The Canadian Horticulturist 



249 



bark or by some ligature wound around 

 it. The former is the usual method. It 

 consists simply of removing a ring of bark 

 from half to three-quarters of an inch in width 

 not simply the outer bark but the inner also, 

 to the wood. The sap is thus prevented 

 from returning, and, as a result, the fruit 

 grows to a larger size and ripens earlier. 



It has been found simpler, however, to cut 

 small pieces of wire and fasten these tightly 

 about those fruiting branches which are to 

 be removed at the next pruning season. 

 This can be best done by means of a good 

 pair of pincers. 



Girdling of the vine, to be effective, should 

 be performed early in the month of July. 



PARIS GREEN vs. LONDON PURPLE. 



71. Sir, — Please state in the next issue of 

 Horticulturist the relative merits of Lon- 

 don purple and Paris green as insecticides, 

 which is the more safe and reliable ? Can 

 some of your experienced members tell how 

 soon after spraying fruit trees a rain would 

 render the work non-effective, and what 

 quantity of rain ? Would merely enough to 

 drip from the trees be enough ? — John Kil- 

 LAM, North Kingston, N.S. 



Both these poisons owe their effectiveness 

 to the arsenic that enters into their composi- 

 tion. The London purple is cheaper and 



somewhat more soluble in water, but being 

 a refuse product from the manufacture of 

 aniline dyes, it is very inconstant in its com- 

 position. The Paris green, on the other hand 

 if pure, can be relied upon as containing a 

 constant proportion of arsenic. For this 

 reason it is generally considered preferable 

 for use in the orchard. 



Since the Paris green is insoluble in water 

 and is only kept in suspension by constant 

 stirring, it is deposited upon the fruit trees 

 in small particles by means of the spraying. 

 A good rain, therefore, would wash it to the 

 ground. 



RICHARDIA OFFSHOOTS. 



72. Sir, — I received in due time the lily 

 bulb and immediately set it in rich earth. 

 It has developed seven separate stalks about 

 seven inches inhdght, six of which have the 

 dotted leaf and the other plain green. They 

 appear to be too crowded to do well. Should 

 any of them be detached and set out separ- 

 ately, or are they intended to remain in a 

 cluster? — D. G. Cameron, Strabane, Ont. 



It would be better not to disturb your 

 Richardia Lily during the summer by remov- 

 ing the offshoots. In the autumn the foliage 

 will die off, and at that time or in the spring 

 they may be the more safely removed. Each 

 of these suckers will then form a new plant. 







p^n 



HARD LINES. 



Sir, —With pleasure I renew my subscrip- 

 tion for C. H. I enjoy t^e reading of it. 

 The article by P.E.Bucke on the Raspberry 

 is too highly colored, locts. per quart is 

 more the go. I am pleased to see the set 

 back given to Mr. John Donaldson on the 

 Gravenstein. I have a farmer friend here 

 that can believe little he sees in our journal, 

 on account of such high colored statements 

 as have been published concerning the 

 profits to be made on fruit. He says the 

 whole lot of you have fruit trees to sell. 

 I think if you spoke oftener of wages to be 

 earned, instead of profit, it would be 

 better. Farmers around here cannot make 

 fair wages. Your letter to me, dated April 

 29, i88g, is before me, in which you say you 

 are sorry I should have left a good trade to 

 engage in fruit culture. I know of no good 

 trade nowadays ; machinery has ruined most 



£etb 



:eF( 



trades. Take a man with a family of five or 

 six children, with nine or ten dollars per week, 

 and he never knows when he is going to do a 

 week's work. Some part of the machinery 

 breaks down, engine driver takes sick, your 

 family sick, or you may be a half minute 

 behind the bell in the morning at seven 

 o'clock, that means lose one hour, you are 

 put on shoirt time and fifteen per cent, reduc- 

 tion of wages at the same time. You close 

 down for seven weeks at a stretch, you have 

 tools to buy, Sick Benefit Society dues to pay, 

 etc. You will see there is not much left to 

 live on after rent and fuel. I worked nearly 

 ten years at London furniture factory, never 

 had three holidays in the time, worked all 

 spare time in garden or on my shanty, never 

 smoked or drank and lived economically on 

 brown bread, rice, oatmeal, fruit and vege- 

 tables. I do the same now, only the struggle 

 for existence is harder still, for work is scarce 

 and produce cheap. — L. P., Whitchurch, Out. 



