i:.4 



T HE C A N A 1) I A N H O R T I C 1 L T U R I S T 



tadi ol llic two crups of letliirc grown, 

 a very heavy coal of well-rotted manure 

 is used so that when the time comes for 

 cucumbers, the soil is well supplied 

 with plant food. But this is not 

 enough. Trenches about a foot wide 

 and 18 inches deep, are dug from end to 

 end of the house. Fermenting manure, 

 to the depth of 10 inches, is then firmly 

 packed in the trench, after the manner 

 of hot beds. Soil, to the depth of eight 

 inches, is placed on the manure and the 

 general level restored. Cucumbers from 

 six inch pots are then planted from 

 three to four feet apart in these trenches, 

 and are trained on trellises. The trel- 

 lises are made by using A-shaped trusses 

 of iron or wood (V-shaped at the row, 

 but A-shaped as to the way the trusses 

 or supports are constructed) reaching 

 from the bed to nearly the glass, with 

 wires eight inches apart running length- 

 wise of the house. The vines grow with 

 great rapidity and are tied to the wires 

 with string or rafHia. When the work 

 is well done, the fruit can be gathered 

 from the underside without difficulty. 



Anybody who will put their love in 

 the work, who will take the pains and 

 trouble, study conditions and be as 

 thorough in their work as the easterner, 

 should be able to duplicate their success. 

 For the past five years I have been a 

 convert to the ground bed, but after 

 what I saw east, if I had any doubts, 

 they were expelled, for I feel firmly con- 

 vinced that for the growing of lettuce 

 to produce a superior article, the raised 

 bench is a thing of the past. 



.\ HIG INDUSTRY 



In the vicinity of Irondequoit, a 

 suburb of Rochester, I should say there 

 are over 100 different greenhouse plants, 

 ranging from 1,000 to 500,000 feet in 

 each plant, used exclusively for lettuce 

 and cucumbers. It is all Boston Head 

 lettuce which is followed by cucumbers. 

 The majority train their cucumbers to 

 single stems and let no fruit set until 

 they reach a height of six or seven feet. 

 They are planted three by about seven 

 eet apart and trained, on twine, until 

 they reach the desired height, when they 

 are allowed to run overhead. All later- 

 als and tendrils are removed. They use 

 a cross of White Spine and Telegraph. 

 As a result of my trip I was able to 

 gather much valuable information that 

 I believe can be made of value to the 

 vegetable growers of Ontario. 



To fight blight successfully potatoes 

 should be planted wider apart than thev 

 require to be when there is no danger of 

 this disease.— Jas. Dandridge, Humber 

 Bay. 



In growing vegetables under glass it 

 is not sufficient merely to keep the plants 

 from freezing; thev must be kept grow- 

 ing or loss will be the result.— H. E. Reid, 

 Toronto. 



Home Made Cement Tile 



Oi'TIvXTIMIiS when fruit or vege- 

 table soils need underdraining. 

 the work is neglected on account 

 of the cost of tile. Many undrained 

 soils would be drained if tile could be 

 made at home. Ordinary six-inch tile 

 costs about $45 per 1,000, and even at 

 that high price they can scarcely be 

 had. Brickmakers say they are not 

 convenient to make as they take up too 

 much space when drying. 



These tiles can be made at home at 

 odd times in winter and spring. Such 

 work is a good means of profitably em- 

 ploying labor in the slack season, and 

 of retaining skilled help that otherwise 

 might be lost. Mr. C. E. Secord, of St. 

 Catharines, makes his own tiles and 

 makes them of cement, at the low cost 

 of $15 per 1,000. During a recent in- 

 terview he showed the writer the ap- 

 paratus, and explained how the w^ork 

 is done. 



THE APPARATUS 



The bottom of the apparatus is a 

 3 -inch plank about 12 in. wide and any 

 length desired, say 18 ft. A heavy 

 plank is used so that there will be no 

 "spring" or "give" when weighted 

 with the tiles. On this plank is placed 

 a number of circular pieces of sheet 

 iron (the bottom of the moulds), 8 in. 

 in diameter, with a small hole in the 

 centre sitting on a pin, or brad, driven 

 into the plank 12 in. apart, and pro- 

 truding upwards about 2 in. Around 

 this sheet iron disc are a number of 

 stout wire brads driven into the plank 

 to hold the mould in place. 



The mould consists of an outer 

 "shell," made of two pieces of common 

 sheet iron, 12 by 15 in. each, and a 

 central "core" of solid wood, a cylinder 

 6 in. in diameter and 15 in. long. Such 

 a mould will turn out a '6-inch tile with 

 an outside diameter of 8 in. and 12 in. 

 in length. The outer "shells" are 

 bent in half circles, overlapping, and ' 

 placed at the bottom, within the circle 

 of brads on the plank. At the top 

 they are held in place by an inch board 

 with holes cut 8 in. in diameter and 

 properly spaced, that is. 12 in. apart 

 from centre to centre. The holes in 

 this board fit over the upper ends of 

 the "shells." Within each shell is 

 placed a "core," the bottom end of 

 which, being bored, sits over the cen- 

 tral pin on the plank. The core protrudes 

 3 in. above the mould for ease in hand- 

 ling, and so that it can be twisted 

 occasionally to make the inside of the 

 tile smooth. 



THE PROCESS 



The mixture is made up of equal 

 parts of fine sand and gravel about the 

 size of wheat kernels, and one-sixth 

 Portland cement. This is mixed in 



the ordinary way, but not too wet. ' 

 When the mixture is prepared it is put ' 

 in the moulds until they are about half 

 full, then "tamped" or pounded well 

 Then the remainder is added, "tamped 

 again, and the top levelled off and 

 smoothed. The moulds are allowed 

 to "set" for about 24 hrs., after which 

 they are removed, dried and stored 

 until ready for use. — A. B. C. 



THe Fertilizers Act 



Users of fertilizers are protects 1 

 against fraud if they care to take ad 

 vantage of an act passed bv the Federal 

 Parliament. Manufacturers are re- 

 quired to guarantee their product and 

 any person that sells, offers or exposes 

 for sale at a higher price than SIO per 

 ton, a fertiUzer containing less than 

 eight per cent, available phosphoric 

 acid, or four per cent, of ammonia or 

 its equivalent in nitrogen or nitric acid, 

 or when both phosphoric acid and am- 

 monia are present, at least five per cent, 

 of available phosphoric acid and two 

 per cent, of ammonia or its equivalent 

 in nitrogen or nitric acid shall be liable 

 in each case to a penalty not exceeding 

 $50 for the first offence and $100 for 

 each subsequent offence, and in either 

 case forfeiture of the fertilizer. 



A deficiency of one per cent, is not 

 considered as evidence of fraudulent 

 intent. Fertilizers sent to the Inland 

 Revenue Department, Ottawa, will be 

 analyzed on payment of an established 

 fee of $3.00. 



Tomato Blig'Ht 



Prof. W. Lochhead, Guelph, Ont. 



The term blight is sometimes popular- 

 ly applied to a bacterial disease causing 

 the wilting of the stems and the foliage, 

 and for an entirelv different disease 

 called the Black Rot of the fruit. The 

 Tomato Black Rot most frequently 

 attacks the fruit and reveals itself as 

 large, black, sunken disease spots. In 

 the real blight, however, it is the foliage 

 that wilts, and at a later stage produces 

 a discoloration of the stems and death 

 results. 



With regard to the Rot, it has been; 

 prevented by spraying with Bordeaux 

 when the disease first appears, especial- 

 ly if the spraying is repeated at intervals 

 of 10 or 15 days. In the case of the 

 Blight, it is probably transmitted fre- 

 quently by the potato beetle. If the 

 flea beetles and potato beetles are kept 

 in check there is less liability of the 

 spread of the disease. It is always 

 wise to remove the diseased plants as 

 soon as the wilting shows itself. The 

 crops should be rotated as much as 

 possible. 



