PRUNING THE PEACH TREE. 



was very fine. The first prize collec- 

 tion of twenty varieties went to a 

 Hamilton man who showed the follow- 

 ing varieties : Seckel, Lawrence, Louise, 

 Goodale, Anjou, Diel, Flemish Beauty, 

 Howell, Bartlett, Souvenir, Beurre 

 Superfin, Winter Nelis, Josephine de 

 Malines, Doyenne du Cornice, Easter 

 Beurre, Beurre Hardy, Duchess and 

 Clapp's Favorite. 



Mr. Orr's Exhibit of sprayed and 

 unsprayed fruit was a constant eye 

 opener to the faithless. It taught by 

 an object lesson most convincing that 

 spraying pays — indeed, that no fruit 

 grower can afford to neglect it. From 

 about thirty different parts of the pro- 

 vince he had sets of sprayed and un- 

 sprayed samples of the same variety e. g. 

 Snows, Fall Pippins, Spys, Greenings, 

 Flemish Beauty pears, etc.; the untreated 

 were utterly worthless, while those 

 treated were large, clean and salable. 

 A Nova Scotian passing through asked 

 if these were the kind of fruit we grow, 

 for, if so, Ontario was not "in it " with 



his province, but when his attention was 

 drawn to the clean and unclean fruit as 

 an object lesson in spraying, he con- 

 fessed that Nova Scotia was not " in it " 

 with Ontario 



A Fine Seedling Peach was shown 

 the fruit committee on the 9th of 

 September, by Dr. Stewart, of Toronto, 

 which is worthy of trial, judging by the 

 sample, which we have photographed. 

 It is round, quite large, measuring about 

 2j^ inches in diameter, light yellow in 

 color ; flesh yellow, of flavor somewhat 

 similar to early Crawford, but firmer in 

 texture, and much later in season. 



Originating in Toronto it may be that 

 the tree will be hardier than Early 

 Crawford, which would be an important 

 characteristic. 



Algoma Fruit. — Quite a fine collec- 

 tion of apples grown on SL Joseph's 

 island were sent down and exhibited at 

 the Industrial from Mr. Chas. Young, of 

 Richards landing. The Duchess, Ar- 

 abka, and Alexander were of good size 

 and color. 



PRUNING THE PEACH TREE. 



THE popular notion in reference to 

 pruning peach trees is to cut off or 

 shorten the last season's growth 

 each year ; practically this plan requires 

 great labor without securing the best 

 results. Peach trees that have been 

 planted three or four years, and have 

 made a fair growth, have a few leading 

 branches more vigorous than the smaller 

 ones, and extending furthest from the 

 trunk. These leading branches should 

 be cut back enough to include those of 

 an inch, more or less in diameter, and 

 as these branches have received a stron- 

 ger flow of sap, the smaller ones are 

 comparatively weak ; but this manner of 

 pruning will check the flow of sap to the 

 main branches, now shortened in, and 

 give increased vigor and strength to the 



smaller ones, and at the same time serve 

 to give a better and more uniform shape 

 to the top. 



This sort of pruning will not be re- 

 quired annually, but its benefits will be 

 greatest if done at once after the trees 

 have borne a crop of fruit, as it tends 

 greatly to restore the \ngor of the trees 

 which have become somewhat exhausted 

 by the crop. This pruning is best done 

 early in autumn or in spring before 

 growth begins. 



Peach trees should be liberally ferti- 

 lized, and probably nothing can be used 

 for this purpose better than ground 

 bones and potash, about equal quantity 

 of each, the latter most conveniently 

 in the form of muriate of potash. — 

 Country Gentleman. 



389 



