44 



THE CANADIAN HOBTICTJLTURIST. 



beyond the sea has been more welcome 

 at this office than Mr. Alexander Mc- 

 Donald Allan, of Goderich, Ontario, 

 the Fruit King of Canada, not so much 

 because he is a type of exactly the 

 citizen of Greater Britain that one 

 likes best to come into contact with, as 

 because he is a foremost representative 

 of the mpst important industry there, 

 and the one in which Englishmen are 

 most interested at the present moment. 

 Mr. Allan is a tall, broad-shouldered, 

 black-bearded man of perhaps between 

 forty and fifty, with a gentle face and a 

 deep, tender voice. The secret of his 

 gentleness is soon learned, for ' I was 

 born a fruit-grower,' he says ; ' and, 

 though my father was on a farm, it was 

 always in the orchaixl that they looked 

 for me. No doubt I am prejudiced,' 

 he adds apologetically, ' but I do 

 honestly think there is nothing in the 

 world to compare with fruit-growing,' 

 and, plunging straight into his subject, 

 Mr. Allan drew a really admii'able and 

 almost pathetic analogy between a tree 

 and a human being. ' I would be as 

 kind to a tree as I would to a person. 

 I would not hurt it for the world.' and 

 he lays his hand kindly on the office 

 table, as if in mute protest against any 

 living wood having been turned to so 

 base a purpose. He explains how a" 

 tx'ee feels a wound exactly like a man 

 does ; how the older it is, to a certain 

 extent, the more it feels it ; how wicked 

 it is to needlessly lop a limb ofi" a tree ; 

 and how a tree that has just borne a 

 large crop of fruit must be treated 

 with the same consideration and care 

 as a mother who has just brought a 

 child into the world. 



" Mr. Allan is the President of the 

 Ontario Fruit Growers' Association, a 

 position which it has taken him many 

 years to reach. He is recognized by 

 the fruit-growers both of Canada and 

 the United States as one of their most 

 trustworthy experts in all horticultural 



matters. He is, and has been for a 

 long time, the largest exporter of fruit 

 to England, and he is in England as 

 Fruit Commissioner of the Canadian 

 Court of Exhibitions." 



This department is intended as an open one to every 

 reader of the "Horticulturist" to send in either 

 questio7is or answers. Often a reader uxill be able to 

 ansiver a question which has been left unanswered, 

 or only partially answered by us. For convenience 

 of referowe the questions are numbered, and any 

 one replying or referring to any question will 

 please mention the number of it. 



3. Early Strawberry.7- }f/ia< is the most 

 jyrofitable one? (A. D.) 



The Crescent Seedling is the leading 

 variety for earliness and pi'oductiveness. 

 At the December meeting of the Ohio 

 Horticultural Society four objections 

 wei-e urged against this berry, (1) too 

 many runners, (2) too small, (3) too 

 soft, (4) deficient in table qualities ; and 

 yet it is more extensively grown in 

 Ohio than any other variety. 



4. Pruning Pear Trees. — Should a pear 

 orchard be pruned ? [A. D. Mohawk.] 



Yes. Superfluous branches should be 

 cut out, and the new growth shortened 

 when it grows too rank. 



5. Deciduous Tree for Wind Break. — What | 

 is the most suitable, deciduo7is, quick 

 (/rowing tree to plant in a single row for 

 a wind break in uncultivated ground ? 

 How is tlie Lombardy Poplar ? [E,.] 



The Lombardy Poplar is good until 

 it gets old, when it becomes unsightly. 

 We would suggest the Silver Maple. 



6. To make Pear Trees bear Fruit. — / 

 Jiave Flemish Beauties twenty J eet high 

 and eleven years planted which do not 

 bear. What would you do for them ? 



[F. Anderson, Ayr.] 



Your idea of cutting off" the top, and 



pruning them well, if done in June, 



would tend to throw them into bearing. 



Root pruning will also be serviceable. 



