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Manitoba and the l^orth-West when subjected to hedge pruning. In regard to 

 windbreaks, Mr. Chairman, I think it largely a matter of locality — first, whether we 

 shall have a wind-break, and second on what side of the orchard the wind-break shall 

 be placed. In the North- Western States experience is teaching orchardists to plant 

 their fruit trees on northern slopes, with shelter belts on the south and west side«. 

 The northern exposure prevents the trees starting into leaf under the influence of 

 unusually warm weather in early spring to be nipped by late frosts. The south and 

 west protection mitigates the effects of the drying winds so pi'evalent during May 

 and June in Manitoba and the North- West. Prof. Pernow's paper excellently illus- 

 trates this principle. Wind-breaks in any locality should not be crowded against 

 the orchard; they are designed to protect, but are better at a reasonable distance. 



This morning we had the subject of growing forest trees discussed from the 

 home supply standpoint. I would like to add a few thoughts especially in the interest 

 of the commercial grower. The ground should be deeply ploughed and well pulver- 

 ized to favour deep rooting. The seeds should be planted in rows 2 feet apart 

 covered with 2 or 3 inches of soil. To get rid of the first troublesome crop 

 of weeds go over the rows with steel rakes removing the upper crust. The young 

 seedling will then appear before the second growth of weeds. Good cultivation is 

 all that is needed afterwards. Soft maple and elm seed should be planted as soon as 

 ripe, about let June, and will make a growth of from 6 to 18 inches the same season. 

 Box elder, ash and other varieties ripening their seed in autumn should be planted 

 in the fall. If kept in a dry condition over winter they do not germinate lead'ily. 

 This is especially true of ash. Millions of forest trees are annually raised in this 

 way by western growers and sold at rates ranging from |1 to' $5 per thousand. 



Mr. Peters. — Our experience in New Brunswick is, that if we want to grow a 

 really good fi'uit, particularly when we are not certain as to whether the tree will 

 be sufficiently hardy for our climate, we select a northern and eastern slope — the 

 more northern the, better. We hold the tree back as far as possible until the 

 weather gets sufficiently warm, so that when the bloom comes out it will not be 

 affected by the frost. Thus far we have never required any particular shelter in 

 either of thie quarters of the orchard. Speaking of the maple and other trees for 

 planting, I am sure that if there is any section of this Dominion that wants a nice 

 lot of maple trees we could furnish them. We have no difficulty in propagating 

 trees if we transplant in the spring. We invariably fail if we transplant in the fall. 



Mr. William Thompson, London. — Mr. Phipps has referred to the benefit of 

 wind-breaks in fruit-growing, and I would like to mention a curious matter to the 

 Convention. I have been greatly interested during the past summer in noticing 

 the effects of a row of maple shade trees, on the west side of a turnip field, on the 

 growing crop. The trees were about 30 feet in height, and while the turnips in all 

 other parts of the field were growing fairly well, a strip of from 25 to 30 feet from 

 the maples was entirely without crop. At one point, where half a dozen maples had 

 been killed from some cause, the roots were growing fairly well up to the fence. 

 In another field a large ash tree, growing at the north end of the turnip patch, had 

 produced similar results over an area of 20 to 30 feet around it, the ground here 

 being entirely bare, although in the rest of the field the crop was growing well. 



Mr. P. W. Starr. — The children who pick for us know where to find the best 

 raspberries, namely, on the north side of the bush. That is a hint to those who have 

 been trying experiments with wind-breaks. 



Prof Saunders. — Mr. Peters' experience is so different from some of the other 

 gentlemen that it shows the importance of the remark that was made, I think by 

 Mr. Phipps, on Mr. Fernow's paper, that wo have to consider this question from the 

 point of locality and climate. In New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island they 

 have abundance of water. The English thorn grows thei-e remarkably well. They 

 have nice hedges there, hedges that we could not produce in Quebec or Ontario, 

 much less could they be grown in Manitoba and the Territories, where they would 

 not survive a winter. I suppose we have fourteen or fifteen different climates 

 in this Dominion, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and before we can give advice as 

 to any particular locality we should know what the climate is. 



