138 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



June, 1907 



obtained, the practical application of 

 the principles should be a comparatively 

 easy matter. As a general statement, 

 however, that tillage is best that begins 

 as early in spring as the land can be 

 worked and continues at intervals of 

 10 days or two weeks until midsummer. 

 Cultivate also after every rain, so as 



Clean Culture in Quebec 



Orchard of R. \V. Shepherd. Como. 



to keep the surface mulch in good con- 

 dition. Cultivate every particle of soil 

 to a depth of three inches. On heavy 

 clay soils, deeper cultivation in early 

 spring will sometimes give good results; 

 but clayey soils should not be worked 

 when too moist. About midsummer, 

 when the wood of the tree is nearing 

 maturity for tljf season, cultivation 

 should cease altogether. At the last 

 cultivation, a cover crop should be sown. 



THe Currant 



Wm. Fleming, Owen Sound, Ont. 



Currants will grow in any soil, but will 

 not bear sufficient crops to make them 

 profitable except in rich, cool soil w-ith 

 a clay subsoil. Do not plant too close. 

 Currants do not bear much until the 

 third year. By that time the plant 

 should be quite large, five or six feet 

 across, and there should be plenty of 

 room for sunshine and scuffling, hoeing 

 and gathering the fruit ; therefore, seven 

 to eight feet apart each way is what 

 gives the best returns. Two-year plants 

 should be set and, to ensure a perfect 

 catch and a large bush, set the plants 

 double in well-cultivated, clean, rich 

 ground, the same distance apart each 

 way, so as to allow cultivating by horse 

 two ways. 



There are many varieties of black 

 currants that deserve notice, and which 

 give good satisfaction, such as Black 

 Naples. Lee's Prolific and Champion. 

 Lee's Prohfic is equal in quality to the 

 others and is the best bearer. 



The best of the red currants are : Fay. 

 Ruby, Cherry, Victoria, Versailles, Star, 

 Red Cross and Perfection. Victoria 

 and Versailles are the most abundant 



bearers, but small in size of fruit. Ruby 

 bears larger fruit and commands a higher 

 price. Fay is the largest fruit, but a shy 

 bearer. Perfection, a new variety, be- 

 ing a cross between F'ay and White 

 Grape, promises to be the best red cur- 

 rant so far. It is large in size and an 

 abundant bearer. 



In the white currants, the leading 

 varieties are White Grape and White 

 Dutch. The former is by far the better. 

 It is large in size, of fine quality and an 

 enormous bearer. 



Currant Bush Pests 



W. E. A. Peer, Freeman, Ont. 



The currant worm is, perhaps, the 

 most serious pest of the red and white 

 currants. These, if left alone, in a very 

 few days will strip a bush of its leaves, 

 and the fruit for that season becomes 

 of little or no use. These worms make 

 their appearance in the middle or latter 

 part of May. • If treated at once to a 

 dose of Paris green they will give little 

 or no further trouble. It sometimes 

 happens, however, that a second brood 

 makes its appearance about the time 

 the fruit is ripening. As the fruit is 

 about ready for market, many neglect 

 their bushes at this time, thinking that 

 the loss of leaves then is of little conse- 

 quence. Here they make a mistake, as 

 the leaves have yet to develop the fruit 

 buds for the next season and prepare 

 the plant for the coming winter. 



When branches of a currant bush 

 show loss of vitality, and the currants 

 wither, there is in all probabiHty a cur- 

 rant borer at work in the pith of the 



branch, sapping its energy. When this 

 occurs, cut out the branch at once and 

 burn it, thus destroying the pest it con- 

 tains. In localities where the San Jose 

 scale exists currant bushes should be 

 carefully watched. This insect seems to 

 thrive and do exceedingly well on this 

 particular plant, upon which it is fre- 

 quently overlooked. Orchardists fre- 

 quently have had their spraying opera- 

 tions partly nullified by neglecting old 

 currant bushes that were badly infested 

 with scale in close proximity to their 

 orchards. 



Planting Fruit Trees. — When fruit 

 trees are to be planted the soil should 

 be dry and in good condition, thorough- 

 ly plowed, and so prepared as to be fit 

 for the production of a good crop of 

 com or wheat. If naturally moist, it 

 should be thoroughly drained, and if 

 exhausted by cropping, carefully dressed, 

 as trees will not thrive on weak soils, or 

 on such as are saturated with stagnant 

 moisture. 



Care of Peach Trees. — I try to keep 



my peach trees healthy by fertilizing 

 them and cultivating frequently. In 

 June I hoe around the trees and cut 

 out all borers. In the early spring the 

 trees are pruned slightly, especially the 

 varieties that are in the habit of over- 

 bearing. In June those that overbear 

 are thinned by picking off the surplus, 

 leaving the peaches three to six inches 

 apart. In pruning I aim to keep the 

 trees headed back to force new wood 

 and prevent them getting too high. — 

 J. M. Metcalf, Grimsby, Ont. 



