REPORT OF THE HORTICVTVRIST 39 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



Of gooseberries originated in America, the following have given the best results 

 .and are recommended: — 



Varieties of gooseberries recommended for general planting. — Pearl, Downing, 

 Red Jacket. 



STRAWBERRIES. 



The named varieties of strawberries have been very thoroughly tested at Ottawa, 

 and since 1887 there have been 513 kinds under trial. There are so many new varie- 

 ties of strawberries introduced each year that the list of those recommended has to be 

 changed from time to time as those of superior merilrare found. 



The following are those which are recommended at the present time: — 



Commercial. — Splendid (perfect), Beder Wood (perfect), Warfield (imperfect) — 

 not suited to light soil, Williams (perfect), Greenville (imperfect). Sample (imperfect) 

 Buster (imperfect). Pocomoke and Parsons Beauty are also very good commercial 

 berries. 



Domestic. — Excelsior (perfect). Splendid (perfect), Senator Danlap (perfect), 

 Lovett (perfect), Bubach (imperfect), Wm. Belt (perfect). 



SEEDLING STRAWBERRIES. 



Considerable work has been done in testing seedling strawberries, but as yet no 

 variety has been produced which was thought Worthy of introduction. Of 650 seed- 

 lings which fruited in 1889, 40 were saved. These have been gradually reduced in 

 number and of this lot only 6 are still being tested. Most of these are of very good 

 quality, but lack other characteristics desirable in a commercial berry. In 1897 

 about 1,400 seedlings were raised from some of the best named varieties. These were 

 gradually reduced to 34, among which were some of great promise. Last winter these 

 were practically all v/inter killed. Another lot of seedlings has been. raised and set 

 out, in the hope of better success. 



CULTURAL EXPERIMEXTS WITH STRAWBERRIES. 



Experiments have been conducted with strawberries in various methods of planting 

 and in different systems of culture. It has been found that the matted row system is 

 more suited to the climatic conditions of Eastern Canada than the hill system, although 

 by mulching good results may be obtained by growing them in the latter way. The 

 hill system may be adopted where strawbe^rrics are grown for home use if the plants 

 are properly looked after, as the fruit is larger when grown in this way. Two bulletins 

 on the strawberry — No. 5, and No. 27 — have been published, but owing to the demand 

 for information regarding the strawberry both of these are now out of print. 



BLOSSOMING RECORDS OE FRUIT. 



The various causes of unfruitfulness in trees has been discussed for many years, 

 but it is only during recent years that much attention has been given to th^ relation 

 of the blossoming season of different varieties of fruits to the setting of the fruit- 

 It had been observed that where varieties were intermingled in an orchard th^re was 

 generally a better crop than where certain varieties were grown by themselves. In 

 order to learn the varieties of fruit which blossomed at the sam.e time, so as to furnish 

 information to intending planters, the following circular was sent to a number of the 

 leading fruit growers of Canada in 1895 : — 



' Dear Sirs — The cause of the unfruitfulness of some varieties of large and small 

 fruits when planted in large blocks by themselves is now understood to be due to self- 



