THE CANADIAN HORTICDLTDRIST. 



105 



MEETING OF WINONA AND STONEY 

 CREEK GRAPE GROWERS' CLUB. 



(From Our Own Correspondent. J 



Another meeting of the above Club 

 was held in the Literary Hall, March 

 13th, attendance over one hundred, 

 chiefly large fruit growers. Meeting 

 was called to order at 10 o'clock a. m., 

 and the ball opened by a paper on 

 " Plum Culture," by G. W. Clino, of 

 Winona. Mr. Cline has had fine crops 

 of plums every year, and attributes 

 his success to jarring the trees and 

 spraying them with Paris green. Hav- 

 ing adopted both of these methods to 

 destroy the curculio, Mr. Cline feels 

 confident that spraying will destroy 

 the little Turk ; sprays the trees just 

 as the blossoms are falling, and again 

 in a week or ten days, then a third 

 time after a similar interval. Had 

 found Wild Goose and Weaver vari- 

 eties worthless. Would recommend 

 the following varieties in order of 

 ripening: — Imperial Gage, Bradshaw, 

 Lombard, Columbia, Pond's Seedling, 

 German Prune and French Pnine. 

 After considei-able discussion, the next 

 subject, " The Collection and Man- 

 agement of Fruit for Exhibition," was 

 introduced by Murray Pettit. Many 

 members expressed their disapproval 

 of the exhibition of fruit by private 

 parties who did not grow it — who per- 

 haps grew none of it — but procured it 

 from their neighbors. The meeting 

 adjoux-ned at 12.30 to partake of lunch 

 furnished by the Society, and served up 

 by willing hands. After the wants of 

 the inner man were satisfied, the Secre- 

 tary read a letter from the Niagara 

 Grape Co. stating that Mr. E. Ashley 

 Smith would not be able to attend, and 

 read a piiper on " Grapes," as he had 

 not yet returned from New Orleans. 

 In his absence the subject was intro- 

 duced by Mr. J. H. Biggar, the veteran 

 grape grower of Winona. Mi-. Biggar 



thought no other grape could compare 

 with the Niagara in the qualities that 

 go to make up a perfect grape. He 

 thought that Niagaras would pay bet- 

 ter than fJoncords at the same price, 

 being heavier yielders. E. D. Smith 

 thought if white grapes were as plenti- 

 ful as black they would not sell as well. 

 Mr. Seusse did not believe in the 

 Kniffen system. Had pruned on many 

 difierent systems in Switzerland, on the 

 Lake Erie Islands and here, and had 

 found best results invariably from a 

 system of pruning that kept the beai- 

 ing wood close to ground and frequent- 

 ly renewed. This is impracticable in 

 the Knifien system. Mr. Murray Pet- 

 tit, whose lai-ge experience makes him 

 considered an authority upon grapes in 

 this district, would recommend the fol- 

 lowing varieties for profit : — Delaware, 

 Concord, Niagara, Champion, Moore's 

 Early, Worden, Rogers' 4, 9, 15 and 

 44, Salem, Duchess and Noah. Mr. 

 Woolverton had Pocklingtons that pro- 

 duced double of any othei' variety of 

 same age, and sold for 20 cents per 

 pound. R. R. Smith thought Mr. 

 Pettit's list good, but would shorten it 

 by striking out Rogers' 4, ?alem, Noah 

 and Duchess, also Champion except on 

 early ground. Mr. Spern had good 

 success with Pocklington and Diana. 

 A discussion followed on the damage 

 done to fruit growers by honey bees 

 and robins, which resulted in the adop- 

 tion of the following resolution : — 

 " That in the opinion of this meeting 

 it is advisable that every gi-ower of 

 cherries, berries and grapes shall kill 

 all robins and destroy all nests and eggs 

 possible from their first appearance in 

 the spring until the grape crop is gath- 

 ered, at the same time sincerely regret- 

 ting that the old friend of our early 

 youth has become one of our most 

 formidable enemies." The danger of 

 overstocking the grape market was 

 argued in the affirmative by Wm. Oi'r, 



