60 FRUIT RANCHING. 



him to render liim innocuous. The diet recom- 

 mended was bran and Paris green (arsenic). I lost 

 no time in ministering to the taste of the cutworm and 

 in iiumouring his pal'te to the top of his bent. We 

 were troubled by him no more. 



Fortunately, the depredations of this pernicious 

 enemy are confined as a rule to three weeks or so in 

 the twelvemonth; but while the voracity of the 

 creature lasts the mischief it does is almost incon- 

 ceivable. The cutworm itself is a short, thick creature 

 like a caterpillar, dark brown, closely resembling the 

 earth in which it lives. It is generally found about 

 half an inch or so under the surface, and as a rule 

 at the base of the stem or stalk of the plant upon 

 which it is preying. 



Notwithstanding these set-backs and disasters, our 

 tomatoes thrived amazingly in the hot, bright sun 

 of British Columbia, and they began to ripen early. 

 Although they did not all attain full maturity of 

 colour, I was able to sell between forty and fifty boxes 

 at the price of $1 (4s.) per box. This was not, it is 

 true, a very great or very profitable yield. But then 

 the plants were small and backward to begin with, 

 and they had experienced two severe checks. Besides, 

 they had no fertilizer whatever, and no water was 

 given them after the day they were planted. The 

 result was sufficient to convince me that, given 

 strong, early-transplanted plants and a favourable 

 season, it would be possible to raise a paving crop 

 of tomatoes on a sunny bench such as that which we 

 had at Bonnington. 



This conclusion was supported bv the experience 

 of our neighbours on the next ranch. The crop of 



