184 



CA JVA DIA N HO R TIC ULT CRIST. 



Girdling the Grape Vine.— The 

 same bulletin gives the results of ex- 

 periments conducted by Prof. Maynard, 

 in girdling the vines to hasten ripening 

 of the fruit. This practice has been so 

 generally condemned, as giving increase 

 of size at the expense of quality, that 

 we read with interest the results of 

 any careful experiments. The object 

 with which it has been employed in the 

 past has been chiefly to prepare large 

 specimens for exhibition, and m iny a 

 prize has been in this way won at our 

 fairs. But these experiments have 

 been conducted chiefly for the purpose 

 of hastening the crop for market. The 

 method at first employed was the com- 

 mon one of removing a ring of bark \ 

 of an inch wide early in July from the 

 canes to be removed next pruning, thus 

 avoiding any injury to the vine itself : 

 latterly however a less expensive 

 method has been employed, namely by 

 twisting a No. 20 wire very firmly 

 about the canes the last of June above 

 the point where the cane is to be cut 

 away. The result has been the con- 

 clusion that the increased size and early 

 maturity loas not at the expense of the 

 quality, that the vine was not injured 

 by the process and that the increased 

 price obtained for the early fruit more 

 than paid the expense of the work. 



The Brighton Grape. — W. M. P. 

 of New York State, says in the Rural 

 Nev) Yorker that his own experience, 

 and that of his neighbours with this 

 grape is that it is unprofitable. He 

 has 300 vines, which bloom well; grow 

 well ; but do not yield on an average 

 more than two pounds per vine. The 

 flavor pleases, but does not command a 

 suflicient advance in market price to 

 make up for lack in quantity. 



Cabbages in July. — Mr. James 

 Dunlop, of St. Catharines, called at our 

 oflSce on the 20th of July. He was on 

 his way to Hamilton with an enormous 

 load of cabbage heads, in the growing 

 of which he is very successful. He has 

 about .50,000 heads i-eady for the 



market and has been shipping in every 

 direction for a month past. His plan 

 is to sow the seed in September, winter 

 them under glass, and plant out in April 

 as soon as the ground is ready. The 

 variety which he grows most extensively 

 is the Early Jersey Wakefield, of which 

 he can raise about 10,000 per acre. 



CURCULIO AND THE ChERRIES. — Mr. 



C. M. Weed, Entomologist, Ohio Ex- 

 periment Station, reports in Bulletin 

 No. 4, the result of careful experiments. 

 Spraying cherry trees with London 

 purple and with lime to prevent injury 

 by the plum curculio. His conclusions 

 are as follows : — 



(1.) That three-fourths of the 

 cherries liable to injury by the plum 

 curculio can be saved by two or three 

 application of London purple in a water 

 spray (in the proportion one ounce to 

 five gallons of water) made soon after 

 the blossoms fall. 



(2.) That if an interval of a month 

 occurs between the last application 

 and the ripening of the fruit no danger 

 to health need be apprehended from its 

 use. As a precautionary measure, 

 however, he would advise in all cases, 

 and especially when there are few rains 

 during this interval that the fruit be 

 thoroughly washed before it is used. 



(3.) That lime is not so certain in 

 its preventive eflfects as London purple, 

 saving in these experiments only forty 

 per cent, of the fruit liable to injury. 



The Conn Gooseberry sent us for 

 trial by Mr. P. E. Bucke, Ottawa, has 

 borne its first fruit. In size it is large, 

 bigger than Smith's Improved, or the 

 Industry ; in color it is a very dark 

 green, and its quality is good. The 

 Ottawa is also a large gooseberry, much 

 lighter green in color, and has a thinner 

 skin than the Conn. Neither of these 

 so far has shown any indications of 

 mildew. 



The Marlboro Raspberry is this 

 year a great success with us. It is 

 heavily laden with the most benutiful 

 fruit ; so large and firm that it would 



