C'A NA DJA N IIORTIC UL TURLST. 



additional top-dressing of old rotten 

 manure and trench it down very deeply 

 between the rows (a broad tined spad- 

 ingfork is the proper tool for this work), 

 and give another top-dressing of good 

 rich loam to the depth of ?> to \ inches. 

 The advantages attending the above 

 method of cultivation are, that the 

 blanched part of the asparagus is more 

 tender, the color more delicate, and the 

 Havor improved. 



Quince. 



20. I have a (^iiiacu tliat lias flowered two 

 seasons and some of the fruit grows to the 

 size of smafl nuts and then drops off. What 

 can be the cause?— A. J. C, Listoinel. 



We suppose that your tree is still 

 quite young, and as yet has not suffi- 

 cient size and maturity to perfect the 

 fruit. Give the tree a good mulch of 

 coal and wood ashes mixed, and keep 

 it well pruned, ajid no doubt you will 

 soon be rewarded with fruit. 



Apples for Russell County. 



21. Are the Haas, Fall Queen, and Shiaw- 

 assee Heauty, one and the same apple, and of 

 what value is it for this part ? — Andrkw 

 Walker, Metcalfe, Un(. 



The Haas and the Fall Queen are 

 one, and although the former is the 

 commoner name in Canada for the 



apple, the latter is certainly the more 

 euphonious. Its time of ripening is 

 October and November. We hope to 

 pre.sent our readers with a colored plate 

 of the Haas apple soon. The Shiaw- 

 assee Beauty is an early winter apple, 

 keeping till January. It is said to be 

 a seedling of the Fameuse. Both these 

 apples are worthy of trial in your 

 county. 



Plums from Seed. 



22. I have just received four dozen stones 

 of wild phuns that grow in the valleys and hill 

 sides of Northern Iowa. My recollection of 

 them is that the early ones were delicious. 

 How and when should the stones he planted ? 

 Could seedlings be packed to survive a journey 

 from there? Bko. Candmhjs, St. Patrick's 

 Home, mtlifax, N. S. 



Plum stones should be planted as 

 soon as gathered, before they have any 

 chance to become dried out. They are 

 best sown like peas, in broad drills, 

 about one inch and a-half deep. The 

 effect of the moisture and the freezing 

 of winter is to crack the .stones, and usu- 

 ally a large number will start to grow 

 the following spring. At the age of 

 one year, they may be transplanted into 

 nursery rows. Vou might perhaps 

 succeed by planting them in boxes now. 



The young seedlings could be packed 

 with damp moss, and oiled paper so as 

 to come to you by mail from Iowa, 



OPEN LETTERS. 



Advice for New Sections. 



Sill, — I received the .lanuary numhei of the 

 HouTicci.TiKisr to-day. I am very much 

 pleased with its improved appearance and the 

 interesting matter it contains. I have recom- 

 mended your journal to my friends, and I wish 

 you every success. 



I consider that a jfrave mistake is made in 

 our new townshijis in not jireserving more 

 groves of trees, and in not jilanting mure wiien 

 young trees are so easily i)rocured witiioiit cnst. 

 On iiiir virgin soils, trees grow with astonishing 

 rapiility and with scaicely any failiue. I 

 planted a few Balsam Fir, Spruce and Cedars 

 thirteen years ago. The Balsams are now 

 twenty feet high and two feet in circumference ; 

 and though ]>lanted eight feet apart, tiie 

 branches interlace for half that height, forming 



a nice wind-break. 1 would advise all, whose 

 orchards and gardens are not properly enclosed, 

 or who have not yet laid out an orchard and 

 garden, to enclose from one to two acres with a 

 wire fence, and then plant Spruce or Cedar six 

 or eight feet anart in a line on the inside, alH>ut 

 six feet from the fence on all sides. By a little 

 annual clipi>ing, in ten years a beautiful hetlge 

 will be formed, sheltering fruits and vegetables, 

 sifting the ^^now evenly over the garden, and 

 itiakitig a suitable cover for the little grey bird 

 to Imild and make their home for I consider 

 them (Uir very l)est friends in the garden. 



In my next letter 1 will send you a few notes 

 on fruits and Howei-s in the valley of th« 

 Nottawasivga Kiver. Yours truly. 



rUKDKKHK FOY.STOS. 

 MlNK.slN(;. Ont. 



