114 



CAiYABIAN HORTICULTUBIST. 



ford, England, sends us a colored plate 

 of a very fine new English strawberry 

 of enormous size, called Laxton's 

 '■'■Noble." In form it is nearly globu- 

 lar, of a shining crimson color, and a 

 rich vinous flavor. This strawberry, it 

 is claimed, brings from 75 cts. to $1.00 

 per lb. in Covent Garden. We might 

 indulge in golden dreams had we such 

 a market in Canada. 



The White Pine.— Mr. H. Mayr, of 

 Tokio, Japan, writes in the Garden and 

 Florist, lauding Pinus Strobus, as the 

 most valuable of Conifers for rapidity 

 of growth, and for an annual increment 

 of wood. In Germany, where there is 

 a pure forest of this pine, 300 acres in 

 extent, portions of which are 120 years 

 of age, it has been found that at the 

 age of eighty years the White Pine 

 •equals in size a Scotch Pine of 120 

 years' growth ; and further, that at the 

 age of seventy years a forest of White 

 Pine gives an annual increase of three 

 cords of wood per acre, while one of 

 the Scotch Pine gives only a trifle over 

 two cords. 



Fruit Reports. — An unusual quan- 

 tity of dishonest packing appears to have 

 been practised by apple growers and 

 shippers, during the past winter, and 

 as is usual such a practice brings its 

 own punishment. Heavy shipments of 

 inferior fruit faced up with two or three 



layers of extra quality, have been 

 made to England, owing to the great 

 demand there for fine American fruit, 

 but the sham was discovered and the 

 shippers lost heavily. When will the 

 lesson be learned, that even upon the 

 low ground of policy alone it pays to 

 be honest. First-class fruit is in good 

 demand in Canadian as well as foreign 

 markets, and fancy selections are now 

 worth from $4.00 to $5.00 per barrel 

 in our home markets. 



The Toronto Fruit Market. — 

 Owing to energetic action of one of 

 the directors of the F. G. A. of Ontario, 

 and others, a much needed improvement 

 in the accommodation for consignments 

 of fruit is about to be carried out in 

 Toronto. As is well known this is the 

 great distributing point for the pro- 

 ducts of the fruit farms of Western 

 Ontario ; but hitherto, the accommoda- 

 tion for the reception and sale of Cana- 

 dian fruits has been most contracted 

 and inconvenient, while that for Ameri- 

 can fruit arriving by boat from Nia- 

 gara at the wharf, was much more 

 advantageous. The new fruit mai'ket 

 is to occupy, for the present, the site 

 of the present City Hall station, and 

 will allow room for six fruit cars at a 

 time alongside of a large platform, 

 which is to be covered with a shed 

 roof. 



QUESTION 



Nitpate of Soda as a Fertilizep. 



38. I would like to hear a little about Nitrate 

 of Soda. Will it pay to buy it to use on trees 

 and plants, and how is it done ? 



This substance is a salt, somewhat 

 resembling common salt. Chemically 

 speaking it is a union of the protoxide 

 of Sodium and Nitric acid. Large beds 

 of it have been discovered at Tarapeca, 

 in Northern Chili. It is very soluble 

 in water, and may be applied to the 

 land broadcast or dissolved in water. 



DRAWER. 



If broadcast, the dampness soon dis- 

 solves it, and the first rain carries it 

 down within reach of the roots of the 

 plants. Mr. Joseph Harris, of Roch- 

 ester, has tested this substance exten- 

 sively, and claims that for early garden 

 crops, 500 lbs. of Nitrate of Soda per 

 acre has a greater eflfect than twenty- 

 five tons of the best stable manure. 

 Indeed, stable manure scarcely furnishes 

 Nitrate early enough in spring to suit 

 the wishes of the market gardener. 



