112 



CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



further ordered that the Executive 

 Committee constitute the Committer 

 of Consultation. Since this action a 

 copy of a resolution passed by the 

 Fruit (xrowers' Association of the Pro- 

 vince of Quebec has been received, ap- 

 proving of our action, and appointing 

 a committee of preliminary arrange- 

 ments. 



Notes and Comments. 



Prospects for Apple Growers. — 

 We do not believe in describing the 

 bright side of fruit culture and keeping 

 in the dark the many failures and dis- 

 appointments which are the common 

 lot of us all. But we do condemn as 

 very foolish the cutting down of a good 

 apple orchard in order to devote the 

 land to any other crop. AVe believe 

 the prospects to-day for profitable apple 

 culture are as good as ever, but in 

 order to make the best of it, moi-e care 

 than formerly needs to be paid to selec- 

 tion of varieties and to culture. Apples 

 just now are very high in price in Lon- 

 don, England, and any one who has tine 

 russets to forward will realize long 

 prices. Indeed, according to the Hor- 

 ticultural Times, choice apples are now 

 retailing there at from $1.50 to |4 per 

 bushel. Now if our Canadian growers 

 could but place their choice fruit more 

 directly into the hands of retail mer- 

 chants in England, instead of going 

 through the hands of so many middle- 

 men, each of whom pockets a share of 

 the profits, then apple culture would 

 soon prove one of the leading industries 

 of our land. 



Crop Prospects. — As we stated in 

 last number, most of the peach buds 

 are killed at Grimsby, possibly one in 

 a dozen having escaped. Mr. E. Mor- 

 den, of Niagara Falls, reports them all 

 sound there. Mr. Henry Willson gives 

 the same report, concerning Winona. 

 We shall be pleased to receive reports 

 of fruit prospects from all parts of the 

 Dominion. We want this journal to be- 

 come a means of reliable communica- 



tion between fruit-growers and fruit- 

 buyers. 



The Agricultural College at 

 Guelph deserves to be better knov. n 

 and appreciated. It is particularly 

 adapted to the needs of young Cana- 

 dians who have been brought up on 

 farms and need to know the scientific 

 principles of farming and fruit grow- 

 ing, and to be prepared for the more 

 intelligent operation of these depart- 

 ments. Prof. J. H. Panton, M.A., has 

 charge of the classes in horticulture, 

 botany and entomology, and is evi- 

 dently creating much enthusiasm among 

 the boys in these subjects. Such sub- 

 jects as the plum knot, wheat rust, etc., 

 are taught by him in a practical man- 

 ner by the aid of a powerful microscope, 

 which shows the minute spores, and, 

 indeed, all stages of the development 

 of these tiny organisms in the clearest 

 possible manner. The students too are 

 trained to mount subjects for them- 

 selves and to purchase and manipu- 

 late microscopes, so that they are 

 able not only to follow out the 

 whole life history of such minute fungi, 

 but also to pursue independent investi- 

 gations. We are in an age of special- 

 ties. The successful farmer and fruit 

 grower of the future will be those who 

 take advantage of such opportunities 

 of training for their work as may be 

 had by a course at the Agricultural 

 College at Guelph. 



Arbor Day. — The first Friday in 

 May has been set aside by the regula- 

 tions of the Education Department as 

 Arbor Day for the beautifying of school 

 grounds. We venture to hope it will be- 

 come yearly more popular. Trustees may 

 do a good deal in the way of encourag- 

 ing the profitable observance of this 

 day, but upon the teachers themselves, 

 after all, must this responsibility chiefly 

 rest. The difficulty is that the teachers 

 themselves as a rule know little, if any- 

 thing, about trees and shrubs, or about 

 laying out school grounds with walks, 

 lawns, or flower beds, and before they 



