l62 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



August, 1908 



wood towards the centre of the tree. 

 Having this form, it is impossible to 

 spray economically, not only on account 

 of the height of the bearing wood, but 

 because the interlacing branches prevent 

 the spraying apparatus from passing 

 easily from tree to tree, 



RENOVATING OLD ORCHARDS 



The question is frequently asked 

 whether these old orchards can be reno- 

 vated. In many cases they can. Where 

 the trunk and limbs of the tree are sound 

 there is no reason why a new growth 

 should not be started on the lower por- 

 tions of the limbs. This new growth 

 can be induced by cutting back the ends 

 of the lower limbs along with the thin- 

 ning of the finer brush towards the out- 

 side of the tree. This would, of course, 

 temporarily reduce the bearing area 

 somewhat ; nevertheless, the result in the 

 end would be beneficial. The bearing 

 area is seldom too large, but it is uneven- 

 ly distributed over the whole tree. Us- 

 ually, in these old trees, it is confined to 

 the tips of the limbs where the fruit spurs 

 are much too crowded. The effect of 

 thinning the finer brush, and cutting back 

 the larger limbs moderately, would be 

 to induce the growth of suckers or water 

 sprouts on the naked limbs towards the 

 centre. One or more of these may be 

 selected on each limb, and so pruned 

 as to fill up the vacant space in the cen- 

 tre of the tree. 



These water sprouts usually grow very 

 vigorously the first year. A growth of 

 three or four feet is not unusual. The 

 spring of the second year, the new 

 growth that best suited the purpose of 

 filling the vacant space, should be select- 

 ed, and all others cut off close to the 

 main limb. One year old shoots left 

 should be pruned back to within four or 

 five inches from the main limb. This 

 would induce nearly all the buds upon 

 this remaining stub to grow. Three 

 or four of these would be selected and 

 the remainder pinched out soon after 

 growth began. By the end of the season 

 the shoots left would usually make a 

 growth, not as vigorous as the growth 

 of the preceding year but still more vig- 

 orous than they would from the older 

 branches. These again should be cut 

 the following spring to the extent of 

 one-half their growth. It is quite possi- 

 ble that, after this treatment, fruit spurs 

 will form on these side shoots, the end 

 buds developing into wood growth. This 

 wood growth should again be thinned 

 to two or more shoots as the case may 

 require, and cut back slightly the third 

 season. The third season fruit spurs will 

 develop on the one year old wood, and 

 after this very little cutting back will 

 be needed. 



terwards the centre of the tree fairly well 

 filled with bearing wood. During this 

 time the outside of the tree has been care- 

 fully thinned, but some bearing wood 

 would have developed, and if this is 

 pruned to correspond with the new wood 

 induced in the centre of the tree, you 

 have now a good bearing tree ready to 

 renew its youth, the younger wood grow- 

 ing from the centre taking the place of 

 the older wood towards the outside. 



BAD NURSERY STOCK 



In the young orchards it can be seen 

 very distinctly that the farmers are not 

 well informed in the quality of the stock. 

 In one case I saw an orchard of twelve 

 or fifteen acres in extent planted with 

 trees which must have been stunted 

 stock, six or seven years old, severely 

 cut back in the nursery, and making a 

 very poor showing after being planted a 

 year in their permanent position in the 

 orchard. 



(Continued on Page 179} 



Raspberries in Dry Seasons 



During seasons of drought, fruit trees 

 and bushes often fail to give satisfac- 

 tory results. To know how to care for 

 them properly at such times would mean 

 money in the pockets of the growers. The 

 past two seasons were particularly dry in 

 some of the fruit sections of the state of 

 Michigan. During a visit to Toronto, 

 Mr. A. W. Twiner of Sagatuck, Mich., 

 called at the oflSces of The Canadian 

 Horticulturist and told how he has 

 grow raspberries successfully during dry 

 seasons when others failed. 



He grows his plants three feet apart 

 in rows that are six feet apart. Instead 

 of allowing the canes to grow in clumps, 

 he throws the entire energy of the clump 

 into one, two or three plants, usually only 

 one. These are grown in tree form, by 

 pinching back in summer to three feet 

 high to induce the formation of lateral 

 branches. For the following season, the 

 strongest shoots are allowed to grow. 



Early in spring, the soil is plowed 

 about three inches deep toward the 

 plants. Cultivation between the rows is 

 carried on all season. The following 

 spring, the earth is hoed away from the 

 plants and cultivation is continued so as 

 to maintain a dust mulch for the con- 

 servation of soil moisture. This sys- 

 tem is repeated regularly. 



One "Boy's Delight" apple tree given 

 for one new subscription to The Cana- 

 dian Horticulturist. See our premium 

 offer. 



Canadian Plums 



W. T. Macoan, Ottawa 

 Only a few domestic plum seedlings 

 have come into prominence in Canada 

 for the same reason mainly as with 

 the pear, the tenderness of the fruit 

 buds hmiting the area also in which 

 they may be grown successfully. Two 

 Canadian varieties which are sold by 

 nurserymen are the Glass and King- 

 ston, the following descriptions of which 

 are taken from "The Fruits of On- 

 tario": 



KINGSTON 



"Kingston is a valuable market vari- 

 ety. Origin, province of Ontario; tree, 

 vigorous and productive; fruit, me- 

 dium to large, oval; color, dark purple, 

 with thin blue bloom; stem,' slender, 

 about five-eighths of an inch long, 

 inserted in a small, deep cavity; suture, 

 shallow; apex, a small point; flesh, yel- 

 lowish-green ; flavor, tart ; quality, cook- 

 ing, good; season, early September." 



GLASS SEEDLING 



"Glass is a commercial variety re- 

 sembling Quackenboss. Origin, with 

 Alexander Glass, at Guelph, Ont.; tree, 

 hardy, vigorous, upright, foliage pecu- 

 liar dark green; productive; class, P. 

 domestical fruit, large, round oval, irreg- 

 ular at apex; suture, distinct; apex, 

 depressed; stem, three-quarters to one 

 inch long; color, dark purple with thin 

 blue bloom and white dots; skin, thick, 

 firm; flesh, free from pit; color, green- 

 ish-yellow; texture, juicy; flavor, sweet 

 and agreeable; quahty, dessert fair, 

 cooking good; value, market good; 

 season, September." 



NEW PLUMS IN QUEBEC 



On the island of Montreal in the 

 province of Quebec, where domestic 

 plums probably have been grown for 

 nearly three centuries, many seed- 

 lings have originated, some of which 

 are distinctly hardier in fruit bud than 

 those usually listed. Three of the 

 best of these are Raynes, Mount Royal, 

 and Lunn. Descriptions of these plums 

 will be published in the complete list. 



Work is being carried on at the 

 Central Experimental Farm in the 

 improvement of the nigra and Am- 

 ericana plums and already several seed- 

 lings have been named. 



In my bush fruit patch, I remove the 

 old wood in fall after the fruit is picked. 

 The tops also are cut off. This practice 

 kills the insects on the old wood. By 

 cutting the tops off thenewrwood, break- 

 ing is lessened. — Jos. E. Gulp, Jordan, 

 Ont. 



iou 



needed. 



If the original sprouts have been judic- 

 usly selected, you have three years af- 



Much of the small, imperfect, light- 

 colored or wormy fruit comes from trees 

 not growing under favorable conditions. 



The Salome apple should be planted 

 more extensively. It is a splendid keep- 

 er and retains its flavor longer than most 

 varieties. The tree is a vigorous grower 

 and produces good crops. — D. J, Gibson, 

 Newcastle, Ont. 



