OPEN LETTERS. 



4. Kerosene emulsion, pure, endangers 

 the life of a peach tree, anil diluted with one 

 part of water is not thoroughly effective. 



5. The Resin wash, to be effective, must 

 be six times the summer strength, and its 

 preparation then becomes cumbersome and 

 expensive. 



6. The Whale-oil soap wash, 2 lbs. to the 

 gallon, is absolutely effective against all the 

 Scales. Two thorough drenchings, one after 

 the foliage has dropped in the fall, the other 

 just before the blooming period, are enough. 

 This wash is thin enough when cool to lie 

 sprayed through the ordinary nozzle. 



The evidence gathered everywhere is all in 

 favor of this whale-oil soap wash. Of course 

 where trees are very badly infested— which 

 one hopes may never be the case in Canada — 

 it would be advisable to cut out and burn the 

 infested portions at once. 



As to this vile addition to our too numer- 

 ous pests, it is an excellent thing to be alarmed 

 in time. Forewarned is forearmed. 



Martin Buerell, 



,5c. Catharines. 



Fruit Growing- in Manitoba. 



Sir, — The following are a few brief notes 

 and observations on the fruit harvest here 

 during the past simimer : 



Apples. — Nine different varieties bloomed, 

 six of these for the first time, but five only 

 carried fruit to maturity, namely, Lieby, 

 Anisette, Wealthy, Whitney and Blushed 

 Calville. The latter is from Prof. Budd, of 

 Iowa Agricultural College, six years planted. 

 The fruit was larger, one specimen measuring 

 ten and a half inches in circumference, but 

 there w'as no blush : fruit dead ripe when 

 picked on 15th September. Lieby, medium 

 size, flatfish, highly colored ; ripe 26th Sept. 

 Anisette, medium size, somewhat pointed, 

 dull green in color : ripe •2.5th September. 

 Wealthy, large, highly colored ; ripe 30th 

 Sept. Whitney, ripe 30th September. 



Crah Applen. — These were an extra heavy 

 crop, the limbs of Transcendent and Montreal 

 Beauty having to be proped up with sticka to 

 prevent them from breaking down. (General 

 (irant, Virginia and Sweet Russet borethisyear 

 for the first time The first mentioned variety 

 was poor, but the last tw.) were extra large, 

 and fine in quality. All parties having crab 

 apple trees in this locality had fine crops. 

 One grower sold eight barrels. A good mar- 

 ket is found in Morden for all we have to 

 sell. The fruit is superior to that which 

 comes from Ontario. I know this will sound 

 rather strange, but it is nevertheless true. 



Plums — The early ones were a failure. 

 Cheney nuitured a full crop of "plum pockets," 

 and the same may be said of Wyant, Chip- 

 pawa anil Hockford, although not to the same 



extent as the first named. Luedloffs Long 

 Red and Newton Egg were loaded almost to 

 the breaking down with plums of very fair 

 quality The trees were almost entirely free 

 from " plum pockets." Bicksley, a new var- 

 iety, gave a few specimens this year for the 

 first time, of very fine quality. The Weaver 

 spurs are growing finely. 



(Jherrieji. — Bessarabian, planted in the 

 spring of 1893, matured a few specimens of 

 very fine cherries, for the first time. One of 

 Budds Seedlings (No. 475), planted 1892, 

 carried a number of fine large, bright reil 

 cherries to maturity. Shubianca also carried 

 some fruit, but the quality did not impress 

 me very favorably. 



Grapes. — Moore's Early carried over one 

 hundred bunches. One-third of these ripened 

 fairly well. I tried girdling the limb by 

 taking out a ring of bark from the bearing 

 canes early in August, and found that it has- 

 tened ripening eight to ten days One of the 

 three Gibb grapes, planted in 1894, died the 

 first year ; the remaining t» o have grown 

 well. I expect some specimen bunches next 

 summer. Bacchus and Virgennes, planted 

 1895, are alive and made fine growth last 

 summer. 



Small Fruits.— Black- Cap Raspbei-ries bore 

 an extra heavy crop. Older came into full 

 bearing last summer. The crop was some- 

 thing grand. I am advising the planting of 

 this sort here. The canes are easier managed, 

 being of a more sprawling habit than the old 

 varieties, which counts for a good deal in a 

 prairie country where winter protection is 

 essential to success. Fruit, rather soft, a 

 poor shipper. The red raspberries bore a full 

 crop. Kenyon, a good deal more than the 

 others. I never saw red raspberry bushes 

 carry so much fruit Of the six Sarah rasp- 

 berry bushes, planted spring 1895, five lived 

 and have done well. I will have enough 

 young plants this spring to plant a row 150 

 feet long. 



No protection is given to any variety of 

 red raspberries. Gooseberries were an entire 

 failure with me. Currants an average crop. 

 Strawberries, where not drowned out, were a 

 good crop. I have been growing the Snider 

 blackberry for years, but the fruit fails to 

 ripen sufficiently early enough to escape in- 

 jury by frost. Windom Dewljerry vines were 

 the most heavily laden with fruit on the farm 

 the past season. 1 have only a few plants, 

 but their bearing the past two years encour- 

 ages me to enlarge my patch. 



The rabbits have done a great deal of dam- 

 age to me this year. About (iOO have been 

 already killed around the garden, but they 

 appear to be as thick as ever. I have tried 

 various washes, but with poor results, (iunny 

 sack wrapped around the trees is the only 

 reliable protection. 



A. P. Stevk.sson, 



Nelson, Man. 



