OPEN LETTERS. 



169 



and life of the tree. To those living far from a 

 nursery, it would be the better plan to buy young 

 seedlings from any nurseryman and plant them 

 out in nursery rows, when having been hoed and 

 cultivated for two or three years, they would be 

 ready to be planted more carefully, being handier 

 when wanted, always bearing in mind that two 

 things are most important to success: (i) Never 

 expose for a moment the roots to either the wind 

 or sun; (2) Have as much earth adhere to the 

 roots as possible when digging them up, not 

 shaking it all off, as is too often done. If these 

 remarks are carefully carried out there is no rea- 

 son why spruces should not live and grow when 

 transplanted as easily as any other tree. 



Winona. Junior. 



Fraudulent Packing. 



Sir. — I have seen several articles in various 

 newspapers, as well as in our magazine, on 

 "Fraudulent Packing." In watching the packers 

 in times past I have thought and said if the fruit 

 buyers would give us a better price and take the 

 best fruit at th.,t price, also pay us more for good 

 varieties than common ones, they might take the 

 second quality at a less price, and it would be 

 better for all concerned. And then our fruit 

 would have a good name in the foreign markets, 

 and there would be no difficulty in getting' sales 

 at a good figure. 



But, no ; they not only pack fraudulently, but 

 give them other names frequently. Some two 

 years ago our Huron "Apple King," so called, 

 got our apples. We had a few barrels of Hub- 

 bardson Nonsuch : they were rather small, but 

 sound ; the packer marked them XX. When we 

 took them to the station D * * C * * asked 

 why those barrels were marked XX, and said " 1 

 will see them." He opened a barrel, "Oh," he 

 said " they are all right." He then told the man 

 that was stencilling them, ''Mark those barrels 

 Ontario?' I thought at once it was a dishonest 

 trick ; by so doing deceiving the buyer. The 

 same party, by his packer, acted dishonestly by 

 us; promised to pay us two cents each for fetch- 

 ing out the barrels, and asked us to pack about a 

 dozen barrels and would pay us for it, but we got 

 nothing for either. 



I am afraid some of our buyers will get nipped 

 this year, and really I can't pity some of them. 



Godench. Walter Hick. 



San Jose Scale. 



Sir. — I read with a great deal of interest the 

 letter of A. W. Graham, nurseryman, of St. 

 Thomas, on this subject. I am one of those who 

 suffer the most inconvenience from the existing 

 laws, being a small local nurseryman, my cus- 

 tomers coming direct to the nursery more or less 

 every day during the planting season. But, while 

 I can sympathise with friend Graham in the in- 

 conveniences he mentions, I have come to a very 

 different conclusion from what he has. Instead 

 of tr>'ing to induce the Government to relax their 

 efforts. I think that all nurserymen, as well as 

 fruit growers, should back up the Government in 

 their laudable efforts to exterminate the dreaded 

 pest, and cheerfully make the best of the inconven- 



ience attending it. It is an old and true motto, 

 "Of two evils choose the least. " In principle, I 

 am an out and out free trader, but, in this case. I 

 think it was a commendable thing to prohibit the 

 importation of nursery stock from the States. If 

 one importation of infested nursery stock, through 

 the carelessness or connivance of the officials, 

 were permitted to come into Canada and be 

 spread broadcast over the country, it would soon 

 nullify all the efforts which the Agricultural De- 

 partment has been making to exterminate the pest. 



To the point that there are not fruit trees 

 enough in the country at the present time to sup- 

 ply the demand, that will in time right itself. 

 There is abundance of capital, business enterprise 

 and horticultural skill to produce all the nursery 

 stock which the country requires, if there is a 

 reasonable prospect of disposing of the same at 

 sufficiently remunerative prices. 



Wellburn, Ont. John M. McAinsh. 



Our Journal. 



Sir, — I take pleasure in letting you know that 

 I have received the first number of the Canadian 

 Horticulturist for 1900. This being my twenty- 

 third anniversary as a member of the Can- 

 adian Horticulturist Society and recipient of its 

 valuable journal. I must tell you I have been 

 pleased on many of these anniversary occasions 

 with agreeable and pleasant improvements, es- 

 pecially of late years. I thought la,st year's dress, 

 style and contents could not be improved on much 

 more ; but I have been agreeably corrected in 

 my opinion, for on seeing and looking over 

 the Horticulturist for January it gave me that 

 animated pleasure that decided beauty, improve- 

 ment and perfection can only give, for it has taken 

 on several degrees of marked improvements, and 

 I feel that its readers have something to be proud 

 of in knowing that we have such a splendid paper 

 to help to build up horticultural taste in our beau- 

 tiful land. I must tell you we have a good 

 strong Horticultural Society in Goderich, as 

 there is quite a number of enthusiastic fruit 

 and vegetable growers here, and our horticul- 

 tural di.splay at the fall show is in many ex- 

 hibits superior to any thing seen in other parts of 

 the country. It has been your wish that all mem- 

 bers should state their opinion on the benefit of 

 distributing plants and trees. I must tell you I 

 have several standing monuments of lasting pleas- 

 ure from the past distribution of trees and plants, 

 viz.; the Ontario apple tree I received over tweny 

 years ago could not be taken from the present 

 owner for less than thijty dollars ; my Miles Grape 

 I could not part with for any reasonable price as 

 it is one of the best of my forty- four varieties that 

 I have fruiting; then my Idaho Pear, Dempsey 

 Pear and Wickson Plum, all beautiful promising 

 trees that would not have come into my possession 

 if I had not got them in this way. It is well known 

 that people getting trees this way are sure to take 

 better care of them, so I like the system. Our 

 Horticultural Society will have a series of discus- 

 sions this winter and I shall send you some of the 

 papers read before the Society. I will close by 

 wishing you and ail the readers of the Horticul- 

 turist a happy and prosperous year. 



Goderich. W. Warnock. 



