OPEN LETTERS. 



Green's Fruit (irower ijuoles the sulphate 

 at "20 cents a pound, after speeial encjuiry 

 into the matter. At this price a 48gallon 

 barrel will cost HO cents, or about the same as 

 the Bordeaux, blueslone being ~\ cents a 

 pound. 



T. Eaton, of Toionto, catalogues it at .^O 

 eents a pounil, at which price its general use 

 is prohibited. 



In the interest of this growing industry, 

 some steps should be taken to have the duty 

 removed. I don't advise giving any coddling 

 to gooseberry growers, but we certainly want 

 a fair field and no favor, and if we can grow 

 the large, rich, luscious English gooseberries, 

 they will soon win their way into popular 

 favor. 



St.\nley Spillett, 

 Exptrimanler, Sovlh Simcoe Sitb-SlaHon. 



Gooseberry Cuttingrs. 



Sir, — I was rather amused reading the 

 article on "Raising Gooseberries from Cut- 

 tings," in January No. Canadian Horticul- 

 TUKisr, page .38, and must say that Mr. 

 Spillet is altogether in the wrong, as I have 

 raised any amount from cuttings of various 

 sorts ; but as for the Industry I can't say 

 much ; I have found them slow glowers and 

 shy bearers, and have not tried to raise many, 

 still I .succeeded with a few. My plan is to 

 make a small trench .5 or 6 inches deep and 

 put in about two inches of sand along the 

 bottom, cover with soil, stick the cuttings in 

 and there is very little more trouble, but 

 keep them clean The trench should be 

 pretty well shaded. 



Walter Hick, OoileHc/i. 



Profit Somewhere 



Sir — I intend in a few days to send you a 

 sample of my Improved Baldwin, as you were 

 pleased to call it, it is not grown in any parti- 

 cularly favorable situation as I have it scat- 

 tered over different parts of the orchard. 



I put cards in several barrels of apples 

 packed, asking the consumer to let me know 

 how they turned out, the (luality, price paid, 

 etc I received three answers, two from near 

 London, \ery good, Baldwins tine i[Uality ; 

 price paid 11/ and II/O Another from Nur- 

 emburg, Bavaria, well pleased with them, all 

 giving gocd satisfaction to their customers. 

 So there is a profit somewhere, when all we 

 get for picking, fetching barrels and taking 

 them to a station ; boarding the packers — 

 and they take none but the best — was .50 cts. 

 I consider the packers and buyers are knaves. 

 Walter Hick, Godmch. 



W. Porter-, of .Mount Forest, on "Gooseberry 

 and ('urraiit Growing." in which he says, 

 "In Mr. Spillet's article (in Toronto News) 

 he makes the assertion that gooseberry bushes 

 cannot be grown from cuttings," and then 

 states that his own e-xperience proves the 

 reverse. Mr. Spillet's reply appears on the 

 same page wherein he says " 1 emphatically 

 repeat my statement in Daily News, that 

 practically the gooseberry can't be propagated 

 from cuttings." 



As Mr. Spillet is conducting one of the 

 Experiment Stations and is therefore supposed 

 to have had considerable practical experience 

 in that line: this statement of his "That 

 gooseberry bushes cannot be grown from cut- 

 tings," is, in my opinion misleading, and may 

 do much injury by discouraging would-be 

 growers of that excellent fruit. 



If Mr. Spillet had given the subject the 

 consideration it deserved he would not, I 

 think, have made such an emphatic statement ; 

 because many amateur gooseberry growers 

 throughout the country are successfully and 

 profitably producing bushes from cuttings 

 every year. I have been growing gooseberries 

 for the past 20 or 25 years and during that 

 time have grown a considerable number of 

 bushes from cuttines One year I planted 

 500 cuttings of the Whitesmith variety, from 

 which I obtained more than 90 per cent of 

 first-class bushes, and I can assure my amateur 

 friends that- notwithstanding Mr. Spillet's 

 statement, any one can have like success by 

 working intelligently. 



Thos. Beall, Lindsay. 



Best Early Forcing' Tomato. 



Sir, — Would like to know what are the 

 best early tomatoes for greenhouse for forcing 

 early. 



A. E. French, Brantford. 



Growing- Gooseberry Cuttings. 



Sir, — The Horticclturi.st for January, 

 1897, page 39, contains a letter from Mr. F. 



Ice House Ventilation. 



.SiK, — I built an icehouse for my own use, 

 13 X 14 and 7 ft. posts, and went to the ex- 

 pense of running a ventilator along the top, 

 3 ft. wide and 2 ft. high, with roof the full 

 length of ice-house I understood that ven- 

 tilation was one of the most important factors 

 in the keeping of ice. Last season my supply 

 wasted very rapidly, although well put in, 

 and covere(l thoroughly with sawdust. I am 

 now told that I must reduce my ventilation 

 by at least 'f , as I am letting in too much heat 

 in summer I should very much like to hear 

 from those w ho know. 



A Subscriber, 



Bell" mile. Out. 



Grow Seedlings. 



Sir, — One thing that 1 think we should 

 remember, and that is a practice which, I 



