NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



13 



gerald, Engol, Elberta, Golden Drop, 

 Smock, and Salway. 



"Suppose" said Dr. Mills, "you were 

 confined to six varieties, which would you 

 select ? " "I would take St. John, Gar- 

 field, Fitzg-erald, Engol, Elberta and Smock," 

 said Mr. Hilborn. 



We suggested the Sneed, for extra early. 

 It ripens at Maplehurst about the middle of 

 July, quite in advance of any other variety, 

 and although a cling, and of no great merit 

 comparatively, still it has no competitor of 

 its season, that is grown in Canada. 



RASPBERRIES FOR SUCCESSION. 



WHEN it came to raspberries, we 

 'found in Mr. Sherrington, of Walker- 

 ton, a man whose experience as an experi- 

 menter was most valuable, especially for 

 people in the Lake Huron district, for he has 

 tested about sixty-five varieties. Having 

 grounds somewhat limited in extent, he has 

 used raspberries as fillers between the rows. 

 He plants three rows, six feet apart, and 

 nine feet from the apple tree rows on each 

 side, which are thirty feet apart. Then in 

 these rows he plants six currant bushes 

 between every two apple trees, giving room 

 to cultivate a large space about each tree. 

 He grows the berries on the hedge row plan, 

 cutting out all old wood in the fall and giv- 

 ing the ground a coat of barn yard manure 

 and ashes. 



What are your best varieties for profit ? 

 we inquired. 



Well, if you mean table berries for the 

 home trade in Walkerton, the following are 

 the best early ones : 



(i) Reliance, which is hardy, fairly vigor- 

 ous, and fairly productive. 



(2) Turner, the hardiest of all, fairly vigor- 

 ous, splendid for the home table. 



(3) Marlboro, a fairly productive, a little 

 tender, a good shipper, but considered too 

 drv for home table. 



Medium and Late — Cuthbert, queen ot all 

 red berries, the very best red. 



Phoenix, hardy and more productive even 

 than Cuthbert. 



Loudon produces enough canes. 



"I do not care," said he, "for the 

 purple varieties, such as Shaffer and Colum- 

 bia. "1 differ with you there," said F. Met- 

 calfe, of Blyth, " I have grown Columbia 

 most successfully, and have found it very 

 profitable." 



So we find that doctors often disagree. 



CURRRANTS. 



PROBABLY no fruit is "jo suitable 

 for an orchard filler as the currant, for 

 it ripens in the shade of the trees, and seems 

 to rob the ground of very little substance. At 

 Maplehurst we have grown it in this way for 

 twenty-five years, and have found it very pro- 

 fitable until the last few years. Now the 

 demand for it is increasing again, and why 

 should it not, for of all fruits it is one of the 

 most wholesome; and for pies or jelly, the 

 fruit is more appetising. 



Our favorite had always been the Cherry, 

 though the Fay was about its equal, so we 

 were interested in Mr. Peart's list of most 

 profitable varieties. He places the Wilder at 

 the head of his list. "I prefer it myself," 

 said he to any other. It is large, of fine 

 quality, while the plant is productive, and its 

 only fault is its susceptibility to leaf blight, 

 late in July. Of other varieties I commend 

 the Cherry, Pomona, Fay and Red Victoria. 



GRAPES. 



MANY new varieties of Grapes have 

 proved useless, said Mr. M. Pettit, 

 our experimenter at Winona, who has tested 

 about 150 varieties of Grapes, and out of 

 them all has one dozen kinds which he can 

 recommend as really of value tor the com- 

 mercial vineyard. 



The Alice is one of the most recent intro- 



