THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



57 



" This variety of apple has paid me bet- 

 ter than any other in my collection, 

 which embraces some fifty varieties. 



The Duchess is ajiparently not destin- 

 ed to be a long liver in our climate ; it 

 is too precocious for that. My experi- 

 ence with it would limit it to about 

 thirty years. The trees are rather on 

 the small side, and can be grown with- 

 out crowding about twenty feet apart. 



I notice further that when budded 

 on the common stock it is very apt to 

 sucker, but when root-grafted it is free 

 from this fault. 



This apple, the Yellow Transparent 

 and the Tetofsky belong to an entirely 

 distinct type of the Malus from any 

 other in general cultivation, and are 

 botanically assimilated to the Siberian 

 Crab (Malus Baccata), of which those 

 indigenous to Southern Euroj)e are only 

 sub- varieties. 



The Alexander is called a Eussian 

 apple, but has no botanical affinity to 

 those previously mentioned. It is evi- 

 dently of vest of Europe origin." 



SMALL FRUITS IN BRANT AND OXFORD. 



Mr. S. Cornwell, Sec. of the Small 

 Fruit Growers Association, of Brant 

 and Oxford, sends us an extended re- 

 port of their January meeting, clipped 

 from the Norwich Gazette. 



Mr. Barnes nuiintained that the busi- 

 ness loas profitable and referred to Mr. 

 S. Cornwell 's sales of $900 worth of 

 small fruits in a single season. In 

 order to get the same amount of profit 

 that there would be in these operations, 

 in other lines such as grain and other 

 produce, a i)ile of hai'd labor would 

 have to be invested, 



Mr. Charlton— Will Mr. Cornwell 

 tell us how he made $900 out of small 

 fruit that year 1 



Mr. S. Cornwell — The figui-e stated 

 is the total price received ; the cost of 

 picking has to be taken out of that. 

 My berries sold at 8 cents; I paid Ic. 



per quart for picking ; and I had three 

 acres bearing. I never had as good 

 crops or prices as that year. 



Mr. Chas. Grantham, of Cainsville — 

 I think it is a great mistake to raise 

 on the price of picking to a cent and a 

 quarter. 



The Chairman — Yes, those who sell 

 for five cents and give two cents for 

 picking can't be very anxious to make 

 a profit. I had no difficulty in getting 

 pickers at one cent. I had to turn off 

 about half of those who applied for 

 work at that price. All my adult 

 pickers averaged from $1.50 to $1.75 

 per day, and fourteen year old boys 

 and girls earned from 80c. to $1 per 

 day, with two or three hours rest each 

 day at noon. 



Mr. Charlton — I think it is well 

 enough when, like Mr. Cornwell, one 

 ca.n get $900 for the crop and 8 cents 

 per quart for berries ; but many last 

 year sold for three cents. I think that 

 strawberry growing, as generally prac- 

 tised, does not pay. To sell at 3 cents 

 and pay 2 cents for picking was hardly 

 encouraging. 



Mr. W. H. Lee, of Cainsville— That 

 sort of thing comes from raising poor 

 fruit, and poor fruit is going to come 

 behind every time, and the further be- 

 hind it gets the better for the careful 

 grower. It pays to raise good fruit. 



The Chairman — There are two men 

 losing to every one who makes, taking 

 large and small together. 



Under the head of Culture of Straw- 

 berries, Mr. D. M. Lee said : In the 

 preparation of land the following pre- 

 cautions might be used to advantage : 

 Choose land that is not too light ; 

 strawberries thrive best on heavier 

 soil ; his crop was the best in Ontario 

 last year and was grown on clayey 

 ground, almost sticky. Prepai-e the 

 ground thoroughly ; seeds and roots 

 will bother the plant-growth ; corn or 



