THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



183 



THINNING OF FRUIT. 



A. fruit tree cannot bear a very 

 heavy crop oftener than once in two 

 years, and in order to obtain an even- 

 bearing tree, the fruit should be thinned 

 very freely every year. This would 

 secure not only very even crops every 

 year, but finer and superior fruit. 

 Thinning is easily done if we obtain a 

 slender pole with a hook-like knife at- 

 tached, or even a codfish hook, by which 

 the extra fruit could be easily cut out. 

 - — Michigan Farmer. 



We fear that there will be little occa- 

 sion to urge upon our readers the prac- 

 tice of thinning out the fruit this season, 

 unless it be in the matter of grapes, 

 for the cold easterly storm that pre- 

 vailed when the trees were in blossom 

 in the Niagara District has thinned the 

 fruit quite too severely in that great 

 fruit-growing region. 



SALT FOR ASPARAGUS. 



Chas. Hovey, in the Massachusetts 

 Ploughman, takes exception to the gen- 

 eral im})ressions that salt is essential, 

 or even beneficial, to asparagus, saying 

 thousands of plants are annually killed 

 or injured by its application. He also 

 says that our ''mammoth" specimens 

 do not compare with some grown by 

 the ancients, and quotes Pliny as say- 

 ing " there was a vaiiety which grew 

 near Ravenna, a deep, sandy country, 

 three shoots of which would weigh a 

 pound." 



It may be that enough salt has been 

 applied to injure aspai'agus, but we 

 have never seen an instance. It is a 

 maritime plant, growing naturally in 

 salt marshes, hence not likely to be in- 

 jured by any reasonable application of 

 salt. 



TO GET RID OF MELON BUGS. 



A. Virginia farmer, as soon as bugs 

 appear upon his melon vines, puts 

 about half to a whole gallon of shaq7 

 sand immediately around them, and 

 with melons, cucumbers and squashes 

 found it a sudden and sure cure. It 

 is supposed the heat and the inability 

 of the bugs to shelter themselves from 

 the hot sun by going into the ground, 

 constitute its virtue ', at any rate, in 

 this instance, it succeeded perfectly and 

 gave great satisfaction. Just spread 

 the sand as if putting ashes around 

 grape vines or fruit trees. 



Will some of our readers please give 

 the above remedy a trial, and report 

 results to the Canadian Horticulturist ? 

 It is a new expedient to us, and we 

 have grave doubts as to its success with 

 our Canadian melon bugs, and yet it is 

 so easy of trial and inexpensive, that it 

 would be interesting to know whether 

 it will succeed. 



ROOT PRUNING FOR TOMATOES. 

 Root pruning of tomato plants is 

 recommended to induce early maturity 

 of the fruit. While the plants are 

 young tliey are ti"ansplanted several 

 times, which of course destroys some 

 of the roots ; and after they are put 

 into their final resting place, a spade is 

 once in a while thrust down into the 

 ground a foot or so from the main stalk. 

 In this, of course, size, and |)erhaps 

 quality, are sacrificed to a few weeks 

 earliness ; but many are willing to pay 

 this penalty for the sake of the early 

 dish. Those wishing to secure an early 

 lipening of fruit will do well to pi-ac- 

 tice this system of root pruning upon a 

 portion of their plants. Tomato plants 

 produce better and more evenly rii>ened 

 fruit when afforded some support, as by 

 stakes or trellises, to keep vines from 

 the ground. — iVew York Herald. 



