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THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



best of all ; the plant vigorous ; very 

 prolific ; fruit medium to large, the last 

 picking almost as large as ttie first ; no 

 iriegular or coxcomb berries; bright 

 scarlet colour ; good but not high qual- 

 ity; shipping and keeping qualities only 

 equalled by the Wilson and Finch's Pro- 

 lific. Its only fault is that of having a 

 pistillate or imperfect blossom, requir- 

 ing it to be planted with or near some 

 perfect flowering sort. 



Crescent Seedling, the most profitable 

 early market berry ; its one great fault 

 is that of the fruit running very small 

 at the latter end of the season. 



Wilson and Charles Downing, our 

 most profitable sorts six years ago, are 

 now of very little value, as they are more 

 easily affected by the strawberry rust 

 or leaf blight than any of our other 

 varieties. 



Miner' s Prolific is very valuable either 

 for market or home use ; with us, it 

 fully takes the place of the Charles 

 Downing. 



Sharpless produces only a moderate 

 crop on one-year beds, while those two 

 years old give an abundant crop of ber- 

 ries of the largest average size of any 

 variety we have ever grown. Its first 

 and largest berries are very irregular in 

 shape, and have the fault of not ripening 

 all over at once — therefore requiring to 

 be picked with unusual care. Owing to 

 its large size, it sells for the highest price 

 in market, and is very profitable on 

 strong, rich soil. 



Windsor Chief is a most valuable late 

 market variety, producing enormous 

 crops of rich, dark-colored berries, very 

 acid, yet of good flavor. 



Mt. Vernon, very late and prolific ; 

 better in quality than the Windsor but 

 not as firm. 



Finch's Prolific, vigorous and pro- 

 ductive, fruit medium to large, perfect 

 in form, bright color, fair quality, and 

 very firm. This and the Manchester we 



think destined to take the place of the 

 Wilson for shipping purposes. 



Bidwell, which did so well vnih. us 

 last season, has greatly disappointed us 

 this, not only on our own grounds but 

 everywhere that we have seen it. The 

 trouble is that it " sets " more fruit than 

 the plant can carry out, and the result 

 is almost a total failure — one or two fair 

 pickings, and that is all ; and we doubt 

 if it Avill ever prove profitable for mar- 

 ket, unless possibly on very strong, rich 

 soil where ii'rigation can be practised ; 

 we say this with much regret as we have 

 several acres planted for next year's 

 fruiting, and had hoped for great things 

 from the Bidwell. 



We might mention many others, but 

 the ones named are the best among more 

 than one hundred sorts; and if we were 

 to plant one variety for market it would 

 be the Manchester, first, last, and every 

 time. If three sorts, Manchester, Wind- 

 sor and Miner's Prolific ; if six sorts, 

 Manchester, Windsor, Miner's, Finch, 

 Crescent and Mt. Yernon. 

 ■ Best one for family use, Miner's Pro- 

 lific ; best three. Miner's, Manchester 

 and Mt. Yernon ; best six. Miner's, 

 Manchester, Mt. Yernon, Crystal City, 

 Sharpless and Cumberland Triumph. 



GKAPE LEAVES FOR PICKLES. 



I wonder if housewives generally use 

 fresh, green grape leaves to put on top 

 of their pickles to keep them sharp and 

 free from mold. I used to cover them 

 with a flannel cloth, and rinse it out 

 every other day. Two years ago a 

 friend told me that grape leaves were 

 much nicer, so I tried them, and I shall 

 never try cloth again. Grape leaves 

 keep pickles the best of anything I 

 have ever found. I change them once 

 a week, and the vinegar keeps sharp 

 and clear, and it imparts a nice flavor 

 to the pickles. I rinse the leaves in 

 pure water, and let them drain quite 



