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THT? CAVADIAX 1I«>KTICULTUKIHT 



Q'JKSTIONT DRAWER. 



To THK fc',DITiiR OF THK CANADIAN HoRTICULTORIST^ 



Would you, or some of your corres- 

 pondents who can speak from experi- 

 ence, kindly inform me how best to 

 apply copperas to apple trees or straw- 

 berry beds. I would suggest to any of 

 your readers who would like to grow 

 English gooseberries to [)lant in clay 

 soil, and scatter a shovelful of wood 

 ashes under each bush. Scatter a gallon 

 of salt under each good sized plum tree 

 in the spring. If you want good apples, 

 sow two gallons wood ashes, one gallon 

 of lime, one gallon of charcoal, one 

 quart of salt, one quart of superphos- 

 phate, under each good sized tree, every 

 second year ; also a wheelbarrow load 

 of good barn yai'd manure. Supply all 

 the ingredients the tree requires, and 

 tJiere will not be much disease. 



I read with pleasure the reports of 

 your Association, but I think your 

 system might be imi)roved. Suppose, 

 for instance, you are discussing the 

 question, " Is tiie Golden Russet a Pro- 

 fitable Ajjple to Grow ] " Let those 

 who think it is sit on the i-ight hand of 

 the President. Those who think it is 

 not on the left. Those who have never 

 tried the fruit sit at the end. The 

 President has his list of questions pre- 

 pared. I shall suggest a few. How 

 old are your Golden Russet ? What is 

 the average yield per tree per year? 

 What kind of soil do they grow on 1 

 Are they protected from the wind ? 

 Howl Are they planted in sod or 

 cultivated 1 What kind of manure do 

 you use ] How much do you apply, and 

 how often 1 How do you prune your 

 trees, and at what season ? In what 

 County do you live? Having questioned 

 in this manner all who succeed with the 

 Golden Russet, pick out fire or six of 

 the most successful, and compare their 

 answers, and then diaw up your report. 

 The best Golden Russets are grown in 

 such a County, on such and such soil. 



Manured as follows. Protected by a 

 belt of evergreens or not ; well cultivated 

 or in sod. The President would then 

 proceed to question those who did not 

 consider the Golden Russet a profitable 

 fruit to grow. Perhaps it would be 

 found that tlie soil was not suitaVjle. 

 The land never manured. The grass 

 allowed to grow too close to the trees. 

 The grain .sowed under the trees. The 

 President might again sum up the cause 

 of the failures as gathered from the 

 evidence before him. When I see all 

 the farmers in the country planting out 

 orchards, I begin to fear the business 

 will be overdone ; but I know that 

 next spring, in their greed, they will 

 plant grain right up to the trees, and 

 that will kill half of them, and the next 

 dry summer they will turn in the cows 

 to finish them ofi". Tike courage. 



Yours, R. Lewis. 



THE RED SPIDER. 

 To THK Editor of thk Canadian Horticulturist. 



Dear Sir, — In reference to an article 

 (a very correct one, and very valuable 

 to all who cultivate plants) in the April 

 nuniber of the Horticulturist on the 

 " Red S[)ider," I may state that in my 

 experience the simplest and most efiec- 

 tive way of ridding potted plants of 

 these pests, is in rainy weather to take 

 the plants from the house or conserva^ 

 tory, and lay the pots on the sides on 

 the lawn, or on any plot of grass, where 

 the plants will not be splashed with the 

 soil. If the rain falls fi*eely upon the 

 under side of the leaves for several 

 hours, the Red Spider will entirely dis- 

 appear. Repeat this occasionally when 

 the weather is suitable, so as to destroy 

 any spiders that may hatch out from 

 eggs previously deposited. This will 

 be found a most effective remedy at 

 seasons when the weather will allow of 

 tender plants being removed to the open 

 air. F. Mitchell. 



Innerkip, 10th May, 1884. 



