84r 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTrRISI , 



cover in the spring, as they will bleed. 

 Prune in the fall before laying down 

 (advice to new beginners ; older ones 

 can do as they please). 



I also see a good deal of talk about 

 aphis, green and black, on cherries and 

 plums. I may say, all we ever did 

 was to give them plenty of lime water 

 with a garden engine, and it was effec- 

 tual. We went over the trees once or 

 twice while the growth was young. 

 D. Campbkll, London West, Ont. 



Grapes near Guelph. — Professor Pan- 

 ton says in Bulletin VIII. that some 

 ninety-six varieties have been tested on 

 the grounds of the Agricultural College. 

 The latitude is 43° 38' ; height above 

 level of lake Ontario, 858 feet ; soil, 

 clay loam. As a result of five years' 

 experience he draws the following, 

 among other conclusions : — 



(a) Grape vines in this locality must 

 be well sheltered with warm exposure, 

 and grown in a warm well-drained soil, 

 or little fruit will be secured. 



(b) The Concord, known as the grape 

 for the million, scarcely ripens with us 

 before well into October, and then ir- 

 regularly. 



(c) A grape which does not ripen 

 earlier than the Concord is of little use 

 here. 



(d) Our eai'liest seems to be Moore's 

 Early, Champion, Lady and Massasoit. 



(e For flavor, hardiness and yield 

 the following are to be commended : 

 Black — Wilder, Worden, Moore, Con- 

 cord, Barry, Eecl — Delawai'e, Brigh- 

 ton, Lindley, Agawam. White — Ni- 

 agai-a. Lady, Martha. 



OPEN LETTERS. 

 Appreciative. Sir : — A few years ago 

 I knew really nothing of gardening ; 

 but I became a subscriber to your able 

 little journal, and to it I am indebted 

 for the little I know of small fruit rais- 



ing in a small garden of a working 

 man. 



I drained my lot well, which is a 

 heavy, stiff, blue clay. I supplied the 

 land with a liberal supply of stable 

 manure, also coal ashes to loosen up. I 

 dissolved bones in two large barrels of 

 wood ashes, spread the same among my 

 currants and grapes ; and on a hint re- 

 ceived from your little journal, cut all 

 the old wood out of my currants. The 

 result is berries, the superior of which 

 were not found in this county. 



I would like to know the best and 

 cheapest way to preserve gi-apes till 

 Christmas. 



D. Neilson, St. Thomas. 



[Note. — An excellent mode of keep- 

 ing grapes in a nice, plump condition 

 until Christmas, is to pack them be- 

 tween layers of cotton batten. — Ed. J 



Johnston's Sweet Raspberry. Sir : — In 

 your remarks about Johnston's Sweet 

 Raspberiy, you say you are not ac- 

 quainted with any one who has fruited 

 it. For your information and others 

 who, no doubt, when it is offered for 

 sale, will be willing to test it, I may 

 say that I have fruited it in a small 

 way for two years. Both plants and 

 fruits were all the introducer claims for 

 it, with this addition ; there are but few 

 spines on the plants, which makes it 

 easier for the pickers to get along 

 among them. 



John Little, Granton, Ont. 



The Onion Maggot. Sir : — A friend 

 showed me a copy of the Canadian 

 Horticulturist, and I am so pleased 

 with it that I wish to become a sub- 

 scriber. I am particularly anxioiis to 

 get some remedy for the maggot that 

 destroys the onion. 



A. B. Ferrier, Cheltenham. 



[Note. — Experiment by soaking the 

 seed in copperas, and by sowing salt, 

 soda, ashes or coal-dust over the ground.] 



