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63 
twelve feet high, in sheltered positions. I do not think it is a tree that should be recom- 
mended for plahting, however. The Association ought to take up the matter, and make 
out lists of the ornamental trees adapted for different districts. There would be no difii- 
culty at all in doing so, and it would save thousands of dollars to farmers. We have such 
a variety of climates that a very short distance makes a great difference in trees ; those 
which may do very well here do not do as well in Toronto or Guelph. 
Mr. Morris.—In regard to pruning, I think most shrubs, if left unpruned, become 
as unsightly as old currant bushes. Early blooming shrubs can be trimmed immediately 
after blooming, and the new growth will bloom the following season ; I think that is the 
_way they should be treated. Many, like althea, will grow into a good shrub without 
pruning, and of course I do not think they should be cut. I think Mr. Gilchrist is mis- 
taken when he says that spruce cannot be pruned— 
Mr. Gitcuerist.—I think they can be pruned but not improved. 
Mr. Morris.—I differ from you there, again. The proper time to prune Norway 
spruce is about the 2nd of June. That is for this section. It would be later for the 
north. Just before they finish making their growth and begin to form the buds, by clip- 
ping the sides the buds will form further back. We have a hedge of it that grows about 
six inches every year, and we prune it the same as any other hedge, and it gets thicker 
every year; it is so thick that birds can hardly enter it. Of course I agree with Mr. 
Gilchrist as to ornamental trees, that they should be cut in only just a little. I would 
say that all evergreens require a good deal of manure. If they get plenty of food of that 
kind they will resist the winds on one side a great deal, and for trees that are already in 
that shape I do not know any other course than to trim off the other side and try to force 
the zrowth on that side also. Do the trimming about the latter end of June. 
Mr. Craic.—I might say that the blue spruce grows very well at Ottawa; the principal 
trouble is a fungus that appears on the leaves about the 10th of June, and which is very 
bad now. ‘The leaves are beginning to drop, and it disfigures the tree. This fungus seems 
to be the principal difficulty,and for it I am now trying the copper solution. Of the cornuses 
I think one of the most ornamental is the cornus sericea. Another that has not been 
mentioned is the tamarisk amarensis, which in Ottawa, however, is not quite hardy. Of 
the viburnums, probably the old English one is the best. Poplars [ do not lke, on 
account of the seeds and its sprouting habits. There is one of the American poplars that 
does not sprout, but I do not think it succeeds in this part of the country. Catalpa 
speciosa is not satisfactory at all; it will die the third or fourth year, and I do not think 
itis worth growing for an ornamental tree. Another tree which I think may be added 
to the list of hardy ornamental trees is the European larch. Of course it is not an ever- 
green, but it puts on beautiful foliage in the spring. 
HUMBUGS IN HORTIOULTURE. 
The President announced that Mr. T. H. Race, of Mitchell, Ont., would read a paper 
on Humbugs in Horticulture. 
Mr. Racr.—I have no paper prepared on the subject. I have met many humbugs 
in my time, and the list is a numerous one, but at the head of it I place the nursery 
jobber humbug. By that name I wish to indicaté the man who claims to be a nursery- 
man, but who yet has not a foot of ground in the world, nor a single tree to his name. 
It has been stated here, and often elsewhere, that farmers are a class of people who take 
a delight in being humbugged ; that they are better satistied when they are being hum- 
bugged than when they are getting a fair deal. But even granting that to be so, the 
object of this Association is to extend and increase fruit-growing in this province, and 
I think for that reason it is our duty to protect the farmer from being humbugged, and 
to educate him up to a point where he will cease to feel any delight in the humbugging 
process. Our first object, as I have just said, is to extend the growth of fruit and its cul- 
tivation throughout the province ; to awaken an interest among farmers as a class in this 
