^yEiTl@IN! mhHEU. 



Wheat in the Orchard. 



1 1 53. Sir, — A neighbor of mine who set out 

 some apple trees three or four years ago, sowed 

 wheat in the same field last year and now three- 

 fourths of his trees are dead. 



He attributes the loss of his trees to the wheat 

 being around them. He also tells me that his 

 brother-in-law sowed wheat in his orchard and 

 some of his trees also died, and his neighbors 

 told him that he would lose all his trees if he con- 

 tinued the practice. 



Now is it known that wheat takes such an 

 effect upon fruit trees, or has there been any such 

 case brought before the notice of the Fruit Grow- 

 ers' Association before ? Kindly reply through 

 Canadian Horticulturist and oblige. — Yours re- 

 spectfully, 



Cobourg. J. J. GoRMLY. 



The growing' of wheat, oats or barley in 

 an orchard is condemned by the best 

 orchardists, because such grain robs the 

 soil of phosphoric acid to an alarming 

 extent, and because of the mechanical action 

 of such crops in robbing the soil of its 

 moisture. The weakened growth resulting 

 seems to leave the trees most susceptible to 

 the borer, and other evils, so that indirectly 

 wheat growing may have caused the death 

 of the trees referred to. 



Treatment of Amaryllis. 



1154. Sir, — Would you please give in the 

 Horticulturist instructions for treatment of a 

 white Amarj'llis. I planted one last September 

 and it has not made root yet. The leaves shot 

 out, then died away. The bulb is large, hard 

 and dry. 



A Seaforth Subscriber. 



The bulb referred to has probably been 

 watered all the winter, when it should have 

 been resting, or possibly the soil may have 

 become sour for want of proper drainage. 

 I would advise that the bulb be shaken out 

 clean from the soil it is in, and all decayed 

 roots removed. Repot the bulb into a 

 mixture of equal parts of enriched loam and 

 sharp, clean sand ; pot into a comparatively 

 small pOt, a six-inch pot is large enough for 

 a good sized bulb; use fully an inch of 



broken pot at the bottom for drainage. The 

 top of the bulb should be just above the 

 surface of the soil when repotted. A hand- 

 ful of sand placed around the base of the 

 bulb will help it to start root action. Water 

 well once, and plunge the pot in coal ashes 

 out of doors until fall, it will require very 

 little water during summer, and still less in 

 winter. For further treatment of Amarj'llis 

 see May number of Horticulturist for 1899. 

 Hamilton. W. Hunt. 



Dwarf Trees. 



1 155. Sir, — Can I make dwarf apples by get- 

 ting one-year-old trees and training them to 

 branc J out near the ground ? 



Newburgh. J. Gaudier. 



This would not be a proper method of mak- 

 ing dwarf apple trees ; for, as ordinarily grafted, 

 the growth is too vigorous to be kept back by 

 pruning. Dwarf apples are made by using a 

 dwarf or slow-growing variety of apple, such as 

 the Paradise or Doucin as stock, and in conse- 

 quence the growth is checked and the tree 

 bears earlier. For the commercial orchard, 

 however, this is not advised in the case of the 

 apple. 



Planting Fruit Trees. 



1 156. Sir, — I intend to plant two or three hun- 

 dred trees next year. Would it be best to buy in 

 the fall and bury in the ground until spring. 

 Would you recommend one, two or three-year-old 

 trees? 



Newburgh. J. Gaudier. 



It only gives increased labor to buy trees in 

 the fall and bury them until spring, and it is 

 best to buy just when the trees are needed for 

 p'anting, allowing them to remain out of the 

 ground as little time as possible. 



Apple, pear and plum trees are usually 

 planted at three years of age from the graft, 

 while the cherry is better planted at two years 

 from the bud. 



