THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



Floral Editiou. 



^ 



r^ ^ 



"fil* 



W J»i^/ 



4'P 



A tenement built by Mr. Del Sole for his help 

 on hla farm at St. Hubert. 



Montreal. His melons find a ready sale 

 in Boston and New York. His celery 

 is carefully graded at picking time, 

 grades two and three being sold for 

 immediate delivery, while number one 

 plants are carefully crated and stored 

 in his large frost-proof cellar for the 

 winter market. In this cellar is also 

 stored his winter supply of other vege- 

 tables, enabling him to supply his 

 trade right up to the season for new 

 vegetables. 



From twenty-five to seventy-five 

 picked and experienced men are em- 

 ployed, according to the season. They 

 are paid the highest wages. Not a 

 weed could be found on any of his 

 farms, for, as he says, "I do not sell 

 weeds, so I do not grow weeds." 



The nature of the land on part of 

 the farm at St. Hubert is interesting. 

 The farm is very level. Part of it was 



originally swamp. The land in that 

 portion of it is rich, the black earth 

 going down to a dc^pth of twelve to 

 thirteen feet. This land is as fine a.s 

 powder. A person can put their arm 

 down in it to the elbow without diffi- 

 culty. 



The cellar in which Mr. Del Sole 

 stores his vegetables is simple in con- 

 struction, and looks as if it did not 

 amount to much, but it is well ar- 

 ranged. It is about two hundred feet 

 long by about forty feet wide. It is 

 arranged into compartments, enabling 

 him to crate his celery four deep and 

 with separate compartments for cauli- 

 flower, also a half story, covering a 

 whole cellar, for onions and such other 

 produce as can be stored in bins on the 

 floor. At one end of the cellar there is 

 a complete work shop, sorting and 

 packing room. 



In onions, such varieties are grown 

 as the Early Red, Red Globe, Yellow 

 Globe, Red Weatherfield, and Silver 

 King, in addition to some Italian varie- 

 ties, the seeds for which are imported. 

 In celerj"-, the varieties grown include 

 the Golden and Green, and varieties 

 imported from France and Italy. 



That intensive farming pays is at- 

 tested by the fact that Mr. Del Sole's 

 net profits are from ten thousand dol- 

 lars to twelve thousand dollars a year. 

 It is also known that, aside from his 

 farms, he owns valuable city property, 

 and in addition has five farms clear of 

 all incumbrance in Italy, on which he 

 is producing considerable quantities of 

 nuts that he finds a ready market for 

 and at profitable prices in Canada. A 

 conservative estimate is that market 

 gardening has netted him well over 

 two hundred thousand dollars, and he 

 is only forty-three years of age — in 

 other words, just in his prime. 



Fall Work in the Orchard 



M. B. Davis, B.S.A., Ottawa 



Although the fall is the slackest time 

 of the year for the fruit grower, there 

 are a few things that need attention 

 yet before winter sets in. In the 

 orchard, little can be done after the 

 crop is harvested, for pruning should 

 be left until next spring. In the more 

 favored districts, however, where fall 

 plowing is practicable, such as in the 

 Maritime Provinces, this work should 

 commence at once. 



In young orchards, where mice arc 

 generally abundant, now is the time to 

 protect the trees against their ravage.^. 

 Before the snow comes, building paper 

 should be tied about the trunks of tht- 

 young trees and a little earth mounded 

 up at the base and well tramped down, 

 so that the mice cannot work under- 

 neath the paper. This paper prevents 

 the mice from girdling the trees in 

 winter, which they will surely do 

 when in search of some succulent food. 

 This paper also acts as a very good pre- 

 ventative against sunscald in the 

 month of March. It is removed from 

 the trees in the spring of the year after 

 the trees have started into growth. 

 Winter Protection. 



The winter protection for the straw- 

 berry field should not be delayed too 

 long. Put on a moderately heavy coat 

 of straw, spreading it over the Avhole 

 patch. If there are any low-lying 

 places in the plantation, run a furrow 

 through these spots to allow a circula- 

 tion of air to pass through during the 

 early spring months when the ice is 

 thawing out. 



Unless growing grapes in the fruit 

 belt, where winter protection is not re- 

 quired, it will be necessary to lay the 

 vines down and cover them with earth. 



.■^i 





!j3Sira«^ 







Cratlngr celery for storagre on Mr. Del Sole's farm at St Hubert. Mr. Del Sole says that his summer produce simply pays his expenses. He makes 

 his profits from what he sells from fall until spring. During the winter he makes as high as $400 a week from bis celery alone. 



