The Cdiiadian llorticnllunst. 



309 



varieties of pears, plums, indoor and 

 outdoor grapes. For variety and 

 quality the pear and plum exhibit 

 surpassed that at the Provincial in 

 London, and I doubt if, even in a 

 favorable year, there is another sec- 

 tion in Ontario that could produce 

 such splendid samples of the Pond's 

 Seedling, Victoria, Goes Golden Drop 

 and Washington plums, as were on 

 Exhibition at Goderich ; the first 

 mentioned seeming to me more es- 

 pecially suited to the peculiar con- 

 ditions of the section than to any 

 other locality where I have seen it 

 grown. But even this favoured sec- 

 tion suffered to a greater or less de- 

 gree from the terrible frosts of last 

 May ; and not only did the grape ex- 

 hibit bear evidence of it, but it was a 

 common remark that all the apples 

 shown were lacking in color, as if 

 grown onlv in sheltered parts of the 

 trees. 



The home of our President is situ- 

 ated in the southern suburb of the 

 town, his residence being of brick, 

 spacious and inviting from its out- 

 ward homelike attractions, surround- 

 ed by premises two acres in extent. 

 The grounds, immediately about the 

 house, are neatly laid out in lawn 

 and flower-beds and separated from 

 the fruit garden and orchard by a 

 well-kept evergreen hedge. The soil, 



at best, is not conducive to a rank 

 growth of wood in either vine or bush 

 and the terrible drought had told all 

 the more severely on the well-cared 

 for grape vines, and on the somewhat 

 stunted raspberry, gooseberrj' and 

 currant bushes. Pear trees were 

 found on every hand well-loaded with 

 ripening fruit ; and the apple trees, 

 numbering about a hundred, showed 

 great care and thriftiness, being 

 washed and scraped as smooth as a 

 white beech. Being first shown 

 through the premises by the children, 

 it was not only a pleasure but a de- 

 light to find that every one of them 

 was an enthusiast in fruit and flower 

 culture, and the little chaps of five 

 and seven years could name you 

 every variety of pear or apple tree 

 in the orchard as we came to them. 

 But the pleasure of the visit was not 

 all in the inspection of the outer pre- 

 mises. The generous and inviting 

 hospitality of the household, the 

 warm and genial disposition of the 

 Fruit King in his own home, together 

 with the cordial greeting, tendered 

 you with such a natural and easy 

 grace by his amiable wife, all com- 

 bined to make you feel that you were 

 a welcome guest ; and you carry 

 away with you only the most pleasing 

 recollections of a most pleasant visit. 



Mitchell, Sept. z\it, 1SS9. 



GOOSEBERRY MILDEW REMEDV. 



SIR, — .\s Mr. Race has a rather positive 

 opinion on the Gooseberry Mildew, 

 and as it is a subject of some importance I 

 write this that others may not be led astray 

 by his very plausible theory. My opinion, 

 backed by experience, is entirely at vari- 



ance with his. The factors in the mode ot 

 cultivation are about the same ; our soil is 

 similar, he allows plenty of air and sunshine 

 along with a supply of hardwood ashes, and 

 so do I. The only point in which we differ 

 in the two items is, that I give the ashes 



