HORTICULTURAL CLUBS. 



75 



Seventh Meeting— Topic— Fruit Trees. 



Essay by 



Questions for discussion : 



1. What is the best location for an or- 

 chard? 



2. When is the best time to plant? 



3. How should trees be set; distance 

 apart, manner of planting, etc? 



4. Should the orchard be cultivated? 



5. How can the trees be protected in 

 winter? 



6. Is mulching desirable, and when 

 and how should it be applied? 



7. Is it necessary to prune, and when 

 is the best time? 



8. What varieties of apples are the best 

 to plant? 



9. What varieties of plums are the best 

 to plant? 



rOR READINGS UNDER THIS TOPIC SEE; 



Page 79, 118 Horticult'i Rep't of 1882 



Page98, 124, 211.... f " 1883 



Page 173. 267 '• " 1885 



Page256 " " 1892 



Page262 " " 1893 



Eighth Fleeting— Topic— Shade and Orna- 

 mental Trees and Evergreens. 



Essay by 



Questions for discussion: 



1. What are the five best varieties of 

 shade trees? 



2. What are the five best varieties of 

 ornamental trees? 



3. Can shade and ornamental trees be 

 planted in the fall as well as in the spring? 



4. What varieties of evergreens are the 

 best to plant? 



5. When is the best time for planting 

 evergreens? 



6. What varieties of evergreens are thg 

 best for ornamental hedges? 



7. What varieties of evergreens are the 

 best for windbreaks? 



8. Why is mulching necessary to the 

 success of raising evergreens? 



FOR READINGS UNDER THIS TOPIC SEE 



Page 77 Horticult'i Rep' t of 1882 



Page 78, 327 •' " 1883 



Page 200, 197 " " 1892 



Page 174,172 " " 1893 



The Gooseberry.— The market is very rarely over-supplied with 

 this fruit, and a reason for this is that it can be gathered and mark- 

 eted through a long season, instead of all having to be harvested 

 and sold at one time. The green berries sell readily almost as soon 

 as they are large enough to be picked, and bring then the best 

 prices of the season, but this is equalized by the fact that later on 

 they are much larger and a bush will yield more quarts. A goose- 

 berry bush, at two years from the time of planting, should yield 

 three quarts of fruit, and after that five quarts a season. An aver- 

 age retail price is about ten cents a quart. The crop is almost a cer- 

 tain one, for if the worms are kept off, which may be easily done by 

 the use of hellebore, the only other enemy which they have to fear 

 is mildew. Our native varieties are not much subject to that. 



The plants should be set in cool, moist soil, and a partial shade does 

 not injure them. Close pruning will increase their productiveness 

 and tend toward making them longer lived. The fruit is the earliest 

 we may have from our home gardens, and, if for this reason 

 only, should be more widely grown than it is. In planting we ad- 

 vise procuring one year plants in preference to those older. Give 

 good cultivation, a regular manuring in the fall and a cool mulch 

 in the summer to protect the roots, and we think yovi will have no 

 cause to complain of the profit which a small patch of the fruit will 

 give you. — Western Plowman. 



