(^yElTCQlNl PI^AWi^, 



Qnarly Duchess Pear. 



1 1 88. Sir,— I send you by this mail a sample 

 of Duchess pear which is all gnarled and dis- 

 torted by little hard spots which grow in it at the 

 skin. This pear, as you see, is about one -quarter 

 the size it should be. showing the dwarfing effect 

 of the pest. Will you kindly state through your 

 columns what it is and what remedy can be 

 applied. My Seckels and Duchess are both 

 badly affected every year, and it is probable that 

 other readers of the Canadian Horticulturist are 

 bothered by it also. 



London. W. E. Saunders. 



Without doubt this pear is affected with 

 stings of the curculio, a very common fault 

 with the Duchess. Where this pear is 

 grown upon rich land, well fertilized and 

 cultivated, it overgrows all such injuries 

 and is large, smooth and beautiful ; but 

 where weakly and stunted in growth, the 

 fruit is usually small, knotty and worthless. 



Watermelon Vines Failing. 



1189. Sir, — Can you give me any idea as to 

 cause of my watermelon plants wilting and 

 dying ? They grew vigorously and appeared 

 quite healthy until they would cover a space of 

 two or three feet square and then very suddenly 

 dry up and die. Also please give remedy for 

 same and much oblige. — Yours truly, 



Iroquois. A. B. Carman. 



It is verj^difficult to account for the dying 

 of your correspondent's melon vines without 

 knowing more of the particulars. The 

 trouble might be due to drought ; but it is 

 more likely that the vines were killed by 

 little borers working in the roots. The 

 striped cucumber beetle {^Diahrotica mttatd) 

 which devours the foliage of the young 

 plants, is very often found quite as injurious 

 in its larval stage, when it is a slender 

 worm-like creature and bores into the roots 

 and stems of the plants. This is one of the 

 difficult insects to contend with in both the 

 larval and adult stage. Probably the most 

 satisfactory method is to cover the melon 

 vines with netting supported on a light 



wooden frame. After the plants have 

 reached the second or third leaf the cover- 

 ing will be unnecessary. 



O. A. C, Guelph. H. L. Hutt. 



Sample Apples. 



1190. Sir, — I send j-ouby express four kinds of 

 apples, marked i, 2, 3, 4. Please name them. 

 Harriston. I. Livingston. 



No. I is Mcintosh Red, No. 2 resembles 



Cranberry Pippin, No. 3 resembles Seek ; the 



other one we do not recognize. — Editor. 



1191. 



White Bougere Rose. 



Sir, — Is this rose hardy enough to live 



out of doors during winter ? 

 Annapolis, N. S. E. D. Arnaud. 



The White Bougere is a tea rose, needing 

 good heavy protection here at Hamilton, 

 and would no doubt need the same in Nova 

 Scotia. We would prefer taking up the 

 plant and potting it. 



Hamilton. Webster Bros. 



Pruning Plum Trees. 



1 192. Sir, — I have some young plum trees 

 which bore fruit for the first time this season. The 

 trees were purchased for "Weaver, "but turned 

 out a large and very fine yellow plum, not ripen- 

 ing until about the 15th Sept. The trees have 

 grown into a very straggling shape, and seem to 

 me to require pruning. Will you kindly let me 

 know through your columns the best season and 

 manner in which to prune them. 

 Yours truly, 



Armon Burwash. 



All fruit trees need pruning, although the 

 plum and the cherry need much less than 

 the peach, pear and apple. The pruner has 

 two objects in view, (i) the form of the tree, 

 (2) the equal distribution of bearing wood. 

 It is evidently unwise to allow branches to 

 cross one another or to grow lop-sided. .\ 

 little wise cutting will regulate this. Then 

 a common fault with fast-growing varieties, 

 especially with the Japans, is the rank 

 growth of young wood, which soon make 



