QUESTION DRAWER. 



Sweet Peas. 



1970. Should Sweet Peas be planted 

 from north to south, or from east to west ; 

 and should it be sunny or shady. What sort 

 of soil ? 



Rows of Sweet Peas should run from 

 north to south, as they then get the sun- 

 light on both sides of the row. A sunny 

 exposure is best. Any good loamy soil 

 well enriched with thoroughly decayed 

 stable manure will do. 



Questions loyi, 1072 ansivered by Mr. 

 IV. T. Macoun, Horticulturist, Central 

 Experimental Farm Ottatva. 



Fertilization. 



1071. Sir, — Does not the honey bee fer- 

 tilize the second crop of clover ? 



2. Does nature abhor close fertilization ? 



3. Have you observed that a certain insect 

 visits only flowers of a particular color ? 



4. Do dilferent species of flowers ever fer- 

 tilize each other ? 



5. Does a plant prefer the pollen of a 

 flower of another species to that of one of its 

 own kind ? 



6. Are experiments still being carried on in 

 Manitoba to obtain by artificial cross fertili- 

 zation of Fife wheat with Ladoga or by selec- 

 tion from the Fife alone to secure a variety of 

 Fife that will ripen earlier and before frost ? 



1. The bumble bee plays a more 

 important part in fertilizing the second 

 crop of red clover than the honey bee ; 

 which in most races is unable to reach 

 the nectar in the blossom and conse- 

 quently is rarely seen in the red clover. 



2. It would seem that nature does 

 " abhor close fertilization," as most 

 flowers are so constructed that they can 

 receive pollen from others either by the 

 agency of the wind or insects. Barley, 

 wheat, and oats are among the few 

 which are close fertilized. It has been 

 proven that the seed from flowers, which 

 are made to self-fertilize by preventing 

 the admission of other pollen, do not 

 produce as strong plants as those which 

 are left to cross fertilize naturally. 



3. Insects do not appear to have any 

 particular color that they prefer as can 

 be easily observed by watching a honey 

 bee in a garden. 



4. Different species are sometimes 

 hybridized in nature, but this is not of 

 frequent occurrence. There are hybrid 

 willows and oaks produced in this way. 

 The Rogers' hybrid grapes are an ex- 

 ample of artificial hybridization. 



5. A plant does not prefer the pollen 

 of a flower of another species to that of 

 its own ; this would mean hybridization 

 which seldom occurs in nature. If the 

 pistil of a flower, however, receives the 

 pollen of another flower of the same 

 species as itself better results will follow 

 than if it were self-fertilized. 



6. The cross-fertilization of wheats 

 was begun at the Central Experimental 

 Farm, Ottawa, in 1888. Since that time 

 many varieties have been originated. 

 None, however, have been produced 

 during the last two years. One variety, 

 the Preston, a cross between Ladoga 

 and Red Fife, has during the past four 

 years given a greater average yield per 

 acre than any other kind tested at the 

 several Dominion Experimental Farms ; 

 selection of the cross-bred grains is be- 

 ing carried on yearly. 



Apple Canker. 



1072. 81K, — I have a lot of young apple 

 trees, planted two and three ye&rs, that are 

 affected with a black fungus, the Ontario par- 

 ticularly so. 



They have made a very good growth, but 

 the trunks and even the new wood is nearly 

 black in some cases Mith the fungus. 



Would you advise washing trees now with 

 the Saunders wash, or with a strong lye wash ? 

 Will either of these washes injure the buds 

 on young wood ? 



I have idle time at present and would like 

 to prune now, but have been advised not to 

 prune young trees imtil later in winter. Do 

 you think that trees would be injured if 

 pruned now with a pocket knife ? An early 

 reply will oblige. 



C. E. Smith. 



Your trees are probably affected with 

 the Apple Canker, a disease long known 

 in the old orchards of Great Britain, but 

 until recently not prevalent in America. 

 Your best remedy is to clean the trees 

 thoroughly of dead and decaying bark, 

 and spray with Bordeaux mixture. We 

 refer our correspondent to Mr. Pad- 

 dock's excellent article on the Apple 

 Canker. 



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