The Canadian Horticulturist. 71 



The pruning of trees and plants is done in England much more systematically 

 than with us, the object there being well understood to be the shaping of the 

 trees, and, still more particularly, the improvement of the size of the fruit, this 

 last object being attained by allowing only the best and most vigorous fruit spurs 

 to remain. The time has come when we in Ontario also must learn the lesson 

 that there is no profit in growing scrubby fruit, and that our trees must not be 

 allowed to exhaust themselves in maturing seed of so much worthless stuff. 

 This waste of the fertility of the land is as great as when it is allowed to produce a 

 crop of weeds. No doubt we might avoid this by careful thinning out of 

 the young fruit while it is still small, say in the month of June. If we could 

 spare the time to go over our trees carefully and remove all gnarly and scabby 

 fruit at that season, both of pears and apples, the result woQld be most satis- 

 factory ; but this is usually neglected, because work in Ontario presses fruit 

 growers so much harder than it does in the cooler climate of England. The 

 result, same however, may be attained by careful pruning, making it a point 

 to thin out all poor and weak growing fruit spurs. 



Grape pruning is also done during this month in many parts of Ontario. 

 The methods of pruning are almost as numerous as are the vineyards themselves, 

 but some growers appear to be neglecting it almost altogether, a course which 

 results in the production of a great deal of inferior fruit. A great point in the 

 pruning of the grape is to reduce the amount of fruit-bearing wood, in order 

 that fine bunches may be secured, and this is usually accomplished by leaving 

 fruit spurs of new wood having two or three buds each. Some say that thirty 

 or forty buds are enough for each vine, but, in common practice, there is usually 

 at least double this number, and in thus reducing the number of fruit buds lies a 

 point of great economic importance. 



The various methods are planned more with an eye for beauty and to suit style 

 of trellis employed. The system which presents the best appearance to the 

 eye is the " Renewal," which has often been described in this journal, and 

 which may be again explained at any time if asked for by any of our readers. 



The principles above explained, apply with equal force to the pruning of 

 small fruits. In all our plantations too many canes are left to grow, and most 

 of these have much slender wood growth, near the tips of which the buds are 

 weakly and will produce a poor quality of fruit. All weak canes should be 

 removed and the weakly growth of the stronger ones should be cut off with the 

 grape pruning shears. 



The Tree Cricket is a very common enemy in the raspberry plantation, and 

 we frequently receive inquiries from subscribers concerning it. Now is the best 

 time to destroy it, by cutting off all affected portions and burning them, together 

 with the eggs of this insect which they contain. 



The gooseberry bush, if neglected, becomes a perfect mat of prickly canes, 

 interfering both with the production of fruit, and also with the gathering of the 

 same. These should be well thinned out, not shortened in as in the case of the 



