CA XJ 1)1 A \ IIOUTWUL TURJST. 



4;i 



The Shiawassee Beauty. 



Pkesidknt F. F. Lvov, of Michigan, 

 on his return from Boston j)aid avisit to 

 Mr. Charles Cibb, of Abbotsford, P.(,). 



He found this section largely devoted 

 to apple culture, the princii)al variety 

 being the Fanieuse, of which Mr. (Jibb 

 has extensive orchards. He has also 

 a large nuniV)er of trial plantations of 

 fruit and forest trees, and of o i- na 

 mental slii'ubs. 



Referring to the race of apples, of 

 which the Fanieuse is a type, he men- 

 tions the Shiawassee, as a case in point. 

 It was grown from .seeds of tlie 

 Fanieuse in Oakland county, Michigan, 

 .some thirty oi- forty years ago, and 

 the tree was transplanted to the neigh- 

 boring county of .Shiawa.ssee, whence 

 its name. It was introduced to the 

 public by Mr. Lyon. 



QUESTION DRAWER 

 Profits of Fruit Culture. 



li. Can a gooil living l)c niaile out of fruit 

 farming on a moderate stale, and with a very 

 liniiteil capital ? I iiave a good salaiy at 

 office work, and woidd not wish to run in 

 .leht. .J. A. H., Toronto. 



We cannot too severely condemn the 

 practice of some journals, especially 

 some of those which aie published Ijy 

 men who have fruit trees and other 

 nursery stock for sale, of continually 

 setting forth the gilded side of fruit 

 culture, representing the enormous 

 profits of an acre of strawberries, or of 

 an orchard of peach trees, and never 

 setting foith the dark side, the ditti- 

 culties,tlie disappointments,and failures 

 so continually besetting even the most 

 skilled and experienced fruit-growers. 

 How often does an untimely frost, or 

 an adverse season, cut off' the profits ex- 

 pected from a whole season's industry ! 



No. Speaking from an experience 

 of twenty years in fruit culture, in one 

 of the very best sections of Ontario, 

 we would not advise any man with a 

 very limited capital, no experience, and 

 no knowledge of the business, to leave 

 a good salary, and to engage in fruit 

 culture for a living. And yet the 

 writer is passionately fond of his chosen 

 occupation, considering it one of the 

 most delightful that can be selected, 

 and he has entire confidence in the 

 ultimate success and prosperity in every 

 fruit grower who understands his busi- 

 ness, and follows it with patient in 

 dustry. 



The Pear Blight. 



7. Of 130 pear trees of various kinds, 'i.') 

 years planted, 1 have left only Bartlett, 

 r^oui.se, Flemish Beauty, Benrre Diel, and 

 White Doyenne which iiave estai)ed hliglit. 

 Have others similar experience? Blight occurs 

 after heavy rain.s in .Inly and August, hot 

 sun causing fermentation in the superabund 

 ant sap.— John McLkan, Owen Soiiml. 



TiiK kinds you mention are less sub- 

 ject to blight than some others, excejit- 

 ing the Flemish Beauty, which is with 

 us as badly afiected as any variety. 

 Clapp's Favorite, Rostiezer, and Howell 

 have also proved with us remarkably 

 exempt. The blight is not caused by 

 fermentation of the sap, but by a 

 minute living organism called Bac- 

 terium, which is so tiny that it can 

 only be seen by the aid of the mo.st 

 powerful microscope. These retain 

 their vitality from year to year, even 

 in a blighted lind). They float about 

 in the atmosphen;, and find easy access 

 to the sap through the succulent growth 

 of the pear after such heavy rains as 

 you mention in the hot sea.son of .luly 

 and Auffust. 



The Clinton Grape. 



S. Are you not a little astray al>out the 

 Clinton Grape? I have always understood 

 that it was a pure Rii)aria, and not a ero.ss be- 

 tween Riparia and Iviibrusca as yf>u say in 

 Oct. No. 87. -B. 



Ouii statement was based upon the 

 authority of Mr. P. V. Munson. of 

 Dennison, Texas, 1st Vice-President 



