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THE CANADIAN HOR 71 C UL TUNIS T. 



best results, careful training will be neces- 

 sary. From the very first aim to produce a 

 pyramidal shape by encouraging one up- 

 right leader, and cutting back the side 

 branches to a line drawn from the apex of 

 the tree to the ground at about an angle of 

 45 degrees. Every year the new growth 

 needs to be cut back one half to two thirds, 

 and thus fruit spurs will be encouraged in- 

 stead of long barren stems. 



No part of your fruit garden will be of 

 more interest to you than this dwarf pear 

 plot, for it will be both beautiful and useful. 

 When I speak of dwarf pears, I think of 

 one of the first presidents of our Associa- 

 tion, an enthusiastic cultivator of dwarf 

 pears, at that time a citizen of your town, 

 who had nearly every variety of pear in 

 cultivation, and became quite an authority 

 on varieties, though only possessing a small 

 garden. I refer to the late Rev. R. Burnet. 

 No doubt some of you remember him, and 

 possibly you even know of his garden, in 

 which no doubt his pear trees still survive 

 him. 



And now I want to refer to a fruit which 

 every citizen may cultivate, for it will climb 

 a fence or an alley wall. I mean the grape, 

 one of the most wholesome of fruits, and 

 the vine is so cheap and will so early yield 

 fruit, that even the tenant may well plant it 

 in his back garden. A vine eacti of the fol- 

 lowing would give a succession of delicious 

 grapes for the table from September ist, 

 until Christmas, or even longer. I name 

 them in the order of ripening : Moore's 

 Early, Lady, Lindley, Wilder, Delaware, 

 Diamond, Salem and Vergennes. The last 

 two varieties might be kept well into the 

 winter for table use. There is no secret 

 about keeping them in good condition, ex- 

 cept a moderately low temperature and in 

 moderately humid air, or wrapped in oiled 

 paper. If the cellar is warm and dry they 

 will shrivel up. 



The vines may be trained to climb a wall 



and left without pruning, but it is far better 

 to shorten back the new growth every year, 

 except of course the main leaders to cover 

 the wall. If trained on the wire trellis, the 

 neatest method is to run two arms on the 

 lowest wire and train uprights from these 

 to the two upper wires. Another simple 

 method, known as the Kniffen System, is to 

 run out two or four arms on the higher 

 wires and let the young wood hang down. 

 This latter is called the " lazy man's 

 method," but anyway it is a very good plan 

 where it is not necessary to lay down the 

 wood in winter. 



The cherry is well adapted to the city 

 fruit garden. The tree is ornamental in 

 habit and in bloom, and the fruit both at- 

 tractive and marketable. The fruit cannot 

 always be purchased in the market at its 

 best ; like the peach and plum it is most 

 luscious when gathered from the tree at the 

 nick of time when it is just at its best. The 

 market gardener picks his cherries on the 

 green side, and they do not improve after 

 gathering, so you seldom get them at their 

 best from the green grocer. The cherry 

 must have sandy soil for the best success, 

 but whatever soil, it must be dry. If not 

 too close in texture, it will not need much 

 cultivation, so you can plant the cherry along 

 the border, if you choose, but, if the ground 

 is hard, you must either dig about the trees 

 or mulch them well. For a succession I 

 would plant Governor Wood, Black Tar- 

 tarian, Napoleon, Early Richmond, May 

 Duke, Montmorency, Elkhorn, Windsor 

 and English Morello. The cherry does not 

 need much pruning. Indeed, if you cut it 

 very much, you will injure its vitality. 

 There is no fruit more profitable, and a 

 small garden planted with cherries will give 

 you good returns. 



Of small fruits I cannot encourage the 

 growth in the home garden to any great ex- 

 tent. Blackberries and raspberries are too 

 full of prickles and too unsightly to add to 



