58 



CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



Jessica and Catawba. Of course, some 

 of these varieties I have duplicated ; I 

 have three Clintons from which I 

 picked this year 700 lbs. of grapes. I 

 may incidentally remark just here that 

 by reason of the great number of grape 

 growers in this neighbourhood the fruit 

 has become a glut in the market, even 

 when choice grapes are offered for four 

 cents per pound. In consequence I 

 have turned my grapes into wine, that 

 is the Clintons, Delawares, Concords, 

 Isabellas and Catawbas, for which I 

 have found a ready sale. 



I grow a few plum trees, and in this 

 fruit I have been well repaid. Origin- 

 ally, I planted common blue plum 

 stocks, and after one year's grow^th I 

 budded Victoria, Egg and Lombard on 

 the one stock, and during the past year 

 it was a grand sight to see the full crop, 

 three varieties on one trunk, about 

 three bushels in all. 



Having a few dwarf apples, I selected 

 a Rhode Island Greening and after re- 

 moving some of the centre limbs I 

 budded it with Duchess of Oldenburgh, 

 and the result during the past 



year was a magnificent crop of fruit — 

 the Duchess being a most beautiful 

 purple with an indescribable bloom. 

 Whilst they were ripe, the fruit of the 

 parent tree was but the size of walnuts, 

 and green, and afforded a wonderful 

 contrast to the admiring observer. 



I have grown a few currant and 

 gooseberry bushes. The currant is sub- 

 ject to the borer, whilst the gooseberry 

 is often stripped by the green cater- 

 pillar. The only remedy for which is 

 hellebore sprinkled in the early 

 morning whilst the dew is on the 

 leaves. 



I have used Paris green, in the pro- 

 portion of one tablespoonful to a patent 

 pail of water, and squirted on my apple 

 and plum trees — a good preventative 

 against the curculio and the other pests 

 which infest our garden. Another 

 preventative is fowls, if they be allowed 

 to run at large they destroy an incrdi- 

 ble number of grubs and insects. In 

 closing my rambling remarks, I would 

 express my pleasure at the improved 

 appearance of our journal and hope to 

 hear of a more extended circulation. 



FRUIT NOTES. 



CASTON, CRAIOHURST. 



I HAVE just received copies of the 

 Horticulturist in its new dress, 

 and am very highly pleased with the 

 improvement, and hope the efforts of 

 the Executive Committee will be ap- 

 preciated as they deserve. All the 

 premiums sent out by the Association 

 to this locality have done well, or at 

 least neai-ly all of them. The Lucretia 

 Dewberry was the only thing that failed 

 with me. There is a tree of the Cat- 

 alpa Speciosa growing in the garden of 

 Robert Minty, Esq., of this place, which 

 was sent out about three years ago. It 

 is considered quite a curiosity by those 

 who saw it growing last summer ; the 

 immense leaves, like those of some rare 

 tropical plant, measuring ten inches in 



width. It is now about five feet in 

 height, and seems to stand this climate 

 all right. 



PRUNING. 



Opinions differ as to the proper time 

 to prune our trees and vines. My ex- 

 perience is that for fruit trees from the 

 15th to the 30th of June is the proper 

 time. I find that the wounds never 

 bleed and the wounds grow over quicker 

 than if done at any other time. I 

 have tried fall and winter pruning, but 

 would never do it again. I found that 

 if pruned in winter, many of them 

 would bleed all the next summer. For 

 grapes, I prune in November, shortly 

 after the frost has killed the leaves. 



