1 86 ^ The Canadian Horticulturist. 



things now are, each shipper has his own idea of what is meant by grades No. i 

 and 2, and the grades, therefore, mean nothing to the buyer. It is most im- 

 portant, therefore, that the grades be defined, in order that buyers and sellers 

 may know what is meant by them. Some think that it is too much to require 

 apples under grade No. i to be entirely free from scab, and that it should read 

 " nearly free," in order that apples slightly affected might be included. This, it 

 appears to us, would give too much liberty and might lead to lowering of the 

 standard. Let us hope that with the application of Bordeaux mixture we shall 

 be able to grow apples in Ontario that shall be entirely free from this disfiguring 

 'scab, and then we shall without difficulty be able to make our grade No. i a 

 credit to our country. 



The Plum Knot and Peach Yellows Act has been amended in such a 

 way as to provide most effectually for their destruction. On request of fifteen 

 ratepayers, the Council of any municipality is obliged to appoint an inspector, 

 who has full power to have the diseased tre?s speedily and totally destroyed. 

 Late scientific researches also lead us to hope that the faithful application of 

 Bordeaux mixture will prevent this fungus from spreading. Prof. Maynard, of 

 Massachusetts, is the first who has experimented in this line ; he found that the 

 number of warts were very decidedly less where the trees were treated with copper 

 mixture than when untreated. A thicket of Morello cherries, treated two seasons, 

 only produced 165 new knots, while a portion untreated yielded 3,466 knots. 



Begonia Raising:. 



733. Sir, — Do the different species of begonias require to be pruned during the 

 winter, especially those which lose all or most of their leaves ? 



R. Light, Kingston. 



Reply by Prof. Hutt, O. A. C. Guelph. 



Begonias vary considerably in their habits, and their treatment should vary 

 accordingly. The tuberous-rooted kinds, which lose all their leaves and stems 

 after blooming, require no pruning. Most of the shrubby kinds require only 

 an occasional pinching back during the growing season, to cause them to 

 branch and grow symmetrically. Some of the shrubby kinds, like B. Weltoni- 

 ensis, which lose part of their foliage when resting, should be cut back at that 

 time to within a couple of inches of the top of the pot, thus causing them to 

 start afresh from the bottom. The large leaved Rex varieties, which are gener- 

 ally allowed to rest during December, January and February, should have 

 their old leaves cut away in March, when they are divided and re-potted. 



