10^ 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



discard it, although its quality is very 

 fine. Find that reports from berries iu 

 Michigan give the Crescent Seedling as 

 the equal of the Wilson. The Crescent 

 Seedling when properly picked and 

 packaged can be shipped anywhere. In 

 yield it is superior, and in size it is 

 equal to any. The red raspberry is the 

 one that takes the lead with me." 



ENGLISH SPARKOWS. 



A premium of ()d. per dozen has 

 been placed upon sparrows* heads by 

 the Government of South Australia, 

 acting on the advice of a Commission 

 specially appointed to enquire into the 

 " sparrow question," while the some- 

 what dispropoi-tionate sum of 2s. 6d. 

 per hundred is offered for the tiny pale 

 blue eggs of the bird. The bird, which 

 only a few years ago such efforts were 

 made to acclimatize in Australia, and 

 whose first arrival was hailed with 

 greater enthusiasm than would now be 

 displayed on the landing of a Bend Or, 

 a Duchess, or a prize merino, is now 

 doomed to extermination if that can 

 possibly be achieved. So rapidly have 

 the few pairs which were introduced a 

 few years ago multiplied under the 

 congenial skies and amid the luxuriant 

 vegetation of the Australian Colonies, 

 where there are few or none of the 

 checks on their increase which exist in 

 the Old Country, that the agriculturists 

 complain of the serious injury done by 

 them to their wheat and fruit crops, 

 and have called upon the Government 

 to devise some means of insuring their 

 destruction. The evidence given before 

 the Commission appointed to inquire 

 into the matter affords eloquent exam- 

 ples of the destructiveness of these 

 hard-billed birds. One witness says 

 that in the short space of ten days the 

 sparrows took a ton and a half of 

 grapes ; they stripped all the figs off 

 five trees, and kept low 15 acres of 



lucerne during summer. Another com- 

 plains that in the season they took £30 

 worth of fruit ; while a third declares 

 that he sowed peas three times, and 

 each time they were destroyed by spar- 

 rows. The fecundity of the sparrow in 

 South Australia is described as astonish- 

 ing. A few to-day are thousands next 

 sea^on. Its work is done on a scale 

 disheartening to the cultivator, and 

 under conditions he cannot control, for 

 the seed is taken out of the ground, the 

 fruit-bud off the tree, the sprouting 

 vegetable as fast as it grows, and the 

 fruit before it is ripe, and therefore 

 before it can be housed and saved. 

 Neither apricots, cherries, figs, apples, 

 grapes, peaches, pi urns, peai's, nectarines, 

 loquats, olives, wheat, barley, peas, Ciib- 

 bages, cauliflowers, nor seeds nor fruit 

 of any kind are spared by its omnivor- 

 ous bill ; and all means of defence tried 

 against its depredations, whether scare- 

 crows, traps, netting, shooting, or 

 })oisoning, are declared to be insuffi- 

 cient to cope with the enemy. 



ORANGE CROP OF CALIFORNIA. 



The Press and Horticulturist^ of Cali- 

 fornia, has the following on the coming 

 orange crop in that State : "So far as 

 this State is concerned, the crop will be 

 abo\^ as lai-ge as last year. The San 

 Ga#el Valley will produce but 35,000 

 boxes, in place of 60,000 boxes last year, 

 and there will be a similar falling in the 

 old orchards of Los Angelos ; but the 

 new orchards of Passadena, Orange, 

 Tustin City, Anaheim and Riverside, 

 will nearly or quite make up the loss 

 of the older orchards. The crop this 

 year will be of a much better quality 

 than last. In 1880-81 the orchards 

 were overloaded, and much of the fruit 

 was consequently inferior. This year 

 the old orchards have a light crop, and 

 thei-efoi'e the fruit is of a better quality. 

 Again the increase of the crop this year 



