THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



selves, we herewith give them a few hints as 

 to what we consider necessary in the way of 

 packing. lu the first place we may mention 

 the fruit cannot be too tight pressed. This 

 is a very important item. Be particular that 

 you l)rand the fruit according to the cjuality, 

 so that there may be no chance of a second 

 class barrel being opened in a parcel of fine 

 quality. Were buyers to notice the like of 

 this it would spoil the sale of the whole 

 parcel, so it is safer to have them branded a 

 cross or two crosses less, or another brand 

 altogether. Also be particular to have the 

 apples correctly named. We also strongly 

 advise you to put felt paper on top and 

 bottom, as owing to the smoothness of the 

 felt, the skin of the fruit is preserved, and 

 wlien opened tliey look nice and shiny. They 

 also keep longer, hence the prices are greatly 

 enhanced on account of the paper packing. 

 Our artvice to you also is that you should 

 ship as early as possible, as all the early ship- 

 ments make the biggest prices. Also use 

 A 1 barrels, lieads, and bottoms. Also A 1 

 hoops, and A 1 linets, and quarter hoops. 



The quaiter hoopis ought to be nailed with 

 § inch nails and of a quality that will bend 

 to clinch. These ought to be nailed and 

 clinched previous to the apples being put in 

 the barrel, liy doing this the quarter hoops 

 will not spring off, and the packages look 

 much better when selling, and bring more 

 money than when the hoops are wanting, 

 which is often the case with badly coopered 

 barrels. 



London, England ; Mr. John Fox writes : 

 Confirming my letter of August 17th, 1 beg 

 to report that the 'estimated crop of English 

 apples at that date is now found to be con- 

 siderably less. This is attributed to the cold 

 weather experienced here during June last, 

 and the present estimate is that it will not be 

 even an average half crop, as there are daily 

 heavy arrivals of fallens upon the markets, 

 and the prospects are that few or none will 

 bear winter storing. Under the circum- 

 stances 1 have no hesitation in stating that 

 well packed and graded apples from your dis- 

 trict will do well here during the ensuing 

 season. 



% (y^p Soo^s Table. % 



Wholesale Trade List of New and Rare 

 Seeds, Plants, Bulbs, etc., grown by Mrs. 

 I^heodosic V>. Shepherd, Vaudaluda by the 

 Sea, ('alifornia. 



Fhidt.jof Nansen am Nordpol, don Louis 

 Viereck. The Herold Co-, Milwaukee. 



Canadian Horticultural Association.— 

 First Annual Convention at Toronto, 7th and 

 8th September, 181(8. Official progran.me. 



Transon Bros Nurseries, Borhier & Co., 

 successors, 1(5 Route d'Oli vet, Orleans, France, 

 wholesale fruit and ornamental tiees. 



Annual Report of the Fruit (iROWERS 

 As.sociATiON of Nova Scotia, annual meeting 

 at Wolfville, January 26, 27, 28, 1898 



Agriculture, by C. C. James, M.A., 

 Deputy Minister of Agriculture for Ontario, 

 former Professor of Chemistry in the O A. C, 

 Guelph ; published by (George N. Morang, 

 Toronto, 1898. Price 2.') cents. 



We can heartily commend this book as a 

 primary text book in agriculture. Indeed, 

 we believe it will make possible, what has 

 been so long thought desirable, the study of 

 agriculture iu our public and high schools. 

 Previous text books have been entirely too 

 technical and too narrow to be placed in the 

 hands of the ordinary school boy ; such books 

 would tend to lessen his interest, because too 

 advanced for him, but a book like this one 

 will attract young people to the study of 

 agriculture, and afterward into the practice 

 of this honorable vocatioiL The book deals 

 with the whole round of agriculture in a 

 series of brief chapters, well illustrated, 

 which serve as a grand introduction to 

 further studies. Seven chapters are given to 

 'l'hi> Plant, three to The Soil, nine to The 

 Crops of the Field, six to the Oarden, Orchard 

 and Vineyard, ten to Live Stock and Dairy- 

 ing, a chapter each to Bees, Birds, Forestry, 



Roads, and The Rural Home, and an ajjpendix 

 giving lists of trees, weeds and spraying 

 mixtures. 



How a nicely bound book, of two hundred 

 pages, like this one, be can sold for 25 cents, 

 is a puzzle. We commend it to every reader. 



Life Zones and Crop Zones of the 

 United States, by C. Hart Merrian, Chief 

 Biological Survey, Washington, 1898. 



The ideal of this publication by the U S. 

 Dept. Agriculture is an excellent one, viz., to 

 show the different life zones of the North 

 American Continent, and the fruits which 

 succeed in each. We can, of course, hardly 

 expect justice would be «lone to Canada in 

 this work, for even for us, the area of success- 

 ful cultivation of different varieties is quite 

 unsettled ; yet the following sentence cover- 

 ing the Canadian zone is hardly to be 

 accepted. 



" In favored spots, particularly along the 

 Southern border, white potatoes, turnips, 

 beets, and more hardy Russian apples and 

 cereals, may be cultivated with moderate 

 success." 



Again in the list of grapes, which succeed 

 in the Transition zone, which takes a large 

 part of Canada, we notice many varieties of 

 grapes ruled out which certainly succeed. 

 e.(f., Brighton, Delaware, lona, Lindley, 

 Salem, etc. 



Speaking of peaches, he says, "the Hale 

 is the only peach known to thrive in the 

 Transition zone." While as a matter of fact 

 we know a good many varieties succeed even 

 as far north as the Beaver Valley. 



We must do Mr. Merrian the justice, how- 

 ever, of noting that he includes the Niagara 

 and the Essex districts in the Upper Austral 

 zone, which also embraces the state of Ohio. 



412 



