I 



August, 1910 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



185 



be found necessary to use a chain on the 

 plough, and in addition a rolling coulter 

 when ploughing clovers and peas. Also, 

 when cover crops are grown in young 

 orchards, the trees should be protected 

 from the attacks of mice. The advan- 

 tages of a cover crop include the follow- 

 ing : I, It protects the roots of trees from 

 frost during the winter months. 2, It 



tends to develop and mature the fruit by 

 drawing the excessive moisture from the 

 soil, .'\pples seem to take on a better 

 color and quality. 3, By adding humus 

 to soils it increases their moisture-hold- 

 ing powers and makes them more fertile. 

 4, It is a cheap way of fertilizing the 

 soil. This can be done at about one half 

 the cost of applying stable manure. 



thoroughly qualified in all these matters 

 as to be able, before sending his staff out 

 to work in the beginning of the season, 

 to instruct them thoroughly in all the 

 different symptoms of the various dis- 

 eases and insects, and he should allow 

 no man to go out as a local inspector 

 unless he can satisfy him that he is so 



The San Jose Scale and the Fruit Pests Act 



By "Weary Worm" Winona, Ont. 



AS far as the Niagara District is 

 concerned, the San Jose scale is 

 fairly well under control. It is 

 not spreading to any great extent ; in- 

 deed, in the western end of the penin- 

 sula it is much less prevalent than it 

 was a few years ago. In some of the 

 outlying districts, however, especially 

 where fruit growing is not the main in- 

 dustry, it is spreading rapidly. 



Legislative efforts to control this pest 

 have been far from p»erfect. In many 

 respects, however, the new act of the 

 Ontario Legislature, which has recently 

 come in force (this act supersedes the old 

 acts known as The Yellow and Black 

 Knot Acts, the Noxious Insect Act, and 

 the San Jose Scale Act) is a distinct im- 

 provement. In others it still repeats 

 some of the old weaknesses. 



The following are the chief reasons 

 why scale control is difficult: From the 

 beginning a considerable number of fruit 

 growers have been either bitterly hostile 

 or else careless and indifferent to the 

 enforcement of any stringent regula- 

 tions in this matter. This spirit is largely 

 dying out, but there are still a certain 

 number of such persons left; and, in- 

 deed, many of the large and most up- 

 to-date fruit growers are utterly in- 

 different as to whether their neighbors 

 treat the scale or not. "We are going 

 to spray all our trees every year with 

 lime and sulphur anyway, and if they 

 do not spray they will have to pay the 

 penalty," is what they say. 



One of the chief causes of failure has 

 been that persons occupying the office 

 of local inspectors have not been suffi- 

 ciently well posted to have the full con- 

 fidence of the fruit growers. Great 

 responsibility rests upon these men. It 

 is absolutely necessary for them to be 

 thoroughly posted in all the symptoms of 

 scale, yellows, little peach, and so forth, 

 so as to educate the local fruit growers 

 up to the point of appreciating the vast 

 importance to themselves of a proper 

 inspection of their orchards every sea- 

 son. Too often such appointments have 

 been made from a political standpoint 

 chiefly, and not from the standpoint of 

 efficiency, whereas efficiency should be 

 the main consideration. These remarks 

 apply to the provincial inspector as well. 



The provincial inspector should be so 



consolidates the various pests, namely, 

 San Jose Scale, Yellows, Little Peach, 

 Black Knot, Pear Psylla, and Pear 

 Blight, under one act, and gives power 

 to the Lieutenant-Governor in Council to 

 add any other disease to the act. It pro- 

 vides that the provincial government 

 shall pay one half of all the moneys paid 

 to inspectors under this act. Formerly 

 this provision only extended to the San 

 San Jose Scale. 



Power is given to the reeve or mayor, 

 upon the report of the local inspector, 

 to have diseased plants sprayed — after 

 ten days' notice to the proprietor — and 

 the cost charged on the lot and collected 

 as a special tax by the municipality. 



Local inspectors are subject and sub- 

 ordinate to the head inspectors appointed 

 by the Minister of Agriculture. In case 

 of any neglect of duty such inspectors 



lutereited Farmert Learoing How to Spray and How to Prue 



In each of the six demonstration orchards in the Georgian Bay District, Ont., that were described 

 in the July issue of The Canadian Horticulturist, practical demonstrations were given for the benefit 

 of those who wished to learn. The illustration shows those who attended the meeting in the orchard 

 owned by Mr. W. Hamilton, CoUingwood. Ont. 'I'he Ontario Department of Agriculture should extend 

 this work next year to a number of the other best orchard sections throughout the province Photo 

 by I. F. Metcalfe. 



qualified. But if the chief inspector is 

 not thoroughly qualified in these respects 

 himself, how can he instruct his sub- 

 ordinates? This has been a fatal cause 

 of weakness in the past, for to my cer- 

 tain knowledge men have been ajipointed 

 as local inspectors who did not know the 

 San Jose scale from any other scale, who 

 were totally unacquainted with the symp- 

 toms of "Yellows," and who did not even 

 know there was such a disease as "Little 

 Peach." 



THE SALARY QUESTION 



The new act, as did the old, leaves the 

 question of payment entirely to the muni- 

 cipality who appoints the inspectors. 

 Too often municipal councils want to 

 pay the lowest possible price, instead of 

 paying an amount large enough to secure 

 good men. A remedy for this would be 

 for the provincial authorities to fix the 

 rate of remuneration at a rate sufficiently 

 high to secure such men. 



In the following respects, however, the 

 new act is a distinct improvement. It 



are subject to the penalties prescribed 

 by this act. 



The following are two of the chief 

 weaknesses of the act. It provides that 

 the appointment of inspectors remains 

 in force only for the calendar year in 

 which it is passed. It should not be 

 necessary to set the whole machinery 

 in motion every year. Careless and in- 

 different townships are apt to neglect 

 the renewal of appointments till too late, 

 and then the inspectors have no legal 

 status and these townships go unin- 

 spected. Local inspectors should be 

 appointed for longer periods, ample pro- 

 vision being made for new appointments, 

 ' as also for removal if necessary. Where 

 the local inspectors report that trees 

 should be destroyed there is not suffi- 

 cient provision made for prompt action. 

 It is all left to the municipality notifying 

 the Minister. In practice this is a 

 great source of weakness. A certain 

 time should be allowed (say 10 days) for 

 the owner to appeal either to a board or 



