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The Canadian Horticulturist. 5 



Uniformity in Description of Fruits. — Mr. Saunders gave a very valuable 

 address on " Desirable Hardy Ornamental Trees and Shrubs for Ontario," which 

 will appear in full in our Annual Report. He also spoke upon the great 

 importance of uniformity in the descriptions of fruits, given in the Horticul- 

 turist and other journals. 



In describing apples and pears, the following order was desirable, viz.: 



Tree, origin, character of growth, color of wood, or other peculiarities, 

 productiveness, etc. 



Fruit, size, form, color, character of stem and cavity, and of calyx and basin ; 

 skin, color and markings. 



Flesh, color, texture, juciness, sweetness or acidity, flavor, quality. 



Period of ripenifig. 



In describing plums and peaches, a similar order should be followed, only 

 that the character of the suture should follow the color,' and in speaking of the 

 quality of the flesh, it should be stated whether it is free from or clings to the 

 stone. 



Raspberries in the North. — Mr. R. B. Whyte, of Ottawa, grows his rasp- 

 berries on a heavy retentive soil. He plants in the fall, placing the plants from 

 two to three feet apart in the rows, and the rows from five to seven feet apart, 

 according to the variety. His me hod of pruning, as described, is the very 

 opposite of that used in the Niagara district. He allows his canes to grow up 

 tall during the summer, cutting off" all laterals within two or three buds of the 

 main cane. Then in the fall cut back the tall stems to about five feet, and 

 bend them down to the ground, placing upon them pieces of boards, scantlings or 

 other weights, to keep them under the snow. He always cuts out the old wood 

 and surplus canes as soon as the fruit is gathered. Four to six canes is the 

 number allowed each hill. 



The eight best varieties, in Mr. Whyte's estimation, are (Red) Cuthbert, 

 Herstine and Heebner ; (Yellow) Golden Queen, Brinckle's Orange and 

 Caroline ; the Hillborn blackcap, and the purple hybrid Shaffer. 



Mr. Boulter, the President of the Peterboro' Association, said that the 

 Shaff"er was not so desirable for canning purposes as commonly supposed. For 

 home canning it is all right, but in the canning factories it goes to pieces in 

 cooking, and takes too much sugar to be desirable. 



The Peach Curl was curable with Bordeaux mixture, according to Prof. 

 Craig. The first application should be made before the foliage starts, and the 

 succeeding ones at intervals of ten days. 



The Formation of Local Horticultural Societies in the towns and incor- 

 porated villages of Ontario, was discussed, whose object should be the distribu- 

 tion of horticultural literature and the holding of lectures, instead of giving 

 prizes for fruit exhibits. (See Agricultural and Arts Act, sections 36, 37 and 

 47.) The societies would receive their due share of the electoral district grant, 



