$ ©per? Isetter(?. ^ 



Brown Rot. 



Sir,— I am sorry to find that the "rot" 

 (brown rot we call it) is making serious 

 inroads in the vineyards here. So far the 

 vines of black loam overlying sand are most 

 seriously affected, but I notice a little of it 

 on our best situations. A few days more 

 will detei'mine what course the disease will 

 take. 



A. M. Neill, Windsor. 



Black Currants. 



Sir, — I noticed in the Horticulturist for 

 last July a short article on " Black Currants," 

 with a cut of some very fine ones, although 

 I doubt very much if they are any better 

 than a Saunder's seedling sent out by you two 

 or three years ago. The bush is still rather 

 small, but I picked three pints of large fruit 

 last month. It was the first to ripen, fruit 

 all ripe together, no second picking, and the 

 bunches long and full of fruit. The seedling 

 sent out the year before, although it had a 

 fair amount of fruit, it was all scattered, and 

 had to be gathered one at a time. Last year, 

 although I had taken good care of the bushes, 

 I had little fruit, when all around me they 

 were bearing fairly well, and I wrote to you 

 about them, and you kindly gave me some 

 hints. This year I had a large crop, some 

 bushes going over two qts. a piece, and my 



neighbors had next to none, and bought from 

 me. I am coming more and more to the con- 

 clusion that in this north country that the 

 late frosts do the trouble. I send you these 

 particulars, as I thought you might be inter- 

 ested in them. I had 100 qts., which sold 

 readily at I2ic. per qt., against imported 

 fruit. 



A. J. Collins, Listowel. 



. Reports Should be Reliable. 



Sir, — Allow me to offer a suggestion as an 

 admirer of your valuable publication. 



It is desirable that you should have com- 

 petent correspondents to report to you on the 

 various topics throughout the Province so 

 that reports oan be relied upon as substantial- 

 ly correct. I notice in your issue for July a 

 report from Ottawa. 



I presume your correspondent gauges his 

 opinion by the crop in his sheltered cot- 

 tage garden in the city, but it is quite incor- 

 rect as regards the general crop of plums in 

 the Ottawa Valley, they are generally a fail- 

 ure from blight. About strawberries, he 

 says, the weather was cold after blooming 

 time and the crop was poor. He must have 

 Klondyke on the brain, there was no cold 

 weather in the Ottawa Valley in June. 



This is not the first erroneous statement I 

 have noticed from the correspondent and in a 

 journal like the Horticulturist it is mis- 

 leading. 



J. Henderson, 



StiUsville. 



THE APPLE CROP. 



The following information regarding the 

 apple crop in England is given us by Messrs. 

 Woodall & Co., of Liverpool, a firm of good 

 standing in Great Britain. The figures re- 

 present the number of reports received, and 

 the comparison for the past three years is as 

 follows : 



This year 42 over av., 150 av., 139 under av. 

 Last year 10 " " 74 " 230 '• " 

 1896 75 " " 152 " 165 " " 



You will notice above figures indicate a 

 larger crop than last year, but smaller than 

 two years ago. 



New England States.— Of these New 

 Hampshire and Massachusetts have the best 

 crops, generally estimated at ^ to \ of 1896. 

 Maine is light for an apple year, probably not 

 over 25 % of two years ago. 



New York State.— Taken as a whole, the 

 Hudson River and Western N. Y. are re- 

 ported light and scattering, and a very light 



crop for that State, perhaps a little in advance 

 of last year ; and after supplying its own de- 

 mand with a surplus for Western trade, it 

 looks as though there would not be a great 

 quantity for export. 



Western and Southern States. — Mis- 

 souri, Illinois, Kansas, Arkansas, and Vir- 

 ginia, which were heavy last year, are re- 

 ported to have no show for a crop, and gen- 

 erally may be called a failure. Michigan, 

 however, has quite a crop in some sections, 

 but in others quite a failure. 



Nova Scotia was reported to have a good 

 crop, but latest reports are confiicting. 



Ontario. — East of Toronto winter fruit is 

 generally scarce and scattering, and inclined 

 to be spotted. North and W'est there is a 

 better showing, and in some sections plenty 

 of fruit ; however clean stock is by no means 

 too plentiful. 



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