THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURWT. 



59 



standing more i-ough usage than any 

 other sort." 



Temporary Wind-Break. — Sir : In send- 

 ing in my subscription to your valuable 

 publication, which I notice is improv- 

 ing in many ways, I enclose a descrip- 

 tion of a temporary wind-break, which 

 I put through my Niagara grape vines 

 this fall to ward off strong northern 

 and western winds. We cut and drew 

 several loads of young pines, which we 

 got from a neighbor who was about to 

 clear a pinery. These bushes, ranging 

 from 6 to 10, or more, feet in height, 

 were placed up against the trellis and 

 wound fast with one strand of stove 

 pipe wire, placing them close enough to 

 form a hedge. Several rows were i-un 

 through, one about every third trellis, 

 where the vines were too large to lay 

 down. The posts in the. trellis are 

 about 30 feet apart. About every other 

 space we put a brace, by using two 

 light posts fastened across one another 

 near their upper end, the fastening 

 being just under the top wires of the 

 trellis, This mode is the best and 

 cheapest wind-break I could think of 

 for this season, but for a permanency I 

 have other methods in view. 



K. PosTANS, Oakville, Ont. 



Important Questions. — Sir : I like the 

 January Number very much. Mr. 

 Simmers article on the culture of 

 flowers is especially interesting. What 

 to plant, how to plant, and how to 

 prune, are questions that many are ask- 

 ing in rural districts. It must be con- 

 fessed, the farmers wives and daughters 

 are really the only ones that are inter- 

 ested in the garden, (the farmer and 

 his .sons giving all their interest and 

 attention to the farm and stock,) and 

 it is wonderfvil how well many of them 

 succeed in raising fine vegetables and 

 small fruits, and in surrounding their 

 homes with flowers. 



F. FoYSTc«y, Minesing, Out. 



Elliot's Early Pear. — Sir : I am glad to 

 find a good word in your last issue in 

 favor of the Elliot's Early pear. Some 

 six years ago, 1 ripened it at Sault St. 

 Marie, Algoma, in the fore part of 

 August, although afterwards the tree 

 blistered and died. 



Is the Jessie strawberry now in the 

 market? P. D. Laurent, Lindsay. 



[Note. — The Jessie is advertised in 

 our columns. — Ed.] 



TIMELY HINTS FOR THE ORCHARD. 

 PRUNING. 



The first mild weather is the favorite 

 time with most farmers for pi-uning. 

 This work is frequently overdone, and 

 we often see permanent injury in- 

 flicted, by lopping off the large limbs 

 and leaving great ugly wounds which 

 never can heal over. By such cruel 

 treatment many orchards are hastened 

 into premature old age. We have an 

 old veteran apple tree, a hundred yeai*s 

 of age, and still in good bearing condi- 

 tion. It was a sweet kind, and there- 

 fore pruning was neglected, while many 

 others, of better varieties, were pruned 

 to death. We advise, then, to prune 

 the apple and pear as little as possible, 

 consistent with the necessity of remov- 

 ing all superfluous limbs which cross, 

 and always to choose the smaller when 

 one of two must be removed. Cut close 

 to the main branch, so that the bark 

 may close over the wound. 



Dviarf Pears need to have the new 

 growth thinned out, and judiciously cut 

 back, in oi-der to produce fine-sized 

 fruit. The pyramidal form is best for a 

 dwarf pear tree. 



The Cherry Trees will need very little, 

 if any, pruning. Broken boughs and 

 dead limbs, however, should be care- 

 fully removed. 



The Peach Tree will require consider- 

 able attention. It is our custom at this 

 season to go over them with a pair of 

 tree-pruning shears, removing all dead 



