July, 1916. 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



169 



If the summer is wet, favoring the de- 

 velopment of apple scab, spraying with 

 lime sulphur or bordeaux mixture will 

 ^e found desirable as, sometimes, a 

 pop which promised to be clean in the 

 irly part of the summer, will, unless 

 brayed, be badly scabbed before har- 

 Jfesting time. 



Potatoes. 

 [The potato crop often is verj^ much 

 Jglected in Canada. Bj- the middle of 

 imer the tops are badly eaten by 

 igs, and what foliage is left is hidden 

 weeds. Large crops will not be ob- 

 »ined under conditions like these. If 

 le soil is kept as moist as possible by 



thorough cultivation, the tops kept in 

 condition by spraying for the potato 

 beetle and late blight, the grower will 

 be well rewarded for his pains by the 

 much larger crop he will get, unless the 

 season is very unfavorable. The great- 

 ';st development of tubers takes place 

 when the ground is moist. If the plants 

 can be brought through the month of 

 August without being badly injured, 

 the crop will increase rapidly in the 

 cooler and moister month of September. 

 It was shown in an experiment that 

 there was an increase at the rate of 

 ]]9 bushels marketable potatoes per 

 acre during the month of September. 



Culture of Small Fruits 



W. T. Macoun, Dominion Horticulturist, Ottawa 



THE care the strawberry plantation 

 receives during the growing season 

 determines to a large extent the 

 kind of crop there will be next season. 

 The more runners that can be placed 

 \\ ith hand and trowel, so that the 

 plants will root quickly and be evenly 

 spaced, the better. Very often there 

 are too many plants in one place and 

 not enough in another. Where plants 

 are crowded and much less than six 

 inches apart, the crowns do not develop 

 well and the fruit is liable to be small. 

 It is important to keep the plantation 

 free of weeds and the ground cultivated 

 as long as possible, as late growth, in 

 the case of strawberries, will result in 

 better plants. 



Bush Fruits. 

 Often there is far too much wood left 

 the bushes of raspberries, currants, 



and gooseberries for best results. At- 

 tention is drawn to this now, as pruning 

 of these can be done, if desired, as soon 

 as the fruiting season is over. Rasp- 

 berry canes should not be left closer 

 than six inches apart, the dead and 

 weaker ones being removed and the 

 strongest left. "Where canes are not 

 covered with soil in winter, the thin- 

 ning out may be left until spring, when 

 one can tell, before pruning, which 

 <!anes, if any, have been injured by 

 winter. Bending down the canes and 

 covering the tips with soil, or, where 

 there is little snow, covering the plant 

 entirely, will ensure the canes winter- 

 ing well. 



Gooseberries are difficult to pick at 

 any time, but if the bushes are kept 

 well pruned, picking will be much 

 easier than if there are many branches. 



Branches older than three years should 

 be cut out. The best fruit is borne on 

 the two- and three-year-old wood, but 

 there should be a few strong new 

 shoots, well distributed, allowed to re- 

 main each year. About six fruiting 

 branches with their side shoots Mdll be 

 sufficient. Red currants are pruned 

 somewhat as gooseberries, but a few 

 more fruiting canes may be left. Un- 

 like the red currant, the fruit of black 

 currants is born on the wood made thi^ 

 yeai^ hence severe pruning of the older 

 wood IS desirable to ensure strong new 

 wood each year. 



Jndian girls are used by a Tniml>er of the fruit growers In the Niagrara District as berry pickers. 

 riifv jHfk Into .imall baj?kets which are fastened to them in front by their aprons. The 



carrier Is shown on the ground. 



Bees Not Injurious to Fruit 



sti^.'Ti'""''' ^P.P°""*'^ "^ Italy to 

 study if bees are injurious to fruit has 

 reported. The report states that bees 

 from their instincts, the conformation' 

 lunction and movements of their man- 

 dibles as well as froiu the shape and 

 consistency of the other mouthparts 

 cannot perforate the skin of fruit, and 

 sUrS^ incidentally that they lick and 



^h eh have been injured by other 

 natural causes. 



The injuries to orchards and vine- 

 yards sometimes attributed to bees are 

 due to poultry, wild birds, wind and 

 hail, and most frequently to hornets 

 wasps, vine-mot.h.s, and other insects! 

 Ihe destruction of hornets and wasp.s 

 IS recomniended; it is easily effected, 

 because their nests can be found with- 

 out difficulty. 



Bees do not injure grapes or other 

 iruit even indirectly; on the contrary, 

 hey are beneficial to them, either by 

 bringing about the cross-pollination of 

 the flowers, and hence the setting of 

 the Iruit, or by promoting the dessica- 

 tion of damaged fruits from which they 

 absoi-b the juice and pulp, thus prevent- 

 ing fermentation and rot extending to 

 sound individuals (this is especially the 

 case with grapes). 



The orchards and vineyards fre- 

 quented by bees give the most constant 

 crops; the hive is a very useful, and 

 ^sometimes a necessary addition to the 

 orchard. 



In the interests of public economy, 

 agriculturists are strongly advised no 

 longer to entertain any suspicion as to 

 the harmfulness of bees, and, wherever 

 pos.sible, to associate apiculture and 

 agricultural enterprise. 



It is hoped that in the event of any 

 changes being made in existing agricul- 

 tural legislation, the statement— al- 

 ready implicitly made— of the inoffen- 

 siveness of bees, will be set forth in 

 formal terms, and that the State will 

 encourage the development of apicul- 

 ture. 



