104 Ink (Janaihan I ioR i ill i.i i;kist. 



years, and he owed il to the sheep that it was in such an excellent condition as 

 it is to-day. 



Mr. W'illard spoke of a special orchard treated one year with potash, and 

 another with bone meal, and so forth, and the results were wonderful. 



Cold Stor.\»;k. — In reply to a question on this subject, Mr. I'owell, of 

 Cihent, said that it would pay to have cold storage for the Bartlett pear, for other- 

 wi.se it <rowds upon the market too fast. A portion of the crop should he held 

 back .so as to |)rolong the season of marketing. In cold storage for pears the 

 temperature is an important consideration. If Utf) low. the tla\ or of the fruit is 

 injured : 3^1' or 37° Fahr. is about right, for that is low enough to prolong the 

 season of marketing a little while. A[)ples may be kept in a considerably lower 

 temperature, and if held back and marketed in April, the owner will reap con- 

 siderable advantage. 



Prunmnc; Treks. — The sense of the meeting was that the best time to prune 

 trees is, when the life of the tree is, in a sense, back in the trunk and roots, this 

 is when the growth is dormant. The leaves contain a considerable (}uantity of 

 potash and phosphoric acid, which is to be worked u]) for the continuance of 

 growth, and, if pruned when in full foliage, a large cpiantity of these elements is 

 lost. Hut they are withdrawn back mto the woody parts of the tree just at fall 

 of the leaf, so that pruning after that time does not weaken the tree, ^\'hen. 

 however, the leaves fall prematurely in the summer, through either the influence 

 of fungus or other disease, these elements are carried away by them. The dan- 

 iier of i)runing in the early part of the winter is that the cuts exjiose the wood 

 cells to the injurious effects of the frost, and often causes black heart. The best 

 and safest time, therefore, tor pruning trees is after the coldest weather of winter 

 is over, say in the month of April. 



.Mr. Hooker said that on one occasion he had pruned a block of trees in the 

 fall and it was nearl\- ruined b\- the black heart, and finallv the trees had become 

 rotten. 



Thinnin<; Fkuir. Mr. I'owell decitledly belie\etl in thinning i)ears. They 

 should not be allowed to grow in clusters, but only one pear in a |ilace. and 

 these not too near. 



Mr. Willard remarked that the work had tn be done before the seeds are 

 formed, because much of the strength of the tree is exhausted in the production 

 of seeds. 



Mr. Harry said that he was satisfied that cultivators of fruit trees wouKI ha\c 

 much more success if they would give more attention to this work. 



1'acka<;ks ior .Sklkctki) I-'ruit. The bushel keg and bushel bo\ were 

 mentioned as the best packages for pears. 



Mr. W'illard said that for plums the five-pf)und basket, with the wooden 

 cover, was the UKJSt satisfactory. He [)referred the wooden cover for protection 

 to the fruit in piling. 



