May, 1907 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



111 



the kerosene with Bordeaux mixture, 

 flour being added before churning at the 

 rate of four ounces to each quart of 

 kerosene which has been used. It will 

 be necessary in preparing by the barrel 

 to do the churning with about half the 

 necessary amount of water in order that 

 the mixture will not splash over, adding 

 the requisite amount of water afterwards 

 This kerosene emulsion and Bordeaux 

 mixture made in small quantities has 



A Patriarchal Apple Tree 



This splendid apple tree, shown as photographed whe'' 

 in bloom, stands on the property of Mr. George Head- 

 of Oakville. Ont. . and is retxjrted to be 70 years old. 

 The trunk tWO feei from the ground, measures nine feet 

 four inches around. The branches spread fifty-nine feet 

 six inches. It appears to be of the Blenheim Orange 

 variety. According to Mr. D. Robertson, of Oakville, 

 who has known the tree for many years, it has never 

 had any proper care, not even the suckers having been 

 cut. Fifty years ago it yielded 26 barrels of apples, in- 

 cluding 19 barrels of XXX fruit, and more might have 

 been picked. 



remained for five weeks without any 

 appreciable separation of kerosene. The 

 mixture is a smooth one and after stand- 

 ing mixes readily again. While this has 

 not been tested sufficiently to recom- 

 mend unreservedly it gives promise of 

 being a very desirable combination. 



Handy Devices 



A simple but effective method of 

 , cleaning a vineyard of the trimmings 

 and other rubbish which they contain in 

 the spring of the year has been adopted 

 by Mr. Murray Pettit, of Winona, as well 

 as by several other leading fruit growers 

 in that section. A pole about 16 feet 

 long and three to three and a half 

 inches in diameter is used. About six 

 feet from one end of the pole is a device, 

 to which a chain is attached. The chain 

 is about 12 feet long and connects with 

 a whiffletree so that a horse may be used 

 to pull the pole. The end of the pole 

 near the horse is so cut on one side that 

 it will run along the ground readily. 

 When the orchard is being cleaned, the 

 driver holds one end of the pole up from 

 the ground, while the end near the horse 

 i runs along the ground picking up the 

 canes and rubbish as it goes along. In 



this way, the rubbish is carried to the 

 ends of the vineyards where it is dumped 

 in piles, and later burned or carted away, 

 as the case may be. 



FOR THE FRUIT ORCHARD 



For cleaning the orchard, after the 

 trees have been pruned, two poles are 

 used instead of one. The poles are 

 fastened together by a heavy piece of 

 iron about two and a half feet long. 

 The man operating these poles, holds 

 the ends in the same way he would the 

 handle of a plow. The two ends of 

 the pole on the ground sweep up the 

 branches and rubbish like a broom. An 

 editorial representative of The Horti- 

 culturist, who visited Mr. Pettit's 

 vineyard and orchard shortly after this 

 work had been completed last year, was 

 astonished to find how clean the ground 

 had been swept. 



With a device of this kind, which costs 

 almost nothing, it is possible to clean 

 the vineyard or orchard as quickly as a 

 horse can walk up and down the various 

 paths. Mr. Pettit states that two men 

 and a team will take out as much rubbish 

 in less time than it would take 10 men 

 and five teams to pick up the same rub- 

 bish and draw it out on sleds. 



OrcKard Implements 



That the value of good tillage in fruit 

 orchards is appreciated, is evidenced 

 bv the efforts and achievements of in- 



ance of heading their trees low, particu- 

 larly peaches, the manufacturer has had 

 to produce an implement that will meet 

 the need required by the change. 



To trace the history of orchard imple- 

 ments is practically to record the begin- 

 ning and development of the culture 

 of fruits. Various and interesting have 

 been the changes in the plow from that 

 of earlier times to the modem types. 

 The old-fashioned drag became a har- 

 row and it has assumed various forms. 

 The introduction of the spring-tooth- 

 harrow marked another advance in con- 

 struction. Following this came a series 

 of harrows and cultivators that have 

 proven great helps in the cultivation of 

 the orchard. For cultivating under low- 

 headed trees, extension and reversible 

 disc harrows have been invented. 



Some fruit growers object to low- 

 headed fruit trees on the ground of ex- 

 pense and labor at the time of cultivat- 

 ing. This trouble can be overcome by 

 the use of the modem extension harrow. 

 With it, the soil under the trees can be 

 stirred without injuring the branches. 

 The horse, or horses, walk in the space 

 between the limbs and one arm of the 

 harrow extends under the hmbs of the 

 trees. Not only is the extension disc 

 harrow of value in this particular, but, 

 also, it pulverizes the soil much better 

 than other kinds of harrows. It leaves 

 the soil in the best possible condition for 



A Friend Spraying Outfit at Work in an Orchard 



ventors and manufacturers in produc- 

 ing implements and machines that will 

 render the work less exacting and tedi- 

 ous for the grower and that will perform 

 it more thoroughly, expeditiously and 

 economically. When fruit trees were 

 grown with trunks five or si.x feet high, 

 most of the ordinary implements for 

 tilling the soil in the field could be used 

 in the orchard. Now that up-to-date 

 orchardists are recognizing the import- 



the conservation of soil moisture and for 

 the benefit of the trees. 



Experiments conducted in 1905-06, 

 at the lUinois Expt. Sia., with various 

 mixtures for treating vSan Jose scale, 

 show that the simple lime and sulphur 

 washes prepared by boiling are superior 

 to all others. Applications made in 

 spring arc twice as efficient as those 

 made in January, 



