NOTES FEOM THE NOETH 



CHAS. YOUNG, 

 uichard's landing, ST. Joseph's island. 



PERHAPS a few observations on how 

 our fruit trees have come through 

 the winter and the condition they 

 are in at this date in the far away north may 

 be interesting to you. Early in December, 

 1902, we had a sharp frost before the snow, 

 which usually falls in sufficient depth to pre- 

 vent the frost getting into the ground, con- 

 sequently many half hardy plants, roses and 

 shrubs, more especially those which have 

 a tendency to keep on growing into the 

 winter were badly frozen. None of mine 

 have been killed outright, but when the dead 

 wood was cut off this spring they were a 

 sorry looking lot. By the way, tell yorir 

 readers of the Canadian Horticulturist in 

 New Ontario that the Rambler roses are not 

 sufficiently hardy here. I am sorry to say 

 don't plant them, but they don't ripen up 

 their wood before winter, and covering 

 them will not save them. Perhaps more 01 

 these roses have been sold in this district 

 than all the other shrubs put together. 

 Sold upon the recommendation of travelling 

 tree agents that they were hardy as a pop 

 lar. It is a case of throwing away money 

 the same as in former years, when we would 

 not plant anything in the apple line except 

 a Spy, Kirig, or Baldwin, not one of which, 

 as far as I know is alive to-day. The rea- 

 son for this I will leave to some one with 

 more horticultural knowledge than myself. 

 The winter, as a whole, was fairly mild, 

 although we had a drop to 30 below zero, 

 but there was plenty of snow on the ground 

 at that tim"e. Spring opened up early, or 

 rather the snow went away sooner than 

 usual, with warm, bright sunny days and 

 h?rd frosty nights, ideal weather for mak- 



ing sugar and inducing sun scald, but 

 bad for fruit buds, the consequence 

 is that most plums and cherries were 

 destroyed in the bud. I found that 

 the English Morello buds were less 

 effected than even the Ostheim, which 

 is supposed to be very hardy. Of the sweet 

 cherry fruit buds which were strung along 

 the branches, only a few opened, and then 

 had not strength enough in them to form 

 fruit. Pears came through fairly well, and 

 apples uninjured. Of the small fruits, 

 strawberries promise an immense crop, and 

 there is plenty of moisture in the ground Lo 

 develop it. Of the eight or ten varieties 

 of raspberries, Cuthbert has as usual proved 

 the most tender. Grown alongside of Brin- 

 kle's orange, both were frozen to the snow 

 line, but the latter makes so much batter 

 growth in the spring and is so much finer in 

 quality that for home use it is to be prefer- 

 red to the former. Of the reds, Loudon i.« 

 to be preferred to all others I have tried. 

 Currants and gooseberries are, a good crop. 

 This would mean with you an extraordinary 

 crop. 



The crop prospects I might sum up thus : 

 Fall apples, very good ; winter apples, good ; 

 pears, fair (this would be poor with you) ; 

 sweet cherries, none ; sour cherries, good ; 

 plums, a few (native plums seem no better 

 than European or Japan) ; raspberries, very 

 good (tons of wild fruit will go to waste in 

 the woods and along the roadsides) ; cur- 

 rants and gooseberries, very good; straw- 

 berries, very good (T expect i quart to the 

 plant). 



No insect pests have troubled us so far 

 this year. 



