THE CANADIAN HOKTICULTUEIST. 27 



grown orchard. I am not, however, in favor of scattering trees over 

 too much ground, and intend planting trees myself in the spring at 

 18 by 24 feet. 



I must say it is a mystery to me how trees seeded down, especially 

 when young, manage to live at all. It appears almost impossible that 

 any moisture should ever reach their roots, during the summer, through 

 a thick sod, for the grass and grass-roots will intercept every drop of 

 xain that falls, no matter how fast it comes down, and ground as dry as 

 dust can be found at any time during summer by simply turning up a 

 spadeful of sod ; but trees do grow under such conditions, and produce 

 good crops of fruit too; and I sometimes feel quite annoyed at them 

 for doing so, because it upsets all my theories of what are the be^ 

 conditions for fruit growing. Perhaps I should not have said " upsets 

 nil my theories," because in order to do that it would be necessary to 

 ■show that as good results can be obtained under sod as under culti- 

 vation ; and tliat, at the present time, I beg leave to doubt ; but the 

 difference in favor of cultivation, as far as I can learn, is not as great 

 ■as I would have expected it to be. 



Any person who has had any experience in gardening must 

 liave observed the enormous diflerence it makes to flowers, fruits or 

 vegetables, whether a crop of weeds is allowed to grow up with them 

 or not; and the same effect may be noticed in regard to shrubs, bushes, 

 hedge-plants, and young trees of -any kind. AVhy, then, should not 

 full-grown trees sufier in the same degree ? I am inclined to think 

 they do, but the effect is not so plain to be seen. I am inclined to 

 think that trees under sod make a very slow growth, although they 

 may produce fruit. 



I hope Mr. Croil will ferret out the cause of his ill-success ; that 

 he will learn "what more could have been done for his orchard," and 

 ■let the readers of the Horticulturist know it. 



ABOUT ZINNIA CULTURE. 



BY J. MCAINSH, ST. MARYS. 



I notice that two correspondents of the Horticulturist in giving 

 their experience on cultivating the Zinnia have come to the conclusion 

 that the best way to have good flowers is to raise th^em on poor soil. 



