114 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



strawberries. No weed seeds to grow, and 

 usually it is half rotten and just the best 

 mulch that can be found. J. B. M. 



Marissa, 111. 



DEUTZIA CRENATA. 



As the JFriiit Growers' Association 

 offers to the readers of the Canadian 

 HorticuUurist a ];)lant of the doable 

 flowering Deiitzia crenata, we clip from 

 the Garden the following remarks and 

 likewise give a cut of a small branch 

 when in flower. Of this there appears 

 to be two distinct varieties, in one of 

 which the bark of the young shoots is 

 reddish and the flowers on the outside 



m^ 



"^fe-- 



Branch of Dkutzia Cricnata. 

 suffused with i-ose ; in the otlier the 

 young shoots are green and the flowers 

 almost, if not quite, white. They are 

 both beautiful sli!'uV)s, although, in my 

 opinion, the \rd\vi must be awarded to 

 the pink-tinged one. The flowers are 

 valuable in a cut state, as they last for 

 some time in water, and are borne in 

 lai'ge showy spikes. I counted nearly 

 forty flowers on a spike, and each bloom 

 consisted of about thirty petals ; 

 some idea may therefore be formed of 



the beauty of my plant — a young thriv- 

 ing specimen. The single form is a 

 pretty shrub, but the blossoms are shed 

 much quicker than those of the double 

 kind. It is the variety which has the 

 pink-tinged flowers which will be given 

 to our readers. 



HUSSMAN ON SUMMER PRUNING 

 THE GRAPE VINE. 



Without proper and judicious 

 Summer pruning, it is impossible to 

 prune judiciously in the fall. If you 

 have allowed six or eight canes to grow 

 in summer whei-e you need but two or 

 three, none of them will be tit to bear 

 a full crop, nor be properly developed. 

 We prune longer in fall than the 

 majority of our vinters. which gives a 

 double advantage : should the frost of 

 winter have injured or killed any of 

 the tii'st buds, we still have enough 

 left ; and should this not be the case, 

 we still have our choice to rub off all 

 imperfect shoots ; to reduce the number 

 of branches at the first pinching, and 

 thus retain only strong canes for next 

 year's fruiting, and have only large, 

 well-developed bunches. 



But to secure these advantages, we 

 have certain rules which we follow 

 strictly. We are glad to see that the 

 attention of the grape-growers of the 

 countiy is thoroughly aroused to the 

 importance of this subject, and that the 

 old practice of cutting and slashing the 

 young growth of Jnly and August is 

 geneially discountenanced. It has mur- 

 dered more promising vineyards than 

 any other practice. But the people aie 

 apt to run into extremes, and many are 

 advocating the " let alone " doctrine. 

 We think both are wrong, and the true 

 course to steer is in the middle. 



1st. Perform the oi»eration early; 

 Do it as soon as the shoots are six 

 inches long. At this time you can 

 overlook the vine much easier. Every 

 young shoot is soft and pliable. You 



