July, 1910 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



161 



Banding apple trees is a profitable 

 work. With spraying combined, we 

 have frequently reduced the wormy ap- 

 ples to ten per cent. Another advantage 

 to be derived, and one which is very lia- 

 ble to be overlooked by the grower, is 

 the encouragement into his orchard of 

 beneficial insects. Very often we have 

 found while examining the bands, num- 

 bers of larvae of the ladybug beetles, 

 ichneumon and brachonid flies, feeding 

 on the codling worms. 



I 



Thinning and Sumnver Pruning 



W. J. L. Hamilton, Salt Springs, B.C. 



Although is is frequently regarded as 

 one of the minor operations of the or- 

 chard and sadly neglected, a great deal 

 of the success of the commercial orchard 

 depends on the proper thinning of the 

 fruit. It should be understood that it 

 is seed production rather than fruit pro- 

 duction which saps the vitality of the 

 trees: consequently, as trees are dis- 

 posed to overbear, exhaustion ensues, 

 and a year is needed in which to recup- 

 erate. This is the reason why most trees 

 only bear a good crop every second 

 year. 



If, however, thinning is performed 

 judiciously, the tree freed from the 

 labor of so much seed production, turns 

 its attention to perfecting the fruit left 

 on it: hence they are larger, more per- 

 fect, more vigorous, and consequently 

 more resistant to disease ; in other words, 

 more No. i fruit is produced and fewer 

 culls. Sun and air, also, obtain full 

 access, and a better color is obtained, 

 which, in this day of the red apple, means 

 better prices. 



When fruit, particularly apples and 

 pears, touch one another, the spray can- 

 not find access ; besides which, at the 

 point of contact the skin is thinner, and 

 insects which feed on the fruit find easy 

 access, generally spoiling both the fruit 

 where they touch. 



If the simple rule is observed to thin 

 all fruits so that, when matured, no two 

 fruits shall touch one another, the tree 

 will not be exhausted by the over pro- 

 duction of seed, and so will bear well 

 every year. The crop also will be heavier, 

 since the individual specimens will be 

 much larger, besides almost all of them 

 being perfect specimens, and in conse- 

 quence, of the highest market value. 

 This good fruit can be obtained only 

 where intelligent spraying is conscien- 

 tiously carried out in conjunction with 

 the pruning and thinning. 



SUMMER PRUNING 



Another point often imperfectly under- 

 stood is the importance of summer prun- 

 ing. In the winter we prune to shape 

 the tree, and for wood production, gener- 

 ally cutting back about one-third of the 

 year's growth, whereas in summer we 



prune with the object, in the apple 

 orchard, of producing fruit bearing spurs. 

 These spurs are really abortive branches, 

 that is, branches whose growth has been 

 checked. 



If then, in summer, we pinch back with 

 the finger and thumb, all branches whilst 

 they are still green and tender, upon 



Use of Lye as a Spray 



I am perplexed regarding spraying. I 

 noticed in the Gillett Lye pamphlet that 

 they claim it is a sufBcient spray for all 

 purposes. What strength of lye would you 

 use in spraying, after apple blossoms fall? 

 Do you think 2 lbs. with 5 lbs. lime to 50 

 gals, of water suflScient strength? In the 

 pamphlet they claim it will destroy aphis 



A Samplt of tho Sipu Thai Called Attention to tlie Work 



This shows a portion of Mr. Osborne's orchard at Dunedin. Note its sadly neglected condi- 

 tion. It is typical of hundreds of other orchards in this district. 



which we want fruit spurs to form, at 

 about the fourth leaf of the young growth 

 we will find that the end bud left will 

 grow strongly, as it receives most of the 

 sap, and tries to take the place of the 

 original twig which has been shortened ; 

 at the same time the other three buds left 

 on the shoot will also start to grow, 

 but, since the end one is taking mos^ of 

 the sap, these are starved and dwarfed, 

 forming fruit spurs. 



If these points are properly attended 

 to, and the land is cultivated "with 

 brains," the crop can hardly fail to be a 

 good one, given reasonable weather. In 

 cultivating, never, if possible, use a 

 plow, which tears up and breaks the sur- 

 face roots, leaving projecting ends, and 

 weakening the tree. Always disk the 

 orchard ; use a disk with side draft to 

 cultivate close to the stems, without 

 bringing the team too close. If the disk 

 does not cultivate deep enough, weight 

 it. Commence to cultivate just as growth 

 starts, and keep on until you want growth 

 to stop, or, in other words, when the tree 

 has made all the wood it can ripen be- 

 fore frost. 



Also rake up and burn all leaves and 

 rubbish, as these are the winter nesting 

 place of insect pests and many fungous 

 diseases. 



Burn or otherwise destroy all the fruit 

 you thin out. Remember, that a few 

 fruit trees, properly attended to, will pay, 

 whereas a number of neglected ones are 

 an expense and an eyesore. 



and canker worm. Will it kill lark louse 

 bug?— H. W. C. C. Windsor, N. S. 



We have never used Gillett's Lye 

 during the summer as a summer spray.. 

 We have found it very eifective and use- 

 ful as a winter and spring treatment for 

 bark lice, and for cleaning up th«" 

 branches of trees. We should not 

 spray for apple trees in foliage, unless 

 it were very much diluted ; the amount 

 of dilution I am not prepared to say at 

 present. For winter and spring treat- 

 ment one pound to two gallons ot water 

 is about right, and does good work. — 

 Prof. W. Lochhead, Macdonald College, 

 Quebec. 



In our experience, the best treatment 

 of Oyster Shell Scale is a lime wash when 

 the trees are dormant. The lime- 

 sulphur wash is also good. These, we 

 believe, give better results than Gillett's 

 Lye, which has not been found satis- 

 factory here in controlling Oyster Shell 

 Scale.— W. T. Macoun, C.E.F., Ottawa. 



The strength of spray should depend 

 very much upon the age and species of 

 the tree. It would be well to experiment 

 a little, starting with a weak solution and 

 gradually making it stronger until the 

 proper strength for the work required 

 is ascertained. 



Lands which yield good crops of wheat 

 and corn may be expected to be good 

 apple lands, if other conditions are 

 right. 



