DOUBTFUL FRUITS. 65 



close enough. Train to a single stem at least two feet before 

 heading ; you will in this way overcome the difficulty often 

 met with of the limbs giving way at the crotches, this trouble 

 is often met with. I find a wire nail driven through the 

 centre of the crotch helps over the difficulty. 



Now a word about seedling plums perhaps I am some- 

 what prejudiced against them but briefly let me give you my 

 experience with them. A friend gave me a dozen seedlings 

 which he said were from an extra fine wild plum. They all 

 grew and flourished and for five years I hoed around them 

 and gave them every care and attention ; in their sixth year 

 they came into bearing. I let the fruit ripen, and well, vile ! 

 was no name for it. I let them go for another year but saw 

 no improvement, then after a hard day's grubbing they were 

 got rid of. 



Three years ago some Weaver seedlings were planted, 

 they carried some specimens of fruit last year, and judging 

 from its quality some more grubbing will be the order of the 

 day. These are my reasons for being shy of plum seedlings, 

 they are an unknown quantity. Budding, grafting, or piece 

 roots are the only methods known of getting trees true to the 

 original. Only by wise selection can our native plums be 

 improved. 



GRAPHS. 



In planting grape vines the holes are dug about two feet 

 deep ; as the vines grow the earth is filled till the surface is 

 reached ; this is to have the roots safe from the frost. The 

 vines are laid down and covered with earth shortly before 

 winter sets in, and later on covered with straw ; very little 

 pruning is done and that in the fall previous to laying down. 

 The canes in early summer are sometimes girdled, this hasten- 

 ing the ripening of the fruit from 8 to 10 days. Of course this 

 can only be done to a limited extent as the canes thus girdled 

 die the following year. 



The above is a brief rambling outline of my experience 

 in trying to grow the larger fruits in Manitoba. Roughly 



