PROTECT THE TREES. 



191 



deemed to be the property of the owner of 

 the land adjacent to the highway and near- 

 est to such tree, shrub or sapHng.' 



" This property of the adjoining owner in 

 the trees is not absolute, however. It is of 

 a peculiar character. The trees cannot be 

 cut down without notice to him as above 

 mentioned, nor yet can he himself cut them 

 down or remove them, unless a special reso- 

 lution of the council has been passed, with- 

 out becoming liable to fine and possibly im- 

 prispnment." 



Advice to Fruit Growers 



" Fruit growers will do well," said P. J. 

 Carey, of Cobourg, to the Horticulturist a 

 few days ago, " If they take lonp- to consider 

 before investing in the method of protecting 

 trees against almost all known diseases ad- 

 vocated by a firm which has operated in 

 some of the western counties of the province. 

 The firm claims that by boring a hole into 

 the trees and giving them a sort of hypo- 

 dermic injection of a mixture composed in 

 part of charcoal, sulphur, soda and gun- 

 powder, the sap will dissolve this mixture 

 and carry it to all parts of the tree, there- 

 by protecting it against the various pests. 



" The firm which is selling this mixture 

 presents its case in such' a plausible manner 

 that a large number of fruit growers have 

 been led to adopt the method which I am 

 satisfied is absolutely worthless. In a num- 

 ber of cases parties have actually paid $200 

 for townships for the right to sell this mix- 

 ture. At a number of the meetings I at- 

 tended during the latter part of March and 

 the beginning of April with Mr. Sherring- 

 ton, of Walkerton, we found growers who 

 had paid as high as 25 cents per tree to have 

 their orchards operated on in this way. We 

 told them frankly what we thought of the 

 method — that it was no good. It has been 

 tried so extensively in the United States that 

 Prof. Taft. at Washington, ha«: 'ssued a 

 warninsf to beware of the method." 



Growing Catalpa Speciosa 



H. L. HUTT, AGRI. CGI.., GUELPH. 



I have read contradictory reports concerning 

 Catalpa speciosa Would you as a farmer 

 plant them out for fence posts or shades? Are 

 they hardy ? Do they attain sufficient size to 

 wire to m five or seven years ? If you recom- 

 mend them, where can the seed be obtained ? — 

 (W. J. C. Franconia, Ont. 



CATALPA SPECIOSA, commonly 

 known as the Hardy or Western 

 Catalpa, i^ quite hardy in Southern Ontario, 

 and even does fairly well here in Guelph, 

 where we have several species, this, how- 

 ever, being the hardiest of the lot. This 

 species has been largely planted in the west 

 for shade and also for fence postsi it 

 makes a very ♦'apid growth from the seed 

 and usually attains a height of two feet the 

 first year. 



On good soil and well taken care of, it 

 should be sufficiently large to support fence 

 wires in five or six years. I have seen it 

 planted for this purpose in some parts of 

 southern Ontario, where it has proved a 

 complete failure, but this was largely due to 

 lack of attention. The trees should not be 

 left to grow in sod without protection of 

 some sort. If they can be kept cultivated, 

 or even heavily mulched, they will make 

 double the growth that they would in sod. 



As shade and ornamental trees they are 

 very desirable, not only on account of their 

 large leaves but because of the large showy 

 flowers which appear in July. The seed is 

 listed by J. M. Thorburn, 2>^ Cortlandt St., 

 New York, at one dollar per pound. If 

 good seed can be procured, the trees can be 

 very cheaply grown from seed. They should 

 be started the first year in nursery rows and 

 kept cultivated the same as corn. In the 

 spring of the second season they should be 

 taken up and transplanted into other rows 

 or where they are to remain permanently. 

 The seedlings form very strong tap roots, 

 and give difficulty in transplanting unless 

 taken at one vear. 



