Secretary's Budget. 355 



of the rising generation who have a fancy for the business may 

 enter upon it with confidence that their enlightened efforts will be 

 crowned with success. 



COLD STORAGE. 



It is surprising to what an extent ice is entering into com- 

 merce as an indispensable factor. Not alone in the meat trade is 

 its influence felt, but in the dairy trade as well. Butter, cheese, 

 and eggs, poultry, fish, fruits, as well as all kinds of fresh meat, 

 are put into cold storage and kept until wanted for sale. And 

 other countries are "catching" on to this idea and practice as well 

 as ourselves — Australia and New Zealand especially. The refriger- 

 ator mutton which comes to London from the latter country forms 

 no inconsiderable item in that city's weekly supply. 



PEUNING. 



TREE PRUNING. 



It frequently happens that we neglect to trim our apple trees 

 at the proper time, and it becomes necessary to remove large limbs 

 two or three inches in diameter. It takes so long for such wounds 

 to heal over that such pruning is very injurious to the trees unless 

 we coat the wounds with something that will effectually protect 

 them till new wood has grown over. 



Shellac dissolved in alcohol is usually recommended as the best 

 coating in such cases by horticultural writers. But an ingenious 

 French chemist, M, Lefert, has given us a receipt for making a 

 liquid grafting-wax which is beyond doubt the most complete pro- 

 tection to all the wounds mflicted on fruit trees yet discovered. To 

 the careful cultivator who wishes to get the best returns from his 

 trees by keeping them in proper shape, and yet not injure them by 

 so doing, this receipt is very valuable. It sometimes becomes 

 necessary in trimming pear trees affected with blight to remove all 

 or a portion of the to]D of the tree, thus exposing a large wound in 

 the center of the tree to the direct rays of the sun. To be able to 

 protect this wound effectually for a sufficient time is a matter of 

 vital importance to the longevity of the tree. 



