OPEN LETTERS. 



533 



trees because they would yield so little fruit 

 before they would need to be removed. 



If it is desirable to make the ground pay 

 the expenses of cultivation, we would advise 

 growing" small fruits or some other hoed crop. 



The Honey Bee. 

 1264. Sir, — Are the days of the bees num- 

 bered ? It would seem so from what we read about 

 them in your last issue of the Horticulturist, page 

 470. Would it not be well to cover a few trees 

 altogether with sacking or mosquito netting and 

 such varieties that are most subject to the disease, 

 such as Winter Nelis, Flemish Beauty or White 

 Doyenne, in place of covering a branch on the 

 tree. The branch covered might be the only one 

 on the tree or trees that might escape if not covered 

 while if the whole tree was covered and then the 

 disease took hold there would be a reason for be- 



lieving. A simpler way would be to send the bees 

 away to the Klondike for a season, or some ether 

 place and prove the innocent creatures guilty. My 

 belief is that the death blow is very simple to the 

 blight such as recommended by J. J. Graham to 

 produce an apple crop (page 487 your last issue) 

 or a similar one, such as proper pruning, moisture 

 and the suitableness of the soil and its cultivation. 

 Wh}^ does not the bees introduce the disease to 

 the Keifer, Buifam and others we could mention. 



R. Cameron. 



Since the bees can only carry blight from 

 tree to tree during the brief season of blos- 

 soming, it is a very easy matter to see that 

 no blighted trees be allowed to bloom. 

 Such trees should be carefully cut out and 

 burned before that season, and then the 

 innocent bee will be perfectly harmless in 

 regard to the spread of blight. 



p(i[r| Ld'^tdl?'^ 



Rufus. 



Sir, — I am sending you some specimens of the 

 Rufus apple, a seedling which originated at Perth, 

 Ont., in the garden of Lt.-Col. Matheson I have 

 sent some specimens to Hutt also, as I thought it 

 was promising enough to mention in the report on 

 new fruit. 



W. T. Macoun, 

 Horticulturist C. E. F., Ottawa. 



This apple is rather attractive in appear- 

 ance, of medium size, conical, covered with 

 bright red, and dark red on sunny side. 



The flesh is white, tinged with streaks of 

 red, crisp, moderately juicy, and very agree- 

 able flavor. 



Horticulture in California. 



Sir, — I am immensely pleased with California; 

 its scenery, climate and tlowers and fruits. It 

 is indeed a country of e.xtremes, high snow- 

 capped mountains enclosing beautiful verdant 

 valleys, flowers of all kinds, roses more espec- 

 ially. Cacti grow in abundance in the Mojane 

 desert, onl}'- 20 miles from here, and j'ou may 

 imagine how I am in mv delight. Even now 

 at this late date we are picking strawberries from 

 a patch that has been producing without inter- 

 mission since last March, the Jessie variety. 

 Grapes here produce and ripen three crops a year, 

 but are not of the same variety as in Canada ; one 

 kind is entirely seedless and very nice. They 

 sold well here last year, sales averaging $30 per 

 ton on the vine. Neorly all grapes are used for 

 wine or raisin making. There is an immense 

 amount of fruit of all kinds dried in the sun. 



Fruit here, although of the same varieties as with 

 yon, Bartlett pears, Crawford peaches, etc., ap- 

 pear to have quite a different texture, and if not 

 picked will not rot but simply drj' up on the tree. 

 Surely it is not on account of lack of moisture, as 

 here we irrigate our orchards once a month most 

 thoroughly as water can be had at all times and is 

 very cheap too. The melted snow from the 

 mountains is the only source we get it from. 

 There ase many kinds of peaches and plums here 

 that I think would be profitable with you, also of 

 grapes. I shall be pleased to mail you scions if 

 you should wish them. We are having beautiful 

 weather now and have only had one rain since last 

 April. The leaves on the trees are as green as in 

 April, and the palms and magnolias I especially ad- 

 mire. Everj^thing seems to grow with such ease 

 and perfection. I am often thinking of the Horti- 

 cultural Society and will with your approval write 

 a paper to read at one of the winter meetings on 

 " Flowers in California." There are no Horti- 

 cultural Societies here, and I may add no need of 

 the spray pump, for there are very few bad insects 

 or fungoid diseases. 



Bakersfield, Cal. N. Keep. 



Spraying. 



Sir, — This year, in spraying, I used 25 lbs. blue 

 vitriol, 3 lbs. of lime and 4 oz. of Paris green to 

 40 gallons of water, instead of full strength as 

 heretofore. I sprayed three times after the blos- 

 soms dropped, at intervals of ten days. The foli- 

 age of the Japan plums and sour cherries nearly 

 all dropped off. The aphis was very bad on those 

 trees this year, was it the spraying or the aphis 

 that caused it ? Apple, pear and European plums 

 were all right and bore heavily. 



Yours truly, A. W. Graham. 



