Thk Canadian Horticulturist. 131 



Few can afford a drain upon their resources for the sake of gratifying a taste for 

 the work of fruit-growing. 



It is well to try a variety of productions with a view to profit ; if one fail Or 

 is a partial success, another may turn out well, and the next year vice versa, so 

 that an encouraging remuneration may respond to your efforts. The greatest 

 discouragement arises, if, after you have anticipated at the opening of the sea- 

 son, to realize certain good profits on some particular productions, and find 

 something come across your estimates and reduce them to a fraction of what 

 yuu had purposed to realize. The best way is not to anticipate, or forestall any 

 stated return, but go confidently forward, taking the best care of details, and 

 making the most of appliances by the way, and leave the result to the Giver of 

 all returns. 



As general principles have thus far been the burden of this paper, I will turn 

 briefly to details and close. One reason my strawberries bear a good price, and 

 sell readily in the Ottawa market, is owing to their size and flavor. I pick on 

 the green side, begin early and always keep well picked up to ripening. The vines 

 are kept clean, the matted rows not too matted, or plants not allowed too close, 

 any old ones worked out, leaving room for the young vigorous ones to well 

 mature their fruit. I uncover the vines late, keeping back the main picking as 

 late as possible to meet the preserving demand, and to avoid competition with 

 the shipping rush from the South, as the home grown product always comes up 

 after the poor, sour, cheap berries are off the market. 



We put one-half of a barrel, sawed in two, round each rhubarb plant as a 

 quickener, taking care to bank dirt up around outside to keep out cold winds. 

 We are just now (April 12th) enjoying a "norther" that is trying everything, 

 even the cabbage and tomato plants in the hot beds. It requires some skill and 

 a good degree of patience to pursue gardening and fruit-growing up here in the 

 " cold north," but nil desperandum et spera meliora (never despair, and hope for 

 better things) is the encouraging motto to adopt here. 



Out of six Russian apricots, four Lombard plums, two Saunders ditto, and 

 two Prunus Simoni, with which I have tried this climate, I have only two Rus- 

 sian apricots remaining. I thought T would leave off the '• wraps '" the past 

 winter, hence the above result. 



My apples. Wealthy, Duchess, Scott's Winter, Yellow Transparent, Northern 

 Spy, etc., have come through without extra care, except tramping the snow at 

 the beginning of winter, and putting some long manure around a few of them 

 after the ground froze, in order to keep back too early flow of sap. All ray 

 Early Richmond cherries, and two black Tartarian out of six came through with- 

 out any extra care, but the few pear trees I tried are all killed. But vacancies 

 must be supplied with something hardier, perhaps the native wild plum which 

 sells well on the market. But I am getting tedious and must close. 



Nepean, Ont. L. Foote. 



