72 The Canadian Horticulturist. 



shall be pleased to hear from any such place where a society might be formed. 

 Information will be freely given, and Mr. Beall will visit the place and explain 

 the whole scheme, if desired. 



Orchard Sprayers. — Now that the advantages of spraying our orchards 

 for fungi and insects are so clearly proven, there is no doubt that Ontario fruit 

 growers will be very active during the coming season in treating their orchards. 

 The great question before us now is the most economical and effective spraying 

 apparatus. Some of our more enterprising fruit growers have been experiment- 

 ing with horse-power machines which cost from $50 to $90 each, but the result 

 of our experience is that these are not so useful for the orchard as for the vine" 

 yard and other plantations of low-growing plants. 



For an extensive orchard the best spraying outfit is probably a large tank 

 or cask, holding one or two hundred gallons of water placed in a lumbre- wagon. 

 This tank is made fast to the wagon and a handforce-pump is bolted in proper 

 position. Bulletin 74 of the New York Experiment Station advises the use of 

 two leads of hose, and at the end of each hose a metal Y. The ends of each 

 are about eighteen inches apart and furnished with a Vermorel nozzle. When 

 spraying small trees, such as plums and cherries that have been kept well headed 

 in, one side of a row is sprayed at a time ; the wagon is kept slowly moving^ 

 and the driver directs his spray from the two nozzles at the lower branches, while 

 a man standing on a platform in the rear is able to reach the upper part of the 

 tree. The third man is required to work the pump. In spraying large trees it 

 IS necessary to stop at each tree, and the hose should be provided with a bamboo 

 extension. Such an outfit cheaply rigged up, is thought to be more satisfactory 

 for orchards than the expensive power machines. 



Apples are found by Prof. Waite of Washington to be more inclined to 

 be sterile than pears. Indeed as a rule, he says very little fruit, on either 

 apple or pear, is the result of self-pollination. The great barrenness of the 

 Baldwin orchards in Southern Ontario is perhaps due to this fact. We wait 

 further investigations with great interest. 



Of Pears, Prof. Waite found the following either wholly or in part 

 incapable of setting fruit from self-fertilization, and require pollen from some 

 other variety to render them fertile : Anjou, Bartlett, Boussock, Clairgeau, 

 Clapp Favorite, Easter Beurre, Howell, Lawrence, L. Bonne, Mt. Vernon, 

 Pound, Sheldon, S. du Congress, Winter Nelis, etc. 



Self-fertile sorts : Duchess, Bosc, Bufifum, Flemish Beauty, Kieffer, Le 

 Conte, M. Elizabeth, Seckel, Tyson, White Doyenne, etc. 



A great contrast was noticed between self-pollinated and cross-pollinated 

 fruits. Self-pollinated fruit is narrower and not well filled out towards the 

 blossom end. Some varieties, however, produced perfect fruit. Self-pollinated 

 fruit is slightly later ripening than the crosses, as well as somewhat smaller,. 

 and was seedless or nearly so. 



