QUESTION AND ANSWER DEPARTMENT 



Sickly Cherry Tree 



Is a white English cherry tree about six 

 years old worth preserving? It has gum ooz- 

 ing from cracks in several places. — L.H.W., 

 Toronto 



While it is likely that the tree will con- 

 tinue to g^et more sickly and will eventu- 

 ally die, it may live for a number of years, 

 and if the space is not needed, it might 

 be left until it shows that it will not re- 

 cover. 



St. Lawrence Apple 



In my orchard, I have two rows of St. 

 Lawrence trees which are not bearing. They 

 ?re about 20 years old, strong and healthy, 

 over eight to nine inches in diameter, and 

 in good, well fertilized soil. They have 

 Wealthy, Duchess and Red Astrachan and 

 other varieties all around them, all of which 

 bear abundantly. But the St. Lawrence 

 simply puts on a great growth of wood and 

 bears no fruit. I would like to know if my 

 experience is uniqiie and if any of your 

 readers could tell what to do to get fruit 

 from them. My orchard is situated at Al- 

 botsford. Que., about 45 or 50 miles east of 

 Montreal.— S. P. R., Montreal. 



The St. Lawrence apple is not, as a 



! rule, a good bearer, and that is one reason 

 why it is not more grown. Our experi- 

 ence here confirms this. Under some con- 

 ditions, however, the St. Lawrence bears 

 well every other year. It is naturally a 

 strong growing tree and in order to get it 

 to fruit better -we. should suggest that the 

 growth be checked, if possible. If the 

 ground is being cultivated, we would sug- 

 gest leaving it in sod. Some summer 

 pruning might also be done in order to 

 check the growth. The case in question 

 .seems to be an extreme one, but, as stated 



I before, the St. Lawrence is a naturally 

 shy bearer. — W. T. Macoun. 



Setting out an Orchard 



1. What distance apart would you ])lant 

 standard apple trees? 



2. Would it be advisable to plant a row 

 of cherry trees between rows of apples ; also 

 to plant raspberries along row of anple 

 trees, so as to get a crop of small fruit 

 while apples are growing? 



3. In cropping the land would corn or 

 turnips be better than potatoes for hoe crop? 

 Have been told that potatoes were hardest 

 on trees. 



4. Is potash fertilizer good to use around 

 young trees? Mv ground will be plowed out 

 of clover sod this spring. — W. H. C, Scar- 

 boro, Ont. 



1. Standard apple trees usually are 

 planted from thirty-five to forty feet 

 apart. 



2. Cherries may be planted between 

 the rows and raspberries also, provided 

 that soil fertili.ration and cultivation are 

 well looked after. Remove these fillers 

 as soon as the apple trees require the 



^space, say, in ten or twelve years. 



3. .'\ny of these crops may be grown 

 in the orchard the first three or four 

 years. 



4. Potash is a necessary element. Its 

 use depends upon nature of soil. Forty 

 bushels of unleached hard-wood ashes to 

 the acre probably would improve the 

 clover sod. 



Keeping Mushroom Spawn 



Is mushroom spawn any good if kept over 

 f'-oni one season to another? — E.R.W., Fort 

 William, Ont. 



Mushroom spawn will keep for a num- 

 ber of years in a cool, dry place. Dry- 

 ness is an essential. 



Acid Soil— Strawberries 



1. What test can be made by fruit growers 

 to ascertain whether a soil is sour or not? 



2. Does new land, lately covered by fir 

 and birch, require fertilizing? 



3. How many crops should a strawberry 

 patch yield? In planting a new patch 

 should new plants be purchased? — M. C. JVl., 

 Salmon Arm., B.C. 



1. Get a piece of blue litmus paper 

 from a druggist. Select a place in the 

 orchard where the soil is moist and in.sert 

 the paper. If paper remains blue, the soil 

 is alkaline; if it turns red, the soil is sour 

 or acid. This simply determines the fact 

 but not the degree. 



2. The quality and luxuriance of the 

 crop grown on this soil will tell whether 

 or not it needs fertilizing. Virgin soils 

 vary in fertility like other soils. It is 

 probable that the .soil referred to is rich 

 enough to start with. 



3. As a rule, one crop from a commer- 

 cial plantation is enough. Fertility of 

 soil, freedom from weeds, nature of plant 

 growth and fruit yield will tell whether 

 or not the patch may be fruited more than 

 once. When starting a new patch use 

 strong, well-grown young plants, 

 whether dug from the old patch or pur- 

 chased. If you have a satisfactory vari- 

 ety, best results probably will be had by 

 using plants grown on your own place. 



Trouble with Dahlias 



I have been trying to grow a few dahlias 

 in the back yard, but without much success. 

 The soil was originally clay, but has been 

 well manured and dug so that it is now 

 quite friable. The roots have been slow in 

 growing and the buds have, after forming, 

 failed to develop. I have had good results 

 with all other flowers, and would be glad to 

 have any suggestions you can give. Does 

 this soil need some other treatment? Does 

 it retard a plant to cut out a branch? — 

 D.A.O.. Toronto. 



Dahlias should be made to grow fairly 

 rapidly. Keep the surface soil well 

 stirred. Water occasionally, soak the 



121 



ground when you do it, and cultivate the 

 next morning. Do not use barnyard ma- 

 nure too liberally. Better use, late in the 

 season, bone meal four parts and nitrate 

 of soda one part, or liquid manure. Com- 

 mence to feed as soon as the plants show 

 flower buds. Often the buds are attacked 

 by the dahlia "bug." It is not very trou- 

 blesome in cool, moist seasons. In any 

 .season, the later dahlias are started the 

 greater the chance of freedom from this 

 pest. It is difficult to control ; try spray- 

 ing with soapsuds. Removing a branch 

 will stimulate growth rather than retard 

 it. Some growers leave only one stalk ; 

 this is pinched back when two or three 

 pairs of leaves appear, in order to cause 

 the plant to branch. Others allow two 

 shoots to grow and no more ; the remain- 

 ing ones are removed as soon as they ap- 

 pear. 



Plants Identified 



1. Kindly tell me the name of a plant 

 about six or seven feet high which is covered 

 some distance down the stem with tassel-like 

 red flowers. A sample is enclosed. This 

 was picked just before frost. 



2. What is the botanical name of the 

 maple tree from which the leaf is gathered 

 which you will find in the package with the 

 other enclosure. Is this the species that 

 has the brightest foliage when frost comes? 

 If this leaf cannot be identified, please give 

 the name of the maple that has the most 

 brilliant foliage in the fall. 



3. What is the correct name of a creeping 

 plant commonly known as "creeping Char- 

 lie?" 



4. By what name do florists know a plant 

 often called "patience" ?— Mrs. P. E. H., 

 Toronto. 



1. This plant is princess feather or 

 kiss-me-over-the-garden-gate (Po/y^orJMm 

 orienfale). 



2. The maple leaf enclosed appears to 

 be a leaf of the red maple (Acer rnhruni) 

 though it is almost impossible to be sure 

 about the determination from only one 

 leaf. The red maple (Acer ruhrum) is the 

 maple which shows the most brilliant col- 

 ors in the fall, especially in early fall. The 

 hard, or sugar maple, however, also be- 

 comes very brilliantly foliagcd in the fall. 



3. The correct name for the plant 

 known as creeping Charlie is ground ivy, 

 or gill-over-the-ground (Nepita Glecho- 

 nra). This is a nasty tittle weed in lawns. 



4. The plant which is known to many 

 florists as Patiens is the plant Impatiens, 

 which is, through some mistake, often 

 called Patience. The name of the plant 

 of this genus grown in cultivation is 

 Impatiens Sulfani. There is another 

 plant belonging to the Dock family, 

 which is al.so called patiens, but this, we 

 think, cannot be the plant you refer to. 



