16 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



winter, and when the warm weather 

 comes tlie spores are a,i,'ain sent out, like 

 " smoke " from a puti'ball, and are de- 

 posited on green grapes, where the same 

 process is repeated. Now, to prevent 

 this, we must either destroy the spores 

 before they reach the grapes, prevent 

 their germinating on the gra})es, or ))re- 

 vent their growth after they germinate. 

 If the rotten grapes could be swept up 

 and burned in the fall, tlie number of 

 spores would be greatly diminished, 

 especially if our neighbors do the same. 

 No matter how many s^iores there may 

 be they cannot germinate without mois- 

 ture. This is why grapes never rot 

 when grown on a building under a cor- 

 nice. A Avide boai'd nailed over the 

 trellis answers very well, and paper bags 

 put over the clusters, when the berries 

 are small, and fastened with a })in or 

 tied on, are effective. It has been 

 known for years that no fungus growth 

 can take place in the presence of car- 

 bolic acid. One ounce of carbolic acid, 

 dissolved in five gallons of water, and 

 sprayed over the fruit when the rot 

 appears, will stop its farther progress. 

 This disco vei-y, like all others in horti- 

 culture, is given free as air, although 

 no man can estimate its value. 



^ # # * -jf * 



TESTING NEW GRAPES. 



People should exercise some common 

 sense in buying new varieties of grapes 

 or other fruits. If one can afford the 

 outlay — which of necessity must be con- 

 siderable — it is a pleasure to test the 

 new varieties as they come into the mar- 

 ket. He is then qualified to report for 

 the benefit of those Avho may profit by 

 his experience. Until a variety has had 

 a fair trial no man has any right to 

 speak against it. The fact of its being 

 new argues nothing ; all were new once. 



If one can not afford to buy high- 

 priced varieties, he should in all fiiirness 

 withhold his testimony in regard to 



them. It is worthless to others and 

 damaging to himself. It is very unfor- 

 tunate that in this matter — and most 

 others — those who know the least make 

 the most noise. 



The originators of new fruits have 

 done more to advance the cause of hor- 

 ticulture than any other class, and they 

 are clearly entitled to a reward for their 

 labors ; and this they can not get with- 

 out charging a seemingly high price. 

 With the introducer the case is the 

 same. He must publish lengthy des- 

 criptions and testimonials, and this is 

 costly and must be met by high prices. 



WHAT HAS BEEN DONE. 



A few years ago I planted fifty very 

 small Concord vines four feet apart. 

 They received no extra care, and the 

 third year, while yet on stakes, they pro- 

 duced over 400 pounds. I have often 

 known vines to yield over 60 pounds 

 the third year. I once planted an lona 

 vine four years old, that had been three 

 times transplanted and root-pruned. 

 It was cut back to three eyes, each of 

 which sent out a shoot bearing three 

 clustei-s. One-thii'd of the fruit was re- 

 moved, and quite early in the summer 

 the shoots reached the top of an eight- 

 foot stake. They were then allowed 

 to grow seven feet further on twine 

 stretched horizontally, at which point 

 the ends were nipped. The vine ripened 

 the 45 feet of wood and six fine clusters 

 of fruit. The next season two of the 

 canes were shortened to three feet, and 

 the other to two buds. The three-foot 

 canes were laid down horizontally and 

 allowed to bear over 25 pounds of fruit. 



VALUE OF FOREST PRODUCTS. 



The " Working " Report of the For- 

 estry Division at Washington (revised 

 in the Report of the Commissioner of 

 Agriculture) fixes the estimated value 

 of the United States forest products at 

 §700,000,000, which is more than the 



