212 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



October, 1908 



tors at first use far too much water, to 

 the detriment of their crops and lands. 



HOW OFTEN TO APPLY WATER 



The number of times that water should 

 be applied during a season again de- 

 pends on climate, soil and crop. In the 

 Kamloops District, fruit trees should not 

 be irrigated oftener than two to three 

 times, the last irrigation about August 



I St. 



It is not enough to merely apply water 

 to the land, and think you have done 

 your whole duty. Irrigation must be ac- 

 companied by constant and thorough 

 cultivation of the soil. After each irriga- 

 tion, before the soil has begun to bake 

 and crack, but not so soon that it will 

 turn up in lumps of mud, the furrows 

 should be broken with a good two-horse 

 cultivator, this to be followed in a day or 

 so by a thorough cross cultivation. At 



least every two weeks, oftener if possi- 

 ble, until the next irrigation, the soil 

 should be stirred to a depth of three or 

 four inches with harrows or a fine cul- 

 tivator. The object of this cultivation is 

 to keep the soil in a loose, fine condi- 

 tion, so that it will hold the largest 

 possible amount of air and water without 

 becoming heavy and also to conserve 

 the moisture by reducing evaporation to 

 the minimum, and to keep down weeds. 



Growing Peaches in the Okanagan Valley 



Clement Aitkins, Peachland 



WE are still young in peach grow- 

 ing, but I expect to see the time 

 when we will be famous for our 

 fine peaches. Peach trees grow well 

 with us, and the fruit is unsurpassed in 

 flavor and color. On the occasion of the 

 visit of the members of the Western 

 Canada Irrigation Association last Aug- 

 ust, many expressions of surprise at see- 

 ing such fine fruit were heard. 



We have such a fine climato for peach 

 growing that we expect to have annual 



of the top. This is important. If it is 

 not done the trees will not maintain a 

 strong and vigorous growth, and will 

 not bear large crops and well matured 

 fruit. When it is done, the trees will not 

 split readily and they will live longer. 



In the Niagara district of Ontario I 

 had peach trees twenty-two years old. 

 They had not been well handled through- 

 out their life-time or they would have 

 borne good crops up to thirty years old. 

 I believe that trees will do that here. We 



Four Year Old Peach Tree in a Well Kept and Irrigated Orchard 



Plaiitiition of Mr. K. H. Agur, Summerland, li.C. 



crops. The soil is a sandy loam, some- 

 what stony, and is most suitable for all 

 kinds of stone fruits. 



It is important that the peach trees 

 should be pruned severely. Start them 

 with low heads about fifteen or eighteen 

 inches from the ground. Shorten-in the 

 unusually long roots to a convenient 

 length. Prune all broken and damaged 

 roots before planting. Each year cut 

 back about two-thirds of the new growth 



have the soil and the climate, and some 

 of us have the experience to prune the 

 trees hard, to keep the heads down, and 

 after a few years to head back by de- 

 grees the main branches, cutting them 

 short off, and forming new leading 

 branches. Where several new branches 

 grow, cut out the weak ones, keeping 

 only the strong and heading them back 

 well at the next winter's pruning. Thus, 

 new heads may be formed. 



It is important also that the laterals 

 bearing the fruit should be shortened at 

 least one-third. This in conjunction with 

 irrigation, cultivation and feeding, not 

 only gives good strong trees, but it also 

 aids in producing well colored fruit and 

 it prevents to a great extent the spend- 

 ing of money on hand thinning of fruit. 

 The bulk of the thinning of the fruit 

 should be done with the pruning shears. 



With skill and experience and suffic- 

 ient capital to make the most of them, 

 one can grow thirty boxes of peaches per 

 tree. The usual yield is ten to thirty 

 boxes per tree according to the experi- 

 ence of the grower, upon whom depends 

 the success or failure of the venture. 



Canadian Raspberries 



W. T. Macoun, C.E.F., Ottawa 



Quite a number of good raspberries 

 have originated in Canada, but time 

 forbids mentioning them here. De- 

 scriptions of these will be found in 

 the list to be published later. There 

 is one red raspberry, however, that must 

 he referred to, namely, the Herbert, 

 which is rapidly making its mark. 



Herbert (Whyte's No. 17) is a 

 chance seedling originating with Mr. 

 R. B. Whyte, Ottawa, Ont., in 1887; 

 one of thirty seedlings, probably of 

 Clarke ; a very strong grower, hardy and 

 very productive. The fruit is large to 

 very large; obtusely conical, bright to 

 rather deep red ; drupes, medium size, 

 not crumbling, moderately firm ; sweet 

 and subacid, sprightly, juicy and of good 

 flavor; quality very good; season, begins 

 a few days before Cuthbert. The best 

 red raspberry tested at Ottawa. It has 

 all the good points required in a berry , 

 for local market, being hardy, vig- 

 orous, productive, with fruit of large size, 

 good color and of very good quality. If / 

 firm enough for distant shipment, it 

 may displace Cuthbert. Two excellent 

 Canadian black-caps are the Hilborn and 

 Smith's Giant. 



