196 The Canadian Horticulturist. 



PROSPECTS FOR APPLES AND PEARS. 



A FTER the prodigious show of bloom which was reported in our last 

 (s/m number, and the consequent exalted hopes in which, as fruit-growers, 

 we were beginning to indulge, it is all the harder to bear a reverse, and 

 make up our minds to harvest without complaint a very scanty crop of our 

 great staple fruits — the apple and the pear. But every day this state of 

 things becomes more and more manifest ; and the old saying is being verified 

 with regard to a light crop following an over-abundant bloom. A mile's 

 walk through the orchard at Maplehurst has given the writer a "fit of the 

 blues," so far as these fruits are concerned. Apples, except some varieties, 

 will be a great failure. A large amount of the bloom was blighted, and so 

 failed to set ; but that only thinned out the fruit and there was enough to 

 give us a good crop until about the twentieth of this month (June) when a 

 leaf blight came upon the orchards, especially upon the Baldwins, Greenings, 

 Kings and Gravensteins, causing a large proportion of the leaves to drop, 

 and now the fruit is rapidly dropping also. The Baldwin suffered similarly 

 last season, but is worse this year, so that there will be scarcely any fruit of 

 this staple kind. The only apple, which is holding its grip firmly to the 

 trees is the Northern Spy ; it is very little touched with the blight, and has 

 a fine show of fruit. 



Pears will also be a light crop, especially the Duchess, which has been 

 so largely planted. The trees were a perfect mass of bloom, but no fruit was 

 set. The Bartlett is better, having set enough to give us a fair crop. 

 Clapp's Favorite is fairly well loaded, and so is the Rostiezer (a summer 

 pear of excellent quality). 



Not only have we to bear a short crop of apples and pears, but another 

 and a very formidable difficulty for us to face is the apple scab, a fungus 

 which is world-wide in its ravages, but, owing to the favorable season for its 

 development, is this season more destructive to our fruit crops in Ontario 

 than ever before. It is now (June 26th) showing itself on almost every 

 variety of apple, but worst upon the Early Harvest, Greening, Spy and 

 Snow, of which a great part of the fruit will be worthless in consequence. 

 It is also attacking the pears. The Flemish Beauty in most sections is 

 utterly ruined by it ; every specimen being black and twisted out of shape- 

 The Bartlett is much affected, but as the diseased fruits are mostly drop- 

 ping, we may hope for a fair crop of first-class Bartletts. 



This state of affairs seems to be widespread. Reports from all Southern 

 Ontario, and Central New York State, all seem to agree in the sad story of 

 blight and scab, while farther north the crop prospects seem brighter. 



The following selections from our correspondents in various parts of 

 Ontario will support the above statements : 



