April, 1909 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



85 



stored and offered for sale. Windsor, St. 

 Thomas, Chatham, London and Brantford 

 were all practically bare of first-class winter 

 apples, and had only the lower grades to 

 offer, and those at high prices. 



On the whole the prices have been good 

 for winter apples in the Old Country mar- 

 kets, but at no time have they been better 

 than in the home markets ; at jiresent, the 

 home market prices are higher than the 

 British market prices. Nevertheless, there 

 is a constant stream going to the Old Coun- 

 try, while our own people arc eating only 

 the inferior grades or no apples at all. This 

 is not an extraordinary year in that respect. 

 Four years out of five at least there is a 

 shortage in the home markets, and the grow- 

 ers cannot do better than to organize in 

 such a way that the home markets at least 

 will be supplied. 



Of course, there is a danger of overdoing 

 the local markets. The remedy for that is 

 co-operation and publicity. If those who 

 propose to store apples will let the fact be 

 known early in the season, and not attempt 

 to store by stealth, there is little danger of 

 .storing too many. 



The storage, too, ought to bo done as, 

 much as possible at local points to save 

 freight; but, far better pay freight to and 

 from a cold storge warehouse than attempt 

 to hold apples where the temperature can- 

 not be kept at less than 50 degrees. The 

 ordinary farmer's cellar may do for storing 

 a few barrels, but is altogether too warm 

 [,a place to risk any large quantity in. I note 

 Ithis point, because, though I recommend the 

 ^toring of apples sufficient for home use, I 

 rould also add the caution that in irder to 

 nake the enterprise an assured success, 

 here must be proper storehouse facilities. 



Your Garden for 1909 



The special offer made by The Canadian 

 foRTicrLTURiST, that appears in another 

 Siart of this issue tells how to secure a col- 

 ction of 14 different varieties of flower and 

 regetable seeds, a collection of five dahlias, 

 Fand a three year old Crim.son Rambler rose 

 tbush, free of cost. It only means a few 

 minutes' work among your friends. Turn 

 to this offer and read it carefully. It will 

 interest you. Then set out to secure one or 

 all of the above mentioned premiums. It 

 will not take you long. Get three of your 

 friends to subscribe for The Canadian Hor- 

 ticulturist and all three premiums will be 

 sent to you. If you are unable to secure 

 throe subscriptions, secure two or one, and 

 tell us which premium you wish sent you. 

 Tell your friends how The Canadian Horti- 

 ci'LTURiST has helped you in planting and 

 caring for your flower garden in the past. 

 You may denend on it that it will be better 

 than ever this year. 



Help boom "The Canadian Horticultur- 

 ist. Show it to your friends and secure 

 their subscriptions. Tell them that it is 

 the only Canadian paper that deals with 

 amateur flower growing and garden making. 

 Tell them that our Question and Answer 

 Department is open to all of our subscrib- 

 ers. Tell them that each month an article 

 api)ears giving suggestions for amateur 

 flower growers and gardeners for that par- 

 ticular month, besides numbers of other 

 articles dealing with timely and interesting 

 subjects. Send us the names of some of 

 your friends -who are interested in flower 

 rowing and gardening, but who do not take 

 Inn C\NADiAN Horticulturist. 'W'e will 

 -end them free sample copies. Perhajys 

 <ome of them have never seen the pai)er. 

 Give them an opportunity to see this issue. 



The Fertilizers Act 



Editor, The Canadian Horticulturist : — 

 Am I not correct in regarding the horticul- 

 turists as the chief consumers of commercial 

 fertilizers in this country ? How many of 

 them, I wonder, are familiar with the Do- 

 minion law providing for Government in- 

 spection of fertilizers offered for sale ? How 

 many of them have compared the present 

 law, dating from 1890, with the bill intro- 

 duced into the Senate by Hon. R. W. 

 Scott last July and likely to be brought in- 

 to Parliament again at the present session ? 

 Such a comparison I have attempted in a 

 letter recently submitted to several of our 

 agricultural papers. In the present com- 

 munication, I shall confine my attention to 

 a few of the most important points. 



The chief faults of the Act of 1890 are its 



manufacturers beg for an extension of 

 time, so that they may comply with the 

 spirit of the law. They get the extension 

 of time as much as two months some- 

 times. The latter class of manufacturers 

 have delayed the publication of the results 

 of the analyses until they are of no service 

 to the consumer buying fertilizers for spring 

 use. The former class have rendered the 

 results unreliable and misleading. If the 

 bulletin came out at the time the law pre- 

 sumably contemplated, it would be worse 

 than worthless. As matters stand, it is 

 worthless merely. These analyses are so 

 much waste labor, the cost of which falls 

 partly on the general public, partly on the 

 manufacturer directly, but eventually up- 

 on the consumer. 



The bill introduced last session does awaj 

 with this farcical analysis and merely re- 



Ribston Apples on Trees at They Appeared Last Season in a Nova Scotia Orchard 



The photograph was sent to the Dominion Offices of the Potash Syndicate, Toronto, by Mr. W. H. 

 Starr, of '■ MapioiuirHt." Chipinau's Corner, N. S., with the following explanation: "The photo was pro- 

 cured in oMT eight-acre orchard of twenty years planting, which last Fpring received an application of 

 200 pounds of muriate of potasli and DUO jrounrts of acid pliosphate per acre, nilrotfen being supplied by 

 clover. One barrel each of (JravenMteins and Kings from the same orchai'd received Hrst and second 

 prizes respectively at the Nova Scotia Horticultural Exhibition held at Kentvillc last October. This 

 speaks well for potash." 



The Canadian Horticulturist is im- 

 proving wonderfully.— J. A. McBride, Mon- 

 treal. 



failure to sjjecify potash as one of the val- 

 uable fertilizing ingredients and its require- 

 ment that the Government shall analyze not 

 only the samples collected on the market by 

 the Inland Revenue Inspectors but also a 

 standard sample of each fertilizer, to be sent 

 in by the manufacturer before th(^ end of 

 January. Manufacturers not having their 

 year's stock made up at that time and pro- 

 bably, in many iiustances, not having even 

 received raw materials cannot comply with 

 this reqtiirement. What then do they do .' 

 .Some of them make U)) samples, specially, 

 in order to meet the letter of the law. These 

 samples are by no means re])resentative of 

 what is later put upon the market, Other 



quires the manufacturer to live up to his 

 guarantee — which, in the opinion of the 

 chief analyst, is all that the present law can 

 actually do. It also includes potash among 

 the fertilizing ingredients. But it in turn 

 has several weaknesses. 



In the earlier communication referred to, 

 I pointed out those that occurred to 

 my mind. Having reason to believe that 

 the hill will bo materially modified before 

 introduction, I shall not trespass upon .your 

 space with a repetition of. my criticisms. But 

 I should like to suggest to. your readers, and 

 especially to the associations that you repre- 

 sent, that they be on the lookout for the now 

 bill, secure copies of it and take action to 



