^4 The Canadian Horticulturist. 



the removing of old, decayed or lodged fruit from the limb, such as apples, 

 pears, and " mummied plums." These should be destroyed, as they furnish 

 storehouses for germs of fungous diseases living through the winter. Great care 

 should be exercised in winter packing of apples to destroy all refuse, old apples, 

 leaves, etc. ; inspecting cracks of barrels for pupae of insects, such as codling 

 moth, which often hibernate in this manner. 



Trees should be inspected for the bark-louse, and scraped, — exercising care 

 with young trees, — ^letting the scales fall upon the snow ; using a hoe on large 

 trees. The black-knot that infests the plum and cherry trees should be looked 

 after and the knots cut off and burned at once, as they are now filled with 

 winter spores inclosed in little sacks, which burst open in the spring and 

 are distributed by the wind. The cut surfaces should be treated with an 

 application of kerosene or turpentine, rubbed on with a cloth. When trees 

 or limbs are badly infected, they should be removed and burned. 



The manure heap should never be neglected during the winter. An ama- 

 teur fruit grower writes that his horse-manure heap was destroyed last winter by 

 burning. This is remedied by mixing other manures with the heap, or by add- 

 ing earth. Watering thoroughly and often will serve the same purpose. Too 

 many permit their manure heaps to suffer. This is wrong, as stable manure is 

 one of the great agents in profitable orcharding ; its presence in the soil regulates 

 to a large extent the heat and moisture, which commercial fertilizers will not do. 

 All the manure possible should be applied, and then, if necessary, pieced out 

 with commercial fertilizers. The cutting of apple scions for winter root-grafting 

 should be done now, and stored away in a cool cellar, in leaves or sand, until 

 ready to be grafted upon the roots of seedlings grown from apple seeds. These 

 seedlings can be easily raised, or can be purchased from nurserymen for from 

 three to four dollars per thousand, and every fruit grower should do his own 

 root-grafting, the process being easily acquired, thus keeping down the nursery 

 expense. These are a few of the many points that enter into profitable winter 

 orcharding. — Prof. E. E. Faville, in Farmer's Advocate. 



Tender Plants. — The skillful gardener will find a place for many tender 

 plants, especially for the gladioli, dahlias and tuberous begonias, which have 

 been stored in the dwelling house during the winter. A place can also be 

 found for the large flowered canas, not in isolated groups on the lawn, but in 

 small groups in the margin of a shrubbery where their stiffness will be concealed, 

 yet their fine colors will be useful. Phlox Drummondi, sweet peas, asters, calli- 

 opsis and tall nasturtiums can also be added. The most important thing we 

 have to consider in gardening with hardy plants and shrubs is their arrangement. 

 We must study to produce a pleasing effect at all seasons — to have a succession 

 of bloom, that the garden shall never be dull or uninteresting. 



