302 



The Canadian Horticulturist. 



characterized the people of that '-.ountry, 

 fortunes might be made in these lines. 

 Apple trees flourish and bear good crops 

 from the extreme north down to Cork, and 

 small fruits may also be grown with success ; 

 but whatever is done in the culture and mar- 

 keting of fruits is done in the most hap- 

 hazard and careless manner. Nevertheless 

 the occupiers of some orchard land are able 

 to pay as much as $15 an acre rent, and earn 

 a good living ; while at the same time land 

 on the same estate, not planted, rents as low- 

 as $2 or $3 per acre. 



COMPOSITION OF APPLES. 



Prof. Clark, of the Missouri Experiment 

 Station, has been making analyses of apples 

 of various stages of growth, to determine if 

 chemical compositions can afford any reason 

 for the thinning of fruits. A sample of the 

 Ben Davis apple was taken on July 9th, 

 and on October 23rd a large and per- 

 fect sample of the same variety, and others 

 at the same date which were small and im- 

 perfect. The results show that a large pro- 

 portion of the mineral matter contained in 

 the fruit is stored up during the early part 

 of its growth, evidencing the importance of 

 thinning fruit as soon as it is of sufficient 

 size to show the wormy and imperfect speci- 

 mens. A surprising result of the investiga- 

 tion is the fact that the late sample of small 

 and imperfect fruit shows a richer content 

 of plant food than the large and perfect 

 specimens; and from this apparent anomaly, 

 the author concludes that " it costs less to 

 grow a barrel of large and perfect apples 

 than it does to grow a barrel of small and 

 inferior fruits." 



FRUIT EXHIBITS AT THE WORLD'S 

 FAIR. 



In pursuance of a call of the Illinois Hor- 

 ticultural Society, a convention of delegates 

 from various American Horticultural Socie- 

 ties met in Chicago on August 27th, to 

 to outline some plans regarding the horti- 

 cultural exhibits at the approaching World's 

 Fair in that city. In accordance with the 

 suggestion of Mr. VanDeman, of Washing- 

 ton, it was thought best to separate the hor- 



ticultural exhibit into four departments, viz.: 

 I, Floriculture; 2, Pomology; 3, Nursery 

 and Forest ; 4, Seed and Vegetables. Mr. 

 Parker Earle, of Ocean Springs, Miss., was 

 made General Commissioner of Horticul- 

 ture ; and the four departments were placed 

 under Superintendents as follows: i, Jas. 

 D. Raynolds, River Side, 111. ; 2, G. B. 

 Brackett, Denmark, O.; 3, Geo. B. Thomas, 

 West Chester, Pa., and 4, J. C. Vaughan, 

 of Chicago. 



It was further resolved that any other 

 societies existing in America were entitled to 

 representation on payment of $25 each. 



It is worthy of consideration whether the 

 Ontario Fruit Growers' Association should 

 not be represented, and more especially 

 whether we should not make a creditable 

 display of Ontario's horticultural products 

 at so important an Exposition. 



THE CULTIVATION OF THE 

 CHESTNUT. 

 At the late meeting of the American Asso- 

 ciation of Nurserymen held in New York 

 city, a paper was read by Mr. S. C. Moon 

 on this subject. After referring to chestnut 

 culture in orchards as being profitable, he 

 says : " No trees, which are equally well 

 adapted for avenues, will yield any return 

 like our native nut-bearing trees, and none 

 are more appropriate for shade and orna- 

 ment about buildings, or along farm lanes, 

 or in pasture fields. In planting the Chest- 

 nut, whether in orchards or avenues, the 

 trees should be set at least forty feet apart, 

 and some varieties will need forty-five or 

 fifty feet. Like fruit trees they should 

 be mulched, or the land should be kept mel- 

 low about them while they are small, and 

 they will come into bearing as soon as apple 

 trees or pear trees. Wild trees usually com- 

 mence bearing when from twelve to twenty 

 years old, and grafted ones, of the most pro- 

 ductive varieties, from two to seven years 

 after grafting. A Chestnut orchard of the 

 Numbo or Paragon varieties will come into 

 bearing condition as soon as an orchard of 

 Baldwin apples. Both of these varieties 

 possess the qualities which make any or- 

 chard fruit profitable, that is, hardiness of 

 the tree and early fruitfulness, with large 

 size and fine appearance of fruit." 



^ c^ue^hion ® J)pawei^ 



RASPBERRIES FOR MARKET. 



80. Sir, — What are the best kinds of 

 raspberries and black caps for market ? — 

 Geo. Savage Burnhamthorpe, Ont. 



With us at Grimsby, the Cuthbert is the 

 most profitable red raspberry in suitable 

 soil, but possibly in the county of Peel it 

 might not be sufficiently hardy. The Turner 



