154 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



trees received with very dry roots should be 

 placed in water for a time, cr better, in mud. 

 In planting, and this applies to all trees and 

 bushes alike, the holes should be dug" large 

 enough to take in the roots without cramp- 

 ing, a few shovelfuls of moist and mellow 

 top soil packed firmly round the roots, the 

 hole filled in and firmed thoroughly to within 

 a couple of inches from the top, where the 

 dirt should form a loose mulch. Manure or 

 fertilizers should not be put in direct con- 

 tact with the young roots. The firm pack- 

 ing of the earth is very important. The 

 trimming of the tops of the newly-set trees 

 will be spoken of later, as diff"erent methods 

 apply to the various trees, vines and bushes ; 

 but in all cases the bruised and torn roots 

 should be trimmed off" before planting, and 

 exceptionally long roots may be cut back to 

 correspond with the rest of the system. 



FIG, 12 



The Variety Question. — This important 

 phase of fruit culture is one upon which end- 

 less questions are asked, and upon which 

 advice is often a difficult and dangerous mat- 

 ter. The man who plants for his own use 

 requires, in addition to hardiness and a fairly 

 productive habit, high quality in the fruit. 

 He who is planting for commercial purposes 

 will rate productiveness and a showy appear- 

 ance far higher than quality. The question 

 is more complicated from the fact that local 

 conditions have a strong effect on the be- 

 havior of varieties. To such an extent is 

 this true that a variety successfully grown 

 in one district may be almost worthless on 

 different soil and with a slightly different 

 climate. Any varieties named in the follow- 



ing chapters will be such as have been tested 

 under a good many conditions and over a 

 large extent of territory. A few suggestions 

 may be offered to intending planters. Do 

 not buy largely oi any variety simply on the 

 recommendation of the nursery agent. Nur- 

 serymen, it is true, try to grow chiefly the 

 varieties that are most called for, but they 

 naturally propagate new varieties to a con- 

 siderable extent, and also have a natural 

 preference for varieties that grow easily and 

 thriftily. The nurseryman is only human 

 and he very reasonably, therefore, pushes 

 the sale of his surplus stock. If that sur- 

 plus consists of undesirable varieties some- 

 body will eventually be hurt. Lots of our 

 nurserymen are honorable men, well posted 

 in their business. The purchaser is safe in 

 such hands. But to buy from an irrespon- 

 sible agent, varieties of which the purchaser 

 knows nothing, simply from 

 the glowing description 

 given by the seller, is court- 

 ing disaster, indeed. Es- 

 chew new varieties except 

 to a small extent for testing 

 purposes. Ninety-five per 

 cent, of the new varieties 

 come on the market with a 

 flourish of trumpets and descend to an inglori- 

 ous grave within a few years. Let the intend- 

 ing purchaser make up his mind what kind or 

 tree he wants — hardy, productive, early, late 

 or what not — and then if the requisite quali- 

 ties are claimed for any particular kind, find 

 if such variety has been tested in his district. 

 If it has not it would be wise on his part to 

 enquire about it from the Horticultural De- 

 partment at the Central F"arm, Ottawa, or 

 the Ontario Agricultural College, or write to 

 the nearest fruit experiment station. 



Insects and Fungi. — Nobody who takes 

 up fruit culture, even in a small way, can 

 expect to achieve success without some 

 knowledge of insects and fungous diseases. 

 In the P'armers' Institute Report for 1896-7 



