1 5^^ 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



ing" winds oi winter, will be hardly likely to 

 survive. In the colder districts the fall 

 planted tree will in any case have a trying- 

 time the first winter and on the whole the 

 consensus of opinion is decidedly in favor of 

 spring- planting. Select nothing but well- 

 grown, clean-barked, healthy trees. If any 

 dark discolorations show, where limbs were 

 pruned off the previous year, it indicates poor 

 constitution and the tree should be rejected. 

 Such trees may have what is called " black 

 heart," and will rarely develop into good 

 specimens of the vigorous thrifty kinds. A 

 tree two years old from the bud or graft is 



to be preferred to older stock. In any case 

 do not plant a tree more than three years 

 old. The younger tree will usually have a 

 more fibrous root, and in nine cases out of 

 ten will outgrow the older stock. Reject 

 also any trees having- root-galls, such as are 

 illustrated in Fig. 14. Though little is 

 known of these gall growth, there are 

 grounds for suspecting their contagious 

 character, and it is safer not to plant af- 

 fected trees. 



M. BURRKLL. 



St. Catharines, Ont. 



SPRING CULTIVATION OF VINEYARDS AND ORCHARDS. 



S spring approaches, it is the one 

 ^ thought, what will be the best way 



to work up our vineyards, or or- 

 i^jj^ji^ chards, so as to have the ground 

 mellow all summer, and in what way it is 

 best to leave it in the fall to resist the frost 

 and at the same time drain off the surface 

 water ? Many growers advocate ploughing 

 up to the vines in the fall, and ploughing 

 away again in the spring ; others plough two 

 or three furrows up to the vines in the fall, 

 and complete the ploughing up to the vines 

 when spring comes, after rolling down, 

 and working the same with the disc harrow. 

 And again another method is used : — In 

 the early fall sow rye or crimson clover, 

 which certainly holds the snow and serves 

 as a covering, at the same time furnishing 

 a valuable manure in the spring when 

 ploughed under. But does not that plan 

 of turning over all the soil in the fall 

 (whilst draining the soil well) give the win- 

 ter frost too good a chance to penetrate 

 the soil and kill the roots, as was the case 

 in that severe winter of 1898 when it was 

 plainly shown that where orchards and vine- 

 yards had not been fall ploughed there was 

 hardly any loss from frost killed vines and 



trees, whilst where the soil had all been 

 ploughed in the fall the frost had got down 

 very deeply and killed many hundreds of 

 vines and trees, and this could clearly be 

 seen in orchards and vineyards, side by side, 

 and so the question presents itself which is 

 the best way for spring and fall cultivation. 

 Here is one which the writer has practiced 

 for many seasons, and has proved the use- 

 fulness of it, especially in that severe winter 

 of 1898 : 



Early in the spring the grape hoe is put 

 in the vineyard or orchard and three furrows 

 are drawn away. A man following with a 

 shovel cleans out any dirt remaining around 

 the tree or vine. This throws all soil and 

 weed seeds right out. This done, the gang 

 plough throws up to the vine or trees all 

 the soil, after which it is well rolled whilst 

 moist, rolling down at noon and at night 

 what was ploughed in morning and after- 

 noon ; it can then be left for a while, and is 

 in good condition for the disc harrow which 

 is run through about once a week in the 

 growing season. As the fall draws near 

 reverse the disc so as to throw up the soil 

 to the vines or trees for the last three or 

 four times the disc is run through. This 



