320 The Canadian Horticulturist. 



experience and observation, and this is afterwards open for discussion by all 

 present. A couple of hours is, in this way, very profitably spent. 



In shipping from Burlington to Toronto, the growers there have some advan- 

 tage over Grimsby growers in the matter of express rates ; which are only five 

 cents per 12-quart basket, while w^e have to pay eight cents. 



The gentlemen spent some time in looking through the orchards hereabout, 

 and expressed themselves much pleased with all that they had seen of the 

 Grimsby fruit growing district. 



One favor is requested of the readers of this journal and that is that each 

 one should feel it a duty to make an occasional contribution to these columns 

 of any items of interest in the line of horticulture which he may have gleaned 

 from his own personal experience or from observation of the work of others. 

 What is needed, to make our journal more mutually helpful to correspondents 

 in all directions, is more frequent letters from every part of the province. If the 

 work of preparing the journal is too much left to the editor, there is danger of 

 its subject matter being wjitten too much from a single standpoint. This would 

 be unfortunate. Our membership extends from British Columbia to Nova 

 Scotia ; nearly all the members of the British Columbia Fruit Growers' Associa- 

 tion are members with us, and also a large number of the members of the 

 Montreal and Nova Scotia Horticultural Societies. We wish to make our 

 journal interesting and useful to all, and, to this end, we invite liberal contribu- 

 tions from our readers ; and we assure them that every courtesy possible will be 

 extended to them in the pages of the Canadian Horticulturist. 



Use of Apples for Animals. — F. D. Curtice, of New York, writes an article 

 for the American Agriculturist, highly commending the use of apples for animals. 

 He thinks that it is well worth the farmer's while to plant an orchard solely for 

 stock feed, for it would yield when well grown, at least five hundred bushels of 

 apples to the acre. With corn a cent a pound and apples at ten cents a bushel, 

 he says that $100 would buy 78 bushels of digestible matter from corn and 80 

 pounds from apples ; the corn having more fat, but not being so well balanced 

 for food as the apples. He has been in the habit of leaving bruised apples up- 

 on the ground in the orchard, to be eaten by the hogs, and is certain that any 

 one who has not fed swine in this way, cannot estimate the value of apples as 

 animal food. He says that apples fed to a milch cow, will promote digestion 

 and assimilation. At first he would give not more than four quarts twice a day, 

 but this amount may be gradually increased to a peck, making half a bushel a 

 day. The cow will give more and better milk for this extra food. They are also 

 fine food for colts, eaten with bran. 



Speaking of apple pomace, he says that a great deal of valuable food goes 

 to waste every year from lack of knowing the worth of the pomace from cider 

 mills. This has a greater value than apples, according to either bulk or weight, 



