284 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



(2) The receptacle being made of tin 

 and not of cloth, there is no danger 

 of the most delicate specimens being 

 bruised against the limbs. 



(3) The picker being used in an up- 

 right position with both hands, about a 

 dozen apples can be picked at a time 

 without difficulty. 



Of course, it is tiresome to use any- 

 such tool for steady and long continued 

 work, but we think the Burgess Fruit 

 Picker has merits which render it 

 worthy of this notice. 



CANADIAN FRUIT AT SOUTH 

 KENSINGTON. 



One of the most comprehensive dis- 

 plays of Canadian fruit ever made in 

 Europe is now on view in the conser- 

 vatory of the Colonial and Indian Ex- 

 hibition. Contributions are made by 

 every province of Canada, from Nova 

 Scotia and New Brunswick to Quebec 

 and Ontario, and even by Manitoba 

 and British Columbia, the greater part 

 of the exhibits having been collected, 

 under the direction of the Canadian 

 Government, by Prof. Wm. Saunders, 

 of the Western University, London, 

 Ontario. From Ontario and Quebec 

 excellent specimens are shown of the 

 varieties of apples mostly shipped to 

 British markets, and the body, texture 

 and flavor of these must command gen- 

 eral admiration. The pears are specially 

 noteworthy for size and color ; while an 

 excellent display of vegetables, and even 

 Canadian out-door grapes, is made. The 

 Nova Scotian display comprises some 

 fifty varieties. The British Columbia 

 and Manitoba varieties are also in- 

 teresting, as coming from parts of the 



Dominion but little known in England 

 for their fruit growing capabilities. It 

 is, moreover, important to note that the 

 shipment of many of the early soft 

 varieties of fruits now shown was made 

 from Canada in refrigerators, and the 

 perfect condition in which they arrived 

 is considered to fully establish the value 

 of this means of transit. — Farmers^ 

 Gazette, England. 



(Smntiftc, 



MICROBES, FERMENTS AND MOULDS. 



This is the title of a new book just 

 published by Kegan, Paul, Trench & Co., 

 London, Eng. It is written by E. L. 

 Truessart, a Frenchman, and is designed 

 to bring this interesting department of 

 microscopic study, which has been so 

 successfully pursued by M. Pasteur, 

 within the reach of the general public. 



The book is an interesting one to 

 fruit growers, because by means of the 

 principles there revealed, no doubt many 

 of the puzzling questions concerning 

 blight, yellows, mildew, rust, &c., will 

 be solved. 



The word microbe simply means a 

 small living being, without defining 

 whether it is a plant or an animal ; and 

 indeed scientists cannot agree in which 

 kingdom to place it. Anyway, it is 

 parasitic, deriving its nourishment from 

 other plants or animals, and is either the 

 cause or the accompaniment of very 

 serious diseases. The word bacteria has 

 been employed synonymously with mi- 

 crobe, but it properly refers to only one 

 variety of these organisms. 



It almost makes one shudder to be 



