THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



Floral EUitioii 



Water Features and Arches 



HERE arc a few simpld features 

 that in their proper place add 

 htrgely to the home appear- 

 ance. Where steps in a garden 

 are required, stone or brick with 

 plantings on either side are pleas- 

 ing. They should be wide, and not 

 over six inches in depth. Some of the 

 lesser used paths may l)e gi'uss. Pleas- 

 ant to walk in, restful to the eye, they 

 also form a delightful blend with the 

 colors in nearby planting. 



A water feature is of intense inter- 

 est, where it can be provided with any 

 naturalness. Even a built fountain or 

 pool, if the Avater is on the same level 

 as the garden, may be made really ar- 

 tistic. At the end of a walk or grass 

 area appears to be the fitting place. 

 The grass can extend to the edge, or 

 some planting between stones round 

 the edge helps to make the appearance 

 more natural. If some bright-colored 

 (lowering plants can be placed near the 

 pool, the oiitdoor mirror of the sur- 

 face of the water produces a charming 

 effect. The idea can, of course, be ex- 

 tended to include Avater lilies and fish, 

 and it might also attract the birds to 

 some extent. 



Arches, both wire and rustic, are al- 

 ways admired. They should be mas- 

 sive enough to give an impression of 

 stability and when covered are an 

 added charm. They may be used to 

 advantage near steps, or on paths to 

 give the appearance of additional 

 length, or at walk intersections. From 

 arches to pergolas is not far, for the 

 latter is but a glorified arch. One of 

 t.lie finest kinds of garden architecture, 

 it has to be planned with care, and 

 should only be used where the position 

 is suitable. Covering steps down to a 

 garden level, and extejiding a few feet 

 along a path ; at the end of a garden 

 wall, or at garden intersections are 

 possible positions. If built of wood 

 that has to be painted, a dull brown 

 color is the best. Wlien well planted 

 with any of the vines named, the first 

 and right impression is rather of the 

 plants than the structure. There is not 

 sufficient time to deal with the con- 

 struction but a Avell built pergola de- 

 mands some thought and labor, and is 

 \\orth it. 



Plum Pockets 



Prof. L. Caesar, O.A.C., Guelph, Ont. 



PLUM pockets or bladder plums is 

 a disease that is confined in On- 

 tario, apparently, to native varie- 

 ties, doing no damage to the European 

 kinds; hence, it is not of much import- 

 ance to commercial plum growing. 

 How ever, as it often almost ruins the 

 crop of native plums, and as "many 



farmers, especially in the colder dis- 

 tricts, prize these varieties highly, it 

 will be of interest to them to know 

 that the disease can be controlled at 

 small expense. 



Plum pockets or bladder plums, or, 

 as the farmers often call them, blasted 

 plums, are characterized by the fruit, 

 instead of developing normally, be- 

 coming much swollen soon after jt is 

 set, turning first pale yellowish or 

 reddish color and later brownish. If 

 such fruits are examined, they will be 

 found to be spongy, leathery in tex- 

 ture and to have no pit inside. More- 

 over, they drop several weeks before 

 healthy plums are ripe. 



This disease is caused by a fungus 

 which seems to winter chiefly on the 

 buds, and, like peach leaf curl, to 

 which it is closely related, can be con- 

 trolled by an early spray with lime- 

 sulphur, 1 gallon to 7 or 8 gallons of 

 water, applied very thoroughly in the 

 spring before the buds have begun to 

 show signs of bursting. In spraying 

 take special pains to cover the twigs 

 thoroughly. 



About ten years ago the writer test- 

 ed this method and obtained excellent 

 results. Lately it has been again test- 

 ed on a larger scale in Montana and 

 again proved satisfactory. No poi-son 

 is needed with the lime sulphur. 



Pruning the Orchard 



W. S. Blair, Kentvilie, N.S. 



THE pruning of orchard trees 

 should receive more than passing 

 notice. Successful pruning is that 

 which removes the least amount of top 

 possible to give an open head and elim- 

 inate undesirable branches. It is 

 pretty well established by experimental 

 data that anything which reduces the 

 vigor of the top in like degree reduces 

 the vigor of the root. The reduced 

 vigor is undoubtedly due to loss of 

 foliage, which is the factory of food 

 production for the tree. You can quite 

 understand, however, that the removal 

 of certain branches would inci-ease the 

 vigor of the leaves on remaining 

 branches. Hence, by cutting down the 

 leaf-bearing area, you may produce 

 conditions that will make that area 

 more efficient. The reduction of leaf- 

 bearing ai'ea, however, beyond a cer- 

 tain point may seriously interfere with 

 proper food elaboration. So it is de- 

 sirable that moderate annual rather 

 than excessive pruning on occasional 

 years should be practiced. 



A principle of pruning not well un- 

 derstood, and from my observation sel- 

 dom used, is, that branches to be re- 

 pressed, should be cut heavily, and 

 those to be stimulated should be cut 

 lightly or not at all. Make practical 

 application of this fact in your prun- 



ing operations, and it will do more to 

 a.ssist you in shaping your trees and 

 getting a proper spread than anything 

 else. If you practice this, you do un- 

 even cutting, and the avr-ijufp ntnnfM- 

 would laugh at the job. 



To illustrate this point, Mippusu uno 

 branches which arise from the same 

 branch, are cut back equally. They will 

 tend to produce equal growth the next 

 year. If one is cut back heavily, and 

 the other lightly or not at all, the 

 latter will continue to form the frame- 

 work of the tree, whereas the other 

 will become a secondary branch. 



A heavy pruning when trees are dor- 

 mant disturbs the equilibrium exist- 

 ing between top and root. Nature 

 endeavors to restore this balance the 

 following season by the growth of leaf 

 developing branches, and the chances 

 are that maximum fruit bud develop- 

 ment will not take place. Nature aims 

 to replace the lost foliage area result- 

 ing from heavy pruning rather than 

 form fruit buds. For this reason heavy 

 pruning has the opposite effect of light 

 pruning. Light pruning makes it pos- 

 sible to develop large trees more 

 quickly, and is also conducive to early 

 fruiting. 



Do not, hoAvever, get the impression 

 from what has been said, that little or 

 no pruning is necessary. Without 

 judicious pruning, you cannot develop 

 satisfactory crops, but aim to direct 

 your pruning operations so that best 

 results will be obtained. If the severe 

 pruning usually pj'acticed on young 

 trees were followed at our Experiment 

 Station, the trees would not have the 

 size nor would they produce the fruit 

 they do. You know right well that the 

 average pruner prefers pruning a 

 young to an old tree. He would much 

 rather do it than to get up into a big 

 tree, and take out the surplus branches 

 carrying Aveak buds, which necessarily 

 must produce weak leaves. The num- 

 ber of branches under some of our 

 young trees after the average pruner 

 gets through Avith the job gives one the 

 impression that feAv Avho prime under- 

 stand the principles iiivolA'ed, their 

 AA'hole aim apparently being to develop 

 an open, good looking tree. 



Lately I have been going over all 

 the back numbers of The Canadian 

 Horticulturist. I have some as early 

 as 1916. cutting out and indexing 

 items that interest me, and there are 

 a lot of them. Your paper is one that 

 I think everyone who has a garden 

 should take. 'Every number is help- 

 ful; besides it is Canadian and look- 

 ing after Canadian interests. — Harold 

 r. .\ <-,■ Sydenham, Ont. 



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 Canadian Horticulturist. 



