THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



31 



STRAWBERRIES AND GRAPES. 



In your next number please tell 

 what varieties of (1) strawberries and 

 (2) grapes would prove most satisfac- 

 tory for this part of Ontario As I 

 grow the fruit for home use only I care 

 nothing about carrying properties. 



S. Warren. 

 Brooklyn, Jan., 1885. 



Reply. — 1. For crop, Wilson and 

 Crescent ; for quality, Jersey Queen, 

 Mrs. Garfield, and Triumph de Gand. 



2. Worden, Early Victor, Moore's 

 Early, Brighton, Jessica, Lady, Niagara, 

 Delaware. 



What soil would be the best in which 

 to plant the hardy Catalpa 'I 



W. SWITZER. 

 Anderson, Ont. 



Reply. — We have only had experi- 

 ence with it in sandy and gravelly loam. 

 They do well in such soil. 



I have been very anxious to find for 

 some years back if the system of prun- 

 ing and training grape vines practised 

 by the Italians employed by the late 

 Mr. Decourtney at Cooksville has suc- 

 ceeded ultimately. Perhaps you would 

 put the question in your next issue 

 under the head of " Question Drawer," 

 and oblige an old subscriber. 

 Yours truly, 



T. D. Lloyd. 



P. S. — I should have said the system 

 did very well here for a couple of years 

 after the vines commenced to bear good 

 crops. After that the infirmities of 

 old age (as with myself) began to show. 

 — T. D. L. 



Reply. — Will some one who knows 

 please to reply 1 



CORRESPONDENCE. 



HEDGES. 



An excellent defensive hedge for the 

 orchard and fjirm can be made of our 

 native crab apple {pi/rus malus odorata), 

 capable of keeping out cattle, and par- 

 ticularly the ubiquitous boy, who wants 

 to help you, by disposing of your choice 

 pears, apples, &c. 



It is certainly superior to the Buck- 

 thorn, Osage Orange, Honey Locust, 

 and all the varieties of the Hawthorn 

 (crat(egus) foinily. The European var- 

 iety (oxycmitha) is too tender, and very 

 subject to the downy aphides, and our 

 natives of this genus, although hardy 

 and bear shearing or pruning well, are 

 subject to suckering. 



For ornamental hedges, there is 

 plenty of material suitable to the taste 

 of the planter, such as White Cedar 

 (arborvitte), Hemlock Spruce, Tartarian 

 Honey-suckle, Japan Quince (pyrus 

 Jciponica), Privet {Lygustram vul- 

 gar e), Barberry [Berheris). 



For evergreen hedging, or wind- 

 breaks, nothing that has as yet been 

 tried is equal to the Norway Spruce ; 

 of deciduous trees, the Beech {Fagus 

 feruginea) might be used advantageous- 

 ly, as it retains its browned foliage dur- 

 ing the winter. The European Beech 

 (^Fagus sylvatica) is used for this pur- 

 pose, and also for ornamental purposes, 

 I have tried it, but find that the young- 

 shoots are apt to be irozen back during 

 winter. 



For ornamental hedges, there is 

 plenty of material suitable for this pur- 

 pose to meet the taste of the planter, 

 such as oiir common Ai'borvitfe, Hem- 

 lock Spruce, Tartarian Honey-suckle, 

 Japan Quince, Privet, &c. I have also 

 seen, when residing in the Lowlands of 

 Scotland, the old-fashioned, original 

 Fuschia {var. coccinea), used for this 

 purpose, but it was protected in winter 



