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THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



take to say there is no currant can equal 

 White Imperial as a table fruit. 



Mr. Powell— I can indorse that statement, 

 but I want to take exception to Mr. Willard's 

 remark about the Fay. I think it varies in 

 different localities and different soils. With 

 me it is one of the finest and most productive 

 on my place, and I have the President Wilder 

 by the side of it. I have on some special 

 test bushes had sixteen quarts of Fay 

 Prolific on a single bush, and I would like 

 to ask Mr. Willard if he can beat that ? 



Mr. Willard — No ; I take in my horns. 



Prof. S. A. Beach being called for, said — 

 I am not prepared to speak on the question 

 of currants from, a commercial standpoint. 

 I believe the White Imperial very excellent. 

 The President Wilder is late ; doesn't have 

 to be marketed in a hurry. It is not quite - 

 as productive as the Cherry and the Fay, but 

 a good grower. We have only a limited 

 quantity on the Experiment Station grounds, 

 and would not like to estimate it in a com- 

 mercial way. 



Mr. W. D. Barns being called for said — 

 I hardly feel competent to answer the ques- 

 tion, though we have grown currants largely 

 along the Hudson river for twenty^ years. 

 Fay's has been the standard for a number 

 of years. It is weak in wood and falls early, 

 and unless kept freely pruned they are apt 

 to lie on the ground and become dirty. It 

 is not a long-lived bush. The Cherry cur- 

 rant does not branch enough. The Versailles 

 is smaller, and on the whole we consider it 

 better for market. May's Victoria has been 

 so far very profitable ; not as large as either 

 of the others, but later in the season. The 

 bushes are hardier and it is a good grower 

 Of the old Victoria we have picked as high 

 as eight quarts from a single bush in a 

 favorable location. In regard to the Wilder 

 and Prince Albert would say that the latter 

 is the latest one to color of any ; is different 

 in habit and foliage, vigorous and produc- 

 tive, light color, but has been a good market 



variety. The President Wilder we were 

 among the first to set out, and from the first 

 hundred plants we have received better 

 returns than from any other. It is a strong 

 grower ; colors almost as early as Fay, will 

 hold on longer, and is fit for market longer 

 than any other variety. The North Star, 

 Pomona and Red Cross we have not tested. 

 The Wilder has averaged from one to two 

 cents a quart more than the Fay or any 

 other currant. We are now pruning our 

 plantations for another year. Although the 

 crop last year was heavy and prices were 

 better than for three or four years, the 

 promise now is as good as last year. 



The Windsor Cherry : What of its value 

 as an orchard sort ? 



President Barry — I will call upon my old 

 friend Mr. Willard to open the discussion. 



Mr. Willard — I am very glad for one that 

 this question has been brought up in the 

 form that it has. It may not be known to 

 you all that to Ellwanger & Barry should be 

 given the credit of having introduced this 

 most valuable sweet cherry that has ever 

 been given to the orchardist. I want to say 

 to you that as a market fruit (we are 

 talking of these things upon commercial 

 lines), as a sweet cherry, there has never 

 been one introduced that equals the Wind- 

 sor. I believe I was one of the first to 

 market this fruit, and wish to say I have a 

 little row of them in front of my orchard 

 that has been bearing three or four 3'ears ; 

 and assessed as high as that property is, 

 which is far too high, that row of cherry 

 trees has produced sufficient to pay the 

 entire tax on that property — county, state, 

 school, everything. 



A member — How many trees ? 



Mr. Willard — Probably fifty. I said to 

 my wife they were put out there for a pur- 

 pose. The man who doesn't do things for 

 a purpose cannot tell " where he is at." 

 The purpose of my planting them was to pay 

 the taxes, and they have done so. The 



