58 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



March, 1913 



bling Spy. The tree bears very early 

 and is most productive. When well 

 grown, the color is good and in most 

 cases is even better than the color of 

 Spy. I should be glad to know what 

 readers of The Canadian Horticulturist 

 think of this variety, and am anxious 

 to learn with what success it is being 

 produced throughout the province gen- 

 erally. I should also like to know if 

 any are growing Spitzenburg to any ex- 

 tent, and if they are able to get good 

 crops. This is one of the most' desir- 

 able of winter dessert apples, and in 

 addition to high quality possesses also 

 splendid color. It is usually a light 

 bearer ; possibly this characteristic could 

 be changed by proper care or feeding. 

 For southern Ontario it might prove a 

 desirable variety. 



The chief disadvantage of Northern 

 Spy is lack of color. In my opinion, it 

 is time we made arrangements in our 

 middle districts, such as the north shore 

 of Lake Ontario, to hold a larger pro- 

 portion of our Spies for the late winter 

 trade. The Spy, grown in a short- 

 season locality, is not an attractive mar- 

 ket apple until well into the winter, and 

 a green .Spy on the Christmas market is 

 a very poor sample of what Ontario can 

 produce. 



For planting with Northern Spy, there 

 is probably no better variety than Blen- 

 heim. Blenheim should be, I think, one 

 of our leading varieties. The fruit is 

 large, very attractive in color, not sub- 

 ject to scab, and the tree is decidedly 

 productive under good care. It is natur- 

 ally rather late in coming into bearing, 

 but would no doubt respond to proper 

 treatment in the same way as any other 

 variety, and can doubtless be made to 

 produce good crops at a moderate age. 

 Blenheim and Northern Spy are both in 

 the front rank as dessert and cooking 

 varieties . 



Varieties of Grapes* 



F. G. Stewart, Homer, Oot 



Out of the .scores of varieties of 

 grap<!s we might plant, the six best 

 varieties for profitable growing I con- 

 sider are as follows in descending order 

 of values: the Concord. Worden and 

 Niagara, Moore's Early, Vergennes 

 and Agawam. 



The first two do equally well in sand or 

 clay, but the Concord, which is a blue 

 grape is the one most extensively 

 grown, and the most profitable one we 

 have. It is a good shipper, a hardy 

 grower, and preferred by the women to 

 any other kind. The first few inches 

 of the new spring foliage is very rough 

 and furry, and so this variety of grape 

 resists the early spring frosts better than 

 the smoother leafed kinds, such as the 

 Rogers. 



The Worden, a black grape, is also a 

 hardy and vigorous grower. It is a good 

 bearer, but although a higher flavored 

 grape than the Concord, it is not such a 

 good shipper, as the skin is thin. Like 

 the Concord, its foliage is furry and 

 able to resist the early frosts. 



The Niagara is a white grape, a splen- 

 did bearer, but being a smooth-leafed 

 kind, does not stand the early frosts 

 as well as the Concord and Worden. 



The Moore's Early is another black 

 grape, hardy, of good quality, earlier 

 than the other kinds mentioned, but 

 not such a heavy producer. I would 

 not recommend it for hard ground as it 

 does not produce enough wood on such 

 land. 



The Vergennes, a red grape, is a 

 heavy bearer, of good quality, ripening 

 a week later than the Concord, and like 

 them in being able to withstand the 

 early spring frosts. In trimming this 

 variety, no more than twenty-four buds 

 should be left to a vine as each bud will 

 throw out from four to five bunches, 

 where other kinds would put forth but 

 two or three at most. This kind is thus 

 apt to overbear, and if it does the 

 grapes will not color up properly. 



The Agawam, a red Roger grape, is 

 thick skinned, a good shipper and 

 heavy bearer. It does best on clay, as 

 it makes too much wood and foliage on 

 light soils. 



The Lindley does better in the heavy 

 soil around Winona than in any other 

 part of Ontario. 



Best Six Varieties of Peaches* 



Wm. Armitrong, QaeenilovvB, Onl. 



I have been requested to name six var- 

 ieties of peaches which would prove the 

 best for an up-to-date commercial peach 

 orchard. After over forty years exiseri- 

 ence in peach growing, and especially 

 when I consider the experience of the 

 past two or three years, I will recom- 

 mend only three or four varieties as 

 suitable for a commercial orchard. 



There is a well defined season for 

 each kind of fruit. Peaches maturing 

 and offered for sale very early or very 

 late in the season are .seldom profitable 

 when compared with standard varieties 

 maturing when the market demands 

 this kind of fruit. 



VAEIETIE8 RECOMMENDED 



The varieties I recommend have been 

 fully tested by me in Niagara Township 

 and are as follows: Yellow St. John, 

 Fitzgerald, New Prolific, Elberta; 

 these four and no more. 



The St. John is a well known early, 

 profitable, yellow flesh, free stone, 

 highly colored, luscious dessert peach. 

 It ripens about August 20th. The bud 

 is more hardy than any of the Craw- 

 ford type or family of peach, which it 

 resembles. It has one undesirable feat- 

 ure, namely, after its eighth year it 

 often has the bad habit of forming 

 clusters of buds on the end of short 

 spurs, which should be reduced by rub- 

 bing off more than half the buds or 

 young fruit. 



The Fitzgerald is also a free stone, 

 yellow peach, maturing about the 28th 

 August. It is more hardy in bud than 

 the St. John, but not so high in color 

 or large in size. 



The New Prolific is the most profit- 

 able of all peaches, maturing during 

 the height of the peach season about 

 September 8th. It is not as high in 

 color nor as large in size as the St. 

 John, but more hardy in bud, a sure 

 cropper, free stone yellow peach. It 

 requires careful trimming and liberal 

 feeding. 



The Elberta is well known, and re- 

 quires little introduction, maturing 

 about September 20th. It is a good 

 long distance shipper and fairly hardy 

 in bud. 



Fruit trees and vines are perennial oc- 

 cupants of the soil and do not yield the 

 most profitable returns in ground which 

 is over-rich in nitrogenous materials, 

 and for these artificial supplies of po- 

 tash are essential if fruit of highest 

 quality is desired. 



•A paper read at the aimnal convention of the 

 Ontario Fruit Growers' Association in Toronto, 

 November. 1912. 



Potash improves the quality and color 

 of fruit, and aids in the formation of 

 starch and sugar. 



They used to keep the orchard as a 

 pasture lot and headed the trees high to 

 keep the cows from them, but orchard 

 land is too valuable for pasture purposes, 

 and stock have no business in an orchard 

 that is being worked for apples. They 

 pack the soil and break the trees. — A. 

 Nagelwoort, Brighton, Ont. 



•A paper read at the last annual convention 

 of the Ontario Fruit Growers' Association. 



