The Canadian Horticulturist. 



215 



C5^ C^^<^^tan Wfoxticu(t\ixiBL 



SUBSCRIPTION PRICE, $1.00 per year, entitling the subscriber to membership of the 

 Fruit Growers' Association of Ontario and all its privileges, including a copy of its valuable 

 Annual Report, and a share in its annual distribution of plants and trees. 



REMITTANCES by Registered Letter are at our risk. Receipts will be acknowledged upon 

 the address label. 



A Surplus of Fruit need not be ex- 

 pected very soon, if we take the estimate 

 given in a late number of the American 

 Garden concerning the greater rapidity of 

 increase in population in the cities than in 

 rural places. The statement is as follows : 

 " In 1850 we had eighty-five cities of an aver- 

 age of 35,000 inhabitants. In i860 we had 141, 

 and in 1870, 226 cities. A hundred years ago 

 one-thirtieth of the people lived in towns ; 

 in i860 one-sixth, and in 1870 one-fourth of 

 our people were town dwellers." 



Fruit Growers' Institutes are asked for 

 by the fruit growers in New York State. 

 Farmers' Institutes have been of such great 

 value to agricultural interests that it is 

 claimed that Fruit Growers' Institutes might 

 accomplish similar benefits in developing 

 the fruit industry, if placed in the charge of 

 experienced and successful fruit growers. 

 A special appropriation from the State is 

 expected for their organization. It is a 

 question whether this plan would have any 

 advantage over ours of working in connection 

 with the already existing Farmers' Institutes. 

 The farmers of our country are the people 

 who need to be instructed in horticulture as 

 a branch of agriculture, and if a fruit growers' 

 institute were called many of our farmers 

 would think themselves left out. 



A MODEL PEACH ORCHARD IN 

 MICHIGAN. 



In the March No. of the American Garden 

 Prof. Bailey, of Cornell, writes an article 

 with regard to Michigan practices of peach 

 culture, and says that the pruning consists 

 in thinning out the small wood each year, 

 that the shortening-in system is not practiced 

 in Michigan, nor can he see any important 

 reason for employing it when trees are prop- 

 erly grown. He also gives three illustra- 

 tions showing model peach trees trained in 

 what he calls the model system, at various 

 ages. 



Now, we are compelled to say that, after 

 twenty-five years' experience in peach grow- 

 ing in the Niagara district, we believe we 

 have made considerable improvement on 

 this method of pruning. We find that by 

 growing peach trees as described, without 

 shortening-in, there is soon very little new 

 growth except at the tips of the upper 

 branches, the lower and interior limbs die 

 out and the tree itself loses its vitality at an 

 early age. On the other hand, by a vigorous 

 shortening-in of one-half of the new growth 

 every year, with a still more severe cutting 

 back of the leading shoots, abundance of 

 young and vigorous growth is continually 

 produced, giving a larger amount of bearing 



