68 The Canadian Horticulturist. 



buy commercial fertilizers at $2.00 per bushel, many of which are adulterated. 

 Ashes are worth twenty-five or thirty cents a bushel for the potash and phos- 

 phoric acid they contain, and this is their real market value in the United States 

 as a fertilizer. 



For some soils wood-ashes alone give excellent results with fruit crops, but 

 in most soils phosphates and nitrogen should also be added in some form. Prof, 

 James of the Ontario Agricultural College gives the following as an excellent 

 recipe for making a complete manure for one acre, viz. : 



40 bushels woodashes @ 10 cents $4 00 



100 II crushed bone ® ij4 cents i 50 



100 It sulphate of ammonia @ 3 cents 3 00 



Total cost $850 



He further stated at our winter meeting, that a commercial fertilizer of the 

 same value for an acre would cost $12.50. 



LOCAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETIES. 



^HE subject of the formation of local Fruit Growers' Associations, in affilia- 

 tion with the Ontario Fruit Growers' Association, has often been brought 

 up for consideration at our meetings ; and although it was acknowledged that such 

 societies would be very useful, the subject was dropped for want of a practical 

 plan of operation. If we could have local societies in affiliation with our Asso- 

 ciation, and thereby entitled to receive all our publications, as well as help from 

 us at their annual meetings for discussions of topics on fruit culture, they in turn 

 agreeing to send one or two delegates to our annual meeting, there is no doubt 

 at all that great mutual benefit would result. We might further incorporate in 

 our annual report some account of their work, together with a list of their offi- 

 cers, and any important papers read at their meetings. 



At our last annual meeting this subject was brought up for discussion, and it 

 was suggested that possibly all necessary machinery for the formation of such 

 local societies was already provided in the " Agricultural and Arts Act." Ac- 

 cordingly some of our members, in various places, are now making an effort to 

 organize, under the provisions of that Act, local associations under the name of 

 Horticultural Societies. 



It is evident to any one, who carefully studies the Act referred to, that its 

 chief objects are to provide for the holding of meetings for the discussion of horti- 

 cultural topics, and to circulate horticultural literature ; it is also evident that 

 this object has been almost wholly neglected by the Horticultural Societies now 

 in existence. Our proposition is to form societies in which these features will be 

 prominent, and thus more fully carry out the true intent of the Act. 



