148 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



June, 1913 



Orchard and Apiary of C. H. Martin & Son, Port Hop*, Ont. (See accompuyiog article) 



success largely to the fact that he has 

 been specializing ; his three special lines 

 being the orchard, the apiary, and early 

 potatoes. 



Every spring Mr. Martyn begins the 

 season with thirty to forty colonies of 

 bees. On these he clears one hundred 

 to two hundred dollars annually. There 

 is no disease in his hives, and they re- 

 quire comparatively little work for the 

 returns received. 



There are eight to nine acres of or- 

 chard coming into bearing. Four acres 

 were planted in the spring of 191 2 and 

 there were from two to three acres al- 

 ready planted when the farm was 

 bought. The trees are set thirty feet 

 apart each way. Last year the orchard 

 produced in the neighborhood of three 

 hundred barrels. The varieties planted 

 in the young orchard are Spy, Mcintosh, 

 and Snow, Baldwin, Stark, Ben Davis, 

 and Gano. The trees are cared for ac- 

 cording to the best orchard practices. 

 Complete spraying methods are prac- 

 tised — the lime-sulphur being made on 

 the farm. 



The orchard is carefully pruned, fer- 

 tilized, and worked. Between the rows 

 Mr. Martyn follows the practice of 

 growing various crops, mainly cultivat- 

 ed crops, such as mangels, corn, and 

 potatoes. These crops in addition to 

 keeping the orchard clean, help to pay 

 for the outlay expended in planting. 

 Three-quarters of an acre is also de- 

 voted to strawberries each year. The 

 earlier varieties are grown, and although 

 somewhat low yielders they bring high 

 prices. Last year about two thousand 

 boxes were sold for approximately one 

 hundred and ninety-five dollars. 



For seven years potatoes have proved 

 a great source of revenue. Mr. Martyn 

 grows the early varieties chiefly, and 

 never has enough to supply the demand. 



receiving high prices for his crop. Con- 

 sistent spraying is practised with this 

 crop. Last year, although blight was 

 very bad in the district, sprayng prac- 

 tically saved Mr. Martyn's entire crop. 

 His success shows the advantage of 

 specialization. 



Winter vs. Summer Pruning 



By Dr. C. D. Jarvit, Cenn. Agr'l College, Formerly of 

 the Gnelph Agricoltural College 



(Continued from May issue) 

 For assistance in the preparation of 

 this paper, I have appealed to some of 

 the best authorities in this country and 

 in Canada. Personal letters were sent 

 to twenty-four different people, mostly 

 college and experiment station horticul- 

 turists. Twenty-two replies were re- 

 ceived. While these replies brought out 

 many conflicting statements with regard 

 to the time and method of doing the 

 work, they mostly agree that there is a 

 place for summer pruning in our or- 

 chard practice. Extracts from some of 

 these letters may be of interest here : 



Professor M. B. Cummings, of the 

 University of Vermont, writes: "In 

 general, I am very much inclined to be- 

 lieve that much of our pruning is best 

 done in the summer time, and if annual 

 attention is given this matter, very little 

 of the severe winter pruning will be re- 

 quired. I think the taking out of the 

 laterals where the crown is too thick 

 and pinching out the terminal buds will 

 tend to hold the tree in check and shape 

 it up better for the permanent stocky 

 branches . ' ' 



Professor U. P. Hedrick, of the New 

 York Agr. Expt. Station: "We have 

 several dwarf orchards in different parts 

 of this state. We have done some prun- 

 ing in these orchards every season for 

 the past seven years, the time ranging 

 from the middle of July to the end of 



September. As yet, we have found no 

 time in the summer in which trees can 

 Ik; pruned to advantage in this state. 

 If the work i.s done early in the season 

 the weak, succulent growth which is 

 nearly always winter-killed follows. If 

 the work is done late in the season, the 

 effects of pruning do not differ from 

 those obtained by winter pruning. We 

 have about concluded that summer prun- 

 ing is wholly unsuccessful for this cli 

 mate. At least, it is in the average sea- 

 son, under average conditions, and in 

 the hands of the average fruit grower." 

 Prof. Hedrick 's opinion seems to be 

 based upon the behavior of dwarf trees 

 only. 



Pr'ofessor C. A. McCue, Delaware 

 State College: " I am a firm believer in 

 this method of handling trees and I be- 

 lieve that in the past we have done al- 

 together too much winter pruning on 

 peach and apple trees. Of course, sum- 

 mer pruning can be overdone, and if 

 care is not used and proper judgment 

 exercised, a tree may be seriously in- 

 jured by pruning during the summer 

 season. " 



CX5NOLTT8IONB AND RBOOSOtENDATIONB 



I believe that with young trees we 

 should do very little winter pruning, 

 and that we should direct the growth 

 largely by summer pruning. The work 

 to be most effective should be done a 

 little each year and at just about the 

 time the tree completes its annual 

 growth, which in this section is about 

 the first week in July. If done too early 

 it will defeat its aim and produce a 

 strong growth of shoots. If done too 

 late, it forces out a soft growth which 

 is likely to be winter-killed. The ob- 

 ject of the work at first should be to 

 direct the growth and later to induce 

 fruitfulness. Only strong growing trees 

 should be pruned during the growing 

 season, remembering that it is a de- 

 vitalizing operation and may easily be 

 overdone . 



With regard to bearing apple trees 

 the necessity for summer pruning is less 

 pronounced if not entirely eliminated. 

 Since our mature trees tend to overbear 

 there is no necessity for inducing fruit- 

 fulness, and winter pruning would 

 therefore be the most logical practice. 

 The problem is an intricate one, and 

 since there is so much difference in the 

 character of soils and the behavior of 

 varieties, it is going to be difficult, if 

 not impossible, to formulate any set 

 of rules that any fruit grower may safe- 

 ly follow. The physiofogist in time may 

 be able to reveal the underlying prin- 

 ciples in connection with the work of 

 pruning, but the problem always will be 

 a local one, and the details relating to 

 the practical aplication of the principles 

 must be worked out by each fruit 

 grower. 



