OUR QUESTION AND ANSWER DEPARTMENT 



Readers of TKe Horticulturist are Invited to Submit Questions on any Phase of Horticultural 'Worh 



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Site for Apple OrcHard 



I have a piece of land that is low and flat, 

 yet rich and fertile. It has never been culti- 

 vated On one side is a spring pond, and on 

 the other runs a river. In the event of ice jams 

 in spring, the land is submerged for a few days 

 only. It is well protected by hills on all sides. 

 Would such be suitable for growing apples? — 

 W.A.W., Brampton, Ont. 



From the description given we should 

 not consider the site a very suitable one 

 for an orchard. Standing water, even 

 for a few days, in an orchard may cause 

 serious loss from root killing, as when 

 the soil becomes saturated with water 

 and freezes, the roots of the trees are 

 very liable to be destroyed. Such low- 

 lying ground would probably also not 

 drain well in summer, and apple trees 

 will not grow well where there is a wet 

 subsoil.— Answered by W. T. Macoun, 

 C.E.F., Ottawa. 



Apply Ashes in Spring 



How heavily should wood ashes be sown in 

 orchards, and will they hurt a growing cover 

 crop such as vetch or crimson clover; or should 

 they be applied just before turning under, and 

 if so would they not be too late to benefit the 

 existing crop? — R.R., St. Catharines, Ont. 



W. T. Macoun, Horticulturist, Ex- 

 perimental Farm, Ottawa. — Wood ashes 

 arc usually applied at the rate of 75 to 

 80 bushels to the acre. AppHed at this 

 strength they would not hurt a growing 

 cover crop. In some spots where the 

 ashes might be applied too thick, slight 

 injury might be done, but on the whole 

 it would not cause injury. We should 

 prefer applying ashes the following 

 spring, after the cover crop has been 

 turned under, as while the ashes might 

 increase the crop of vetch or crimson 

 clover, it would probably do more good 

 if applied in the spring. 



H. L. Hutt, O.A.C., Guelph.— I would 

 not hesitate to apply 100 bushels an 

 acre if they could be obtained for not 

 more than five or six cents a bushel. 

 Fiftv bushels an acre is considered a good 

 application. There is not much danger 

 of applying too large quantities, as the 

 potash and phosphoric acid is mostly 

 retained in the soil and not lost in the 

 drainage water, as is often the case with 

 soluble nitrogenous fertilizers. The best 

 time to apply ashes is just before turn- 

 ing imder the cover crop in the spring. 

 The trees would then get the full benefit 

 of the application for their season's 

 growfh, and cover crops following would 

 also be benefited by the potash and 

 phosphoric acid still held in the soil. 



L. R. Taft, Michigan Agricultural 



College. — Wood ashes can be used with 

 good results at the rate of 50 to 100 

 bushels an acre, according to the con- 

 dition of the soil and age of the trees. 

 In old orchards they should be spread 

 broadcast, and with young trees they 

 should be applied over a circle some- 

 what larger than the head of the tree. 

 If scattered evenly, they will do no in- 

 jury to cover crops, but if a shovelful is 

 thrown in a place, the plants with which 

 it comes in contact will be destroyed. 

 To get the best results the application 

 should be made quite early in the spring. 



A Border of Roses 



I have a flower border, 30 x 3 feet, on the 

 south side of a lattice fence. Would it serve 

 for a rose bed ? If so, what kinds should I plant 

 and how many bushes? — M. M., Toronto 



The flower border mentioned should 

 be quite suitable for a rose bed, provid- 

 ing it is not overshadowed by trees or 

 buildings. Roses like an open, airy, 

 sunny position, and a rich, clay-loam, 

 well -drained soil. Hardy hybrid per- 

 petual roses on their own roots would 

 be the best kind of bush roses to plant. 

 Ten bushes planted about 32 inches 

 apart in a row in the centre of the bed 

 would be suflficient, the first bush to be 

 planted 20 inches from end of bed. The 

 following are good, hardy, well-tested 

 varieties: Baron de fonstetten. Prince 

 Camille de Rohan, Gen. Jacqueminot, 

 Mme. Charies Wood, Marshal P. Wilder, 

 all dark red or crimson; Mrs. John 

 Laing, Mme Gabriel Luizet, Anna de 

 Diesbach, pink: and Margaret Dickson, 

 white. A moss rose or two could be 

 substituted for any of these; Blanche 

 Moreau or Henry Martin are good varie- 

 ties. Climbing roses could be trained 

 on the lattice fence. Crimson Rambler, 

 Baltimore Belle, Yellow Rambler and 

 Caroline Goderich are good climbing 

 roses, the two first named being the 

 best. — Answered bv Wm. Hunt, O.A.C., 

 Guelph. 



Rex Begonias 



I have a fine rex begonia. It has ten large 

 leaves and about a dozen small ones. Do they 

 need any special kind of fertilizer? Do the 

 plants need much sunlight?— B.T., Mount Ver- 

 non, Ont. 



Any of the ordinary commercial plant 

 foods or fertilizers can be used for rex 

 begonias. Use the fertilizer at about 

 one-half the strength usually recom- 

 mended. Rex begonias do not like 

 direct sunshine. Partial shade suits them 

 best. — Answered by Wm. Hunt, O.A.C., 

 Guelph. 



121 



Planting Svi^ar Maples 



I intend setting out a number of sugar maples 

 this spring. Kindly advise when to trans- 

 plant, what size of tree is most likely to grow, 

 and how they should be trimmed. — R.T., 

 Prince Albert, Ont. 



Sugar maples trees should be planted 

 as soon after the ground is dry in the 

 spring as possible, although they may 

 be planted successfully any time before 

 the leaves expand. Trees from two to 

 three inches in diameter are the most 

 satisfactory to plant, as they are thick 

 enough to withstand the wind and are 

 not too old. Much larger trees than 

 these can be planted with success, but 

 the larger the tree the more difficult it 

 is to transplant. Instead of pruning to 

 a bare pole, as is so often done, we prefer 

 pruning back the branches of the top 

 very severely, but not removing them, 

 and leaving some small twigs to enable 

 the tree to make leaf growth as soon as 

 possible. — Answered by W. T. Macoun, 

 Horticulturist, C.E.F., Ottawa." 



Mite on Roses 



.\ nice rose tree I have is not doing well. 

 What is good to put on rose trees? — Mrs. J.A.G., 

 Durham, Ont. 



It is probably the red spider or mite 

 that is attacking the under side of the 

 rose leaves and that is causing the 

 trouble. Sprinkle the plant, especially 

 on the under side of the leaves, with 

 water every day. A little finely powd- 

 ered sulphur or flowers of sulphur 

 sprinkled underneath the leaves before 

 the leaves are dry will also help to keep 

 down this pest. The plant mentioned 

 may perhaps require some fertilizer. 

 Roses require liberal treatment in the 

 matter of fertilizers to secure the best 

 results possible. — Answered by Wm. 

 Hunt, O.A.C., Guelph. 



Sorting Seeds 



I have some flower and vegetable seeds that 

 I wish to sort so as to sow seeds that are even 

 in size. How is it best done? — H.L., Peterboro, 

 Ont. 



Use sieves having meshes of a size to 

 suit the diflFerent varieties of seeds to be 

 sorted. These sieves can be made very 

 easily bv tacking a piece of muslin, 

 cheese cloth, wire mosquito netting, or 

 wire having a larger mesh, to the bottom 

 of a light wooden frame about 10 or 12 

 inches square and two inches deep. The 

 sides and ends of any small light box of 

 about the size mentioned will answer 

 very well. — Answered bv Wni. Hunt 

 O.A.C., Guelph. 



