THK CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



33 



Bonne, Clapp's Favorite and Ananas 

 D'Et^. 



When the pear is budded at or near 

 the ground upon a very thrifty stock 

 the first year's growth is too rapid, 

 and it seldom matures sufficiently, 

 especially if the summer is short. 

 This evidently is the cause of the de- 

 bility of the tree. 



I think of working at standard 

 height some of our valuable apples, 

 such as Baldwin, King of Tompkins 

 and Chenango Strawberry, they being 

 too tender when low worked. 



Berlin, January, 1885. R. 



THE RUSSIAN MULBERRY. 



No doubt some who have planted 

 only single seedlings of the famed Rus- 

 sian Mulberry will be disappointed in 

 not getting fruit. The fact is the tree 

 is disecious, either being a male {stani- 

 mate) or a female (pistillate), and when 

 grown apart at a distance from the 

 efiects of insects or the wind, the fe- 

 male tree will bear fruit, but no seeds ; 

 the male will blossom but have no 

 fruit. This peculiarity is often wit- 

 nessed in the vegetable kingdom. For 

 example, our cut-leaved Weeping 

 Birch is a female and cannot be pro- 

 pagated from seed if separated from a 

 monsecious bix'ch. The Lombardy Pop- 

 lar is a male tree, and both are or can 

 be propagated artifically, either by cut- 

 tings, suckers, or budding, or grafting, 

 as is the case with the former. A not- 

 able instance of the sexual character of 

 plants may be seen in the hemp ; in a 

 clump, you will find both male and 

 female plants growing together. 



What has led to the supposition that 

 this variety of Mulberry, being a native 

 of Russia, must therefore be hardy, is 

 that the Duchess of Oldenburg is also 

 Russian and is very hardy. But this 

 is a mistake. This apple comes from 

 the confines of Siberia, from a latitude 

 as far north as Quebec or Labrador. 



The Russian Mulberry is indigenous to 

 the South of Russia, near the sea of 

 Azov, the climate being as warm as 

 that of Ontario in summer, and not so 

 cold in winter. I find the tree no 

 hardier than either the Asiatic or 

 American varieties, and where either 

 cannot be grown successfully, neither 

 will the Russian succeed. 



Seedlings of all cultivated fruits can- 

 not be depended on. One in a thous- 

 and may be good, and the only way to 

 perpetuate good varieties is by artifi- 

 cial processes. The cultivated Mul- 

 berry, either for feeding the silk worm 

 or for fruit, is grown artifically. The 

 majority of seedlings of the Russian 

 variety produce fruit no larger than a 

 common raspberry. 



All Mulberries are more or less in- 

 jured in this locality by late spring 

 frosts, the young shoots being killed 

 back to the branches. 



Berlin, January, 1885. R- 



A PLEA FOR THE CHAMPION GRAPE. 



To THE Editor of the Canadian Horticutturist. 



In 1878 your correspondent planted 

 six grape vines. The smallest among 

 them was a Champion. In three yeai's 

 it had far out-grown all the others, and 

 commenced to bear. The year follow- 

 ing it was so loaded with fruit, as to 

 make the impression it woidd sui-ely 

 die from over-beaiing. But no ; for it 

 has gone on increasing ever since. In 

 1883, while the grapes on all the other 

 vines were badly mildewed, the Champ- 

 ion was completely free. Last year it 

 x'eached twenty-five feet on the trellis, 

 covering it ten feet wide, producing 

 140 pounds of good, sweet grapes. 

 From the 25th Aiigust they were 

 eaten freely, sold, given away, while 

 the seeds were removed from a sufii- 

 cient quantity to fill twenty quart cans. 

 After being boiled down with sugar, 

 the expressed juice of the remainder 

 was put up as unfermented wine, 



