THE SMALL FRUIT GARDEN. 



297 



I am inclined to believe that the first thing 

 necessary is to get some of the most produc- 

 tive varieties, plant them upon, good heavy 

 soil, and do not stimulate an excessive 

 growth of wood ; keep the bushes well 

 pruned out so as to allow for the fertiliza- 

 tion of blossoms, and guard against the 

 aphis, which is one of the most troublesome 

 insects upon these bushes. If under these 

 conditions the bushes are unproductive, I 

 know of nothing better than to root them up 

 and try again on other land. 



Cultivating Gooseberries and 

 Currants 



S. SPILLETT, NANTYR, ONT. 



IN the June issue of The Canadian Horti- 

 culturist Mr. William Fleming, of 

 Owen Sound, advised the stirring of the soil 

 about gooseberries and currants in the 

 spring. I followed this method until about 

 15 years ago, when the loss of three succes- 

 sive crops of gooseberries after the berries 

 were as large as peas, opened my eyes. 



This accounted for entire crops of black 

 currants and Fay's Red currant dropping in 

 the same way. The Shaffer and Columbia 

 raspberries will not tumble off, but the crop 

 is greatly lessened. 



My rule now is not to stir the soil about 

 gooseberries or the Shaffer or Columbia 

 raspberries in spring until after the fruit is 

 picked. I have never failed to have a good 

 crop of Pearl and Red Jacket since I have 

 followed this method. My big crops have 

 been when the bushes are kept mulched. 



I make it a practise to thin my peach 

 trees whenever necessary, endeavoring to 

 get the work done as soon as possible after 

 the June drop. I thin to not less than six 

 inches apart, which is scarcely thin enough 

 unless the trees have a thorough pruning. — 

 (W. D. Culp, Beamsville, Ont. 



The Best Paying Currants 



4 fc I N growing red currants," said Mr. A. 



1 W. Peart, of Burlington, who is con- 

 sidered quite an authority, to The Horticul- 

 turist, a few days ago, "the best money- 

 makers in my experience have been the Wil- 

 der, Cherry, Pomona, Fay's Prolific and Red 

 Victoria. The North Star, too, is a good 

 variety, its merit lying in its being late. 



" In white currants there are two stand- 

 ard varieties — ^Imperial and Grape. The 

 Imperial is a larger fruit, but not so produc- 

 tive as the Grape. In black currants the 

 best commercial varieties are Saunders, 

 Naples, Black Victoria and Collins' Prolific. 



" As regards cultivation, my practice is 

 to plow to the rows in the fall to form a 

 watershed. In the spring I start cultiva- 

 tion as early as possible, which tends to level 

 the ground down again. Up to ripening 

 time I cultivate lightly every ten days to 

 keep moisture in the soil." 



Profitable Returns from Cherries 



44/^^HERRIES do not require as much 

 V^-/ attention as other fruit," said Mr. 

 A. E. Kimmins, manager for Mr. E. D. 

 Smith, of Winona, to The Horticulturist re- 

 cently, "but are a little more expensive to 

 pick, as the fruit is so small. Early Rich- 

 mond for an early variety, and the Mont- 

 morency for late maturity, are two of the 

 best kinds. The English Morello is also a 

 good late cherry, 



" The Dyehouse matures even earlier than 

 the Early Richmond. These varieties are 

 all hardy and can be grown almost every- 

 where apples can. From 17 cherry trees of 

 the Montmorency variety on our farm, 

 which are ten years old, last year we pro- 

 cured 192 baskets of cherries which sold at 

 an average of 75 cents per basket. 



" These trees have been bearing since 

 they were four years old, and last year's crop 

 was the largest on record." 



