28 THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



any grower is hereby led to guard his orchard more carefully against 

 this troublesome pest, he may save himself many times the amount of 

 his subscription to the Horticulturist. 



THE BEACONSFIELD GRAPE. 



There appeared in the Montreal Witness, of November last, the 

 following article : 



" GRAPE culture IN QUEBEC. 



" Sir : — It is important in a country like this — ^where farming is so 

 little remunerative — to find some special thing that may be success- 

 fully cultivated, and for which profitable market can be readily found. 

 I believe this desideratum is found in the vine. Naturally very 

 hardy, it appears to be well suited to both our climate and soil, growing 

 in a wild state as it does all over the country. But for the purpose 

 of commerce it is necessary to find some cyltivated variety that will 

 ripen early — ^both to avoid the danger of early frosts, and that it may 

 compete successfully with the foreign fruit that is usually imported 

 here in the month of September. A variety discovered only some two 

 or three years since, and which has been now named 'The Beaconsfield,' 

 appears to meet these requirements — ripening fully between the 25th 

 of August and the 5th of September, earlier than any foreign fruit can 

 be imported. It is very prolific, and of rapid growth ; the fruit is large, 

 of a dark purple color, sweet and luscious, and fit for table use, being 

 quite free from that acid taste that foreign imported fruit necessarily 

 has, by reason of its being gathered in an unripe state for a distant 

 market. 



" Having gathered all the information I could respecting this vine, 

 I determined to try it, and in the spring of 1877 I planted a vineyard 

 of about three acres with two thousand five hundred vines. A few of 

 them bore fruit that year, and the present year, (1878) gave me a crop 

 of nearly a ton weight, comparatively but a few only of the vines 

 bearing, but the yield of these was very satisfactory, numbers of the vines 

 bearing as many as thirty good-sized bunches, and one in particular 

 fifty bunches. I believe from what I have observed that I am justified 

 in estimating my crop for next year at not less than thirty tons of 

 grapes. As one-half of this crop would more than repay the total cost 

 of the vines, labor, and all expenditure in the ingathering of that crop, 

 it is evident that this will yield a very great profit; and I am so well 

 pleased with the result of my experiment in its financial aspect, and 

 as showing that the vine can be successfully cultivated in this 

 country, that I have made arrangements to plant four thousand vines 



