The Canadian Horticulturist. 



217 



THE LE CONTE PEAR. 



Mr. S. Miller, writing in PopuUn Garden- 

 i ng, speaks unfavorably of the fruit of this 

 pear for our northern commercial orchards. 

 Our experience agrees with his. We had it 

 in bearing last year and found the fruit poor 

 in quality and by no means attractive, espe- 

 cially when compared with other pears of 

 its season. Another objection is that the 

 tree is very subject to blight, even when 

 grown from cuttings. 



This, like all other novelties, is being hard 

 pushed by the nursery agent. Fruit growers, 

 therefore, need to be posted with regard to 

 the real quality of these new fruits and their 

 adaptability to our climate. The Le Conte 

 pear is particularly adapted to the Southern 

 States and can be grown there with great 

 profit. 



COMPOSITION OF THE 

 STRAWBERRY. 



The general composition of the strawberry 

 is tabulated by the Tennessee experiment 

 station as follows : 



Water 9052 percent. 



Pry matter 9.48 



The dry matter contains : 



Glucose 4 78 



Cane sugar 0.58 



Free acid, as malic . 1.37 



Ash 0.62 



Crude fibre 1.55 



Crude protein 0.99 



Non-nitrogenous 

 extract 5.76 



A LARGE FRUIT FARM IN ENGLAND 

 At Toddington, in Gloucestershire, is the 

 name of Lord Sudeley's estate, on which is 

 planted one of the largest orchards in Great 

 Britain. The extent of land devoted to 

 fruit culture is 500 acres. The whole is kept 

 as clean as a garden, every tree and bush 

 receiving proper attention. Hundreds of 

 workmen are employed and an enormous 

 amount of capital invested. In the work of 

 cultivation there is a practical foreman en- 

 gaged for every forty acres of plantation 

 with a staff of men under him. The fruits 

 grown are chiefly plums, currants, rasp- 



berries and strawberries with a few apples 

 and pears. 



It would appear that there were greater 

 difficulties in England in the way of produc- 

 ing good fruit out of doors than we have in 

 Canada, while the methods of cultivation 

 are all much more expensive ; but no doubt 

 with a wealthy landowner like Lord Sudeley, 

 the question of profit is less prominent than it 

 would be with us. 



FRUITS AFFECTED BY THE 

 CURCULIO. 



While everybody is well aware of the enor- 

 mous injury to our plum orchards caused by 

 thecurculio, few people know the extent of the 

 harm effected by it upon our apples and 

 pears. Entomologists have shown us that 

 the curculio may come to maturity in apples, 

 and the numerous misshapen specimens of 

 apples and pears which have to be thrown out 

 in packing seasons are the proof of the extent 

 of the mischief made by them. The Duchess 

 apples are particularly subject to them, and 

 for that reason particularly needs spraying 

 early enough in the season to destroy the 

 parent beetle, A Duchessappletreeat Maple- 

 hurst produced no fruit fit for market for 

 many years owing to the curculio, every 

 specimen being knotty and ill-shaped from 

 punctures by the curculio, but since this tree 

 has received a regular spraying there have 

 been very few worthless specimens produced. 



The Prunus Simoni appears to be notably 

 free from the attack of the plum curculio. 

 Professor Budd states that he has never 

 known the fruit to be so injured. 



THE STRIPED CUCUMBER BEETLE. 



Mr. C. M. Weed says in the American 

 Garden that the only way to prevent injury 

 is to fence out the insects. The simplest 

 method is that of laying a piece of thin cloth 

 over the hills before the plants are up, cov- 

 ering the edges of it with loose earth. To 

 hold the cloth up in the middle, he takes 

 two pieces of wire, puts their ends into the 

 ground like the centre arch of a croquet 

 ground. 



