OUR QUESTION AND ANSWER DEPARTMENT 



Readers of THo Horticulturist are invited to submit Questions on any pKase of Horticultural worK 



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MarKing Apple Barrels 



In the recent amendments to the Fruit Marks 

 Act, were the XXX, XX and X marks done 

 away with? — D. H. W., Trenton, Ont. 



No. Any number of X's may still be 

 put on a barrel, but the No. 1, No. 2, or 

 No. 3 mark has been made obligatory. 

 It is absolutely necessary that one of 

 these marks or "Fancy," which has 

 been defined, be placed on the package 

 of fruit. 



Fall Planting of Strawberries 



Do you ' advise planting strawberries in the 

 fall?— R. A. B., Renfrew, Ont. 



No. Strawberries planted in the fall 

 do not make enough new plants to pro- 

 duce even a normal crop the next year. 

 Plant strawberries in the spring, remove 

 all blossoms that season, and in one 

 year from planting an abundant crop 

 may be expected. 



Deer's Late PeacH 



Is Beer's Late a profitable peach for market 

 purposes? — M.W.F., Essex, Ont. 



Beer's Late is practically the same as 

 Crawford's Late, which is well known as 

 a fair commercial peach, but not grown 

 so much now as formerly. 



Crimson Ramblers 



I have a Crimson Rambler that has grown 

 very ugly. There are two long limbs with a 

 few leaves at the top. The few flowers that 

 come are insignificant, not larger than a button. 

 Can it be made healthy and vigorous? — M. N., 

 Toronto. 



When a rambler becomes as unruly as 



this, probably the best treatment is to 



cut it out and replace with a new vine. 



A less heroic measure, however, would 



be to prune back the limbs to within a 



few inches of the ground. Do this next 



.Vpril, just before the buds start. This 



fall apply a heavy mulch of manure and 



^fci the spring dig it in. During the sum- 



^^faer months, a rambler needs a lot of 



^Kater, overhead and at the foot. As 



^Ku approaches the waterings should be 



^Hopped gradually, thus bringing about 



■F normal and thorough-going process of 



^Kpening. 



^B Rose Insects 



Kindly advise what remedy to use for the 

 little insects that are eating the leaves of my 

 rose bushes? The vitality of the bushes seems 

 to be much impaired. — J. McK., York Co., Ont. 



Two kinds of insects are prevalent on 

 roses in this country; the rose chafer 

 and the rose leaf-hopper. The rose 

 chafer is difficult to combat. The best 

 treatment is to gather them daily by 

 hand, tossing them into a vessel con- 

 taining a little coal-oil ; or jar them off 



the plants into a funnel-shaped collector 

 so made as to roll them through the 

 centre into a pail containing kerosene. 

 The arsenical poisons are too slow in 

 their action, and contact remedies must 

 be appHed too strong for the plants to 

 kill the insects. 



The leaf-hopper may be kept off the 

 bushes by a forceful spray of clear water 

 applied early in the day or again at even- 

 ing. Those without the facihties for 

 spraying with water may use kerosene 

 emulsion, applied with an old broom, 

 or insect powder dusted on the plants 

 when they are wet. 



TussocK MotK on Trees 



A caterpillar is ruining my horse-chestnut 

 trees. Is it the Tussock Moth? Please describe 

 it, give its habits, and suggest remedies. — Mrs. 

 M. N., Toronto. 



The larva of the common Tussock 

 Moth {Notolophus leucostigma) is one 

 of the worst enemies of horse-chestnut, 

 basswood, and other shade trees. In 

 Toronto, the species is very destructive. 

 The caterpillar, about one inch long, is 

 easily identified by the following mark- 

 ings i^ Bright red head, resembling seal- 

 ing wax, just behind which is a con- 

 spicuous coral red mark; and yellow 

 body, bearing four white brush-like 

 tufts, and a wide black band on the back, 

 two long black plumes near the head 

 and one at the anal end. 



The most important points of eco- 

 nomic importance in the life-history of 

 this moth is that the female is absolutely 

 incapable of flight ; the insect winters in 

 the egg stage ; no eggs can be laid upon 

 a tree until a caterpillar has first made 

 its way upon it, and has changed to a 

 female moth. Herein lies the sugges- 

 tion for a remedy. 



During winter remove all the egg 

 masses, which are easily found, and 

 destroy them. In Toronto, it lies alto- 

 gether with the civic authorities to 

 stamp out the pest. Professor Loch- 

 head suggests that bonuses be offered to 

 children for every egg cluster collected. 

 Second, prevent the caterpillars from 

 crawling up the tree from surrounding 

 points by means of a bandage around 

 the trees. Any substance, sticky or 

 otherwise, that will arrest the march of 

 the caterpillar, will answer the purpose. 



in winter with special treatment. Spring 

 and summer is the proper season for 

 fuchsias to flower. They should be 

 rested, or kept dormant in a cool room 

 or cellar, during winter, in a temperature 

 of about 40 degrees; then brought out 

 about April, and re-potted as soon as 

 they show signs of growth. — Answered 

 by W. Hunt, O.A.C., Guelph. 



FvjcHsias for Winter 



Is the fuchsia a good house plant for winter? 

 — R. M. A., Barrie, Ont. 



Fuchsias are not good winter plants 

 for the house. One or two varieties, 

 notably speciosa, will succeed fairly well 



"White Grub in La-wn 



The grass on my lawn is turning brown in 

 spots. In taking up the sod, it comes up in 

 sheets, the roots being eaten off.- What is the 

 best course to pursue? — E. F. W., Amherst, N.S. 



The trouble is due to the larva of the 

 May beetle or June bug. Many lawns 

 are ruined by this pest. Robins are 

 fond of the grubs. If a part of the sod is 

 turned every few days, robins will devour 

 many of the grubs. It is said that an 

 application of a fertilizer (kainite, 3 lbs. ; 

 nitrate of soda, 1 ft., to sq. rod) will make 

 the soil distasteful to the pests. Re- 

 seeding may be necessary. This may be 

 done in September, but spring is the best 

 time. ^ 



snipping Tomatoes 



Has any attempt been made to ship tomatoes 

 to Great Britain, and if so, what were the results? 

 — M. J. L., Prince Edward Co., Ont. 



The only attempt of this kind that we 

 know of was made some years ago by 

 Mr. A. W. Peart, of Burlington, Ont., 

 who made trial shipments for three years 

 in succession. Each year Mr. Peart 

 sent four boxes that held two 12 qt. 

 baskets each. The first year he obtained 

 $1.44 a box, on which the total trans- 

 portation and other charges amounted 

 to about 60 cents, thus netting him a 

 nice margin of profit. The second year 

 the tomatoes were decayed when they 

 reached the consignee, and the shipment 

 was a failure. The third season, the 

 tomatoes were in a yellow condition 

 when they reached their destination, 

 and sold for 48 cents. The results of 

 the two last years' shipments were so 

 disappointing that Mr. Peart became 

 discouraged and decided not to make 

 further shipments until the cold storage 

 and transporting facilities were better 

 adapted for the shipping of these fruits 

 such a distance. The variety shipped 

 by Mr. Peart was the Honor Bright. 

 There has been such improvement during 

 the past few years in the cold storage 

 facilities for shipping perishables of this 

 nature that the time seems ripe for fur- 

 ther experiments. 



Use lime water for worms in potted 

 soil. 



