142 



CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



would be a great boon to Manitoba if a hardy 

 enough variety of apple tree could be found to 

 resist our winters, but on the prairies shelter 

 belts will require to be grown before any suc- 

 cess will attend our efforts. After a residence of 

 fourteen years in Manitoba I have come to the 

 conclusion that the best conifer to plant in 

 Manitoba is the Scotch Pine. I have tried a 

 number of other kinds of evergreens, all from 

 seed, but the Scotch Pine is the best. Of the 

 deciduous trees the native Box. Elder or soft 

 maple is the most hardy and rapid grower on 

 our prairies. 



Alex. Stephenson. 

 Melrose, Man. 



The Apple Ppospeets for 1888. 



Mr. Joseph Tweddle, of Stoney Creek, 

 M- rites that after five years of very discouraging 

 experience in apple growing, owing to the fun- 

 gus spot, insect enemies, he believes that 

 growers have reason now to take courage and 

 IJrepare for better crops. The fungus has ap- 

 parently disappeared for a time, the dark green 

 foliage of the past seasoh shows a more healthy 

 condition of the trees, and the insects can now 

 be successfully destroyed with Paris Green. 

 He says, — Experience has shown those who 

 have sprayed their trees the past season, that it 

 saves the crop. One prominent fruit grower 

 of Winona harvested and sold nearly $200 

 worth of apples off an acre thus treated, while 

 on ten acres of young orchard not sprayed not 

 a bushel of good fruit was produced. The trees 

 were of the same age, and of the same varieties. 

 I neglected to spray my own orchard, and 

 although a fair crop setj nearly all were de- 

 stroyed by the Codling Moth. I don't intend 

 to be caught napping another year. 



Death of Mp. George Smith, Port Hope. 



Sip,— I regret I have to announce the death 

 of our old friend, Mr. George Smith, who for a 

 number of years acted as your agent here. 



He went up to Barrie with his son, hojiing 

 the change would do him good, but he died in 

 less than a week after. 



P. George Watson. 



Port Hope, 9 May, 188S. 



Forestry. 



SrR, — You know the estimate of the humorist 

 on Horace Greeley's " What I know about 

 farming." When I began to talk about forestry 

 I found myself about as far on, and in my en- 

 deavor to learn something of the subject I 

 conclude there is hardly any one in America 

 who knows anything of forestry. 



I would like very much to appeal to Prof. 

 B. E. Fernow, the director of forestry for the 

 United States, but I hold back, as the opinion 

 I express would not be in as good taste if it 

 came from him. 



In the last number of Garden and Forest 

 the question is asked, " Why is it not the best 

 policy to cut out the mature wood from a ])ri- 

 meval forest and let the rest grow ?" and it is 

 ans\vered by the professor — ))robal)ly the only 

 possible answer is given, but to me it seems to 

 mean that for a man who knows nothing of 

 forestry, any course would jimbably be wrong. 



There is one gentleman in Canada sui>i)osed 

 to know something about trees, but I find him 

 flatly contradicted in the public press on some 

 points about timber on the prairie by a settler 

 in the North- West. 



Garden and Forest tells of another gentle- 

 man, a city forester (in Boston, I think), who 

 proposed to destroy canker worms on the elm 

 trees by boring a hole in the tree and inserting 

 some mysterious jjowder, and says " it seems 

 incomprehensible that a man in such a position 

 could be guilty of such quackery." 



At a late public meeting of a Fanners' 

 Institute a botanist took credit to himself for 

 establisliin^' tlic fact that the black walnut is 

 hardy in Kasteni Ontario : and in some Ontario 

 reports -Teat doubts are exjiressed on the jioint. 

 But I find that tiiere are plantations from twen- 

 ty-five bushels of nuts, now large enough to bear 

 fruit in Lower Canada. 



I need not quote all the diverse opinions of 

 tree planters basing their views on special ex- 

 periences or hasty conclusions. I will overlook 

 a genuine mistake too, and congratulate a man 

 who confesses ignorance or error. I want to 

 learn from them all. When I first took an inte- 

 rest in forestry, I enquired into all these at- 

 tempts and tried to follow up all that my 

 neighbor writers or public men could tell me of 

 the subject, seldom, however, to find the fact 

 just what was first rei)orted. 



After noting all that tree ]ilanters and tree 

 owners could tell me, I suddenly fr.und out, 

 that arboriculture was not forestry. Now, sird 

 in your variefl ex|)erience, if you have trie, 

 forestry I would like to know" if there is any 

 thing to be learned of forestry in Canada ; and 

 I may say that I am now quite conceited as to 

 what I know about forestry, and I think I 

 have told you how far I have got. 



Forest Beflissener. 

 April 10th, ISSS. 



Note by Editor. — We are pleased to say 

 that we have the promise of a series of letters 

 under this head from a gentleman who is prac- 

 tically engaged in the work. He writes 

 under the nome de plume of " Forester," and 

 his subject for this number is "The Wood 

 Lot." 



