December, 1914 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



291 



Tomato Ptanti in Greenhouse of W. W. Hilborn, Leamington, Ont. 



six per cent, in the first two weeks, and 

 often the first frost at Ottawa catches 

 the entire crop. Mr. Logsdail has set his 

 standard at twenty per cent, of the full 

 crop maturing in two weeks. They al- 

 ready have a strain of Alacrity that ma- 

 tures twelve per cent, in two weeks, and 

 has gone as high as twenty-four per 

 cent, in a month. Similar work is be- 

 ing done with corn, and Mr. Logsdail 

 exhibited a matured ear, got as a result 

 of crossing Early Malcolm and Early 

 Adams, the new variety being fully as 

 hardy as its parents, and of twice the 

 size. Eventually he believed each cli- 

 matic zone will work out its own strains 

 for its own use. 



EXPERIMENTAL WOEK 



Reports of the experimental work con- 

 ducted at the O.A.C. and the Jordan 

 Harbor farm in the interest of vegetable 

 growers were given by F. M. Clement 

 of Jordan, and J. E. Britton of Guelph. 

 Both of these addresses will be given 

 more fully in future issues. At the even- 

 ing session, Prof. Graham spoke on 

 "Poultry Raising in Connection with 

 Vegetable Growing," two industries sup- 

 posed by many to be incompatible. He 

 believed that poultry could be reared 

 without injury to all vegetables, except 

 lettuce, providing the weather was not 

 too dry and the chickens were always 

 well fed. He told of having run one 

 hundred chickens to the acre in Prof. 

 Crow's vegetable garden at Guelph. This 

 he considered as many as should ever be 

 allowed to a single acre. Prof. A. H. 

 McLennan, of Macdonald College, con- 

 cluded the evening's programme by giv- 

 ■ ing an illustrated talk on vegetable gar- 

 ' dening, his views showing some of the 

 best gardens in Eastern Canada and the 

 Eastern States. 



The annual report of the secretary, 

 Mr. J. Lockie Wilson, bore testimony to 

 the splendid manner in which the vege- 

 table growers have responded to patriotic 

 appeals. He mentioned one association 

 in particular, that of Scarboro, which 

 filled a car for the Canadians at Valcar- 

 tier. and had such a surplus that they 

 had to charter another car at a cost of 

 sixty-three dollars to themselves, to carry 

 it to the camp. For some reason or 

 other this gift was never acknowledged. 

 Numerous gifts of a similar nature had 

 been made by other associations. 



That the annual membership fee be 

 advanced from fifty cents to one dollar, 

 was the advice of Mr. Wilson, but it 

 did not appeal to many of the delegates, 

 and there was much discussion, without 

 a definite decision being arrived at. The 

 extension of the zone for parcel post as 

 a means of assisting in marketing direct 

 to the consumer was also advocated in 

 the secretary's report. A financial state- 

 ment for eleven months, November 30, 

 1913, to October 31, 1914, showed total 

 receipts of $1,192, expenditure of $936, 

 and a balance on hand of $256. 



On behalf of the Committee on Coop- 

 eration, Mr. Reeves of H umber Bay sub- 

 mitted a resolution asking that definite 

 action in reference to cooperative deal- 

 ing by the association be deferred for 

 the present. He stated that the com- 

 mittee had exhaustively examined the 

 possibilities of cooperative buying of 

 seeds, but that war had so disorganized 

 the market that seed buying was a pro- 

 blem they could hardly solve. He ad- 

 vised that the branches continue to buy 

 cooperatively in the meantime, and a 

 workable plan would be submitted for 

 centralized buying at the annual meet- 

 ing. Several delegates objected to this 



resolution, notably Mr. McCalla of St. 

 Catharines, on the ground that the as- 

 sociation was falling down just when 

 help is most needed. Others pointed out, 

 however, that were a policy to be adopt- 

 ed now and the plan fail, due to war con- 

 ditions, it would be disastrous to future 

 cooperative effort. The resolution car- 

 ried. 



Hon. Mr. Duff, Minister of Agricul- 

 ture, was the first speaker at the evening 

 session. He emphasized the duties of 

 all agriculturists in the production of 

 food stuffs in unusual quantities during 

 this hour of the Empire's need. He in- 

 timated that his department was con- 

 sidering the advisability of embodying 

 the addresses of the annual convention of 

 the Vegetable Growers' Association in a 

 small pamphlet, that could be printed 

 and got to the members before spring 

 planting, and thus be of more use to 

 them than the larger and fuller report 

 now issued, which does not reach them 

 till later. Several of the delegates took 

 this to mean that their annual report was 

 to be discontinued, and they were not 

 slow in expressing their dissatisfaction 

 with any such change. 



The convention this year was thor- 

 oughly representative, even if it did not 

 record an advance in attendance. The 

 great problem of seed production gave 

 to the proceedings unusual importance, 

 and in the words of their president, Mr. 

 C. Wesley Baker, of London, the grow- 

 ers endeavored to prepare themselves for 

 "business unusual" as well as "business 

 as usual. " 



Vegetable Pointers 



Never handle celery when the top is 

 wet. It induces rust. — F. F. Reeves, 

 Humber Bay, Ont. 



The best way to store potatoes and 

 garden root crops is in a root house 

 isolated and specially constructed. — Jas. 

 Guthrie, Dixie, Ont. 



When crops grown in the greenhouse 

 are given the best conditions possible 

 for their growth, loss from diseases will 

 be reduced to a minimum. In other 

 words, prevention is better than cure. 

 — C. W. Waid. 



The maggot which works in the roots 

 of cabbage ^nd cauliflower, is some- 

 times in or on the root when the plants 

 are taken from cold frames, the fly, re- 

 sembling a housefly closely, having de- 

 posited her eggs among the young 

 plants. This can easily be prevented 

 by usirvg screens either of wire (mos- 

 quito screen) or cloth over the cold 

 frames when unprotected by glass. No 

 apertures, however small, should be left, 

 and inasmuch as the glass is raised fre- 

 quently the screen should be in place at 

 all times to insure protection. 



