THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



63 



experiments in wine making have now 

 extended over a period of some twenty 

 years, so that they are able from the 

 experience thus gained to make a really 

 good wine from our Canadian gi*apes. 

 The wines which were sampled on this 

 lion were pronounced by those who 

 )mpetent judges to bear evidence 

 iving been carefully handled and 

 >ing well matured. Until recently, 

 growing and wine making by this 

 has been a labor of love ; but the 

 lence of theii* products has won 

 bhem such a favorable reputation 

 their business has already assumed 

 dderable commercial importance, 

 lis industry is doubtless but in its 

 icy. French wine makers, driven 

 the ravages of the phylloxera to 

 more favorable opportunities, are 

 rning their attention towards Canada 

 probable place for the establish- 

 ^nt of vineyards and the manufacture 

 wine. It is highly probable that 

 fore many years Ontario will produce 

 pure and wholesome wines in sufficient 

 quantity to supply the markets of our 

 Dominion, for we possess both the soil 

 and climate eminently suited to the 

 (SUltivation of many varieties of the 

 ^a.\^L\ A wonderful impulse has re- 

 Otmtly been given to the cultivation of 

 this luscious and healthful fruit by the 

 introduction of new and choice varie- 

 ties, some of them of surpassing excel- 

 lence. The work thus auspiciously 

 begun will doubtless go on, and each 

 year will add some new variety of ex- 

 cellence, until we have native sorts 

 rivalling in every valuable requisite 

 ihe best grapes of the Old World. If 

 le of the results shall be to give to 

 ir people a pure, undi*ugged wine in 

 ice of the fabricated wines now on 

 5, the thanks of our people will be 

 [tly due to these pioneers in grape 

 [wing and wine making who have 

 ^n the possibility of making a pure 

 'palatable native wine. 



THE CULTIVATION OF FOREST 

 TREES. 



There is no more profitable use to 

 which rough ground, that cannot 

 be profitably plowed, can be turned 

 than to plant it to timber. But the 

 profit depends greatly upon the kinds 

 of timber planted. Some timber trees 

 are of quick growth ; some grow slowly ; 

 some are valuable and some Avorth little ; 

 some will best succeed on dry soil, and 

 some best on wet ground, and some 

 require certain conditions of climate. 

 Thus, in swampy places, white cedar, 

 tamarac, spruce and balsam fir will 

 thrive excellently, but the last men- 

 tioned is valueless for its timber, while 

 the others are salable at good prices 

 for various purposes. Again, in some 

 localities the otherwise useless white 

 birch is in demand for manufacturing 

 purposes, and will there pay better than 

 any other kind. Hard maple of the 

 bird's eye or curly varieties will grow 

 best on rocky ground in a cold climate, 

 while black walnut requires a warmer 

 climate and rich soil to thrive well. 

 Usually the timbers required for manu- 

 facturing purposes pay the best ; such 

 as walnut, chestnut, cherry, maple, and 

 birch, which are in demand for furni- 

 ture ; elm, oak, ash, hickory, basswood, 

 and some others, are bought by wagon, 

 carriage, and sleigh makers ; cedar, 

 chestnut and locust are valuable for 

 fencing, and in some places an acre of 

 swamp covered with white cedar has 

 yielded nearly a thousand dollars for 

 the fence posts and rails taken from it. 



Cultivated timber is worth much 

 more than that which has grown wild, 

 as much so as a crop of cultivated pota- 

 toes is more valuable than one self-sown 

 and neglected. The timber grows more 

 rapidly and in better shape, and there 

 are more trees on the same quantity of 

 ground. Thus, one acre of cedars, 

 planted four feet apart each way, would 

 contain 2,722 trees. These trees, so 



