54 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



Maich, 1910 



Pruning Pears 



A. W. Petri, Burlington, Ont. 



Dwarfs.— When planting cut away 

 the bruised torn ends of the roots, with 

 an under or oblique cut so that the 

 clean wound impacts firmly with the 

 earth. Prune back the top to form a 

 head of three or four main branches, 

 each eight or ten inches in length. Each 

 spring go over them and thin out cross 

 and superfluous limbs and cut back the 

 new growths of the main branches from 

 one-third to one-half, leaving, however, 

 the shorter spurs or laterals on the 

 branches, as they eventually become 

 fruiting wood. 



For six or eight years this process 

 goes on, forming the top of the tree in 

 the shape of a wine glass. Some grow- 

 ers prefer the pyramidal form, which is 

 just the opposite. See the diagrams. I 

 think work can be done closer to the 

 trees under the former .system. 



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Diagram Sbowing Ootlinet of Trees 



On the left, wine-glass-Rhapcd ; on the right, 

 pyramidal. The foimer is best shape for 

 dwarfs; the latter, for standards. 



Standards. — The head is formed in 

 much, the same way as in the dwarfs. 

 Kach year afterwards cut back and thin 

 out the branches, leaving, however, the 

 central ones higher than those on the 

 sides, and upon the whole aiming at a 

 somewhat obtuse pyramid.' When trees 

 attain the full fruiting habit, or become 

 old, the leading branches in the top 

 should not be allowed to grow out of 

 reach, but kept cut back. 



In the average dwarf the branches 

 project from the trunk six inches to a 

 foot from the ground, and in a stand- 

 ard from two and a half to three feet. 



Do not be afraid to prune thoroughly. 

 That is one of Nature's laws in getting 

 results. 



Raspberry Varieties 



Charlu F. Sprott, Bnmabj Lake, B. C. 



When selecting varieties of raspber- 

 ries to plant the grower must consider 

 climate and location. I would strongly 

 recommend anyone to visit existing plan- 

 tations and plant such varieties as are 

 in that locality making money for the 

 owners. Later on, if one sees fit and 

 with experience gained, some of the new 

 or untried varieties can be tested. 



Personally I favor for this district of 

 British Columbia, the Red Antwerp. It 

 far exceeds in productiveness, thriftiness 



and good shipping qualities any other 

 \ariety I have tried. Other good vari- 

 eties are (he Loudon, Cuthbert, Marl- 

 boro and Golden Queen, the latter a yel- 

 low variety. 



Kind of Apple Stock to Plant 



In a special orchard and garden num- 

 ber of Farm and Dairy that appeared this 

 month, there is an article on the above 

 subject by Mr. T. B. Revett, Department 

 of Agriculture, Toronto, in which the 

 writer advocates the planting of well- 

 grown two-year-old trees, instead of 

 trees older and larger. His reasons are 

 given as follows : 



"i. The space allotted to the trees in 

 the nursery row is just the same from the 

 time they are first planted until they are 

 dug for market. After two years, the 

 tree has fully utilized this space and has 

 reached a state of development which 

 lends itself most advantageously to trans- 

 planting. 



"2. After two years, the roots of trees 

 in the nur.sery row take a greater hold 

 on the soil, developing deeper roots, and 

 in the process of digging a greater per 

 centage of the finer roots are destroyed 

 and, such being the case, such trees are 

 not as desirous as younger stock. 



"3. The system of pruning in the nur- 

 sery does not enable the nurseryman to 

 give each tree the individual attention 

 which is required for the formation of a 

 proper head. The sooner the comprehen- 

 sive and intelligent farmer or fruit grow- 

 er buys his trees the better able he will 

 be to form a desirable head, which is the 

 most important factor outside of the 

 question of vitality of stock. Every year 

 there are thousands of full bearing trees 

 in Ontario which break down and split 

 owing to the improper branching of the 

 head. 



"4. A two-year-old tree has not to be 

 pruned very much and offers every facil- 

 ity to the grower for the formation of an 

 ideal head, allows him to adopt either 

 the low-headed or high-headed system, 

 and offers a greater selection of 

 branches, which is very important in set- 

 tling the relative position of one branch 

 to another." 



The article is concluded by Mr. Revett 

 with the following advice: "Buy young 

 stock which has not already been pruned 

 to any extent. Formulate some definite 

 type of tree which you prefer and know 

 to be desirable. Use your intelligence 

 in pruning and you will be able to secure 

 a proper shaped tree in two years. Do 

 not neglect a tree in the younger stages 

 as all errors are more easily combatted 

 and remedied then than when the tree is 

 older. Keep the heads down, and don't 

 tolerate crotches." 



Grafting Fruit Trees 



G. N. Gordon McKeen, Milford, N. S. 



In getting ready for the spring graft- 

 ing, the first step to take is to consider 

 the markets we expect our grafted fruit 

 to go to. If we are preparing to ship 

 our fruits to the Old Country, we should 

 get an apple report from there and see 

 what varieties lead in price and, \( those 

 varieties will do well in our locality, get 

 them. If, on the other hand, we prefer 

 a .soft variety for the local market, get 

 the kind most sought after in that 

 market. 



Having decided on the varieties, while 

 the trees are in a dormant state, 

 cut the scions, only cutting the growth 

 of last year. After cutting, label them 

 and roll in damp moss or bury in sand in 

 the cellar and have them ready. 



At any leisure time you can get the 

 material and prepare your grafting wax. 

 The following is as good as any : One 

 pound of tallow, three pounds of bees- 

 wax, four pounds of resin. Melt the 

 resin, and then add the others, and when 

 ready to use warm and apply with a 

 small brush. 



When spring opens and the green is 

 showing in the ends of the twigs, is a 

 very good time to begin operations. 

 Take a keen-edged knife and a fine-tooth- 

 ed saw, also an iron or hardwood wedge 

 (a narrow one). Cut off the limb, and 

 see that it is a healthy one, and insert 

 the wedge. I plan to have a number of 

 grafts cut in advance and in cutting them 

 leave two buds beside the one that is to 

 go into the cleft as I find the root of the 

 bud a valuable aid to growth. Make the 

 graft wedge-shaped, leaving the outside 

 slightly thicker so that the edges to unite 

 will be the firmest. Then, having put 

 in two (if the limb is large enough) care- 

 fully withdraw the wedge. After having 

 done a dozen or more limbs, take your 

 brush and apply the warm mixture. See 

 that every part even the top of the graft 

 is covered and in two or three years, if 

 your operations have been successful you 

 should find some fruit. 



The currant will endure much neglect, 

 hut it will respond quickly to liberal 

 treatment. 



Decide now what trees in your orchard 

 grow undesirable fruit and determine to 

 graft them over with some suitable vari- 

 ety. If you want a particular kind you 

 have not got, secure some .scions from 

 someone who has. — J. A. Moore, Hazel- 

 brook, P. E. I. 



The ideal apple tree in the interior of 

 British Columbia is trained with a cen- 

 tral stem or leader, no limb emerging 

 frowi the stem within several inches of 

 another, and any limb well separated 

 from any other above or below it. The 

 lowest branch is brought from the 

 stem ten or twenty inches from the 

 ground. A stronger tree can hardly be 

 imagined. Even as doctors differ, so 

 some can be found who prefer the more 

 open headed vase-shaped .style. 



