking evaporation, and conserving the moisture beneath. The best results yet reached in apple culture have been attained by keeping the ground fallow, thus retaining all the fertility and moist- ure of the soil for the trees alone, and preventing the waste of this moisture from the open ground by frequent shal- low culture. Thus the trees get the benefit of the immense quantity of moisture that would have been trans- pired through the leaves of the other crop, and besides the frequent stirrings of the soil have made the supply of plant food stored therein more soluble and more available for the use of the trees. Another interesting discovery bearing on the conditions of plant growth has regard to the beet crop— a crop which is of exceeding importance since it not only yields three-fifths of the sugar sup- lily of the world, l-ut is becoming more and more recognized as the best of cat- tle foods for dairy purposes. Innumer- able analyses of cross sectio;is of the beet root have shown that the secretion of sugar goes on to a comparatively small extent in the upper end of the root when that has been exposed to the light, and that consequently the value of the root both for sugar manufacture and for feeding purposes is very much increased when top of the root is kept covered by soil. The processes of pollination are a source of never failing interest to young people. There are several facts of a practical bearing that will bear empha- sizing in dealing with this topic. Thus, it will not do to take it for granted now-a-days that flowers that have both stamens and pistils are necessarily self-fertile, or even that any amount of cross fertilization among plants of the same variety with perfect flowers will avail to produce a fair crop of fruit. Bartlett pears, for instance, are noto- riously unproductive unless their blos- soms are fertilized from some other variety. Yet Bartlett blossoms are per- fect and produce an abundance of pol- len, which, however, is for the most part impotent on Bartlett pistils. Sev- eral kinds of apples have the same defect. Such facts as these are beginning to be known to all scientific growers. But why should they not be known also in every family that has a boy or girl studying Botany m our schools ? It certainly would be worth while to take up many such facts in our classes if it were only to create a stronger bond between the family and the school. Some interesting investigations have recently been made in connection with the wonderful jjroduction of pollen in 44,S CONDITIONS OF PLANT LIFE Indian corn. We know, of course, that all wind-fertilized plants are very prolific in pollen, and that this condition is necessitated by the great waste involved in the process of wind-fertilization. But it has recently been shown to be pro- bable that in the case of corn grown as we grow it, with plants in regular order in large masses, the amount of pollen produced is at least twice as much as is necessary for full fertiliza- tion. Now, the production of pollen is an exceedingly e.xhaustive process, and it would seem reasonable to sup- pose that the crop of grain might be increased if this waste of plant resource could be stopped. This has actually been shown to be true in some cases at least. In a series of experiments carried on at Cornell University dur- ing the past four years, the tassels or staminate flower clusters were removed from every alternate row at the earliest stage possible, with the remarkable result that there was an increase in the total crop on an average of the four years of over twenty per cent. The increased yield of the whole crop was entirely due to the increase on the detasselled rows, and this is readily explained by the fact that the plants here being relieved from pollen pro- ducing, all their energy was applied in the direction of seed-development. Darwin discovered long ago that atrophy of seeds was frequently accom- panied by a gain in size and quality of fruit. It is now an object of am- bition among scientific fruit-growers to obtain by selection and cultivation varieties with small seeds or none. Recent triumphs in this direction are the California Navel Seedless orange, and the Lincoln Coreless pear. Great efforts are being made to reduce the size of the seeds in raspberries. In tomatoes the pulpy placent;\; and out- side walls have been developed and the seeding quality discouraged until now two varieties have been produced, the Ponderosa and the Crimson Cush- ion, in which the quantity of seed is said to be less than one-third of that produced by the varieties in cultivation but a few years ago. We have long had in the market the seedless fruits of the Grecian grape currant and the Sultana raisin, and we know that as the result of being continually repro. duced from cuttings alone the banana has lost the power of producing seeds. But our chief hope of improvement in this as in other directions is from natural variations shown either in seed- lings or branches. Florists are always on the lookout for " sport " branches on their old standard sorts of roses for instance, and as a result we find distinct varieties being introduced nearly every year. Our young botan- ists ought to be instructed in such a way on these points that they could be on the lookout for useful variations and know them when they see them. Much good would result in the future if all young people could be so edu cated, and much good has been missed in the past because we and our fathers were not so educated. As a simple instance I may refer to the story of a neighbor of mine who says that when he was a boy, forty years ago, there grew on his father's farm a seedling apple of good quality that was almost coreless Like the great majority of people he did not know the value of such a variation, but if he had that tree now it might be worth a good sum to him. By continuous selection of favorable variations, by propagation from these, followed again and again and again by selection and propagation under favor- able conditions of cultuie, mankind has CONDITIONS OF PLANT LIFE. not only improved the quality of all our plant products, but he has also extended the season of some of our most delicious fruits and vegetables. We have moreover obtained varieties that may be successfully cultivated over much wider ranges of soil and temper- ature than the original types. No more interesting or useful object of endeavor could be set up before the minds of young botanists than some useful achievement of this nature. For in- stance, what a boon it would be for Manitoba if some one would develop a variety of Fyfe wheat, or something as good as the Fyfe, that would invari- ably ripen before the early frosts would strike it. The Ladoga Russian wheat matures early enough to escape the frost, but the bread made from it is of a yellowish color which much lessens the value of this grain in the market. It would be a benefit, too, to develop a tomato or a melon or a Lima bean that would mature anywhere in lower Ontario. He will be a public bene- factor, also, who can by the production of earlier or later varieties of straw- berries, extend the season in which we may enjoy this luscious fruit. The development of some of our wild plants or fruits offers a wide field for usefulness. It is idle to suppose that mankind has exhausted the list of plants that might be made available for some one or another of our varied needs or pleasures. The work is going on in various quarters of the world, and young Canadians ought to begin to take a hand in it. American horticul- turists are now developing a viburnum (V. opulus), which is quite common in this country, too, and which is valuable as an ornamental bush, not only on account of its rich deep green foliage, but also because of its exceedingly beautiful red fruit clusters. To people of a practical turn of mind this vibur- num will, moreover, be commended by the facts that the fruit yields a table jelly of surpassing excellence, and the bark contains a medicinal principle of great value. Americans have also re- cently introduced for garden cultivation a dwarf Juneberry which, they declare, produces bountifully a simple fruit which suits many people. There is yet a fine opportunity for some aspiring young Canadian botanist to develop a valuable garden fruit out of our com- mon May apple. Most of us know what a rich tropical flavor the fruit of this plant has. But the fruit is small, and the fruit-bearing plants compara- tively rare and unproductive. If some one would make a study of the con- ditions under which this plant thrives best, by judicious selection and culti- vation he would probably be able in time to increase the productiveness of the plant, the size of the fruit, and the proportionate quantity of pulp it con- tains, without sacrificing its present fine flavor, and here would be an achieve- ment worthy of fame. — From an ad- dress by A. Stevenson, before the Woodstock Horticultural Society. 450 THE SAN lOSE SCALE. ^^TT^HIS San Jose scale is the worst insect pest that has ever visited ._L Ohio. It is worse than all other orchard pests combined, because of its deadly effects, not only upon orchard trees, but upon many ornamental trees and shrubs, as well as on rose, raspberry, blackberry and cur- rant bushes. It is very minute and difficult to detect until it has increased and begun to cover the tree or bush with a gray, scurfy covering, while a single female insect may get under a bud and, while entirely concealed there, pro- duce enough young to ultimately cause the death of the tree. This insect protects itself with a cov- ering shaped somewhat like an inverted plate, under which it lives and gives birth to its young. This scale covering protects the insect not only from the weather, but also from most applications that can be made for the purpose of killing it. It seems that, in the cases of many such applications, the mixture has to be made so strong that it will pene- trate the bark and kill the tree or plant. before it will penetrate this scale and kill the insect underneath. Kerosene will penetrate this scale and kill the insect, but can only be used with safety during cold weather when the pores of the bark are closed, and on the more hardy varieties, like the apple, and some of the more hardy ornamental trees and shrubs. This scale insect multiplies with such rapidity that in a few years, or about the time a young tree should come into bearing, it will have become so affected as to be nearly or quite dead. All badly infested trees should be cut out and burned, and all others growing near them should be cut back, and treated in fall and spring with a mi.xture of two pounds of whale oil soap, dis- solved in one gallon of water. All orchards that have been set within the last eight or nine years should be care- fully inspected and if any trees are noted with a small gray scale thickly scattered upon them, at once send a sample to the Station for indentification. —Bulletin Ohio Experiment Station. VEGETABLES STORED FOR WINTER. EETS, turnips and other roots □- .. for early winter use, may be ) stored in barrels in the cellar, covering them with sand or soil to prevent wilting. Not a bad plan is that practiced by a friend of the writer's. He obtains enough thin turf from a meadow to make about four layers in the barrel. Then filling in some roots in the barrel he puts a layer of sod on top, then more roots and more sod until the barrel is full, finishing off with sod at the top. For spring use it is better to put these roots in a dry spot out of doors. Celery may be stored in narrow trenches in the garden or else be packed in a cool cellar, having the roots rest on damp earth. Cabbage may be pitted almost like roots. The heads should be inverted to keep mois- ture and dirt from the inside parts. For family use, to store some in a barrel that is covered with earth and opening from one end, answers very well. In all the ways of keeping vegetables the main object is to preserve something like uniformity of temperature, with a fair degree of moisture to prevent wilt- ing.— Vicks Magazine. 451 A NEW STRAWBERRY. b'lo. I'Jo.j. — Nick Homer. Mr. M. Crawford, of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, sends us an engraving of this straw berry, which he says was originated by xMr. John F. Beaver, of Ohio. Mr. Crawford describes it as fol- lows : The plant is very large and stocky, sending out plenty of very strong runners. It is probably not surpassed in healthy, vigorous growth and great productiveness by any variety. It has a perfect blos- som. The fruit is of the very argest size, a giant among straw- berries. It is never misshapen. Its only departure from the regular, roundish conical form is when, under high culture, it is somewhat triangular. It is dark glossy red, firm and of excellent flavor. WHITEWASHING PEACH TREES. H RECENT bulletin of the Mis- souri Experiment Station dis- cusses the winter protection of the peach. One of the most promising- methods of preventing the buds from swelling, rendering them lia- ble to destruction from cold weather, is whitewashing. It was found that the whitened buds remained practically dor- mant until April, while unprotected buds swelled perceptibly during warm days late in February and early in March. Eighty per cent of the un- whitened buds escaped winter killing. Whitened buds blossomed three to six days later than unwhitened ones. Ther- mometers covered with material the color of the peach twigs registered, dur- ing bright, sunny weather, from ten to over twenty degrees higher than ther- mometers covered with white material of similar texture, thus indicating that whitened peach twigs might be expected to absorb much less heat than those that were not whitened. The whitewash used was four parts of water, one part of skimmed milk and enough freshly slacked lime to make as thick a wash as could conveniently be pumped through a Bordeaux spray noz- zle without clogging. This wash was sprayed on the trees by means of a bucket spray pump. The first applica- tion was made the last of December, and three subsequent sprayings were necessary to keep the trees thoroughly coated until spring. The cost for ma- terial and labor is about lo cents per tree, when done on a small scale. 452 f^^bo fpli\i^. LOGANBERRY. JV. B. — The Editor takes no responsibility for statements made by Correspon- dents under this head. WISH to state through the columns of your journal my success with ._L the new fruit called the Loganberry. Four plants set fourteen months ago have yielded, up to date, seventy three three-quarter boxes of large, handsome dollars, making an income of six dollars and fifty cents from four plants inside of fourteen months. Others may have done better, and if so, they should let it be known. My neighbors join in pronouncing the Lo- Fio. 1256. — The Loganberry. (One half Natural i^ize. ) berries. They are a little tart for table use, but for jelly they are as good as the best, and for pies they are better. No hard seeds, and the flavor is good. Plants are twenty feet apart, and trained on a wire trellis. Some canes send a branch each way to the next stake, mak- ing forty feet from tip to tip. Have sold berries to the amount of four dol- lars and llfty cents, and plants from slips, in March, to the amount of two ganberry ahead of anything in the berry line, and will verify all my statements. Could hardly recommend them for field culture or for shipping, as they are very soft ; but for home use I think every family that can should have a few plants, and give them good care- F. W. Burr. California. [This fruit is one of great promise for the middle states. Professor Stinson, of 453 NEW FRUITS. the Agricultural College of Arkansas, re- cently told me that it promises to be- come a market fruit of importance in his section, and similar reports come from Massachusetts and elsewhere. The fruit is like a red blackberry, being solid and of a bright red color. The plant has the habit of the dewberry, but the foliage and wood are quite peculiar. It is a vigorous grower, and roots freely from layers. In Minnesota it has not done so very well at the Experiment Station, but it is probable that state is beyond its successful limit of culture. — S. B. Green, in Farm and Fireside. A NEW PLUM. Fig. 1257. — October. We give our readers an engraving of the "October" plum, an exceptionally late variety sent in to this office, October 20, 1897, by Mr. A. M. Smith, of St. Catharines, one of our Directors. The fruit is of rtiedium size, roundish ; skin thin, dark purple, with greyish bloom ; flesh dark yellow, tender, juicy ; flavor rich, sweet, and very agreeable. WINTERING PLANTS IN THE CELLAR. Plants are placed in the cellar to rest, not to grow. Nothing is more harmful to them when thus stored away than water, and it should never be given un- less to keep the soil from becoming dust dry. In early spring if the buds on the plants are seen to be starting a little, do not give water which would only favor their growth, but keep as dry and cool as possible until time to take them out of the cellar. — Vicks Manizine. 454 STRAWBERRY CULTURE FOR DECEMBER. WINTER PROTECIION. 'INTER protection should, at the North, be appHed about the last of November ; in this latitude about Decem- ber loth or 15th. A good rule is to apply it as soon as the ground freezes hard enough for a wagon to drive over fields without breaking through the frozen crust. The chief object in winter protection is to lessen the heaving of the soil and the consequent breaking of the roots and rootlets of the plants. The stiffer the soil the worse the heaving, and the greater the necessity of protection. The covering should not be thick enough to entirely prevent the soil from freezing, but to greatly lessen the freez- ing in the severest weather. Pine straw, a little less than an inch deep after it settles, is the proper depth in this lati- tude. It would have to be deeper in proportion as you went North. In winter protection at the North the whole ground should be covered, beds, middles and all. The varieties of material that can be used are almost endless. Where pine straw, or pine needles, as it is often called, can be obtained it is almost the ideal covering. Of all similar material it is the least likely to be blown off. Wheat straw, oat straw, marsh grass and other similar things are used. Corn- stalks can also be used, but as they do not lie close a much thicker layer will, of course, be necessary. The great objection to oak and simi- lar leaves is that they blow off so bad, which is also the case with oat and wheat straw unless they are cut up very fine. Yet such leaves and straw are often used and anchored in place by placing on them small stones or a little earth at short intervals. All available stable or barnyard ma- nure should be used for this purpose, taking the place of other material. If coarse it can be applied quite thick di- rectly over the plants. If very fine it will be best to use it mostly around and between the plants and to put a coarser, more open material just over the plants. The effect of too close a material over plants is to bleach and make them tender. Whatever covering is used it must be nearly all removed from immediately over the plants about the time that growth begins in the spring. The ma- terial can be left around the plants and between the rows, where it will serve the double purpose of keeping the ber- ries clean and of conserving moisture then so essential to a good crop. Whether winter protection pays or is even advisable south of the Mason and Dixon line is uncertain. I have experi- mented for many winters. Some win- ters it did good ; some winters it seemed to be rather harmful. It certainly would not be advisable farther South where crickets and harmful insects harbor un- der it and feed on the plants. Besides, the warmer the climate the more danger of smothering and bleaching the plants. But stable or barn-yard manure is e.vcellent in any climate if properly used. I have never known any insect pests to harbor under it. At the South it should be applied around and between the plants. Used in this way with a liberal dressing of hard-wood ashes (fifty bushels to the acre can be used), or 300 pounds of kainit in place of the ashes, and 300 455 STRAWBERRY CULTURE FOR DECEMBER. pounds of acid phosphate, a heavy crop of fine berries will almost surely be made. The fertilizer should be applied before the manure. It is also good to use with- out the manure. How TO Plant. Plow the land well and deeply, har- rowing if cloddy. Sandy loam will rarely need harrowing. Run off rows three feet apart. Two and a half feet will do if land is scarce, though it makes plowing somewhat more tedious. Sow in the furrow cotton-seed meal at rate of 300 to 500 pounds an acre. Mix it with soil by running cultivator or plow down the furrows. List in this with a light furrow from each side. Work list down very low with hoes or a horse drag. Set plants fifteen inches apart, or eighteen inches if it is a stout-growing variety and the soil is very rich. Plant deep enough to cover roots well. Plants can safely be set a little deeper in winter than in spring. Other fertilizer can be used. I recommend cotton-seed meal as being less likely to damage newly-set plants should it come in contact with their roots. But there is but little danger of this in the cool, moist fall and winter weather. Kainit and acid phosphate can be applied at any time afterwards around or between the plants, and in quantities above recommended. I often use a ton of cotton-seed meal to the acre, applying it broadcast and harrowing it in well before listing and planting. Still a barn-yard manure can be used to great advantage if likewise broadcast and plowed in. Where plen- tifully used no other kind of fertilizer need be then applied. O. W. Blacknall. Kittrell, N. C. PEONIES. IRST, they are man-catchers. Our good brethren delight in their big, bold out-lines and rich, warm colors. I believe in remembering the men, — they are half the world, you know. Plant liberally enough of the peonies so that you can afford to share with your friends. Have a white, a pink and a deep red one if you have not room for more. Your husband's friends, the doctor and lawyer, the minister and the editor, will appre- ciate one of these grand posies, especi- ally if arranged with a bit of the old- fashioned ribbon-grass that nature seems to have intended to go with the snow- ball and peony. Then give that big, awkward neighbor boy one now and then, or that rough-jacketed workman ; it will do them good, and you also. The second thing I have learned about them is that if one wishes variety without duplication, he ought to pur- chase his peonies all of one dealer. Some people say to starve peonies. Our finest specimens are in the full sun, with half shade a small portion of the day, and the beds are mellow and deep ; besides, we give a dressing of rotted manure each year, and have from the first. We have always found that luxu- riant foliage precedes abundant flowers, hence no starving for us. — Vicks' Maga- zine. 456 THE ENGLISH SPARROW IN CANADA. OWEVER little attention may be given to the subject, one cannot fail to recognize the economic value of our Canadian birds. It will be obvious also, to even the most casual observer that changes have taken place among the feathered tribes in the last few years. Perhaps the farmer wonders why it is, that he hears so few early morning songsters this year, or why the bluebird never nests in the hollow gatepost any more, or maybe he wonders why the chimney swallow does not build her peculiar nest on the inside boards of the barn as he has re- membered her to do ever since he was a boy. It is a very evident and also lament- able fact, that our insectivorous birds are becoming scarcer every year. In answer to questions sent out by the Bureau of Industries in "95 re bluebirds, reports have come in from all parts of the|Province that few have nested in any locality. In reply as to the cause of this state of affairs, authorities on the subject are unanimous in the opinion that the bluebird has been driven out by the English sparrow. This spring I saw- sparrows forcibly evicting barn swallows and pewees which had built their nests" under eaves. Nor are any of our small birds exempt from their attacks. Prof. ■ A. J. Cook in his admirable work on "The Birds of Michigan," asserts that even "The V.\ngh\rd{Tyranniis tyranniis) is one of the victims of the English sparrow." The English or European sparrow {passer domestiais) was introduced into New York in 1850 and since that time they have increased so rapidly that now probably not a single village or town could be found in the whole of North America that has not its hundreds and even thousands of them. The sparrow does not raise one or two broods a year as do our native species, but breed con- tinuously throughout the season, and either eggs or young birds may be found in the nest any time from May till Sep- tember. Some American ornithologists affirm that they have known one pair to raise as many as 30 young in a season. The food of the sparrow consists almost entirely of grain, which in cities is picked from the droppings of horses. Of late years, however, they have pushed into the country where they have made themselves notorious by nipping off the early fruit buds. To ornithologists the sparrow is a peculiar enigma. In England the Rev. F. O. Morris, one of the best au- thorities on birds in Europe, classes him as a useful bird, and English farmers protect him for his insectivorous habits. Nor is he pugnacious there, for the little English robin an even smaller bird will put him to flight. It was in considera- tion of these useful qualities that the sparrow was introduced into America. But here his habits have proved to be just the reverse of useful, and American ornithologists are unanimous in con- demning him for driving out native birds. No one seems to be able to offer any explanation of this change of habits in sparrows. The only thing approximat- ing an explanation is that given by Mr. Darwin in his " Origin of Species," where he gives several analogous cases of imported species supplanting native ones. However, the fact remains, that our native birds are becoming scarce, and that the English sparrow is the cause of the scarcity. What are our farmers and fruit growers going to do about it? In many of the States of the Union a 457 AUTUMN LEAVES. bonus given for sparrows' heads is doing much to thin their ranks, but in Canada as yet no legislation has been made in the matter. I would like to suggest that this subject be made a topic for discus- sion at our winter meetings of Institutes and Horticultural Societies. In experimenting somewhat this year in protecting insectivorous birds, I have kept a gun in my barn and have shot, or shot at, every sparrow that showed his head on the place, at the same time putting up nests and protecting useful birds in every way possible. As a result I have noticed more swallows in the barn and more warblers, bluebirds, orioles, etc., in the orchards than I have seen on the place for years, and more than one stranger has remarked to me on the number and variety of birds about my trees. Would it be too much to add that a heavy crop of plums, in an orchard where the curculio, in spite of our efforts, has always reigned su- preme has convinced me of the profit of protecting native birds. I might say in conclusion, that I am confident that if every farmer and fruit grower would take the trouble to shoot off the spar- rows about his premises, the present regime of back aching spray pumps and nauseous insecticides would pass away. VVm. N. Hutt. Southend, Otft. AUTUMN LEAVES. " Tp^ROBABLY not one person in ^J^ a thousand knows just why ,_i leaves change their color in the fall," remarked an eminent botanist the other day. " When the sap ceases to flow in the autumn, the natural growth of the tree is retarded and oxidation of the tissues takes place. Under certain conditions the green of the leaf changes to red ; under different aspects it takes on a yellow or brown hue. The difference in color is due to the difference in combinations of the original constituents of the green tissues and to the varying condition of climate, exposure and soil. A dry, hot climate produces more brilliant foliage than one that is damp and cool. This is the reason that American autumns are so much more gorgeous than those of Eng- land and Scotland. " There are several things about leaves, however, that even science can- not explain. For instance, why one of two trees growing side by side, of the same age, and having the same expos- ure, should take on a brilliant red in the fall and the other should turn yellow, or why one branch of a tree should be highly colored and the rest of the tree have only a yellow tint, are questions that are as impossible to answer as why one member of a family should be perfectly healthy and another sickly. Maples and oaks have the brightest colors. " People should be careful not to touch the gorgeous red and yellow autumn leaves of shrubs and climbing plants which are known to be harmless. Our two poisonous native plants display the mo.st brilliant autumnal colors of any species in our woods and highways. The poisonous sumac resembles a group of young ash trees. The poisonous ivy resembles the harmless woodbine. Its leaves, however, have but three leaflets, while those of the woodbine have five." 458 PRUNING OF FLOVVRkING SHRUBS. N the winter season much of the pruning of flowering shrubs is per- formed, and usually the operation takes with it all the flower buds that should clothe the plant with a mass of bloom during the spring and early summer. This is because gardeners do not consider the flowering habit of the various shrubs with which they have to deal. To prune away in winter the young wood from a weigela, deutzia, mock orange, lilac or bush honeysuckle, takes with it all the bloom of the follow- ing spring. This is usually the case, however, when indiscriminate pruning is practiced. There are very few shrubs that may be severely cut in winter. The hardy hydrangea, altha;a, and some smaller shrubs, like the hypericum, form their flower buds on the young growths made in the summer of the same year they bloom, but nearly all other shrubs make their flower buds on the young growth made the season previous to their expanding. The proper system of pruning is one that will induce an abundance of young wood, and this can only be accomplished by the trimming out of much of the two-year-old growth — that which has already flowered — cutting out the old shoots close to the ground, so that the new growth will push out from the root of the plant. If the bush makes too strong and rank a growth, a moderate amount of pruning in winter will not lessen the bloom to any extent, especi- ally as the extreme ends of the young wood do not flower. Summer pruning of flowering shrubs is practiced by some gardeners with success, after the plants have done blooming, but in this case it must be done with great care, as the cutting away of much wood when in full leaf tends to weaken the plant, while the object to be gained is to foster a strong and vigorous growth. It is an excellent time, however, for a moderate pruning. — Thomas Meehan, in New Eng. Florist. RE-POTTING HOUSE PLANTS. THE best way to determine whether or not a plant needs re-potting is to carefully remove it, holding the hand over the surface and hitting the edge of the crock a light blow by bring- ing it down upon a table. Examine the roots, and if they are matted about the sides and bottom of the ball, the plant evidently requires fresh potting. Then carefully reduce the ball of earth to about a third of its original bulk ; single out the matted roots and trim away all that are moldy and decayed. Probably the same pot may then be large enough, but if it requires a larger one it should be about two inches broader for a middle-sized plant, three or four for a large plant. If the roots are not matted, but the pots are filled with fibers, keep the ball entire, and carefully plant it in a larger pot. At the top of a large pot, an inch, and of a small one, half an inch, should be left for reception of water, without danger of overflow. A little gravel, charcoal or pieces of broken pots should always be placed at the bottom for drainage. A plant newly potted must never be ex- posed to a strong sun. It should be watered and placed in the shade im- mediately and there remain till it is rooted, which may be known by its starting to grow. — Farm and Home. 459 THE WINTER HOUSE-GARDEN. 'E cannot all have a green- house ; we are not, all of us, wealthy enough to en- joy the luxury of a conser- vatory, but there are few of us who can- not have house-plants, if only a few. The true lover of flowers will not be restricted to the out-of-door garden dur- ing the summer months, although there is much said about the unhealthiness of in-door gardening. While there are medical authorities to sanction this idea, still the weight of popular opinion is on the side of the flowers ; and even many physicians maintain that even in dormitories, win- dow-gardens exert no injurious effects unless there is lack of ventilation. It is, at the same time, true, of course, that flowers in a close room have pre- judicial effects upon those organizations, that possess an aversion to them for which they cannot account. The odour of the tuberose, for in- stance, make many people ill, and in such instances it is not necessary to state that those flowers producing such an effect should be banished. For our window-garden we do not need a very commodious bay window on the sunny side of a house, and the heat that is necessary to vegetable life is quite as good, been artificial, some say ; but it is only reason to suppose that the sun is important to plants chemically as well as thermally. So, when it is possible, we should choose a window with south- ern exposure. Seventy-five degrees by day, and forty- five by night, indicates the proper aver- age. We must take care to provide the room with water in open vessels, so that a proper moisture may accompany the artificial warmth ; if we neglect this, the flowers will fade and the plants cease to flourish. Another precaution should be in re- gard to dust. When dust is allowed to settle on plants it closes the respiration of the leaves, and stops their breathing, for the leaves are the lungs of'vegetation. If dust has accumulated by accident or thoughtlessness, it should be removed by a syringe immediately. If plants are troubled by worms in the soil, the plants should be removed until the soil has been examined, bit by bit, and if the intruders are there, a little ammonia in a gallon of water poured over the earth will kill them, and give fresh impetus to the flowers. For pot-plants the best combination is, one part sand, one of loam, one of leaf- mould, and a small quantity of compost. Geraniums, fuchias, and most analog- ous plants demand nothing more, while bulbs do better in a nearly-all sand soil. Vines need something richer. Kitchen odours are not healthful to plants, choking them, and stopping their respiration. If, therefore, we must have our house-garden in a room adjoining the kitchen, we must take great pains to change the air frequently, but taking equal care to see that they are not chill- ed by the too great and sudden change of temperature. The Spiciosa Fuchsia will fail to bloom if kept growing all the year round. Let it rest during the summer, if you desire it to blossom during the winter. It needs to be kept dry during September, and at least half of its top to be cut off ; then re-pot it in the fall, give it more water, and keep it in a shady place. An east window is best. It requires a soil of leaf-mould and sand, and the pot — make sure it is a twelve inch one — must have the best of drainage. Great care and close atten- tion isneeded to make this plant a success. 460 SUBSCRIPTION PRICK, $i.oo per year, entitling the subscriber to membership o£ the Fruit Growers' Association of Ontario and all its privileges, including a copy of its valuable Annual Report, and a share in its annual distribution of plants and trees. REMITTANCES by Registered Letter or Post-Office Order are at our risk. Receiptt will tt acknowledged upon the Address Label. ADVERTISIN'G R.\TES quoted on application. Circulation, 4,000 copies per month. LOCAL NEWS.— Correspondents will greatly oblige by sending to the Editor early intelligence of local events or doings of Horticultural Societies likely to be of interest to our readers, or of any matters which it is desirable to bring under the notice of Horticulturists. ILLUSTRATIONS.— The Editor will thankfully receive and select photographs or drawings, suitable for reproduction in these pages, of gardens, or of remarkable plants, flowers, trees, etc. ; but he cannot be responsible for loss or injury. NEWSPAPERS.— Correspondents sending newspapers should be careful to mark the paragraphs they wish the Editor to see. DISCONTINUANCES.— Remember that the publisher must be notified by letter or post-card when a subscriber wishes his paper stopped. All arrearages must be paid. Returning your paper will not enable us to discontinue it, as we cannot find your name on our books unless your Post Office address is given. Societies should send in their revised lists in January, if possible, otherwise we take it for granted that all will continue members. -^ JvFotes ar)d (forT)iT)er)t<^. ^ The People of Algoma seem to be interested in fruit culture. They claim that their climatic conditions are so modified by the waters of the lakes, that many fruits can be grown for export, and that a fruit e.xperiment station should be established in that part of Ontario in order to determine what fruits may be grown successfully, and thus save the settlers there many years of wasted time in testing varieties. St. Joseph's Island has been mentioned as a desirable location for such a station. Queensland (Australia), according to Farming, is waking up to the advan- tages of agricultural education. The Minister of Agriculture, the Hon. A. J. Thynne, has established an agricultural college at Galton, and arranged for several experimental farms elsewhere. He is also about to establish another experimental farm in order to make experiments in fruit culture, and parti- cularly with regard to insect pests. It is understood that this farm will be started at a very early date, and that it will be in a neighborhood convenient to Brisbane. Within the last twelve months Sir Patrick Jennings has started a private experimental station of his own at ^Vest- brook. Darling Downs. Farming, our excellent contemporary journal, which stands to the farmer in much the same relation as this journal does to the fruit grower, has made a new departure, and become a weekly. It is fresh and bright, giving prominence to all the latest matters of interest to the farmer, which it also discusses in a most intelligent manner in its editorials. We commend Farming to all our readers. 461 NOTES AND COMMENTS. Mr. J. F. Sears, B.H., has accepted an engagement with the Nova Scotia Fruit Growers' Association. Mr. Sears is a graduate of the Iowa Agricultural College, Ames, Iowa, and will take up the work as director of the Nova Scotia School of Horticulture at Wolfville. Professor Faville, who has had charge of the work for some years, and who has been very successful, resigned last sum- mer to take up similar work at one of the leading American experiment sta- tions. That Great French Preserving Process which was so lauded by inte- rested persons at the World's Fair, con- sists according to Prof Saunders, chiefly in the use of sulphur. Recently also a package of the powder was examined at the Indiana Experiment Station, and the compound was found to contain sul- phur, charcoal, nitrate of soda, cane sugar, and common salt : thus : — 14-2° per cent. Cane sue-ar, Salt, Nitrate of soda, 1,6 Sulphur, jy^. Charcoal, moisture and in- ' soluble matter, 25.64 The essentials of the directions for the use of this material were that the compound should be burned in a closed space and the fumes arising from the burning be absorbed by water placed in suitable vessels, and that the fruit in some cases should also be exposed to the fumes. Finally the fruit was to be placed in the water which had absorbed the fumes of the burning compound and the vessel closed. The burning of the compound would result in the pro- duction of sulphur dioxide, also known as sulphurous acid, as one product, and it is this substance which exerts the preservative action in the process. The other ingredients are merely to aid in the burning of the sulphur. This sulphur dioxide is an intensely poisonous gas and its use prohibited as a food preservative in European countries. When the gas is absorbed by water sulphurous acid, a powerful therapeutic agent, is formed. There is no doubt that its preservative action will be effective, for it is one of the best antiseptic and bleaching agents. But there are grave objections to the indis- criminate use of powerful therapeutic agents in food The parties having the material and rights for sale state that the material or process is covered by a patent. On inquiry at the U. S. patent ottice it was learned that the patent with the number said to belong to this process was issued for some sort of machinery and had no relation to this subject. The British Weeklv has it that Mr. Kipling has not changed his opinion of the Canadian climate in spite of the end- less exclamatory periods after " Our Lady of the Snows." It would seem that he is indeed wedded to his idols, for he has contributed the following skit to "Wee Willie U'inkie," the juvenile periodical edited by Lady Marjorie Gor- don, the daughter of Lord Aberdeen : — ■' There was once a small boy of Quebec, Who was buried in snow to the neck. When asked : ' Are you friz ? " He replied: 'Yes, I is, But we don't call this cold in Quebec.' " Programmes are out for the meeting of our Association at Waterloo, on the 15th and 1 6th, and may be had on ap- plication to the Secretary at Grimsby. A large and important meeting is ex- pected. 462 NOTES AND COMMENTS. Price of Apples never ruled higher, so far as we know, than this season. Some very high prices, according to the Fruit Growers of London England, have been made in Liverpool during the month of November. Spys for instance, went up to 24s. 3d. per barrel, New- towns to 31s. 6d., and King Pippins to 32s. The latter were Canadian, and proves the superior nature of the Cana- dian fruit against the American. Such prices have not been known for years. Greenings actually went up to 22s. 6d , Spys to 26s. gd., and various odd sorts ranged in value from 12s. to 28s per barrel. Money is being made freely at these prices. Pears. — -The same journal, speaking of pears says : " French Duchess are worth from 3s. (id. to OS. (ill. per case, and crates from (is. to 143. Of course the latter contain a large quantity, cases ruuuiug from 40 to 48, and crates as high as twelve dozen. The California fruit is remarkably fine. Glout Morceau are mak- ing the highest prices, ranging from 8s. 6d. to 10s. (ill. Easter Bcurrcs are worth from 7s. to 8s., and Winter Nelis the same prices per half case. The ijuinces from the same coun- try are very good, making from 9s. to 12s. per three to four dozen package. "The California pear trade will develop in- to a big business and we are satisfied that these f rowers have a great future before them. The Inglish markets can take all the choice fruit they can send across, and it is to be hoped the shippers will keep up the quality of their shipments. " We do not see' why our friends in California, three thousand miles farther away than we in Ontario, should capture the English market, when we have equally good Bartlett pears, and when the Dominion is ready to give us the cold storage necessary to put our fruits there in the best condition. ing of the 8th and the two following days will be given to addresses and discus- sions, of especial interest to farmers. C.\N.\Di.\N Pears seems to be highly appreciated in England — Messrs. Wood, Omerod & Co, of Edinburgh write: "We were present yesterday (Nov. 3rd) at sale of (Canadian) grapes, pears, etc., at Glasgow. Pears made a pleasant surprise, and were in nice order. We bought the first parcel of five cases of- fered, Beurre d'Anjou and made a profit on them here ; they sold at 15s. per case of about 54 pears at auction. We do not hesitate to say that these will be- come a common export, if care betaken. The condition of nearly all the samples left little to be desired, and the quality was good. The Ger.man Apple Market is said to be a good one for Canadian apples and we are informed that the Hon John Dryden, Minister of Agriculture for On- tario, has just forwarded samples of our finest commercial varieties for exhibi- tion at an exhibition now in progress at Berlin. The following quotation for our apples in Hamburg were given by a firm there under date of Nov. 2nd : Baldwin. . .up to 24. -25 marks, equal to $5 77 Ben Davis. " 2.5 25 " " 6 01 (ireening.. " 18.25 " " 4 'ix, Wine sap.. " 22 25 " •' 5 30 Spy " 18.75 " " 4 83 G. Russet.. " 18.25 " " 4 35 N. Pippin.. " 23.25 " " 5 54 Kings " 17 25 " " 4 U Cannons... " 17.50 " " 4 17 The average quality of the sales was poor. Price for good fruits are very firm and prospects are very favorable, the demand being strong. The Ontario Agkuui.tural and Trito.mas. — Today (Nov. 23)we have Experimental Union holds its 19th received from Messrs. Webster Bros, meeting at the O. A. C. Guelph, on the Hamilton, nearly a dozen fine spikes of 8lh, 9th and loth. An interesting popu- Tritoma Uvaria grandiflora, which we lar programme will be given on the even- have opened out and placed is vases for 463 NOTES AND COMMENTS. house adornment. Mr. Webster writes : " This is the true large flowering variety it is propagated only by division of the roots and is immensely superior to those raised from seed, as well as producing larger and better flowers, we have found it to produce about twice as many as any variety of tritoma we ever grew, the best flowers are considerably larger than those we are sending, we find they have all been picked. The flowers sent are from plants growing in the nursery rows, they will probably flower for two weeks yet before cut down by frost, the roots are not entirely hardy here but winter well if given a little protection." Mr. John Craig, Horticulturist at the Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa, has resigned hi? position, with the in- tention, we understand of further pur- suing his studies in horticulture at Cor- nell University. We had hoped to have secured him as lecturer to our affiliated societies during the coming winter, and all will much regret his absence, which may be only temporary. Apples and Crows. — A flock of crows migrating to the south one day recently attacked the apple orchard of Uriah Samon, Wolfe Island, and cleared it of thirty barrels of apples, leaving nothing but the cores. Decease of Mr. John Little. — On the 17th of November this noted straw- berry specialist passed away at his home at Granton Mr. M. Crawford of Cuya- hoga Falls, Iowa, an intimate friend of his, was at Granton at the time of Mr. Little's death, and writes us a full ac- count of this sad occurrence. Reviewing his life, he writes that Mr. Little was a native of Belfast, Ireland, where he was born in 1814, where he was engaged by the Government as civil engineer, but after his marriage he came to Canada and settled on the farm of 300 acres at Granton, which he has occupied for 53 years. About 25 years ago, when visit- ing a friend who was picking some nice strawberries, he became enamoured with this healthful fruit and his interest has deepened ever since. He has raised many seedlings and has tested nearly all the new varieties that have come into the market during the last quarter of a century. The Woolverton and Saunders are among his best named seedlings, and two others not yet named are thought to be very desirable. His busi- ness will be continued by his daughter. Miss Ellen, who has assisted her father for years in filling orders. PRUNING LILAC AND WEIGELA. Both lilac and weigela bear their flow- ers on their young or green shoots, and if pruned in autumn the bloom will be much reduced. These plants need very little pruning, as a rule, beyond cutting away any dead wood or unnecessary branches, but if at any time it should be thought desirable to shorten or head back the branches, the proper time for doing it is immediately after the plants have finished their blooming. — Vicks' Magazine. -^ Q^^^^tior) ^r»d.bo^p. ^ Windbreaks. 971. Sir,— I intend planting a hedge on tlie West and North side of a young orchard. Wliat kind would you aiivise me to plant? .Some say the liorers work in the Spruce and Pine ; would they also trouble the apple orchard ? Would you recommend the Balsam Fir? J. A. T. I.SHNGTOS. A great many kinds of trees, both deciduous and evergreen, have been utilized to good advantage as wind- breaks, but of the evergreens, there is none known in Soutiiern Ontario so satisfactory as the Norway Spruce. It grows very rapidly, bears cutting well, thickens up closely, and is withal so graceful in form, that it surpasses every other. In 25 or 30 years the tree will attain a height of 30 or 40 feet, and its lower branches will spread out for a dis- tance of at least ten feet, in every direc- tion. The Balsam Fir is'not nearly so suit- able, being inclined to thin out around the bottom, while the Norway Spruce always remains close and thick. We have seen the'. Scotch Pine used for the same purpose.'but it is rather inclined to irregular habit, and is, withal, a slow grower. When visiting the Fonthill Nurseries last summer,fwe were shown some fine samples of windbreaks, well grown up, and of quite a variety. One was a double row of Inarch and American Arbor Vit?e ; another of Larch and Austrian'Pine mixed ; another a single row of Arbor Vitae, but the finest of all we saw there was a fine hedge of the European Larch, well grown up to be a most e.xcellent windbreak, and an object of beauty as well. This tree is a rapid grower, and in time becomes valuable for timber. $ ©per? Is,ertep(?. $ Pear Blight. Dear Sir, — .As frequent enijuiries are made for the cause of the pear blight that played such havoc with our pear orchards last year, and as no one seems to give a satisfactory answer, permit me to offer a suggestion. It is quite clear to my mind that the severity of the attack in 1896 was indirectly due to the severe frost of May, 18!);j. This frost did much damage to many pear trees as well as other varieties of fruits, and set tliem back at leiist a month, in some ciises six weeks When the following winter set in these trees had not fully matured and hardened their timber ; that is the partitions of the minute cells of which a tree is composed, were tender, and not sufficiently hardened to resist the attacks of " Jack Frost." The cells having yielded or burst the sap could not follow its natural channels. The result was disease and in too many cases, death of the tree. This is my theory, but I do not claim to^have abso- lute proof of the same, but experience has taught me that trees whose tiniljer has been fully matured are much less subject to blight and other disease than those whose timber has not become properly hardened. ThOS. H.4MM0SD. Ayltntr, Ont. The Magoon Strawberry. Dear Sir, — Among our variety tests of new strawberries, the Magoon ranks the best ; it is quite easy to see that it is a different type from the usual run of strawberries, as the foliage has a beautiful crinkled appear- ance. This berry is an Oregon seedling ; if sur- passes the sharpless inrank, luxuriant growth ; the fruit is of gig»ntic size, aud what is more, the llavor is equal to that of the finest wild strawberry ; the color is a clear cherry red, 46s BULB CULTURE. and the berry is very firm ; one of the best characteristics is, that it will stand wet weather splendidly ; there are many varieties of berries that the least bit of wet weather, or a few hours rain, will destroy. I some- time; think the Magoon would stand a week's wet weather, if not too ripe. The Magoon is the most productive new sort that we have ever tested. The Mexican strawberry we believe to be the most productive of all the well tested sorts. The record of the Magoon strawberry is very good, single plants by high culture, have yielded during the season, 9 lbs. of fruit. Tlie Magoon is also a very safe berry, as it will stand extreme heavy frosts, and still yield a good crop ; the heavy foli- age helps to protect the blossoms wonderfully. As a shipping berry, this sort equals the Dol- lar strawberry, and this sort is the standard of excellence, as a long distance shipper. The blossom is perfect, and the foliage free from rust ; these plants form enormous stool plants, and are at their height at three years of age. We wrote a short time ago, an article on the Mexican strawberry. A couple of horticul- tural editors in America, because they had never heard of this berry, at once condemned it. For their benefit, and the ones who read tlieir papers, we would state that the Mexi- can strawberry is cultivated by at least 5000 strawberry growers in the west, and that all the leading seed and plant companies on the Pacific Coast, sell and advertise plants for sale. People who condemn anything without know- ing the least thing about it, are not very reliable persons to edit agricultural papers. S. L. Watkixs. Orizzly Flats, Cat. BULB CULTURE. 'E think the best time to start this subject of growing bulbs is when you get the bulbs in the fall. We will give the readers of The Horticulturist a few hints of our methods. Having selected the stock you intend to grow for the coming season, get some good loamy soil which can be materially improved by mixing in a liberal quantity of sharp sand. Next select a suitable sized pot, and after washing clean and soaking it in clean water for a few minutes, place a stone or piece of broken pot over the hole in the bottom of the pot. Fill the pot three-fourths full with the prepared soil, then place the bulbs in and fill the pot within an inch of the top, pressing the soil firmly around the bulb. The hyacinth, tulip, crocus, allium and or- nithogalum must, after potting, be well watered, and then be set away in a place which is dark and quite cool. Leave them there to form roots, this will take from eight to ten weeks. It is necessary that these instructions should be fully carried out if good results are to be secured. Leave the bulbs in the dark until the soil is filled with roots and they will then be ready to make a strong and healthy growth as soon as they are brought to the light and warmth. Before taking the plants from the cellar see that the soil is full of roots. If it is not full, and the bulb is sound, leave it until roots are formed. Examination can be made by inverting the pot and slipping the ball of earth out without disturbing the bulb. The Mexican lily, narcissus, calla, and freesia, should, after being potted in the usual way, be watered thoroughly and set in a cool place. It is not so necessary that these should be placed in a dark place, but for the others four to six weeks in the dark is an absolute essential to success, because if the root system is not fully developed, the flowers will be a failure. If it is impossible to get loamy earth, any ordinary garden soil will do. If manure is added be sure it is thoroughly well rotted manure, as new manure will prove fatal to your bulbs. Add a little sand if the soil is lacking in that constituent. The last mentioned lot of bulbs must not be too freely watered until they have made some growtii — H. Townsend, of Deso- ronto Hort. Soc. 466 M ^^ -£,3ng live our Rsble €5u.een, ■*^'OD save Qur ist^acious ©ueea, n^ (Sod save the gueen. ! Sead Ker victorious, 3{apptj and glorious. ^oag to reign over us, (iisd save our £>ueen ! 467