176 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



Will you kindly inform me, through 

 your next monthly, when is the best 

 time to chop down a black ash swail to 

 keep them from budding again. 



T trust the Horticulturist will get 

 greater success than ever, as it should 

 be in every hoi;sehold. 



Wm. Barn house. 



Flesherton, March 9th, 1885. 



Reply. — Will some of our readers 

 who have experience in chopping black 

 ash please reply. 



WHAT THE PEOPLE SAY. 



STKAWBERRIES BEARING THIS 

 YEAR. 



BY T. C. ROBINSON, OWEN SO0ND. 



(For the Canadian Horticulturist.) 



The fruiting season is very late with 

 us this year ; so that at this date, July 

 9th — beyond which I must not wait if 

 I am to reach the columns of the Hor- 

 ticulturist for August — the crop is npt 

 half ripe. This fact makes me cautious 

 in judging of the later sorts, which are 

 just coming in. (Notice that my land 

 is sandy-loam, and all kinds grown for 

 fruit are cultivated on the " Hill Sys- 

 tem.") 



The first variety to ripen in quantity 

 was the Crescent, as usual. On the 

 last day of June it gave a good pick- 

 ing of very choice fruit, which sold 

 rapidly at highest pi'ices. 



Early Canada appears to be slightly 

 earlier than Crescent, but the demand 

 for plants has so restricted my fruiting 

 of this sort that I could not make a 

 fair comparison of it with others. The 

 berry is about the size of Wilson, of 

 about the same color, but not so glossy, 

 and I think the crop about equal, but 

 the bei-ry is less firm than Wilson. 

 Early Canada appears to have decided 

 value as an early berry for a not too 

 distant market. 



The Wilson followed on the 3rd of 

 July, having allowed two clear pickings 

 of Crescent before it. came in. As 

 picked for sale there is practically no 

 difference noticeable between these 

 varieties. The Wilson is slightly sourer 

 and darker colored, the Crescent a lit- 

 tle softer and not quite so rich ; both 

 kinds retail by dealers for " Prime 

 Wilson" while the size is large, and 

 job off" for " Small Wilsons" when tlie 

 size runs down. On sandy loam the 

 Crescent appears the more productive, 

 and increases its relative superiority as 

 you plant on higher land, but on clay 

 loam I would prefer Wilson. The two 

 earlier pickings of Crescent make it 

 much more profitable than Wilson on 

 sandy soil ; but the Crescent blossom is 

 deficient in pollen, so that we plant 

 every sixth row with Wilson or Early 

 Canada, which have perfect blossoms. 



The Bidwell gave us its first picking 

 the day after Wilson came in. The 

 berries show the usual defects of irre- 

 gular shape, especially at first, green- 

 ness at the tip after the body of the 

 berry is ripe, and lack of firmness fo 

 long shipment. But the plant grows 

 double the size of Wilson, the foliage is 

 remarkably healthy, the berry is much 

 larger and sweeter, and the crop 

 promises to exceed Wilson and Cres- 

 cent per acre to even a greater extent 

 than last year. We find that wlien 

 people get used to the green tip they 

 will ask for Bidwell in preference to 

 others. This variety has given me the 

 most profit of all from equal areas. 



Seneca Queen came in about with 

 Bidwell, perhaps a day earlier. It is 

 also a magnificent sort for a near mar- 

 ket. Last year I thought it decidedly 

 behind Bidwell in productiveness : it 

 may prove so this year before the sea- 

 son is over ; but it certainly is well to 

 the front just now. Like the Bidwell 

 it makes a very large plant, but the 

 foliage is dai"ker and more upright. The 



