21 



gather up all insects that may fall. Cr if a chicken coop 'is placed 

 under a tree, the chickens will pic'c up the insects as they are shaken 

 ofF. This may seem as if the expense of destroying the insects would 

 be more than the fruit would come to, but at present prices for plums 

 there will be left a handsome profit after paying for all the time spent 

 in destroying the curculio and care of the trees : and any one who 

 will plant out a plum orchard and give it the proper attention will find 

 it a |)rofitable investment. There were only three entries of quinces, 

 but the fruit was not fully grown, quinces being later in coming to 

 maturity this year than usual. If the fair had been two or three 

 weeks later the show of this fruit would probably have been remarka- 

 bly good, as there was a heavy crop the past season. Grapes were 

 very much injured by the hail of last summrr, but in spite of it some 

 excellent fruit was shown. There were four entries for premiimi. The 

 Agricultural College had the best collection, but these were not enter- 

 ed for pi'emium. Among its collection were several canes both girdled 

 and ungirdled from the same vines with the fruit attached. The fruit 

 on the girdled canes was large and fully ripe, while that on the canes 

 not girdled was much smaller and only begiuhing to ripen. Tise fruit 

 on the girdled canes was not troubled with the species of fungus that 

 causes the berries to tui-n red and become hard and prevents their 

 ripening, while tiiat on the canes not girdled taken from the same vine 

 was badly etfected with it. In girdling, a ring of bark is taken from 

 the Ciine about one tliird of an ineli in width : this prevents the sap 

 from flowing below thj girdled spot in its downward course, and 

 as there is an upward flow of sap all the time, the cane gii-dled is 

 crowded with nourisluneut which forces a more rapid growth of the 

 fruit and causes it to ripen sooner. When girdling never girdle the 

 main stem of the vine but only such canes as are to be cut away as 

 soon as they have ripened their fruit, growing new canes for the next 

 season's fruiting. If a caue is girdled the fore part of July and as 

 soon as the new growth has covered the, place where the bark was re- 

 moved another rim is taken off, the fruit will ripen at least two weeks 

 earlier than in canes not girdled^ and be fully one third larger. There 

 were only two entries of cranberries. There were five baskets of as- 

 sorted fruits on exhibition, some of which showed much taste in the 

 arrangement and contained some fine fruit. 



One very esses. tial thing was omitted by most of the exhibitors, and 

 that was the naming of the fruit, only a few of the collections 



