208 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



this came under our notice. He could not say 

 " No " when pain, or poverty, or distress appealed 

 to him. It is possible his want of success as a 

 business man may in a measure be attributed to 

 this. Twice within our recollection the wagons 

 in his yard were loaded and about to start for 

 market, when a poor, broken-hearted man, whose 



wife was dying of consumption, came and pleaded 

 for some strawberries, which were then at a high 

 price. The man went off with the strawberries, 

 telling the writer of these lines that he felt 

 ashamed to ask such a favour from Mr. Black- 

 more, as he had so often received similar kind- 

 nesses. 



^OESTIOMI BI^AWE^, 



Best Fertilizers for Orchard. 



1147. Sir, — Have been using barnyard manure 

 for years on my orchard, but supply cannot readily 

 be got now, so will have to get something to take 

 its place. Saw sometime ago, in the Globe I 

 think, an advertisement of Bradley's Fertilizers, 

 and took a memo at the time. The kinds speci- 

 fied were Niagara phosphate, guano, dissolved 

 bone with potash, and fruit and vine fertilizer. 

 Could you give me a practical opinion as to 

 whether these articles are reliable, and also if so, 

 which kind would answer best for pears and ap- 

 ples on clay soil. As you well know it is of the 

 utmost importance to us fruit growers that orch- 

 ards should be fed well, and I do not wish to 

 spend money on an article that will not give the 

 best results. If these goods are not the best, 

 kindly let me know where and what to get. 



Owen Sound. W. B. Stephens. 



As far as I am aware, the Bradley Fertil- 

 izers are reliable ; that is, the results of their 

 analysis, as made by the Government chemist, 

 agree very well with the percentag^es of phos- 

 phoric acid, potash, and nitrogen guaran- 

 teed by the manufacturer. 



The composition of the brands mentioned 

 by your correspondent is as follows : 



Nitrogen, 



Calculated 



as Ammonia. 



I. Niagara phosphate .... 1.00 

 2 Seafowl guano 2.50 



3. Dissolved bone with pot- 



ash 1. 00 



4. Fruit and vine fertilizer. 2. 5 



For orchard application, I should expect 

 the best results from either Nos. 3 or 4 ; the 

 price per ton would naturally be a factor in 

 deciding which brand would be the more 

 profitable to employ. 



Since this orchard is not receiving- barn- 

 yard manure, and the soil is a clay, it oc- 

 curs to me that the turning- under of a crop 



Phos. 

 Acid. 



8.00 

 10.00 



Pot- 

 ash. 



1.08 

 1.50 



10.00 

 10.00 



2.15 

 5.40 



of clover might be beneficial. If sown earl}' 

 in July, an excellent stand will be obtained, 

 if the season is at all favorable, by the end 

 of the season — say, October — when it may 

 be ploug-hed under, or, if thought best, left 

 as a cover crop during the winter and turned 

 under early in the spring. This plan is a 

 very economical and effective one for enrich- 

 ing^ the soil in nitrogen and humus. It is 

 doubtful, if such a method were pursued, 

 whether it would be necessary to purchase 

 nitrogen in the form of a commercial fertil- 

 izer. 



Frank T. Shltt. 

 Chemist, C. E. F., Ottawa. 



P. S. — Those proposing purchasing com- 

 mercial fertilizers should peruse the Bulletin 

 issued by the Inland Revenue Department, 

 Ottawa, which states the composition of all 

 fertilizers sold in Canada. 



Raspberry Cane Borer. 



1148. Sir, — For a couple of summers a pest has 

 been destroying great numbers of my black rasp- 

 berry canes, completely killing out some hills. When 

 the young cane is about six inches or a foot in 

 height, some insect deposits an egg in the tender 

 part of the cane. The Q^'g becomes a little white 

 maggot, which eats its way downward about an 

 inch and a half, then eats around the cane, inside 

 the shell, and finally nestles itself there. There- 

 upon the part of the cane above the maggot wilts 

 and droops over. If the cane be broken off just 

 at the bottom of the wilted part, the maggot will 

 be found. 



Please name and describe the parent insect in 

 your next number of the Canadian Horticulturist 

 and tell us the best way to prevent its ravages. 



Hespeler. H. J. Brownlee. 



