172 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



July, 1914 



an acre. The average net profit then 

 was $95.60 an acre for ten years. Add- 

 ing to this the twenty-five dollars an 

 acre charge for interest on investment, 

 the actual annual dividend has been 

 $120.60 an acre, or 24:12 per cent on 

 $500. 



The author of the bulletin from which 

 this summary is taken states as his 

 opinion that the profit is greater than 

 the average orchardist receives, but it 

 is not abnormal- for a well cared for 

 orchard. 



Cultivating the Young Orchard 



B. H. C. BUncbard, Hants C«., N.S. 



Too much stress cannot be laid upon 

 the importance of cultivating the young, 

 growing orchard. In most young or- 

 chards intercropping is practised. If 

 the crop be a hoed crop or small fruits, 

 the orchard trees probably get their share 

 of cultivation, but if the intercrop be 

 grain or hay such is not always the case. 



Not many orchardists allow a crop 

 of hay or grain to grow up close to the 

 trees ; a space of several feet is usually 

 left clear on each side of the rows, but 

 not a few neglect to cultivate this un- 

 cropped area. In our own orchard more 

 than a year ago we were treated to an 

 object lesson of the value of cultivation. 



This orchard was planted three year:; 

 ago. Each tree received a dressing of 

 farmyard manure at planting time. In 

 spite of a dry season the loss was less 

 than three per cent. Between the trees 

 were turnips and mangels ; adjoining was 

 a field of grain seeded down. The or- 

 chard received cultivation during the 



summer, and in the fall we applied ano- 

 ther dressing of manure. 



The next year we intercropped with 

 strawberries, potatoes and mangels and 

 cultivated as before. The row next to 

 the hay field was an exception. This 

 row was cultivated on the side next to 

 the root crop, but the hay was allowed 

 to grow close up to the trees on the 

 other side. As the season advanced it 

 became evident that this particular row 

 was not making the same growth that 

 the others were. The leaves had less 

 color and the trees as a lot had a less 

 thrifty appearance. 



Aside from cultivation all the trees re- 

 ceived the same treatment. During the 



summer they received an application ol 

 ammonium sulphate. To us the condi- 

 tion of these trees was ample proof thai 

 a growing orchard should not be ex- 

 f>ected to flourish when proper cultiva- 

 tion is lacking or when it is obliged to 

 dispute with a crop of hay for its food 

 supply. 



Cultivation late in the season is not 

 advisable, as the growth made may not 

 mature early enough and injury result. 

 But during the summer growing season 

 cultivation is essential to place the plant 

 food in the most available form and con- 

 serve soil moisture. It is false economy 

 to give the young orchard anything but 

 the very best attention. 



The Why o! Summer Pruning 



F. W. Brady, Canning, N. S. 



THE object of summer pruning is to 

 increase the number of fruit spurs 

 and fruit buds. A common fauli 

 with much of the pruning of young trees 

 that is done is that all the suckers are 

 cut off, leaving a long bare stem. 



This is bad practice for two reasons. 

 First, there are no fruit spurs on the low- 

 er parts of the limbs and consequently 

 the area upon which the tree can bear 

 fruit is limited to a portion of the outer 

 end of the branches. Second, the lever 

 age produced by the fruit being at the 

 end of the branches is so great that they 

 either lie on the ground and the fruit 

 becomes soiled or else they break because 

 of the load. 



WINTER PRUNING AN AID 



It is often possible to correct this fault 

 by cutting back severely in the winter or 

 early spring. This forces adventitious 

 buds or causes those that have been dor- 

 mant to grow. When a good growth of 

 water sprouts, or suckers as they are 

 sometimes called, has been obtained in 

 this way they maybe pinched back. Thus 

 fruit spurs will be produced upon the 

 limbs near the trunk, which is the proper 

 place for them. 



The time for summer pruning depends 

 upon the climate and period of growth. 

 Pruning in June will not be effective if 

 there is a period of growth after the 

 summer dry spell. Instead of fruit spurs 

 many branches will be formed on the 

 limbs. ynder such conditions pruning 

 must be done later. If. however, the 

 season of growth ends in June, pruning 

 in the latter part of that month is usually 

 effective. 



DEPENDS ON FOOD SUPPLY 



The physiology of summer pruning is 

 a matter of food supply. The food that 

 is being prepared for the buds of next 

 year would naturaly pass on to the 

 leaves. But as the terminal leaves of a 

 pinched stem have been removed, the 

 food is stored at the end of the stem. 



Ihus at this point a strong fruit bud is 

 usually secured. As a fruit bud is only 

 a better fed leaf bud the reason is at once 

 apparent. I might state that four years' 

 experience in British Columbia had con- 

 vinced me that the western man is more 

 keenly alive to this fact than is his east- 

 ern brother. 



The method just outlined is intended 

 for young trees. For old stock a simpler 

 plan may be adopted — pinching back 

 late in the growing season. The food 

 will be stored in the remaining wood 

 and the gro\Vth of fruit buds encouraged. 



The larva of the Lesser Peach Borer 

 looks like that of the ordinary Peach 

 Borer and the adult also resembles it, bu; 

 the female has not the orange band 

 around the abdomen. The life history of 

 both insects is very similar. The main 

 difference is that the Lesser Peach 

 Borer attacks chiefly above ground, in- 

 cluding the larger branches as well as 

 the trunk. It regularly enters only 

 where there has been a wound. This 

 suggests that the proper means of con- 

 trol is to dig out the larvae when pre- 

 sent, and endeavor by careful pruning 

 and orchard practice to have as few 

 wounds on the trees as possible. Where 

 wounds are made they should, so far as 

 practicable, be cleaned out with a knife 

 and painted with white paint diluted 

 with linseed oil. This insect as a rule 

 is not very common. It attacks cherry 

 and plum trees, as well as peaches. — 

 Prof. L. Caesar Provincial Entomolo- 

 gist, Ontario. 



Many of our best varieties of straw- 

 Iserries have pistillate or imperfect flow- 

 ers, and one must be careful to provide 

 staminate or perfect-flowering varieties 

 close to them. The beds of staminate 

 and pistillate varieties could alternate; 

 that is, five rows of one, then the path, 

 and five rows of the other. — W. A. Dier,^ 

 Ottawa, Ont. 



