3o8 



The Canadian Horticulturist. 



ting back in September proved no more suc- 

 cessful. Pear on mountain ash evidently 

 grows too tender and sappy to stand the win- 

 ters of this country, and I think Mr. E. J. 

 Phippin, of Park Hill, will find that to be the 

 case, from his experiment.— T. H. Race, 

 Mitchell. 



THE SPARROW NUISANCE. 



Sir, — In reading the occasional articles 

 and reports of discussions on the English 

 sparrow nuisance appearing in the Horti- 

 culturist, the Yearly Report, and in other 

 papers, the idea has occurred to me that the 

 most effective way to deal with this pest 

 would be to attack him in the winter instead 

 of in the summer months. Supposing a far- 

 mer or fruit grower who is badly troubled 

 with sparrows were to feed them with grain 

 around the house or barn-yard in the winter 

 for a short time till they came to look regu- 

 larly for their rations, and then change the 

 diet to poisoned grain, the slaughter would 

 be wholesale. Likewise in towns or cities, 

 if the authorities would encourage them, as 

 in time past, by building houses for them, 

 and feeding them, and then suddenly change 

 to poisoned feed, also in breeding time visit 

 the houses and destroy the eggs or young 

 birds, surely the numbers could be greatly 

 reduced and with much less trouble, expense 

 and danger than by fighting them in the sum- 

 mer. Perhaps some may take this hint and 

 give the method a trial in the coming winter. 

 — G. J. R. , Penetatiguishene. 



NOTES FROM WEST NISSOURI. 



Sir, — The apple crop in this section is a 

 partial failure, caused by a blight which af- 

 fected certain varieties, leaving others un- 

 touched. The Duchess of Oldenburg and 

 Baldwin will have a full crop ; the Northern 

 Spy from 50 to 75 per cent. ; the Red Astra- 

 chan, 20 oz. , Snow Apple, Ribston Pippin, 

 and Golden Russet, from 10 to 25 per cent. 



Pears are a good crop, no blight of any 

 kind touching either tree or fruit. The 

 Doyenne D'Ete, Clapp's Favorite, Bartlett, 

 Belle Lucrative, Flemish Beauty, Washing 

 ton. Vicar of Wakefield, and other varieties 

 being loaded with fruit. 



Plums, on account of the curculio and the 

 black knot, are little cultivated ; still a few 

 trees which were sprinkled with Paris green 

 are bearing fruit. 



Grapes are little cultivated here on ac- 

 count of the late spring frosts, which fre- 

 quently destroy not only the fruit but also 

 the foliage and young wood. This season 

 has been favorable and the vines are well 

 loaded with fruit, Moore's Early, Delaware, 

 Concord, Worden, Jessica and others yield- 

 ing a full crop. — John M. McAinsh, West 

 Nissouri. 



THE FRUIT CROPS -CAUSE OF 

 BLIGHT. 



Sir, — The destruction of the apple crop is 

 no doubt due to the frost which occurred im- 

 mediately before the blossom buds expanded, 

 but apparently no such destructive effects 

 followed as that which took effect on the 

 pear trees. I only observed a few twigs af- 

 fected. The Russian varieties are evidently 

 better suited to resist the eccentricities of 

 our fickle climate— even better than our 

 native trees. I have not observed many in 

 fruit ; even the wild crab apple shows but a 

 sparsity of fruit, an unusual circumstance. 

 The Duchess of Oldenburg and Tetofsky 

 have borne to excess, and the fruit very fine 

 indeed. The Astrachan and Alexander 

 bear well, so also the recently introduced 

 Yellow Transparent, but unfortunately there 

 are not many of these trees here in general 

 cultivation, but are gradually gaining in 

 favor. 



Blight has seriously damaged the pear 

 trees in this locality. Out of twenty varieties 

 in my collection only two escaped, viz., the 

 Beurre D'Anjou and Buffum. The Clapp's 

 Favorite are completely destroyed — this 

 variety being the worst and the Doyenne 

 D'Ete and Elliott's Early nearly as bad, the 

 others only partially affected, the least of 

 which are the Bartlett and Seckel. Should 

 the disease even be checked, it will take seve- 

 ral years before the trees will assume a 

 symmetrical appearance. I am now con- 

 vinced that my theory of the cause of blight, 

 viz., the late frosts, and subsequently fer- 

 mentation by fungoid action, only a natural 

 result. The trouble first originated in the 

 injury to the nectary glands. Even the 

 insects did not come near the blossoms 

 as usual, simply because fermentation had 

 commenced. It is not true in science that 

 micropic fungus is the direct cause ; it is 

 only an effect following a cause, and that 

 being a violation of natural laws, either by 

 climatic influences or otherwise. No natur- 

 al decomposition can take place without fer- 

 mentation produced by fungoid action, this 

 being their sphere in the economy of 

 nature. 



It is a scriptural truth as well as a scienti- 

 fic fact that " a little leaven leaveneth the 

 whole lump," This is only fungoid action, 

 and what I am afraid of is that the pear 

 trees which have been even partially affected 

 will yet be ruined. 



All varieties of the cultivated plum are 

 heavily laden with exceptionally fine fruit. 

 The curculio scarcely made an appearance, 

 In the neighboring gardens *here is no fruit 

 on the native or wild plum. 



I may also state that little or no injury 

 has been done to the small crop of apples 

 by the codlin moth. — Simon Roy, Berlin. 



