28 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



February, 1909 



will bring about no weight in the 

 future, neither for nor against any mater- 

 ial, we venture to predict at this time 

 that within a very few years this will be 

 about the only commercial insecticide for 

 the San Jose scale in Pennsylvania, and 

 we agree with orchardists who have 

 written to us stating that they regard it 

 as a solution to the problem as to what 

 to do for this serious pest. 



Naming New Strawberries 



The editorial in the January issue of 

 The Canadian Horticulturist, sug- 

 gesting that riew varieties of strawber- 

 ries with bi-sexual flowers be given male 

 names and pistallate ones, female names, 

 has been the subject of favorable com- 

 ment. A number of letters in reference 

 to it have been received from prominent 

 plant breeders and horticulturists. 

 Among them are the following (others 

 will be published later) : 



"Your suggestion seems very practi- 

 cal." — W. M. Hays, secretary, .Ameri- 

 can Breeders' Association, Washington, 

 D. C. 



"The idea of naming new varieties of 

 strawberries in such a way . that the 

 names indicate the sex is new to me, but 

 I like it."— L. H. Bailey, Director, Col- 

 lege of Agriculture, Cornell University. 



Fertilizers on Strawberries 



It has been said that land cannot be 

 too rich for strawberries. When con- 

 sidered within the bounds of reason, the 

 statement is correct. Many growers 

 starve their plants rather than feed them. 

 To grow big berries and lots of them,' 

 plenty of manure and fertilizers are re- 

 quired. While barnyard manure in large 

 quantities gives good results, it is not 

 necessary. Commercial fertilizers also 

 give excellent returns when applied pro- 

 perly and intelligently. The experience 

 of many growers in all parts of Canada 

 shows that the application of chemical 

 fertilizers to strawberry land will pro- 

 duce the kind and quantity of berries that 

 mean money. The following letter was 

 received from Mr. E. Copley Thompson, 

 Vernon, B. C. : 



"I wish to report the result of some 

 experiments made by myself last summer 

 with artificial fertilizers, supplied by the 

 Victoria Chemical Co., Victoria, B. C. 

 I tried three plots on a dark, leaf-loam 

 soil planted with celery. No. i had no 

 fertilizer ; No. 2 had complete fertilizer ; 

 No. 3 had incomplete fertilizer. No. 2 

 showed a marked superiority over the 

 others both in growth and color. 



"The most marked effect, however, 

 was seen where I tried the fertilizers on 

 strawberries, hoeing them in around the 

 roots. The effect of the complete fertilizer 

 on Plot 2 was so marked that it ought to 

 have been seen to be believed or even to 



realize the difference. I had three plots 

 marked with pegs, but by bearing time 

 there was no need for them ; one could 

 tell at a glance that the plants in one 

 corner were much stronger than the 

 others, the foliage several degrees darker 

 and the fruit much larger. The berries 

 were much admired and customer^ who 

 once tried them would have no other. 



"It is impossible to give the yields on 

 the various plots of berries as it is more 

 than human nature can stand to have 

 an order to fill and see nice berries across 

 .1 certain line and not pick them. But I 

 can say that Mr. Norris, the Government 

 agent here came up with Mr. Dobie to 

 see the results of my experiments this 

 summer and the difference was so mark- 

 ed between those plants that had the 

 complete fertilizer, incomplete and none, 

 that he (Mr. Norris) said after a glance 

 at them 'Oh, you have not given the 

 others any water.' That theory could 



Spraying Apple Trees 



J. C. Harris, Ingerioll, Ont. 



Should there be no scale in your dis- 

 trict, it will not be necessary to spray 

 until the blossoms are beginning to fall. 

 This spraying is the pivot of success for 

 the destruction of the codling moth 

 and apple scab. Do not wait until the 

 blossoms are all fallen. Do the work 

 thoroughly. Put on lots of material 

 (drenching a little won't hurt). Spray 

 four sides of each tree with this spray if 

 possible. Any part of the tree missed 

 when going north and south can be 

 easily .seen when going east and west, 

 the tree thus may be completely covered. 



.'\pply two later sprays, one about ten 

 days later, the other two or three weeks 

 later. I use six pounds of bluestone, 

 eight pounds of lime and six or seven 

 ounces of Paris green to forty gallons 

 of water prepared the usual way. I in- 

 tend this season to use ar.'ienate of-^ead 



A Small' Part of the Big Apple Show Held at Spokane, Washington 



Exhibit of ~0.f«l) Winesaps by Mr. H. M. Gilbert of North Yaliiiiia, VVasli., who wa.-* awarded the second prixe 



of toOO ill the carload competition. The illustration was kindly furnished by Mr. August Wolf, Spokane, 



Wash. At this show, British Columbia won nearly |o,000 in prizes -See page 41. 



not Stand, of course, as I watered them 

 equally to get as much fruit as possible 

 from the patch. The difference was so 

 marked in size of berries, in size of 

 plants and also in color, that it had to 

 be seen to be appreciated. My best cus- 

 tomers all wanted their berries before 

 breakfast because they tasted so fresh. 



"The secret of this was not water, 

 which will bring size without much 

 flavor, but cultivation and the complete 

 fertilizer, which brought them first into 

 the market, giving them the size and 

 flavor. I made $97.15 from 1,000 plants 

 put in in spring of 1907. This was from 

 an $8 investment in Magoon straw- 

 berry plants and a bag or so of complete 

 fertilizer, without which I shall never 

 try to raise strawberries." 



instead of Paris green as it is more cer- 

 tain. A few of the important points to 

 be remembered in spraying are : 



1. Have a good outfit with a high der- 

 rick so that you can see well what you 

 are doing. 



2. Keep the liquid well stirred or your 

 efforts will be fruitless. 



3.- Start in time. Do not wait for the 

 weather. Spray with the wind, if 

 possible. 



4. Be sure that your lime is fresh and 

 put in plenty. 



5. Remember that the June spraying, 

 as the blossoms are falling, is the most 

 important. Do it thoroughly. This one 

 spraying with no more will give excellent 

 results in most seasons, but spi-ay once 

 or twice if you can. 



