172 



THE CANADTAX II () in 1 C l" LT l' TJ T S T 



July, 1013 



in blossom. -"^lati -tI t'lc rate of five 

 luiiiclred {vmnds an acre may l>e substi- 

 tuted every few years for the acid phos- 

 phate with advantage. It should be 

 sown in the fall . 



The great importance of thoroughly 

 spraying, so far as the elimination of 

 number threes is concerned, can scarce- 

 ly be over-estimated. While pruning, 

 cultivating, fertilizing, and thinning all 

 have an important bearing upon the 

 production of first-class fruit, these are 

 of little value where spraying has been 

 neglected or carelessly done. In mak- 

 ing dilutions of lime-sulphur, the hydro- 

 meter should be used. Winter strength 

 is 1 .03, summer strength for use on 

 foliage, 1.009. 



Arsenate of lead at the rate of two 

 and one-half pounds to forty gallons 

 should always be used in spray for foli- 

 age, both on account of its fungicidal 

 value as well as its insecticidal value. 

 It should first be reduced in water and 

 then added to the dilution while the agi- 

 tator is in vigorous motion. A good 

 power sprayer is almost a necessity in 

 an orchard, producing upwards of six 

 hundred barrels of apples. It should 

 have a mechanical agitator, the blade 

 propeller type is the best, and be able 

 to maintain a constant pressure of about 

 two hundred pounds on four-disc 

 nozzles. 



.Spray for scab and bud moth a little 

 before blossoms open ; for scab, ccxl- 

 dling moth, etc.,. when two-thirds blos- 

 soms have fallen ; for scab, coddling 

 moth, green apple worm, etc., ten days 

 after blossoms have fallen ; for scab, 

 fly speck spot, young bud moth that 

 defaces apples, etc., when the apples are 

 a little larger than crabs. 



Spray thoroughly ; cover every part of 

 the trunk, every limb, every twig, every 

 leaf. 



THINNING 



Thinning is now a recognized part of 

 orchard work. Its object is first the 

 removal of spotted, deformed, and 

 worthless specimens, and second, the 

 further reduction of the fruit so that 

 remaining specimens may grade as 

 number one. This work should be com- 

 menced soon after the June drop, and 

 may be continued two or three weeks. 

 The degree of thinning will depend upon 

 the variety. The general rule is to leave 

 only one fruit to each fruit spur, and 

 then, if necessary, continue the thin- 

 ning till the apples are from four to 

 six inches apart, depending upon the 

 variety. Of course it means work, but 

 it also means number one apples instead 

 of cider apples. Therefore, it pays a 

 handsome profit. The time lost in thin- 

 ning is largely made up in the greater 

 ease in picking and grading. 



Studies on the Montreal Market Musknvelon 



Prof. Wm. Stuart, 



(Continued from, 



THERE are two distinct types of 

 melons under cultivation, one of 

 which is roundish oblate, the other 

 more or less oblong, the first type 

 teing slightly deeper ribbed than the 

 latter. These two do not seem to be 

 separated out by the growers, in fact, 

 when the question was put* to a grower 

 as to which type he selected for seed 

 purposes his reply was almost invariably 

 that he selected from both, provided the 

 qualities of netting, solidity, thickness, 

 and flavor of flesh were satisfactory. As 

 none of the growers interviewed made a 

 practice of hand fertilization of melons 

 intended for seed purposes, it is not at 

 all certain that either of these types is 

 fixed. 



SEED SAVING 



Interesting information regarding 

 seed saving was obtained from one of 

 the growers. This party removes the 

 seed melon from the vine at about the 

 time it begins to separate from the 

 stem, and keeps it in an ordinary room 

 temperature in a dry place until it is 

 fully ripe. Then, to avoid the loss of 

 the melon ,a two inch square section is 

 cut out, the seeds shaken out, the re- 

 moved section refitted into place, and 

 sealed in with a gum label, after which 

 process it is ready for shipment. The 



Burlington, Vt. 



June issue) 



party to whom the shipment is consign- 

 ed, being advised that seeds have been 

 removed from one or more melons in 

 certain packages, is on the lookout for 

 them, and loses no time in placing 

 them in the hands of the consumer. The 

 grower receives full price for such 

 melons and thus secures without loss to 

 himself his future seed supply. 



Seed from the earliest ripening melons 

 are generally used for first crop plant- 

 ings in the belief that an earlier ripen- 

 ing crop will be secured from the off- 

 spring of such seed. Attention is also 

 paid to the selection of seed melons 

 borne as near to the base of the plant 

 as possible. Selection in this case is 

 made on the assumption that in the olT- 

 spring a greater proportion of the fruit 

 will be borne near the base of the plant, 

 a very desirable attribute, especially in 

 the case of frame grown melons. 



MTELON PACKAGE 



The style of package most commonly 

 employed by the commission dealer in 

 shipping melons to distant markets is 

 that of a large wicker basket closely 

 resembling what in some sections is 

 termed a clothes basket. These baskets 

 just hold a dozen melons, the melons 

 teing closely packed in rather short, 

 fine-stemmed hay. The basket is ship- 



ix;d without cover and no attempt is 

 made to fasten the melons in place, the 

 express company being held responsible 

 for their safe delivery. 



The only exception to this method of 

 shipment noted by the writer was in tlv' 

 case of a grower who shipped his pro- 

 duct direct to the consumer. A strong 

 wooden case of sufficient depth to admit 

 of a single layer of melons and of suffi- 

 cient size in length and breadth to hold 

 a dozen was used with satisfactory re- 

 sults. If an abundance of hay is em- 

 ployed the melons reach the consumer 

 without bruise or injury of any sort. 



Munsoiv System of Training 

 Grapes 



W. T. Mactua, Deniiiion Horticaltoritt, C. E. F., Ottawa 



In Munson's "J'oundation of American Grape 

 Culture" there is deecrilx^' the Munson three- 

 wire trough trellis system of training grapo 

 vines. Can you inform tne whether this syeteon 

 is in use to any extent, and if there are any 

 disadyantages in it from the i>oint of view of a 

 Canadian vine-grower? His syetenn appears to 

 me to be founded on good common sense, but as 

 I have never seen any vineyards in which it is 

 in use, I would like a little information from 

 some outside source before considering it fur 

 ther— A. F. W. 



The Munson system of training grape 

 vines is not used to any extent in Can- 

 ada. The system may be described 

 briefly as follows : Posts aie put in the 

 ground about twenty-four feet apart, 

 with from four and one-half to five feet 

 of the post above ground. A three- 

 eighth inch hole is bored in each post 

 about four feet from the gVound and six 

 inches from the top of the post to admit 

 the lower wire. Crossarms of two by 

 four inch wood (one by four is sufficient 

 exc-ept for end posts) and two feet long 

 are held to the side of the post near the 

 top by wire, without nailing. 



Within an inch of each end, and one 

 inch from the upper side, of the cross 

 piece is bored a three-eighth inch hole. 

 Number eleven galvanized wire is run 

 through the holes and securely fastened, 

 thus making a three-wire overhead 

 trellis. Only the wire through the post 

 need be put on at first. A single cane 

 is allowed to grow, and this is fastened 

 to the lower wire when it reaches the 

 desired height. Before the next spring 

 this is cut back about two-thirds. It 

 will soon reach the wire this season, and 

 two canes are trained out, one in each 

 direction, along the middle wire. The 

 next year, and in future, there will be 

 four arms, two in each direction, along 

 the lower wire. 



The new growth grows over the wires 

 and hangs down, and it is claimed for 

 the system that the summer pruning is 

 very light. 



The fruit is a little easier to pick on 

 the Munson trellis, but not sufficiently 

 so to offset other things. Cheapness in 

 growing grapes is desirable, and on this 

 account it is not likely that the Munson 

 system will be generally used in Canada 

 for some time. 



