32. The CANxLtiAN Horticui-turist. 



THE 1 Kii I i:xi'i:rimi:n"i- sTatiox. 



Sir,- Being at the meeting of the Fruit (iroweis' Association when tiiey were discusb 

 ing the establisliment of an Experimentil Station in tiie interest of fruit growers, I m ill 

 add my ojiinion to those exjuessed in the meeting. Would it not answer the puipose as 

 well, to have a fund for experiniental purposes without the station ? To illustrate, take 

 the " Excelsior I'eacii '' for exanij)le (a gentleman in the meeting said it was a cling stone, 

 I see by description in A7)i<''ic(in Ai/ru-n/liirUt, it is a free stone). The price was said to 

 be §1.00 per tree single, or S'io.OO per 100 trees Now, if there was an experimental fund, 

 buy 100 trees, and attei- supplying the present stations, divide the balance into lots of two 

 each, and send to trusty fiuit growers all over tlie province from Windsor to Ottawa, and 

 from Niagara to Owen Sound, to report on the hardiness of the tree, and character of tlie 

 fruit. 



Thus, the value of the tree would soon be known, and the section of the country in 

 which it would succeed. Wjiereas, if it was tested at a station, it would take as long time 

 to test it, and the test would only be of value for that immediate locality, and individuals 

 in other localities would lose as much more time to tin<l out if it would suit them. Or, if 

 the lOO trees was retailed at wholesale price, I think there are very few fruit growers who 

 would grudge iJO ceuts for two trees, wlien tiiey would not give one dollar for one tree. 

 You will tluis see the drift of my idea, which is to test new fruits or plants, over as »•<>/< a 

 section of country, in as short a ti77ie as possible, and with as /ill/e fxptuxf. 1 would 

 like to emphasize what one speaker said about growers confining themselves more to such 

 fruits as they could grow to perfection. 



R. R. HiNTER. 



Ihnula^, Dec. ,'fi, 1891. 



THE KENTISH COB-NUT. 



SiK, — In answer to numerous enquiries regarding the English cob-nut, I would state, there 

 was an extra crop this year, something over a bushel to the dozen trees ; the young trees 

 four or five years of age also bore well. Mr. H. H Van Deman, I'omologist of Washington, 

 is introducing and recommending the English cob for planting in the States. By request, 

 I forwarded him a specimen of the nut last year. This nut does not become hollow, nor 

 has it tliat rank taste from age as the Sj)anish nut. I have some gathered in ISS!) still 

 sweet and sound. Planted twelve feet apart, I judge to be the proper distance, unless for 

 a wind break, then six feet : fertilizing like corn. I M'ould not advise planting a tree by 

 itself. 



E. Wariikoi'ER, Pthe Island, Ont. 



^ ©(ir- SooH Table ^ 



Mekhan's Monthly for December contains a beautiful colored plate of Sarracenia 

 Prupurea, or side-saddle flower. This magazine is one of especial interest to all gardeners 

 and fruit growers v ho have the slightest interest in the study of botany. Magazines 

 devoted to that science are now far beyond the reach of amateurs ; even botanical stu- 

 dents can scarcely appreciate them, unless each is provided with a first-class microscope. 

 Hut in aMi'i linn's Month! ij, we have the various native jilants brought before us, one by 

 one, in a way tliat will interest the amateur botanist. A monagram is written siiowing its 

 history and its botanical relationship, its peculiarities and its habitat in a very interest- 

 ing style. In addition to that, m\u'li attention is given to general gardening and fruit 

 growing. It is published by Thos. Meehan & Sons, (Jermantown, Piiiladelphia, Pa., I'. S. 



Fki'it (tR()win(; for Profit, is the title of a pamphlet published by W. O. Creighton, 

 agraduateof the Nova Scotia Provincial Agricultural College, and editor of the Moritinii 

 Aijririiltitrist. 'J'bi.s work is calculated to encourage fruitgrowing for jirolit in Xova Scotia, 

 and is, on the whole, a creditable production. Itiscxidcnt, however, from some details 

 of operatioMN there, that we in Ontario are in advance of the Nova Scotia urchardistp in 

 our methods of handling fruits. 



