82 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



April, 1907 



thick fog is the ideal. With such a 

 spray and careful manipulation of ex- 

 tension rods, we may cover every twig 

 and leaf of a tree with the minimum 

 amount of material and find our work 

 more effective than if done with a 

 coarse nozzle, sprinkling raindrops on 

 the trees, leaving them dripping, but 

 only half covered, and using twice the 

 material. 



In this way much of the work is only 

 half done, and material is wasted by 

 carelessness and want of skill, not only 

 by common laborers who have not been 

 taught to put "brains into their work," 

 but by men who ought to know better, 

 and who rush through what they con- 

 sider a dirty, disagreeable job to get rid 

 of it as soon as possible. Then they will 

 tell you that they sprayed their trees 

 once or twice, as the case may be, but 

 did not receive much benefit from it and 

 don't think that it is worth the time, 

 trouble and expense. Under those cir- 

 cumstances they may be correct. Had 

 they been more thorough in their work 

 they might arrive at different conclusions. 



For further information regarding the 

 details necessary to successful spraying, 

 I refer persons who desire same to the 

 bulletins on spraying issued at Ottawa, 

 Truro, Guelph, Cornell, Geneva and 

 other stations. 



Insects of all sorts are increasing year 

 by year. If you have not observed any 

 damage from them, on close examination 

 you will find many kinds and species 

 that you had no idea were infesting your 

 trees. It is a simple matter of precau- 

 tion, for insurance, therefore, to use 

 arsenical poisons with the Bordeaux, 

 in the proper proportions at the proper 

 season. Spray early, spray often, and 

 above all, sprav thoroughly and care- 

 fully. ^ 



The R.ed June Plvim Tree 



Ralph S. Eaton, Kentville, Nova Scotia 

 Red June plum trees have fruited 

 satisfactorily in Nova Scotia and the 

 quality of the plums for dessert is good. 

 In some seasons the leaves of the variety 

 have been particularly subject to shot- 

 hole fungus or a disease having similar 

 effect. The leaves, after perforation at 

 midsummer, would turn brown and drop 

 and the fruit would soon follow. 



The tree is a rapid grower. The long, 

 slender, brittle wood, if allowed to grow 

 all the season, should be cut back one- 

 half. Nipping off the end of the grow- 

 ing wood in July would be preferable in 

 order to save wood production and to 

 induce fruit bud formation. The writer 

 aims to do this with all fillers. After the 

 third year, a little judicious thinning is 

 desirable. The tree naturally forms a 

 fine, round, spreading head. The fruit 

 is handsome but must be severely thin- 

 ned to secure good dessert size. If the 

 foliage could be kept on during the sum- 

 mer, it would be a very profitable variety. 



"Varieties for tKe NortK 



G. C Caston, Craig'hurst, Ontario 



FOR a commercial apple orchard 

 plant Duchess. With the demand 

 in the west for early apples, the im- 

 proved facilities' for shipping in the 

 way of refrigerator cars well iced, and 

 icing stations on the way, these apples 

 can be laid down in first-class condition 

 in that market; they are such proUfic 

 bearers and such excellent cookers, they 

 are not likely to go to waste for want of 

 a market in future. They grow to a 

 high state of perfection here. The 

 climate conditions seerfa to be just right. 



In fall apples next in rotation after 

 Duchess, the Peerless and Alexander. 

 The former is little known as yet, but it 

 is a good variety. I would not discard the 

 old Calvert; it will always be a good 

 shipping fall apple. My chief favorite is 

 the Wolf River. It is one of the very 

 best cooking apples. Its early and 

 abundant bearing qualities, fine size 

 and rich coloring places it in the front 

 rank as a commercial fall apple. . In the 

 late fall varieties, or what we might 

 call Christmas apples, Snow and Mc- 

 intosh do fairly well here; but, unless 

 people will spray them properly, they 

 are not profitable, as a large percentage 

 are unmarketable. The best substitute 

 for these is the Shiawasee. It does 

 famously here and is just about as good 

 as either of the others in quality. The 

 Baxter does very well here, except 

 that, like the Snow, it is very subject 

 to scab. 



Of the late winter varieties, the Spy 

 leads. We cannot have too many of 

 them; if three-fourths of the orchard 

 were Spys, it would be all the better. 

 Spy, Baldwin, R.I. Greening, and King 

 must be top-grafted on hardy stock. 

 I don't think as much of Ontario now 

 as I did a few years ago ; it has not ful- 

 filled expectations. The Seek-no-further 

 Stark, Pewaukee, Gano, Salome, and 

 Boiken are all good winter sorts here. 

 That makes the list long enough. Do 

 not plant too many varieties. Intend- 

 ing planters should bear this in mind. 

 A commercial orchard should be con- 

 fined to a few of only the best varieties. 



We are out of the plum belt here, 

 and it won't pay anyone to try to grow 

 them. They succeed best near large 

 bodies of water, and a few miles away 

 from the Great Lakes they will not 

 succeed. Practically the same may 

 be said of cherries. The hardiest plum 

 of the European varieties, of about 40 

 tested here, is the Staunton. It is still 

 thriving while all the rest are dead. 

 The best of the Japans is the Burbank. 

 The American varieties are not worth 

 growing. The best cherries are Orel 24, 

 Osthiem, Richmond and Montmorency. 

 In pears, Flemish Beauty, Clapp's and 

 Anjou seem to be quite hardy, and Bart- 



lett does well top-grafted on Flemish 

 Beauty. 



The best blackberries are Agawam 

 and Eldorado, although both of these 

 have suffered damage in very severe 

 winters. In raspberries, Marlboro and 

 Cuthbert have been the main varieties. 

 There is not much to commend the Marl 

 boro except its earliness. The Cuthbert, 

 while of best quality, is not quite hardy 

 enough here. If we can get one of 

 as good quality and perfectly hardy, 

 it would fill the bill. I have a new 

 variety, called the Eaton, from Michi- 

 gan, It is a magnificent berry; if it 

 proves hardy it will be an acquisition. 



I have tried a great many varieties 

 of strawberries, and my experience is 

 that the old varieties I first started 

 with, the old Wilson and Crescent, are 

 the best I ever grew. But they are run 

 out now. The Wilson rusted so badly 

 it had to be discarded; although in its 

 best days it did not show much signs of 

 rust, the last few years I had it, the 

 rust developed greatly. Crescent is 

 doing fairly well yet in some localities. 

 Among new varieties one that has a 

 strain of Crescent in it is most likely to 

 excel in public favor. I have tested a 

 number of seedlings of my own, and I 

 have one which I believe to be a cross 

 between Crescent and Williams. I have 

 fruited it for two years, and have decided 

 to propagate it for my own use, but will 

 reserve opinion until it has had a few 

 vears further trial. 



Stra-wberry Varieties 



W. F. W. Fisher, Burlington, Ont. 



The choice of varieties depends largely 

 on local conditions, and on the object 

 for which the fruit is to be grown, 

 whether for home market or for long 

 distance shipping. Many growers fall 

 into the error of needlessly multipl5dng 

 the number of varieties. It is best to 

 choose judiciously and keep the number 

 for a commercial plantation down to 

 two or three. A new and profitable 

 demand will be created as soon as large 

 plantations of single varieties of the 

 right sort are offered to buyers. 



The plants should be taken from well- 

 wintered young beds. All weak ones 

 should be discarded. Trim off the run- 

 ners and dead leaves, lay the plants 

 straight in a carrying basket, sprinkle 

 well with water and cover to exclude 

 air. They are then ready for the field. 

 Plant as soon as possible after digging. 



The Canadian'ITHorticulturist is 

 a credit to the publishers. The cuts 

 are well done and the matter of great 

 interest to all lovers of fruits and 

 flowers. — The Toronto World. 



