SUCCESS WITH APRICOTS 



^PMiE apricot is generally supposed to be 

 Jl much less hardy than the plum. 

 There are, however, some varieties which 

 thrive wherever plums do if clean cultiva- 

 tion is given during the early summer and 

 protection by means of cover crop or mulch 

 during winter. A member of the staff of 

 The Horticulturist saw two fine trees well 

 laden with fruit in the garden of Mr. John 

 Ewing, of Rosemont, last August. 



The garden in which they stand is almost 

 level, but immediately to the north the land 

 slopes to north and west. Protection is 

 given on that side by two rows of walnut 

 trees with a row of Russian mulberries be- 

 tween. 



" I procured the trees from a Canadian 

 nursery firm over 12 years ago," remarked 

 Mr. Ewing. " They were set where they 

 now stand as early in the spring as the 

 ground was fit to receive them. Both have 

 done well and I get a good crop every sec- 

 ond year. The greatest trouble is keeping 

 them from blooming too early. To retard 

 the bloom I put a heavy mulch of sawdust 

 around the trees after the frost is in the 

 ground. In this way I can delay the blos- 

 soms 10 days and sometimes longer. 



"The soil is a nice clay loam and is always 

 kept cultivated. They bear as heavily as 

 plum trees of the same size, and the fruit 

 makes excellent preserves. The fruit 

 ripens about August 15, or slightly before 

 the plum crop comes in." 



"W 



Cut Out Old Canes 



HEX the crop of raspberries is 

 harvested," said Mr. J. A. 

 Pettit. of Grimsby, to a representative of 

 The Canadian Horticulturist recently, " I 

 go through the patch and cut out all the old 

 canes and leave them lying on the ground 

 between the rows until the following spring. 

 They hold the snow and thus are a protec- 

 tion during winter. When the snow is 



gone I trim off the tops of what canes were 

 left to about three feet high, and all rubbish 

 is removed and burned." 



" As soon as the raspberries are done," 

 says Mr. J. M. Metcalf, of Grimsby, " I go 

 through the patch with a spade and take out 

 all old and diseased canes. These are 

 burned so that the diseases will not hav2 a 

 chance to spread. My patch has been run- 

 ning about 16 years and gives fruit of as 

 good quality as it did the second season." 



The method adopted by Mr. A. W. Peart, 

 the well known fruit grower of Burlington, 

 is to prune out all old wood and supertluous 

 young wood as soon as possible after the 

 fruit has been harvested. " The sooner it 

 is done the better," said Mr. Peart, " be- 

 cause the strength which goes to the super- 

 fluous young wood should be going to the 

 bearing wood of next year. It is not wise 

 to leave the canes which are cut out on the 

 ground because they harbor mice and fun- 

 gous diseases. They should be burned im- 

 mediately." 



Buying New Raspberry Plants 



U \ ^ 7 HEX getting in a new variety of 

 V V raspberries from a distance," 

 says Mr. J. A. Pettit, of Grimsby, " it oays 

 best to get only enough to plant a few rows. 

 Then the young suckers can be taken from 

 these the following spring, when just com- 

 ing up, and the remainder of the patch set 

 out. This can be done with success if the 

 young plants have not to be transferred 

 too far." 



Columbia raspberries yield more to the 

 acre than the Cuthbert, but they are not so 

 good for table use. — (W. A. Best, Picton, 



We are apt to form our opinions of the 

 people whose homes we pass on our way to 

 and frorn business by the neat appearance or 

 otherwise of their home environments. — 

 (P. G. Keyes, Ottawa, Ont. 



38; 



