394 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



(^yesTi®^ i^AWE^. 



Sowing 5eed of Ginseng. 



1173, Sir, — Will any member of your Asso- 

 ciation tell me why my Ginseng seed does not 

 grow. A year ago I planted fifty seeds in a box 

 2 feet 6 inches long by i foot wide, with 8 inches 

 of good soil. I put 8 inches of good soil in it, put 

 the box next the fence, banked earth around it 

 and planted the seed about one inch deep. I 

 covered the box with a fine wire screen to keep 

 out the mice, and kept it moist last summer by 

 sprinkling. This year I expected young plants 

 but not one has appeared. 



Clinton. Thos. Hollaway. 



We have referred our inquirer to Mr. 

 Harlan P. Kelsey, of Boston, Mass., who is 

 the chief dealer in Ginseng- in America, who 

 has replied as follows : 



I think your subscriber probably let the 

 Ginseng dry out at some time, and he did 

 not plant it properly in any case. There 

 should have been at least 18 inches of good 

 soil beneath the seeds, and the box should 

 have been sunk to the level of the surround- 

 ing earth, instead of having banked up 

 around it. Again, probably the seed was 

 not good. This can be ascertained by cut- 

 ting throug-h the seed as one would cut 

 through a cucumber or squash seed. 



The best way is to put the seeds in layers 

 as soon as collected, with sand or soil be- 

 tween in beds, and put in the open air. 

 Plant out in larg-e boxes sunk to the level in 

 the soil with netting- roller to keep it moist. 



Ag-ain, the seed may have been a little too 

 dry, and in this case they would not come 

 up till next spring". But he can find out if 

 they are good by testing as above. 



Orchard Cultivation. 



1074. Sir, — I was much interested in the able 

 and lucid address given at the convention of the 

 Fruit Growers' Association by Mr. Powell, of 

 Ghent, especially that portion which treats of the 

 ploughing under of clovers. He makes every point 

 very clear, except one, which is not spoken of, and 

 that is this : It is generally the custom to plough 

 towards the trees in the auti:mn and away from 

 them in the spring, or at any rate, to work the soil 

 away in the spring with the disc harrow. I 

 understand that he advocates ploughing, and in 



the early spring, and doing the rest of the work 

 with the cultivator. Now, my question is, " Is it 

 not helpful to the trees to plough towards them 

 before the winter. Is it not almost necessary in 

 this latitude?" And, again, would he recommend 

 ploughing towards and from the trees alternate 

 years, or in your opinion, if the soil were thrown 

 towards the trees every year, would cultivating 

 and cross cultivating level the ground sufficiently ? 

 I am much interested in the clover question and 

 should feel obliged if you would kindly answer 

 in the next issue of your paper. 



Yours truly 

 Woodside, Beamsville. A. H. Wane. 



In relation to cultivation of orchards, in 

 all well drained land, it is better to keep the 

 ground level. Cultivation sends the roots 

 down, hence there is no danger in ploughing- 

 the soil away from them one year and to- 

 wards them the next. 



There is no need of deep ploughing near 

 the trees, just enough to break up the soil 

 and keep it stirred. Let the deeper plough- 

 ing be done outside, which keeps roots 

 down deep, where they obtain more mois- 

 ture and are safe from frost for that reason. 



I believe in setting trees deeper and de- 

 pend more on the lower roots ; surface roots 

 are more liable to injury from cultivation, 

 from drouth, and from frost, hence deeper 

 planting and getting the root system deeper 

 in the soil will give us better trees and better 

 results in every way. 



This, with early and frequent cultivation, 

 and then covering the land later with clover 

 for winter protection and for improving the 

 soil, has given me great satisfaction. For 

 full bearing orchards this treatment gives 

 fine quality and regular bearing. 



For young growing trees this plan would 



have to be modified somewhat, but where 



small fruit culture is carried on between the 



trees for a few years, such as currants and 



raspberries, the plan will work with equally 



good results. 



Geo. T. Powell. 



Briar Cliff Manor, N. Y. 



