:o2 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



Aujfust, 1916. 



PeaoH ^--tUV^^^^^^i^^^^^o^^^^^nU.^^ ^,,, 



years to come, and requires little at- 

 tention but picking. 



"There is a very general impression 

 that cranberries cannot be raised with- 

 out provision being made for flooding, 

 but while such an arrangement is de- 

 su-able it is not essential. Cranberries 

 are grown quite extensively through- 

 out the Annapolis Valley, and in ma°ny 

 cases there is no provision for flooding. 

 Of course,' if the bed can be located on 

 a small stream flooding is then possi- 

 ble. A dam may be built so that the 

 bed may be flooded to a depth of 

 eighteen inches, with a gate that may 

 be easily opened and closed. Water 

 should be turned on in the spring nnd 

 allowed to remain until about May 

 20th, so that the period of blossoming 

 may be retarded to escape the June 

 frost. Again, in the autumn, if heavy 

 frost is imminent before the berries are 

 picked, the gates may be closed in the 

 afternoon and the bed flooded for the 

 night. A clean sanded bed, however, 

 will not catch the frost so quickly as a 

 bed full of weeds and grass. 



"A few Avords may be said in regard 

 to the use of fertilizers. There is no 

 use for barnyard manure in connection 

 with grov.ing cranberries. If the bog 

 is made on peat or muck soil with sand 

 on top no further fertilizer is necessary 

 for the successful growing of this fruit 

 year after year. If the bog is planted 

 on a white sand flat, or where the mud 

 is very thin and the land poor, a liberal 

 use of any of the commercial fertiliz- 

 ers used for growing potatoes is un- 

 doubtedly a great benefit. The berries 

 will be larger and the vines thriftier if 

 from four hundred to six hundred 

 pounds of fertilizer per acre be applied 

 about the first of June. This should 



be sowif broadcast when the vines are 

 perfectly dry. 



"In the earlier days of this industry 

 picking was altogether done by hand. 

 The bog was laid off in sections or 

 strips of any width to suit the fancv, 

 by stretching lines across. Each picker 

 was assigned a section by himself, 

 and the cost of gathering in this way 

 varied from one to two cents per quart. 

 Of late years this work is performed 

 largely by the use of scoops, much more 

 quickly and at far less cost. These 

 scoops or pickers vary in width from 

 fifteen to twenty-two inches, according 

 to the number of teeth. The berries 

 groAv on the ends of the upright part 

 of the vines. The scoop is forced into 

 the vines just about the laterals, and as 

 it is raised up the berries are pulled off 

 and fall into the back of the scoop. 

 After two or three operations of this 

 kind, the scoop is emptied into a shal- 

 low box or basket. In this way a single 

 operator will gather from three to ten 

 or more barrels of berries per day 

 where there is an ordinary good crop 

 of fruit. ' ' 



The cranberry is a cold climate plant, 

 and will grow to perfection in Canada. 

 It has not the same insect enemies to 

 contend with that are prevalent in some 

 parts of the United States, while the 

 prices are better and the demand is 

 practically unlimited. A well estab- 

 lished bed will yield from fifty or sixty 

 bai-rels to the acre, and the price sel- 

 dom drops below five dollars the barrel. 

 This is surely good enough for land 

 that is practically useless for other 

 purposes. 



Height of Apple Trees 



I'. J. Carey, Toronto, Ont 



that have hn,) n k1 i u ■ ^' however, 

 "hich need l^*^ ^,7"^"^*^ »P and 

 treatmeni' '''" «*^"d, severe 



tre«s. There is nno . "^^-headed 



•system. th\"VAX .etS^^a^h ''^ 

 ™fall w^iich mav do d^mL ?"' 

 heading gives n« o i "'*™age. Low 



trunk, and the trJ '"' '"•"' ^^"^'^^^^'- 



trees. "' ^^ "'""'^ ''^ the high 



. Y°" *^''" cultivate low-headed f-.. 



and droor^,;^s^;r S'lr 



|ng it^is not necessary to cultivate iToL 



fh^J"" ^r,^"","^ «^ *^'e tree is everv 



hing. We have trees that are un in 



the air, due generally to their ha?in» 



fceen planted too close toge her I hTif 



seen thoiLsands of trefs in orchards 



hat were planted too dose. In one 



arge orchard, planted some twenU 



trees are to be taken out. 



homitVhf'^"'^-^"'^^^^^ t°de- 

 ftornit. Thxs operation should be done 

 only as a last resort. Sometimes it is ! 



ZrZ"^\ ^"^^/ '^^^'^ tree down to 

 not over twenty feet, and, better still 

 fifteen feet. If you w^nt to cut "a tret 

 down eight or ten, or even twelve feet 

 and there is a large upright limb nea^ 

 the centre, cut it back at the juncture 

 or jomt with the main tree. In a short 

 time It will be full of new growths. 



The first principle in lowering a tree 

 IS to cut down the upward growth. On 

 side growths the fruit tends to bear 

 down the limbs. Always cut a limb 

 vertically, so that the water will not 

 rest inthe cut and cause a cup to form. ■ 



In the case of San Jose Scale I have] 

 seen a tree cut down, renewed, and a* 

 new head formed. Where the new-: 

 growth forms it can be thinned' out and' 

 trimmed. 



Mention the Canadian Horticulturist 

 when writing advertisers. 



Speaking of the possibilities of orchard 

 products an old nurseryman says where 

 a dollar's worth of fruit was consumed 

 ten years ago, ten dollars is wanted now. 

 Unless all signs fail, one hundred dol- 

 lars' worth will be required in ten years 

 from now. 



