26o 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



Fig. 2335. I^isc Harrow. 



turn sod on crops grown as fertilizers. The 

 disc harrow goes over the ground much 

 more rapidly than the plow, and does the 

 work of plowing and harrowing- at the same 

 time. It is not desirable to cultivate deeply 

 in the orchard, vineyard or berry field ; in 

 fact, it is injurious. One great object in 

 cultivating an orchard or any kind of fruit 

 plants, trees or vines, is to preserve con- 

 tinually two or three inches of loose soil 

 over the entire surface, which acts as mulch, 

 holding- moisture in the soil and preventing- 

 evaporation. This cover of loose soil over 

 the earth produces the same result as though 

 the surface were covered with layers of 

 straw. All you need to do is to move this 

 soil with a disc harrow, or occasionally with 

 an Acme harrow, at least once in two weeks, 

 or once after each rain. Disc harrows are 

 made to be adjusted so as to run at one side 

 of the team, running closely to the rows of 

 trees or other objects, without crowding the 

 team or whippletrees onto the row. Every 

 fruit grower or farmer must have a sharp 

 tooth harrow. These are similar to the old 

 style of harrow, excepting that the frames 

 are of iron, and that they are made to cover 

 a wider surface. No one should be satis- 

 fied without the best plow made, and it 

 should never be used without a g-ood sharp 

 point. There are numerous one-horse cul- 

 tivators made in various styles, and con- 

 structed so that by changing the teeth or 

 other parts, one cultivator can be made to 

 do many kinds of work, throwing- the dirt 

 towards the plant or away from it." 



DESTROY THE FALLEN FRUIT 



ALTHOUGH spraying for insect pests 

 is a most important means of de- 

 stroying them, success is not attained 

 without the employment of every means 

 available. Wormy fruit, allowed to remain 

 as it usually does in great quantities 

 under the tree, forms just so many feeding 

 places for young larvae of codling moth and 

 curculio, which soon develop into native 

 insects, ready to fly and sting other fruits 

 and cause them to drop also. 



Poultry, pigs and sheep will all help in the 

 destruction of the infested fruit with its worm 

 inhabitant, but, if thes3 friendly animals 

 are not at hand, it would pay to gather up 

 the fallen fruit and destroy it. Brazelton 

 in Western Fruit Grower speaks very de- 

 cidedly of the excellent results attained by 

 attention of this kind. He says : — 



"After an experiment covering the past 

 three years of picking up and disposing in 

 some way of fallen fruit in our orchards, we 

 find that our fruit becomes better and better 

 each year, and our faith in spraying as the 

 sole preventive of insect and fungus pests 

 considerably lessened. Yet we do not de- 

 cry spraying, but on the contrary we most 

 heartily believe in it, and practise it. As a 

 result of our observations, however, we are 

 more and more of the opinion that, where 

 both spraying and removing the fallen fruit 

 are thoroughly done, that the latter is of 

 very nearly as much benefit as the former. 

 We believe that all such stuff" should be 

 hauled away to some creek, or other body 

 of water, until the fruit attains sufficient 

 size to be merchantable, after which the re- 

 ceipts from sales will about cover the cost 

 picking up and disposing of it. We figure 

 that, if the returns from sales balance the 

 expenses, we realize a good profit in the in- 

 creased quality of our No. i fruit. Spray- 

 ing alone will not do, but every way of de- 

 stroying the insects and fungi that is prac- 



