268 



The Canadian Horticulturist. 



discussed. Opinions varied ; Livingstone's Per- 

 fection was preferred by one, liailey's Improved 

 by another, and Canada Victor by still another. 

 — N. Robertson, OHa-wa, fuly iq, iSSg. 



Caution about Paris Green. 



Sir, — While admitting the great help of the 

 Canadian HoKTictJLTURisT to fruit growers, 

 I think it wouki be a power for more good if 

 your subscribers would only tell of their failures 

 as well as their successes. Now Paris green 

 for the destruciion of insects has proven a 

 failure with me, inasmuch as it kills the leaves 

 and fruit also. Of course it was too strong, 

 but I only used a little over half the amount 

 recommended — a little over half a teaspoonful 

 to a pail of water. Where it touched a leaf 

 a nole was burned through, and where it 

 came in contact with a stem the leaf or fruit 

 gradually died. My firm belief is that Paris 

 green, being indissoluble in water, will burn 

 anything it comes it contact with, whether 

 much or little water accompanies the particles. 

 Three years ago I sprayed my plum trees with 

 tobacco water and had an excellent crop. Last 

 year I did not use anything and I had no crop, 

 while this year Paris green has been of no use. 

 Possibly it was not ground fine enough. The 

 difficulty of getting tobacco for the purpose 

 may be a difficulty to many, but the plant can 

 be grown successfully in Ontario, and when 

 once dried will keep for an indefiniie period. 

 It is perfectly harmless and will kill most all 

 kinds of insects, besides being a benefit to 

 plants. — Wm. Lindsay, London, Out. 



Note by Editor. — Half a teaspoonful is 

 plenty of Paris green to an ordinary pint of 

 water for apple foliage, and is possibly too 

 strong for the plum. Another point is in 

 applying the spray, as by contmuing too long 

 in a place, an over dose would be given. 



Ben Davis Spotting-— Low Prices— 

 American Fruit. 



Sir, — I must take back what I said about 

 the Ben Davis being free from spot. They 

 became spotted a little later in the season than 

 some other varieties. This has been a season 

 to promote fungus growth on anything in our 

 section. We have potato blight, onion blighi, 

 caulifiower blight, oats rusting, beans and 

 apples spotted, and a severe hail storm besides. 

 One gardener told me it would cost him $ioo 

 for hot-bed glass to repair damages caused by 

 the had. If we only had remunerative prices 

 for what we do sell, it would help, but after 

 being at great expense forcing early vegetables 

 we found American truck almost gluiimg our 

 market. Last v\'eek we were getting good 

 prices for our tomatoes, but five car loads came 

 in from the States in a couple of days' time and 

 knocked the bottom out of the tomato market. 

 We used to get fancy prices for our Harvest 



apples, but American apples are selling for $2. 50 

 per barrel and less. The market gardeners are 

 discouraged, especially those with high rents. 

 One of our most successful gardeners told me 

 at the very least he would be $1,500 out of 

 pocket with poor crops and poor market on 

 account of American competition ; they get the 

 cream and we get the skim milk, and pretty 

 well watered at that. — R. BROniE, St. Henry 

 of Montreal, Aug. /j, i88g. 



Fruit in Huron County. 



effects of flood, frost and blight. 



Sir, — We had a regular little flood here on 

 the isi July, and again on the 3rd of August, 

 that did us a good deal of harm. We 

 had just got our corn hoed and replanted after 

 losing so much from the previous wet weather, 

 when this storm washed a lot of it out and 

 away. We had a hard job of it in hoeinj^ as the 

 ground was so hard and packed that we could 

 scarcely pick it up, and our potatoes were, a 

 lot of them, drowned cut so that our crops 

 will be very light. 



Since I last wrote you on the 29th of ^lay, 

 regarding the frost, we had a great deal of 

 cold wet weather that destroyed a great deal 

 of our crops, such as corn, potatoes, peas, 

 beans, etc., — the seed rotted in the ground — 

 at that time I did not know- to what extent 

 the damage was caused by the frost ; the 

 apples were nearly all destroyed ; my favorite 

 apple, the Rihston Pippins, was beautifully 

 clothed in bloom, but now perfectly naked of 

 fruit. The only apples that escaped all are 

 the Northern Spy, the large Alexander and 

 the Snow. On those trees there appears to be 

 nearly half a crop. I expect to get one barrel 

 to where I got forty last year. Apples are 

 wormy. All the best cherries were killed ; 

 the common ones such as the Kentish not 

 much hurt. Plums are scarce, and pears very 

 much damaged. I find the Flemish Beauty 

 and Manning's Elizabeth stood it the best. 

 Duchess are all gone, and what there is of both 

 pears and apples are poor specimens. Our 

 strawberries were not more than quarter of a 

 crop ; grapes, of course, in the open ground all 

 gone ; currants ard gooseberries a very 

 good crop, those on top of bushes were 

 frozen, but they were mostly good ; 

 raspberries were not half a crop, and the 

 flavor very poor. The Cuthbert, generally so 

 delicious, was not fit to eat, scarcely, and the 

 canes seemed to dry up. The ShafTer seemed 

 to be very fair, but the best of all was the 

 Golden Queen, It is a noble berry. I sowed 

 a large quantity of choice garden peas but the 

 continual rain rotted nearly all of them, as 

 well as my beans, and now lately the pear 

 blight has been very bad. I kept cutting eft 

 all small branches, but I hated to disfigure 

 and mutilate the trees so I put on linseed oil 

 which seemed to stop the blight from going 



