ORCHARD INSTITUTE MEETINGS. 



193 



yet completed, but such reports as we have 

 show, as we expected in this splendid apple- 

 growing district, first class meetings and 

 many strong local associations formed as a 

 consequence. The local directors, Mr. Elmer 

 Lick, Oshawa, H. J. Snelgrove, Cobourg 

 and W. H, Dempsey, Trenton, were assisted 

 by Mr. G. C. Caston, of Craighurst and Mr. 

 G. H. Vroom of Middleton, N. S. 



Practical Suggestions Made at Orchard 

 Meetings. 



In planting, trees should be given a slight 

 slant toward the prevailing wind. The main 

 roots should be placed so as to brace the 

 trees against the wind, and the tree should 

 be so headed that the main branches would 

 not when loaded bend directly away from 

 the tree and so be apt to break off. 



Trees, after they have grown crooked, may 

 be straightened somewhat by the use of the 

 spade early in the spring when the ground 

 is soft. 



In pruning the south side of the tree it can 

 be left a little thicker than the north side, 

 as it receives more light and moisture. 



It pays to thin over-loaded trees at least 

 20%, as the remaining fruit will be of better 

 quality. 



A man who does not know a fruit bud 

 from a leaf bud should never be allowed to 

 prune a tree. 



You can hasten the development of fruit 

 spurs and multiply the fruit buds by check- 

 ing the growth of the wood. This can be 

 done by pruning the roots with a spade, or 

 by nipping off the ends of twigs. The latter 

 method is preferable as it does not impair 

 the vitality of the tree as does the root cut- 

 ting. 



Where large wounds are made in the 

 trees from cutting off large limbs the wound 

 should at once be painted over. A good 

 paint mixture is made by mixing 2 lbs. 

 cement with 10 lbs. of milk. For an old 

 wound where rotting has set in further in- 



jury may be prevented by using two parts of 

 cememt and one of sand, completely cover- 

 ing the wound so as to exclude the air. 



Orchards should be cultivated constantly 

 until the middle of July, then a cover crop of 

 clover, rape or rye, to be plowed under next 

 spring. 



Apples must be handled more like eggs 

 than turnips if we expect to realize good 

 prices for our fruit. 



The Baldwin, Ben Davis, Greening and 

 Spy are at present the favorite commercial 

 variety. 



Four years ago Reeve Coyle of Colborne 

 purchased an orchard containing ten acres- 

 The price was $2,600. The crop gathered 

 from that orchard in 1900 netted, after all 

 expenses were paid, $2,130. Mr. Coyle 

 made the following statement at an orchard 

 meeting in Colborne last week : — 



" I shipped 800 barrels of apples from my 

 orchard two years ago. The dealer to 

 whom I consigned them said they were the 

 best apples he had ever sold in the Liverpool 

 market. There were not five barrels of 

 wormy or scabby apples in the lot. The 

 superiority of this fruit was due to the fact 

 that I had persistently cultivated the orchard 

 and pruned and sprayed my trees." 



Bordeaux Mixture. — After the blue stone 

 is dissolved it should be put in 20 gallons of 

 water, and the lime after it is dissolved 

 should be put in another twenty gallons of 

 water. The two mixtures may then be 

 brought together. If the lime and blue 

 stone are mixed together undiluted they will 

 'curdle. 



Mr. Caston strongly advises the use of 

 lye as a wash for trunks of trees. It should 

 be applied every second year after the old 

 bark has been scraped off. It not only 

 destroys all bark lice, but seems to have a 

 tonic effect upon the tree. 



Mr. A. McNeill says, " Each bud has its 

 own individuality apart from the variety to 

 which it belongs, just as each man has his 



