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_Title:_ The Canadian Horticulturist, Vol. 09, No. 07
_Date of first publication:_ 1886
_Editor:_ D. W. (Delos White) Beadle (1823-1905)
_Date first posted:_ September 5, 2026
_Date last updated:_ September 5, 2026
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                          [Cover Illustration]




                              The Canadian
                             Horticulturist.


[Illustration: SPECIMENS OF CACTI.
 Anhalonium fissurata.
 Echinocereus pectinatus.  Mamillaria pectinata.  Cereus colubrinis.]





                                 _THE_
                        Canadian Horticulturist.

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VOL. IX.]                      JULY, 1886.                         [No. 7.
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                              THE CACTUS.

A much needed service has been rendered to cultivators of the cactus by
Mr. A. Blanc, of Philadelphia, Penn., U.S.A., in the publication of his
catalogue of cactus plants, wherein is not only a full description of
many valuable varieties, accompanied in many instances with engravings
giving the appearance of the plants and of their flowers, but also hints
as to their cultivation, in which full directions are given concerning
the soil to be used, the temperature required, and the various details
needing attention to secure success. Accompanying this neat little work
was a letter from Mr. Blanc offering us the use of such of the cuts as
we might wish, for the purpose of giving our readers a better
appreciation of the appearance of some of these very curious and
interesting plants, than can possibly be given by any verbal
description. We have availed ourselves of this very kind offer, and
present our readers in this number with a plate containing four
different species.

To those who wish to grow plants in the house, the cactus family offers
many varieties that will thrive in the dry and heated atmosphere of a
room, where most other plants suffer and often perish. Besides, they are
very patient of neglect. You may forget to water them for a month, and
they will not show proper resentment by drooping and dying, but
patiently wait for your return to thoughtfulness. They do not object to
sunlight, nay the hotter and fiercer its rays fall upon them the better
they thrive; so that if you can give them a shelf at the window, and
heat enough to keep out frost in winter, with water when they are
growing and blooming, they will almost take care of themselves the rest
of the time.

The soil which they require is any good loam well mixed with sand, so
that it shall be porous, and thoroughly drained. If the bottom of the
pot be filled half way to the top with bits of broken pots, so much the
better. During the winter they will need but very little water. Mr.
Blanc says if the whole tissue of the plants seems to be plump and full,
no water is needed; but, if there be the slightest approach to laxness,
or a dulness in the surface color, then water should be given. In the
spring and early summer when the plants are growing rapidly, they will
require water twice or thrice a week.

In our plate will be found one species taken from each of four different
genera, which may be considered as types, shewing the style of growth
and of the flowers of each of these genera. And yet, so varied are the
forms in each genus, that no one species will give any adequate idea of
the numerous changes in appearance which are wrought out in nature,
while retaining the same structural habit. Were we persuaded that any
considerable number of our readers are interested in this department of
Flora’s domain, instead of only presenting them with an engraving of one
species from each genus, we would devote several numbers of the
_Horticulturist_ to the illustration of these curious plants, giving a
number of species from one genus on each plate.

The Mamillarias, which in our plate is represented by mamillaria
pectinata, is an exceedingly interesting genus. Many species, says Mr.
Blanc, resemble exquisite pieces of mechanism finished with the greatest
minuteness and accuracy. Others would seem to have undergone a kind of
crystallization, the whole surface being frosted over with star-like
spiculæ arranged with geometrical precision, while yet others appear as
if covered with finest gossamer. The spines of M. fulvispina are ivory
white at the base, turning to purple towards the point, and regularly
curved towards the top of the plant. M. senilis has such delicate spines
that it resembles a ball of raw cotton. The flowers of M. pectinata as
will be seen from the engraving are large, being nearly three inches in
diameter when fully expanded. The exterior sepals are of a reddish
green, the interior sepals yellow, with a dark midrib; the petals of a
beautiful sulphur yellow. M. pusilla has yellowish white flowers, with a
red stripe through the centre of each petal. The flowers of M. Rhodantha
are bright rose, and those of M. Wrightii are bright purple. It is
impossible in the brief space at our command to give anything like an
exhaustive description of the many species that are included in this
genus, but enough has been said to shew that there is a great variety in
the appearance of the plants and the color of the flowers.

In the genus called Anhalonium, we have some most curious forms. Perhaps
the most interesting of them all is the one known as Anhalonium
fissurata, an excellent representation of which will be found in our
plate, so good, indeed, that further description is unnecessary.

We have selected one of the so-called Torch Cactus to represent the
genus Cereus, a genus that includes some of the most wonderful and some
of the most beautiful of the Cactus tribe. This genus embraces two
distinct groups of species; the one group grows erect, with rigid stems,
some of them attaining a height of from forty to sixty feet; the other
group has slender, trailing stems. In the latter group is found the
celebrated night-blooming Cereus, of most delicious perfume, yet as
evanescent as it is beautiful, fading before the morning.

The genus Echinocereus is represented in our plate by E. pectinatus,
which Mr. Blanc says is decidedly one of the very best for blooming that
can possibly be obtained. Strong plants often bear twelve to fifteen
flowers, and open four or five at a time. The flowers are large, often
measuring three and a-half inches across, and are of a beautiful bright
purplish pink, and very fragrant. Next in freedom of blooming is
Echinocereus cœspitosus which bears large purple flowers; some varieties
bear yellow flowers, and others dark rose and shining crimson.

We hope to be able in some future number to give our readers further
notes of this curious family of plants; meanwhile, anyone can procure a
copy of Mr. Blanc’s “Hints on Cacti,” by enclosing to him the trifling
sum of fifteen cents, addressing him at 314 North Eleventh Street,
Philadelphia.

                                 —————


                           THE SUMMER MEETING

of the Fruit Growers’ Association of Ontario will be held in the Town
Hall, Lindsay, on Wednesday, July 7th, 1886, at ten o’clock in the
forenoon, continuing through the day and evening.

An adjourned meeting will be held at Bobcaygeon on Thursday, the 8th of
July, at one o’clock. The members will leave Lindsay at eight o’clock on
Thursday morning, by boat, pausing at Sturgeon Point to inspect the
vineyard of Mr. John Knowlson, and arrive at Bobcaygeon in time for
dinner at noon. The meeting will continue until three o’clock. Members
can then return by fast boat to Lindsay in time to take the evening
trains east and west.

Members intending to be present can have rooms secured for them by
writing to Mr. Thos. Beall, Lindsay, informing him of their wishes.

Members travelling by rail will please purchase round-trip tickets when
leaving home.

The Directors will meet at eight o’clock on Tuesday evening, July 6th,
at the Benson House.

The following subjects are proposed for discussion:—

                      SUBJECTS FOR CONSIDERATION.

1. _Strawberries._—Time for planting. Hills or matted rows. Varieties
for different soils. Name four of the most desirable varieties suitable
for this locality; for market.

2. _Pears._—Name four varieties suitable for cultivation here. What is
the best mode of cultivation?

3. _Plums._—Can plums be profitably grown here? What varieties? What
insect pests are they liable to? What are the remedies?

4. _Apples._—Why are there so many failures in our apple orchards? The
right time to prune apple trees. Should orchards be cultivated after the
trees commence to bear fruit? Are wind-breaks necessary? Aspects of
orchards. Name ten varieties that can be profitably grown for market
purposes here.

5. _Roses._—Name twelve varieties suitable for general cultivation.
Kind of soil most suitable. Insect enemies. Remedies.

6. _Tulips._—Method of cultivation. Should the bulbs be taken out of
the ground during the summer? At what time?

7. _Grapes._—What varieties may be profitably grown in this county? The
hardiest sorts. Method of planting and trellising. Comparative standing
of white, red, and black sorts. How protected during the winter. The
proper season for pruning.

8. _Hedges._—Is the common native Spruce suitable? Black Spruce and
Norway Spruce compared. Proper time to plant. How far apart. When to
prune.

                                 —————


                    DOUGALL’S SEEDLING GOOSEBERRIES.

The _Rural New-Yorker_ says that these have not proven mildew proof in
the _Rural’s_ grounds.

                                 —————


                           REMEDY FOR MILDEW.

Put one pound of sulphur and one pound of lime in two gallons of water,
boil down to one gallon; of this put one wineglassful into five gallons
of water and syringe the plants therewith twice a week.

                                 —————


                      REMEDY FOR GRAPEVINE MILDEW.

Prof. Riley, writing to the _Rural New-Yorker_, gives the following
remedy for the downy mildew which usually appears on the under side of
the leaves in the form of small patches of white down. Dissolve a pound
of sulphate of copper in a gallon of water. In another vessel put two
pounds of unslaked lime and pour over it a quart of water. After the
lime is slaked add the solution of sulphate of copper and make the lime
into a thin bluish paste, by mixing thoroughly. This mixture is to be
sprinkled lightly on the leaves with a small broom, but not on the
fruit. This downy mildew is most abundant in wet weather, and is known
to botanists as Peronospora viticola.

                                 —————


                           THE SALOME APPLE.

Professor Budd is reported to have said, at the last meeting of the
American Pomological Society, of this apple: “It is a very nice keeper,
and good grower, and would generally be called hardy, though not as
hardy as Fameuse, but more so than Ben Davis. It is of good quality;
keeps well with ordinary care; rather small in size; season, in Iowa,
January to March; about as hardy as Pewaukee which is more tender than
Wealthy; better than Ben Davis, but smaller.”

                                 —————


                TO PREVENT GREEN-FLY IN THE ROSE HOUSE.

Spread a layer of tobacco stems two inches deep and ten inches wide the
full length of the greenhouse and give them a dash of water when you are
watering. The slight fumes constantly arising from the tobacco will keep
the green-fly entirely in subjection.—CHAS. HENDERSON, _before the
Florists’ Convention_.

                                 —————


                            QUESTION DRAWER.

                                 —————


                        GRAPES IN PERTH COUNTY.

Can you please inform me (1) what kind of Grape Vines would grow best
here (Perth Co). Our soil is loamy, and trees and vegetables do well. I
have a Grape Vine, but it does not do very well on account of the frost.
Also (2) which is the easiest and best method of producing new vines
from a branch of a vine. (3). Should the soil be rich for grapes. (4).
At what time of the year should a person plant branches for a new vine.
Strawberries seem to do well here; also gooseberries and currants. We
have two plums which are Yellow Gages; the frost has not hurt them yet,
and we expect to have a lot of fruit from them this year.

Thanking you for so much space in your valuable paper,

                     I remain, yours respectfully,
                                                        J. B. SPARLING.

Kirkton, Ont.

                                 —————

REPLIES.—(1) Early Victor, Moore’s Early, Linden, and Worden, of the
black varieties; Lady and Jessica of the white; Massasoit and Brighton
of the red.

(2) The easiest and best method for most amateurs is by layering.

(3) Grape Vines require rich soil and generous feeding if they are to
yield fine fruit. However, they can be overfed as well as other things.

(4) The spring of the year is the best time to layer. Lay down a cane of
last year’s growth. If you wish to try cuttings, plant them in the
spring, but take the cuttings from the vine in the fall.

                                 —————


                            CORRESPONDENCE.

                                 —————


                      REPORTS OF PLANTS RECEIVED.

My report of plants received since I last wrote. I think the Hydrangea
was the last noticed, which unfortunately died. I believe the Moore’s
Early Grape was the next, and then the Worden. They both lived, but have
not made much growth. Next, the Prentiss, did not much more than keep
alive, but unfortunately my sheep were let in during my absence and ate
off the first shoot it made when quite young, and this winter has
finished it. I found it lifted clear out of the ground with the frost in
the spring. I planted Concords the same year as the Worden. They have
done splendid, nearly all fruited, and all in the same row; but one end
was wet and cold. I did not know it then. I knew it was good land, and I
happened to plant those three varieties on the cold end. Last year I got
the Catalpa; it has done well and is living. I hope the Dewberry will do
with me; I received it all right. The Burnet Grape, got some years
since, never did anything, seemed all the time sickly, and at last it
died. My Ontario apple is a fine tree and is full of blossom just now.
There is a great show of blossom; trees and shrubs of all sorts are
covered.

This winter has been rather mild; in fact the winters are never very
severe in this section. I find the Deutzia crenata is not at all injured
this year, but generally the top of shoots gets killed if not protected;
and the Bignonia radicans I see growing up a brick wall is not in the
least affected.

In looking over the March number of the _Horticulturist_ (I think they
are getting better and better), among the many flattering testimonials,
reports and questions, there is one solitary grumbler, all the others
speak very favourably of the premiums received. I find this miserable
raspberry (the Saunders) that I have, an enormous bearer; a purple
berry, rather soft and sour, but the quantity make up for the quality. I
think, Mr. Editor, that forty-nine out of fifty would not want the
change that party suggested, because the reports and plants we get are
each often worth the price of the subscription to any interested in
fruit-growing, besides the valuable magazine. In your reply to S. G.
Russell in the April number you state that the Silver Maple does not
throw up suckers. I find it the worst tree I know that way; it is worse
than the common poplar. A subscriber (Walkerton), asks about the Japan
Quince. It is one of the hardiest shrubs grown in this section. As
regards R. L.’s question, my opinion is that the _Horticulturist_ was
never better, in fact it is improving all the time. I think your answer
to George Sutherland, of Meaford, on the cultivation of the grape, is
one of the best and simplest articles I ever read.

I found that the whey of milk, as recommended by Mr. McIntyre about two
years since, a good remedy for the codlin moth, as I caught thousands,
and hundreds of the small click beetles, besides a number of large
moths. I found the first Tent caterpillars on the 22nd April; they are
not very numerous this season.

                                                           WALTER HICK.

Goderich, Ont., 22nd May, 1886.

                                 —————

NOTE BY THE EDITOR.—Will Mr. Hick have the kindness to send to the
office of the _Canadian Horticulturist_ a few of the leaves of this
Silver Maple that throws up suckers. He can place four or five between
the folds of some soft paper and send them by mail at one cent for four
ounces. We are very curious to see what kind of Silver Maple he has. We
have been familiar with the Silver Maple for some half century, and do
not remember to have seen any suckers thrown up by that tree.

                                 —————


                   PROSPECTS OF FRUIT AROUND BERLIN.

The coming season promises to be a fairly abundant one. Fruit trees,
such as pears and apples, show well developed fruit buds. Biennial
bearers, which carried little or no fruit, such as Golden Russet,
Alexander, Duchess, and Red Astrachan, having had a year’s rest. The
same remarks may be applied to currants.

Now, if the season turns out as I anticipate, having had a steady, cold
winter, I expect that the early summer frosts will be light, and not do
serious damage.

I have understood from some of my neighbours who are in the strawberry
line, that the plants wintered well, and with but few upheavals.

                                                             SIMON ROY.

Berlin, April, 1886.

                                 —————


                  SOME HARDY PLUMS, AND OTHER FRUITS.

Having purchased a home of my own in that part of the City of Ottawa
known as “Sandy Hill,” I at once, in opposition to existing theories as
to soil, climate, &c., planted in my garden several varieties of that
best of fruits—the plum. I was partly induced to follow this course,
from the fact that the former owner, some eight years before, had
planted one tree—Pond’s Seedling—which appeared to be healthy, and
which I was informed had in former years borne some fine fruit. I have
since added to my collection, and now have twelve varieties, some of
which have fruited, and ten of which are now white with blossom, viz.:
Huling’s Superb, Pond’s Seedling, Imperial Gage, Yellow Gage, Smith’s
Orleans, Coe’s Golden Drop, Purple Gage, Weaver, a seedling Blue, and
our common wild variety. All of these appear to be hardy, except the
Golden Drop. One thrifty tree of this variety succumbed to the cold of
’83-’84, and another, which last autumn gave great promise, has but a
few blossoms. I would not advise anyone to plant it so far north. The
Pond’s Seedling is a good plum for this section of country. While not
ranking with the best in quality, it is so large, and the tree so hardy,
that it must ever prove attractive. With me it has proved to be a free
bearer, having had three full crops in four years, and for two of which
I had to prop up the limbs to prevent them from breaking down with their
load of fruit. In the spring of 1883 I grafted a young native tree with
this variety, and last season picked therefrom nearly half a bushel of
beautiful plums, many of which would not have suffered by comparison
with those I saw at the Industrial and Provincial Exhibitions. I would
strongly recommend this variety to all who may wish to grow fine fruit
in spite of Jack Frost.

The Weaver is doubtless a near relative of our common wild plum, being
as hardy, equally as prolific, and commences to bear quite as young. A
small tree of this variety planted in April, 1882, bore its first crop
last summer—somewhat over a peck of choice plums—which were delicious
eaten from the hand. None of this variety were canned so that I am
unable to speak of its cooking qualities, but I see no reason to regard
it with suspicion in this respect. It must prove a profitable market
plum as soon as buyers learn to distinguish it from the ordinary wild
variety, to which it bears a striking resemblance. I also grow a blue
plum, (a seedling) which for canning purposes is not excelled by any
with which I am acquainted. It is a regular bearer, and quite hardy. The
Imperial Gage, Huling’s Superb, Smith’s Orleans, and the German Prune
also appear to thrive. The Lombard, which we are so often urged by tree
pedlars to try has not proved hardy, dying back to snow line each
season. To those in the East about to plant I would recommend Pond’s
Seedling for size and beauty, the Weaver for profit, and the Imperial
Gage or Huling’s Superb for quality. I cannot understand why the people
of Eastern Ontario should grow those astringent little red plums, which
are two-thirds pit, one-fourth skin, with just enough nutriment between
to support a curculio during the earlier stages of its existence, when
such varieties as I have mentioned above might be grown with little more
care, and but a trifling additional expense.

                                GRAPES.

The excellence of the grapes grown in this section is well known to the
horticulturists of the Dominion, and while the quantity produced,
especially of the earlier varieties, does not equal the demand, causing
us to import from points farther west, the day is not far distant when
all this will be changed, and the fruit of the vines now being planted
in the Ottawa Valley will not only monopolize the home market, but
largely assist in supplying the requirements of a great and growing
North-west. Nearly all the earlier varieties are being cultivated. Such
a diversity of opinion exists respecting the merits of the various
kinds, that one can scarcely decide which is the best for general
cultivation. Very much depends upon the soil, culture, &c. Then tastes,
like doctors, differ, and when this is the case each must judge for
himself. While on the whole I prefer the Concord, there are many who
think the Brighton and some of the Roger’s should occupy the first
place. Any kind ripening after the Concord would be almost worthless to
us here. I am cultivating over thirty varieties, many of which come into
bearing for the first time this year, and about which I shall have
something to say in a future article.

The Russian Mulberry, about which so much has been said and written,
fruited (?) with me for the first time last season—that is, if the tiny
berry is worthy of the appellation. It was too small to see without the
aid of a magnifying glass, and as sour as a Champion grape in August.
The tree was planted three years since, and was then about the size of a
lead pencil. It grew so rapidly that my garden was in danger of being
wholly shaded by its branches. To avoid this I have just removed it to
its proper place—the lawn. For a man blessed with only an ordinary city
lot, and who is desirous of utilizing the major portion for a garden,
the Russian Mulberry is not the tree he wants. But on the lawn it will
give every satisfaction. It can be sheared to any desired shape. It will
grow from a cutting almost as freely as a currant bush. It will grow
faster than any other tree that I know except the “Balm of Gilead.” It
continues to grow until stopped by the frosts of October or November,
consequently the tips winter-kill, but it makes up any loss so sustained
by growing at the average rate of an inch in three days during the
following summer.

                                                            P. G. KEYS.

Ottawa City.

                                 —————


            BLIGHT ON THE PEAR TREE AND ITS PROBABLE CAUSE.

Various causes have from time to time been assigned to pear tree blight,
some asserting that it is caused by a stroke of lightning, being led to
this opinion from the sudden wilted appearance of the tree; others again
hold with tenacity to the opinion that it is caused by a fungus, from
the fact that such is frequently seen on the surface of the bark of
affected trees; others again suppose it is caused by perforations of
some insect which poisons the liber, hence its spreading upwards, while
others nearer the point assert that it is caused by an open winter with
alternate freezing and thawing.

Blight is without doubt caused by the action of the frost, but not,
however, in winter, but in early summer. It is in the latter part of
spring or in early summer that the damage is done, the ascent or flow of
the sap being injured by frost, the cellular tissue and capillary
conduits of the sap are ruptured immediately under the epidermis, which
is usually thin, on such parts of the tree so affected; thus the sap
becomes fermented, followed by decomposition and imparting a species of
blood-poisoning to the limb. Other effects of a similar character may
likely occur in the descent of the sap in the fall, it being overtaken
by an early frost. Winter pears are very subject to this calamity in
certain seasons, and some summer pears, which apparently had finished
the descent of the sap, will, upon warm weather late in the fall, start
another flow of sap, which is almost certain death to the tree. Against
these two latter calamities I cannot advise any precaution. The first or
blight proper may be averted by judicious management, either by the
selection of elevated sites retentive of winter frosts in the ground,
thus checking a premature flow of the sap until all danger of late
spring frosts are over, or when low or flat sites are selected, with
soil of a porous character, mulching is absolutely necessary for the
same purpose.

I was on a visit to Hamilton some ten years ago, or perhaps more, and
visited our old friend the Rev. Robert Burnet, and as a matter of course
I was called into the garden to view his pear trees, in which he took
much pleasure. I felt cheap when comparing his trees with ours in
Waterloo County. The thrifty appearance and fine-looking fruit made me
wish that I had a similar site. I then went over to Mr. Holton’s, at the
east end, and saw Mr. Springer’s apparently fine dwarf pear orchard,
which, of course, I very much admired. The following season I visited
the same places and saw that the destroying angel had passed over, such
was the complete character of the calamity. Partial destruction
frequently takes place and gives rise to the doubtful opinion that some
varieties are blight-proof.

Waterloo County, or at least the greater part of it, is the most (or
nearly so) elevated county in Ontario, and geologically is in the line
of the glacial drift, hilly and broken, and contains a mixture of almost
all soils, composed in part of boulder, clay, sand, gravel and alluvial
soil strongly impregnated with calcareous matter, and from its elevated
position we are more exempt from injuries caused by blight than any
other county in Ontario, simply from the fact that the frost is carried
off by the slightest breeze of wind and deposited in more depressed
places. We here have generally a fair crop of fruit annually. Last year
it was in excess and was almost a drug on the market; every grocery
store was fully supplied with mostly Flemish Beauty and Bartlett, which
are the popular varieties grown here. Some inferior goods were sold by
the farmers (rather than to take them home again) at about the same
price as apples, thus realizing the wishes of the border Scotchman who
carried a banner in one of Gladstone’s processions inscribed, “Down with
the Peers,” and when interrogated by a bystander why he did so, and
being asked if the peers had done him any harm, wittily replied,
“Naethin at a’ mon, but we maun hae them doon tae the same price wi
arpels, that’s a’,” peers being the doric pronounciation for pears.

I am very doubtful if pear-growing will be generally successful
throughout Ontario and those parts of the States lying contiguous
thereto, which are subject to late spring or early summer frosts.

The pear tree is much more sensitive to external influences than the
apple, and consequently requires more care in its cultivation. It must
be borne in mind that the pear which we have in cultivation is
indigenous to Asia Minor and Persia and cultivated varieties thereof, or
rather seeds thereof, were at first introduced by the Roman conquerors
of these countries into Italy.

Ontario climate cannot at all be compared to the fine, equable climate
of the countries alluded to, so we must quietly submit to circumstances
and endeavour to make the best of it.

You will observe that pears worked on the Quince are more subject to
blight than those worked on the free stock. The reason of this is that
the Quince, being indigenous to the Levant, will force into the pear a
premature flow of sap, thus rendering the tree more liable to injury.
Various nostrums have been advised from time to time as specifics, such
as sulphate of iron, iron filings and chips, and even inserting sulphur
into the stem of the tree—all of no avail. I once read an article by a
writer on the pear strongly recommending the placing of iron filings
around the base of the tree as far as the roots extended as a specific
against blight, giving as authority an instance of what he saw in front
of a blacksmith’s shop at Vincennes, Illinois, which had been liberally
supplied with the _debris_ of the shop, thrown out, no doubt, during the
winter, when in fact it had nothing at all to do with it save in
retaining the frost later in the season; no doubt the unsightly mass
would be cleared off in spring if only for appearance sake.

Having worked a number of pear trees for my own use at standard height
upon rough wildlings, all appear to do well and are bearing fruit. They
have as yet exhibited very little or no blight and have the advantage of
a hardier stem than those which are grown from buds or grafts worked low
down. Foreign or imported stocks are not likely as a rule to conduce to
the healthy base of a tree worked on any such system. Seeds from our own
grown trees are preferable. There is plenty of natural fruit growing
throughout the country adapted for this purpose; such seedlings will at
least have one or more degrees of acclimatization in their favor.

As a rule you will find that pear trees of American origin are much
better adapted to our climate than the generality of the soft-wooded
foreigners are, and are likely to supersede them in the future.

                                                             SIMON ROY.

Berlin, April, 1886.

                                 —————


                           THE CURRANT BORER.

In March number of the _Horticulturist_, I see Mr. E. Robinson, of
London South, asks a question respecting the Currant Borer. Some years
ago I was troubled with this pest. I cut off all canes affected and
burnt them. I also dug or loosened the soil around the bushes with the
garden fork for about two feet all round, in the spring of the year, and
let in my hens. You would have thought they would have scratched the
plants out of the ground; but they made a total clearing of the borer,
so that I was not troubled with them for years after, and always had
heavy crops afterwards. I attributed it to the hens hunting and eating
up the larvæ buried in the soil.

                                                           WALTER HICK.

Goderich, Ont.

                                 —————


                            DEUTZIA CRENATA.

The Deutzia crenata received two years ago is not hardy enough to stand
the winter without being covered. A year ago I put a barrel over it,
putting in straw around it, it came through all right; last winter I
thought I would try it by only putting some straw around it, but it
froze down to the ground.

                                                             W. WALTAM.

Waupoos, P. Ed. Co., Ont.

                                 —————


                           DRY EARTH STORAGE.

                        BY P. E. BUCKE, OTTAWA.

Few of us are unacquainted with the mode of storing the white grapes
received from Spain and Portugal in cork dust or chips. The grape itself
has no particular merits in the way of flavor, but it has a thick skin,
and is known as one of the fleshy varieties; it is therefore easily
preserved. This grape is especially esteemed as a refreshing article of
diet in winter, when close warm rooms are crowded with parched humanity.
Could this grape be replaced by almost any of our own during the same
season, and in the same profusion, its place would never be missed.
Happily we believe we are on the track of a means which points to the
end sought for. A Mr. Fraser Torrance, late of Montreal, has, it is
understood, made a wonderful discovery as to a new substance for packing
fruit. The article, like the cork dust, is both porous and dry. The
substance alluded to is infusorial earth, and is composed of shells of a
very minute microscopic animal which inhabits the water and liquids of
various kinds. The shell is so small that thousands can be lifted on the
point of a knife, and if placed upon the hand and rubbed with the
finger, are so minute as to enter the pores of the skin. Yet each atom,
as it were, is a shell formed of silica. It is claimed, and from the
experiments which have been made and investigated by some of the most
eminent men in this line in Canada it seems justly that fruit packed in
this earth is kept at an uniform temperature, neither heat nor cold will
readily pass through it. The air spaces in the shell act in a somewhat
similar manner as the double windows on our houses in winter. It is well
known that the dead air space keeps the heat from passing out or the
cold from coming in. Considerable experiments were made last autumn by
Messrs. R. Jack & Sons, Chateauguay Basin, near Montreal, who packed
quite a number of varieties of grapes and apples. The cases containing
them were inadvertently left out in a shed until the thermometer had
fallen well below zero; however, when the box was opened the fruits were
all in good order, the frost having failed to penetrate to them. The
earth is perfectly inodorous, and imparts no taste of any kind to the
most delicate substance.

Mr. Chas. Gibb, of Abbotsford, subjected it to the severest test that
could be applied by packing some butter in it. It is well known that
fresh butter is an absorbent, and is readily tainted by being placed in
contact with any foreign matter. Even if it is put in a place where bad
smells are detected, it immediately flavors the fresh article. After ten
days the butter was taken out, and no trace of taste or smell could be
discovered. Apples, or any fruit that can be readily wiped may be packed
directly in the earth, but such fruits as grapes, currants,
strawberries, peaches, &c., may be placed in paper bags, which should be
packed in shallow trays in the earth.

Mr. J. F. Torrance has taken out a patent for his boxes, but the earth
can be procured in Montreal at $1.50 per 100 lbs., by the bag. We gather
from the Montreal _Star_ that boxes holding 30 lbs. of earth can be
procured of Messrs. Esplin, (Montreal), for 45c. each. If such men as
Professor Sterry Hunt, Chas. Gibb, Robert Jack, and a host of others can
be relied on, we must take it for granted that, so far as tested, it is
a marked success.

                                 —————


                         HYDRANGEA PANICULATA.

The Hydrangea Paniculata came out all right this spring with a little
straw around the roots.

                                                                  W. W.

Waupoos, P. Ed. Co., Ont.

                                 —————


                     CHERRY TREES AT YARMOUTH, N.S.

I tried Starr’s Prolific Cherry many years ago, grafting two or three
young stocks with it. The trees made a strong growth and attained
considerable size, but failed to fruit, as do all varieties tested here
now, from what cause I am at a loss to know. The trees grow well,
blossom abundantly and set fruit, but before half-grown all drop off. I
tried special top dressing, manure, sand, &c., &c., but at last gave it
up and sawed off trees eighteen inches through.

In the earlier history of the county cherry trees succeeded, but nowhere
in the county now. In some parts of the Province cherries do well, but
it is mostly in very warm localities, and there may be some exceptional
conditions of soil.

                                                           C. E. BROWN.

Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.

                                 —————


                              PARIS GREEN.

It must be borne in mind that Paris Green is composed of two active
dangerous poisons, viz.: Arsenic and Oxide of Copper, known chemically
as Arsenite of Copper, and its use as an insecticide must be made with
extreme caution and by a very careful person. It is certainly sure death
to potato bugs and every bug.

In so far as its use to potatoes is concerned, it may be applied with
impunity, as it will only reach the surface of the ground; but its use
for other vegetables, and fruit-bearing trees and shrubs I would not
advocate. As applied to cabbages it is extremely dangerous, and
instances have occurred of persons being poisoned by it, at least they
have imagined so.

Its use even on plum trees as a curculio remedy is at best a risk, even
although washed off the fruit by rains it is not altogether cleared off
the limbs, some of it will stick on without doubt.

Rather risk having all the fruit destroyed by insects than that one
human life should be endangered.

White hellebore being a weak vegetable poison, answers a good purpose
for rose slugs and currant caterpillars, and can be used with more
safety, as it would require a large quantity of it to produce any
dangerous results.

On two occasions I used a solution of bitter aloes on plum trees, with
very favorable results in banishing the curculio; but such was its
cathartic results to myself and others around that I was obliged to
abandon its use, and adopted the safer plan of jarring and shaking the
trees. Now I can save all trouble in this matter. I have only a few
trees left out of thirty varieties which I prided myself on cultivating.

The plum trees around Berlin are verging on extinction, and I hope they
will carry black knot and curculio with them.

                                                             SIMON ROY.

Berlin, April, 1886.

                                 —————


                EXPERIENCE WITH PARIS GREEN FOR INSECTS.

MR. EDITOR,—I duly received the Early Victor grape and have carefully
planted it. It is a fine little specimen and is now showing two vigorous
shoots. I hope my experience with it will be more satisfactory than it
has been with my other vines hitherto.

I have read the Report of the Fruit Growers’ Association for 1885 with
very great pleasure and, I trust, also with some profit. I was
particularly struck with the experiences of the President, Messrs. McD.
Allen, Hickling, Beall and others with Paris green on various kinds of
fruit trees; so, a few days ago, having made the discovery that the
currant worm, though exceedingly diminutive, had already began its
ravages, I, in accordance with the experience above referred to,
forthwith mixed “a teaspoonful of Paris green with a patent pailful of
water,” and syringed nearly every fruit tree I had, and since then I
have not been able to detect the smallest sign of either gooseberry or
currant worm, or any other grub which infests fruit trees; but,
unfortunately, two or three days afterwards I saw something wrong with
my gooseberry bushes; towards the lower part of the stem the leaves
began to droop, then to shrivel, then to turn brown, just as though a
sharp frost had struck them. We had not had any frost, so I feared that
Paris green was the matter with them. I was loth to attribute the change
to that, but other trees which had also been syringed with the mixture
began to exhibit similar symptoms, until I could no longer resist the
evidence before me that Paris green, and naught else, was the cause of
the trouble, for the blight was invariably in the direction in which the
stream from the syringe was applied, and the parts beyond, being
protected by the foliage had always escaped injury. The damage done is
considerable, though, if what I now see is the extent of it, it won’t be
serious, and I send you my experience that it may appear in the
_Horticulturist_ and may be useful to others.

My own impression is that the “teaspoonful”—a somewhat indefinite
quantity—which I applied, is too large a dose, possibly two douches of
half that quantity would have been in the end as efficacious and much
less injurious to the plant; at any rate, I purpose to follow this
course in future.

I may further add that the trees injured are, proportionally, in this
order: gooseberries, black raspberries and pears; plums, apples, red
raspberries, blackberries and currants, red and white, do not appear to
be affected at all.

                              Yours truly,
                                                        J. L. THOMPSON.

Glen Cottage, Toronto, 18th May, 1886.

                                 —————


                    MONKEY’S PUZZLE AND OTHER TREES.

Some of the ornamental trees referred to in Eglinton’s communication, in
a late issue of the _Horticulturist_, may not be generally known here
under the name given by him, such as Widben Pear and Monkey’s Puzzle;
but according to the description given, the first is the Pyrus ariæ,
commonly known by the name of White Beam Tree, the name Widben being
likely a corruption of the latter. The tree, as Darwin would say, is the
connecting link between the apple and pear. The second, the Monkey’s
Puzzle, is, as far as recollection carries me, the Araucaria imbricata,
which I have occasionally seen growing in very favorable localities in
Scotland. It is not at all likely that Eglinton refers to the Gleditchia
triacanthus, or Honey Locust. This tree is indigenous to America, and
must be well known to him under its common name.

The first is not indigenous to Britain, although apparently so; and the
second is a sub-tropical (or nearly so) tree; and neither may be
generally suitable for our climate.

The other tree, or large shrub, referred to in T. B. Cotter’s
communication, is, no doubt, from the description given by him, the
Amelanchier Canadensis, or June Berry; very common here around beaver
meadows. When in blossom, it is very showy, and I should say very
desirable, in a shrubbery. The flowers are in racemes, like the wild
black cherry.

                                                             SIMON ROY.

Berlin, Ont.

                                 —————


                             WEIGELA ROSEA.

The Weigela passed the winter safely, with only a little straw thrown
over the roots.

                                                                  W. W.

Waupoos, P. Ed. Co., Ont.

                                 —————


                           THE BOUSSOCK PEAR.

In an orchard of 400 pear trees, I have about twenty Boussock, purchased
some fifteen years ago, and now I regret that I did not plant a greater
number of them; for the reason that the tree is a regular bearer, the
fruit excellent, and fine in appearance. Another advantage is, the slug
does not prey upon the leaf of the tree as it does upon that of the
Bartlett and some other varieties. In order to reach the full excellence
of the Boussock, it should be picked fully ten days before ripening on
the tree, because if left on the tree to ripen the fruit becomes puckery
and sour, and because of this peculiarity many have denounced the
Boussock as worthless.—JOSEPH LANNIN, _in Michigan Farmer_.

                                 —————


                     THE “BLEEDING” OF APPLE TREES.

                         BY T. H. HOSKINS, M.D.

A recent writer says he has trimmed apple trees every month in the year,
and has come to the conclusion that from May 25th to June 25th is the
best time, because a wound made in the full flow of the sap will begin
to heal immediately. He adds that March and April are the two poorest
months to prune, because there will be a liquid “forming” (query,
flowing?) out of the wound, which will kill the bark underneath the
limb. Another writer insists that March is the best of all months to
prune, because the sap is not then in motion, and the wound will dry
before the sap starts, and that then the process of healing will go on
most favourably, while anything but very light pruning in June will
greatly weaken and sometimes kill the trees. Still another writer says,
shortly and emphatically, “Prune when your knife is sharp,” without
regard to season. All these writers are orchardists of experience. Is
there, then, no proper time to prune, or no way of intelligently
reconciling the seemingly contradictory views of these practical men?

                         WHY APPLE TREES BLEED.

A widening accumulation of facts does, in all disputed questions, tend
towards the reconciliation of conflicting opinions. In the thirteen
years that I lived in Kentucky I never saw an apple tree “bleed,” that
is to say, I never saw a flow of disorganized and blackening sap from
the stump of a severed limb. In the first years of my orcharding in
Northern Vermont, this so-called bleeding exhibited itself in nearly
every case where a limb of any size was removed, no matter at what
season the operation was performed. It was the most discouraging of my
experiences at that time, and I could not understand it, or find a
remedy for it.

About fifteen years ago, at a session of our State Board of Agriculture
in the Champlain Valley, where this question of pruning and subsequent
bleeding was discussed by many orchardists of that orchard country, one
of the speakers dropped the casual remark that he had never known an
apple tree that was not “black-hearted” to bleed, no matter at what
season it was pruned. That thought was much more fruitful to me than my
orchard had been up to that time, for all my trees were black-hearted,
except the Siberians and Russians, which I at once remembered never
bled, no matter when they were pruned. And at the same time I remembered
that apple trees are never black-hearted in Kentucky.

                    THE CAUSE OF BLACK-HEARTEDNESS.

The state of black-heartedness in the apple tree is unquestionably the
result of excessive winter’s cold. In New England a large proportion of
the most popular apples are grown upon trees that are more or less
black-hearted. The Baldwin is always black-hearted in Maine, New
Hampshire and Vermont, and frequently so in the three southern New
England States. Along its northern limit it can only be grown when
top-grafted on some hardier stock. With me a Baldwin tree or graft has
never lived long enough to bear an apple.

Now if it be true that only black-hearted trees bleed, then the
experience of orchardists must vary according to whether they are
growing more tender or more hardy sorts. When I began, though I planted
the hardiest known of New England sorts, yet almost all my trees became
black-hearted in a few years. Now that nearly all of that class of trees
have been up-rooted from my orchard, and replaced by the “iron-clads,” I
see almost no bleeding, and when I do see it I know the cause. I do grow
a few sorts that suffer some in this way (such as Fameuse), because of
the excellence of their fruit. The Fameuse is with me about as hardy as
the Baldwin in the upper Champlain Valley, and though the trees are
short lived in both cases, they are planted because of the merits of the
fruit.

                             WHEN TO PRUNE.

In my experience it makes no difference at what season a black-hearted
tree is pruned, as regards the subsequent flow of disorganized sap,
provided the limb severed is so large that the stump will not quite or
nearly heal over in one season. This flow takes place during the whole
growing season, and injures (often kills) the bark over which it runs. A
tender tree, subject to black-heart, should be pruned very sparingly.
Branches not too large to heal over in one season may be taken off, and
the best time to do this is in June, as the sap is then too thick to
flow freely. But _heavy_ pruning in June is a severe shock to the tree,
even to the hardiest kinds, and almost surely fatal to any tender sort.
Fall and winter pruning is also injurious to tender sorts, as the bark
around the wound will be killed for some distance, and there is little
hope that it will ever afterwards heal. But any of the varieties that
never become black-hearted may be pruned “whenever your knife is sharp,”
remembering this, that June pruning is a shock more or less severe,
according to the amount of wood removed. “Prune in summer for fruit,” is
an old and correct rule, for the very reason that the shock of summer
pruning (like anything that weakens the tree) tends to cause the
formation of fruit buds. The effect is much like that of root pruning,
and both must be practised with moderation and judgment.—_The
Examiner._

                                 —————


                            THE ANIS APPLE.

In the summer of 1882 after wandering for days through the old orchards
of the Province of Kazan, Russia—over one thousand miles inland and on
the 57th parallel of north latitude—we expressed the opinion in home
letters that the Anis family of the apple could endure lower temperature
in a snowless region than any other really good variety of apples in the
world.

The report then made, and the comments of Mr. Gibb and myself in more
recent bulletins on northern fruits, have created an urgent demand for
trees, both north and south.

As some of the varieties have now fruited on the College Farm and at
other points in the state, and the comparative hardiness of the trees
has been tested as far north and west as Bismarck, Dakota, and Western
Manitoba, we can now determine very nearly the correctness of our
conclusions, when studying the family in its natal home.

1. The habit of the pink Anis, blue Anis, and mottled Anis—the three
best varieties—will not please our nurserymen, as root grafts three
years old are low, bushy shrubs, rather than trees such as purchasers
like best. Although it comes into bearing when very small it finally
becomes in orchard a neat round-topped tree of the size of a full grown
Tetofsky.

2. The fruit is oblate, basin very full and wrinkled, with considerable
color and bloom. In size it comes nearly or quite up to the Fameuse. In
texture it is firmer than the latter, but the flesh is equally white.
Mr. Gibb, who is very critical as to quality of fruits, says, “It is
really a dessert apple of fine quality.”

3. The season varies with latitude and amount of summer heat. At Ames it
is not later than Fameuse, but if picked early it will keep better on
account of its thicker skin and firmer flesh. In North Iowa it should
keep until mid-winter with good treatment, and in North Dakota it should
keep until May.

In like manner in Russia it is a fall apple in the black soil sections
where dent corn ripens, and a prime winter apple four hundred miles
further north.

4. While the tree succeeds well wherever tried as yet, it is quite
evident that it will prove most valuable at the far north, where the
fruit will keep through winter.—J. L. BUDD, _in Students’ Farm
Journal_.

                                 —————


                             THE GLADIOLUS.

There are few flowers more conspicuous than a well grouped bed of the
gladiolus. Stately in growth, free of flowering, distinct in color, with
a great variety of shades, no flower garden of any pretentions can be
said to be complete without them. It belongs to a class of flowers that
have changed greatly in the hands of the hybridizer and careful
cultivator, and to the French, it may be said, we are the most indebted
for the great advance made in this flower. In the olden time but few
kinds were known, gandavensis being one, and from which many of the
present kind have sprung.

The colors comprise the most brilliant of orange, scarlet, and vermilion
tints upon yellow and orange grounds, including many shades, from white
and rosy blush, and salmon rose tints, to a salmon and nankin; from
blush white, with purplish throat and marginal streaks of pink, to light
rosy salmon grounds with flakes of deep carmine. Their period of
flowering may readily be extended from July to September, by planting at
separate times, from March or April to June. The earliest planted,
however, should be the only ones from which the stock of bulbs are
raised, as, although it does not materially affect the flowering by a
late planting, it does not give time to perfect a large healthy bulb.

Ordinarily the simple increase of the bulb will be from two to three
fold, which except in cases of great scarcity of them or new varieties,
will answer all purposes, and such increase is strong enough to flower
the next year. But in case of new varieties or a desire to get a large
stock of any kind, the small bulblets found at the bottom of the bulb on
taking up in the fall, are carefully preserved, and the next spring
sowed in drills like unto seed, two or three inches apart and a foot in
the rows, where during summer they will have made bulbs from the size of
a hazel to that of a hickory nut.

A few of these will flower the following summer and all the succeeding
one by this method. A stock can be very rapidly increased with some
kinds; however, it will often happen that the choicest or best variety
is a poor cropper of the bulblets. New varieties are the result of seed
crossed with dissimilar kinds. Where the frost is not too severe or when
snow keeps the frost from going deep in the soil, many of the kinds will
often winter out of doors, but to secure the finest stalks and
individual flowers they should be taken up in the fall, as soon as the
frosts have destroyed the foliage, dried off so that the bulb frees
readily from the stem, packed away in a moderately dry drawer or
bag—kept from freezing, and planted again the ensuing spring. If left
out of doors, of course the bulbs, by the natural increase, get crowded
for room and a struggle for existence takes place, and a quantity of
medium flowers is the result, instead of a stately stalk with very large
individual flowers of the clearest and most distinct color. We have
known them quite successfully grown as green house plants, mainly,
however, for cut flowers. They may be had this way in early winter by
retarding the planting of the old bulbs until July, or in late winter,
by the planting of the fall ripened bulbs before Christmas.—EDGAR
SANDERS, _in Prairie Farmer_.

                                 —————


  EXPERIMENTS WITH PARIS GREEN AND LONDON PURPLE IN THE APPLE ORCHARD.

Prof. S. A. Forbes read an interesting paper at a meeting of the
Illinois State Horticultural Society, detailing some experiments made
with Paris Green in the ratio of one and one-half ounces to four
gallons, London purple in half that quantity, and lime in indefinite
amount. It should be noted that, owing to the scarcity of apples and the
abundance of apple insects, the season was most unfavorable to the
success of the remedies.

All the trees were thoroughly sprayed eight times between June 9th and
September 3rd, the Paris green being applied when the apples were the
size of small currants, and the lime and London purple four days later.
The fallen apples were gathered six times from July 16th onward, and
those remaining were picked as they ripened; all of them, both picked
and fallen, 16,529 in number, were examined individually for insect
injuries, and those due to the codlin moth and curculios were separately
noted.

The examination of 2,418 apples from trees sprayed with Paris green, and
of 2,964 others from trees not so sprayed, showed that 21 per cent. of
the poisoned apples were infested with the codlin moth, and 69 per cent.
of those not poisoned, while 22 per cent. of the poisoned lot had been
infested by the curculio, and 20 per cent. of those not sprayed. Thus,
treatment with Paris green had been entirely ineffective for the
curculio, but had saved something more than two-thirds of the apples,
and it should be remembered that the Paris green not only protects the
apples, but, by destroying the insects, lessens the amount of future
injury. Analysis of apples one week after spraying with Paris green, a
heavy storm intervening, gave abundant evidence that this insecticide
could not safely be applied for some weeks preceding the harvesting of
the fruit.

The comparison of 1,205 apples from a single tree sprayed with London
purple, and 2,036 from a tree not so treated, showed that 49 per cent.
of the former were affected by the codlin moth, and 59 of the latter.
Also that 23 per cent. of the first lot of apples had been invaded by
curculios, and 23.6 per cent. of the second lot. The London purple thus
saved about one-sixth of the apples which would have been sacrificed to
the codlin moth, and was without effect on the curculios. Comparing
these results with those of the Paris green experiment, it must be
remembered that the spraying with London purple began four days later
than with Paris green, and that only half the amount was used, though
both were applied to the limit of serious damage to the foliage.

From a tree treated with lime, 1,706 apples, as compared with 1,825
apples from a check tree show that 54 per cent. of the former contained
the apple worm, and 50 per cent. of the latter, thus indicating the
uselessness of this substance against the codlin moth. The curculios
were entirely unaffected, and it may be fairly concluded from these
experiments that it is useless to attempt to combat the plum curculio in
the apple orchard by insecticide applications to the fruit.

As bands for traps serve only to capture the apple worm after it has
done its mischief, and hence interpose only a general protection, and
are liable to be rendered ineffectual by the neglect of one’s neighbors,
the use of Paris green will serve at least as a valuable addition to
remedial measures. Since it may be safely applied only to the Spring
brood, it is best to use both bands and insecticides, each measure
supplying the deficiencies of the other.

_Final Conclusion._—Attending only to the picked apples, and condensing
our statement of results to the last extreme, we may say that under the
most unfavorable circumstances Paris green will save to ripening, at a
probable expense of ten cents per tree, seven-tenths of the apples which
must otherwise be conceded to the codlin moth, that London purple will
apparently save about one-fifth of them, and lime will save none.
Furthermore, all these applications are without effect on the curculios
in the apple orchard.

                                 —————


                            THINNING FRUIT.

When planted in good soil, good thrifty fruits will nearly always
overload themselves, and in order to secure the best, smoothest and
largest fruit, considerable thinning must be done; this is especially
the case with grapes and tree fruits.

Choice apples, peaches, pears, quinces; in fact, the best of all kinds
of fruit command the best prices and always sell. Oft times the market
becomes glutted with poor fruits, and the prices realized are really
below what it costs to produce them and sometimes they cannot be sold at
any price, while at the same time the choicest and best are selling at a
profitable price.

Too many fall into the error of thinking that by thinning they lessen
the quantity so much that they prefer to let the fruit all remain. This
is a mistake, as well as to think that by thinning they lessen the
profit on the fruit. When a tree is heavily loaded, the fruit must
necessarily be small and this will lessen the quantity; then the fruit
being small will sell for a less price, and really cost more to sell,
and you lose rather than make by not thinning. Then in addition, when a
tree or vine is allowed to overload and mature the fruit it is a strain
upon the vitality of the tree. Judiciously thinning fruit always pays;
but it requires considerable courage when the trees are laden with young
fruit to go over and pull off and throw away a considerable portion of
the fruit. To one who has never tried it, at first it would seem like a
waste; yet it has been tested sufficiently to prove its value.

The work of course should be done early, as soon after the fruit has set
as possible. The longer the fruit grows after setting, the more waste of
vitality of the tree, that should go to the other fruit that is left
upon the tree to mature. It should be done as evenly as possible all
over the tree, thin so as to give each specimen left as much room as
possible. Close crowding makes ill-shaped fruit. If you have never been
in the habit of thinning try a few trees first to see the effect, and in
a majority of cases you will conclude that it is beneficial.—N. J.
SHEPHERD, _in Michigan Horticulturist_.

                                 —————


                         THE SHIAWASSEE BEAUTY.

                           PROF. A. J. COOK.

The other night at tea, as we were all commenting on the delicious apple
sauce, Mrs. Cook remarked that every family in the land ought to have
one Shiawassee Beauty apple tree. The sauce is of a beautiful pink
color, and has a peculiar and delicate flavor that renders it a
universal favorite. We are often asked what is it that gives the sauce
the delicious flavor, and our reply that it is Nature’s own flavoring
stored up in the fruit, is often met with a very incredulous look.

This excellent apple is doubtless a seedling from the Fameuse or Snow,
which it much resembles. The form and color, both of skin and pulp, are
quite like the same in the Snow. It is larger, however, than the Snow,
and keeps much longer. We have kept it well into January—is much
fairer, as the tendency to scab and deformity, so peculiar to the Snow,
is entirely absent in this. But the greatest difference is in its spicy
flavor. While the Snow is pleasingly tart, it is remarkably tasteless.
The Shiawassee Beauty, on the other hand, is one of the most marked or
radical in this respect and its flavor is as delicious as peculiar. I
have yet to find the person who does not esteem it highly. The tree is
vigorous and spreading. Of several trees set out in my garden here in
1876, among which is a Duchess of Oldenburg and a Red Astrachan, none
has made so large and fine a growth as this. It is not only vigorous,
but it is very hardy. On my farm in the Shiawassee County, Mich., I have
trees of this variety that have remained vigorous and hearty all through
the several hard Winters of the last 15 years. It is a very persistent
bearer, equal to the Duchess of Oldenburg. My tree, set out in 1876, has
borne every year for five years, and this year was a marvel of beauty,
as it hung full of most beautiful apples, just such as I exhibited from
it at Grand Rapids. I repeat the “_gude wife’s_” words: “Every family
ought to have one.”—_Rural New-Yorker._

                                 —————


                              NEW PLANTS.

Among the new plants—new to me—which I have grown this year, there are
two which I have found to be valuable acquisitions. The one is the
Dahlia Glare of the Garden, and the other the bulb Milla biflora. These,
of course, are not hardy, but are easily cared for during the winter
season. Of the first, I have one planted out upon the lawn, which for
nearly two months past has been continually covered with its brilliant
flowers, never less than fifty and frequently over a hundred at a time.
It has so little the appearance of a Dahlia that it has become almost a
daily occurrence to have passers-by stop and enquire the name of the
plant. The most vivid description of it was given the other day by one
of a number of little girls passing by, who cried out, “Oh, look at that
Christmas tree, in there, upon the grass.” It is one of the Cactus
Dahlia type.

Milla biflora has given, for a month past, an abundance of pure white,
waxy, star-shaped flowers, an inch and a half in diameter and highly
fragrant as the day closes. As a cut flower, for room decoration, it is
particularly valuable, from the fact that it remains perfect for nearly
or quite a week after having been cut. My bulbs were started in small
pots in a cold-frame, and afterwards transferred to the open ground, but
I presume the same treatment as required for the Gladiolus would answer
for it.—_Vick’s Magazine._

                                 —————


                           A GLUTTED MARKET.

“This country around Keuka Lake,” said Captain Smith Fairchild, who
commands the little steamer Urbana, “is now one of the greatest grape
growing regions in the world. The vineyards cover thousands and
thousands of acres, clear from the edge of the lake up to the summit of
the hills on every side of it. We ship thousands of tons of all kinds of
grapes to the New York market every season, to say nothing of the tons
and tons that we mash up into the best wine on the American Continent.
But I can remember the first grapes that went from here to New York,
and, although there wasn’t more than 300 pounds of ’em, they glutted the
market. That’s a fact.

“Stanley Fairchild, my father, was a cabinet-maker, and Uncle Billy
Hastings lived up on the hill yonder. Nobody had ever thought of raising
grapes as a business, but Uncle Billy had some of the finest grape
arbors that ever tempted a youngster. One fall his vines were so
overloaded with grapes that he didn’t know what to do with ’em. An idea
struck him that it would be a good thing to ship a lot of ’em to New
York. This was in 1847. There was no way to ship ’em except by lake and
canal, and Uncle Billy thought the best way to do it was to pack the
grapes in a barrel with cedar shavings. He brought a big cedar block to
my father’s shop, and told him to have it converted into shavings. I was
a chunk of a boy then, and father set me to work with a plane to
demolish that block. That put me down on the grape business at once, and
I made a solemn wish that the steamboat or the canal-boat would sink
that carried Uncle Billy’s grapes, so that the business would end right
there. I saw nothing bright in a future that had nothing in store for me
but the making of cedar shavings. Well, I knocked that block into curly
bits in the course of a day or so, and Uncle Billy packed them in with a
barrel of the nicest grapes that ever made boy’s mouth water. They got
to New York all right, and made a good sale. Uncle was delighted, and,
like all speculators, wasn’t satisfied. Nothing would do but he must
send off another barrel, and he rolled another cedar block to my
father’s shop, and I was set to work to knock the spots out of it.

“If this industry keeps growing,” I said to myself, “this part of the
country don’t hold me.”

“I peeled the second block down to nothing, though, and Uncle shipped
his second barrel of grapes to New York. Time went along, and one day
Uncle got a letter from the party he had sent the grapes to. My father
asked him how the business looked.

“Well,” said he, “I made thirteen shilling clear on my first barrel, but
my second one bust the market. It won’t do to put too many grapes in the
New York market at once.”

“I went out behind the shop and howled for joy over the failure of the
grape growing industry. But that pioneer shipment of Uncle Billy’s set
people to thinking, and now the New York market can’t get enough of
Hammondsport grapes.”—_N. W. Sun._

                                 —————


                          KING HUMBERT TOMATO.

I have been much interested in this variety, because it seems to offer a
new type of fruit. So far as I know, this is the first strictly
two-celled red Tomato that has been sufficiently large for table use.
The two-celled Tomatoes are invariably smooth, and are usually earlier
than the many-celled varieties, facts that should not be forgotten by
the growers of new varieties of this vegetable.

The plant of the King Humbert is very vigorous and productive. The fruit
is oval, slightly flattened longitudinally, and thickish towards the
blossom end; very smooth; with neither cavity or basin, bright scarlet,
about one-and-three-fourths inches in longest diameter, and
two-and-a-half inches through the axis; borne in clusters of from five
to nine. The flesh is remarkably thick and firm; so firm indeed, that
fruits picked and placed in a dry room will shrivel like an Apple before
decaying—“ELM” _in American Garden_.

                                 —————


                            RASPBERRY NOTES.

Shaffer’s Colossal still maintains a high place among the newer
raspberries. Its color is all there is against it, and that is a mere
prejudice. Superb has never pleased us. It bears for a long time large
berries, with large drupes that part or “crumble” too easily. It is not
for market at all. The Marlboro’ holds its place well. The berries are
of the largest—firm, of a fair color and fair flavor. The variety seems
quite hardy and strong. The Rancocas is _very_ early, _very_ firm and of
medium quality. The plants are bushy and hardy. It ripens more berries
in the early season than the Hansell. The Hansell is a less vigorous
grower, less fruitful, though it ripens _few_ berries the first of any
red raspberry we have tested. Crimson Beauty is praised by some and not
by others. It seems the flowers are imperfect and that the plants should
be set among those of other varieties to insure perfect fruit. The
berries ripen early and are of good quality. The _Rural_ finds this the
same as the Imperial, if we may judge the latter by plants sent us by
Secretary Holman, of Missouri. The Cuthbert still holds its place as the
best late red; the Caroline as the best very hardy yellow. The Montclair
is an improved Philadelphia. It has never been advertised much and is
not perhaps fully appreciated. Lost Rubies has proven a failure, or
nearly so.

The Gregg, among blackcaps, is, at the Rural Grounds, not hardy. The
berries are of the largest; quality poor. It is late. The Ohio Blackcap
gives the strongest and tallest canes of any. It is quite hardy. Berries
rather small. This is far from new, but it is not well known.—_Rural
New-Yorker._

                                 —————

[NOTE.—It is somewhat surprising that the Gregg should not prove to be
hardy at the _Rural New-Yorker_ experiment grounds, when here, in the
County of Lincoln, so much further north, it is only occasionally
injured in exceptionally trying winters.—ED. CAN. HORT.]

                                 —————


                BARONESS ROTHSCHILD AND MABEL MORRISON.

Among the many beautiful Hybrid Perpetual Roses, one which has played a
conspicuous part for the last eighteen years is Baroness Rothschild,
which was raised in France, in 1867. It is a large, full and well made
flower, cupped form, and usually very symmetrical. The color is a soft
rose, or light pink. It is a free bloomer, a vigorous grower, and one of
the hardiest of the Perpetuals. It is an excellent autumn bloomer, and
is highly prized as an exhibition variety. Its one lack is a deficiency
of odor. The foliage of this flower stands up close around it, giving it
a fine setting. The fine form and color, and the other good qualities of
this variety should secure it a place in every good collection of hardy
Roses. Baroness Rothschild is distinguished by the number of other fine
sorts it has given rise to as sports. One of these, Mabel Morrison, has
the characteristics of growth and constitution of its parent, varying
only by its color. It is one of the most desirable of the white, or so
called white, Hybrid Perpetuals. The flowers are beautiful in form,
semi-double, cup shaped, usually a creamy white on first expanding, and
then changing to a delicately tinted shade of rose, and in either aspect
admirable in the highest degree. In the close setting of the foliage
around the flower, Mabel Morrison even surpasses its parent, and this
habit is an attraction of great value. It originated in England in 1878,
and has not yet become known as widely as it deserves; one cause of this
is probably because it does not grow freely from cuttings, and many
professional rose growers in this country propagate in no other way.
Some however, increase it, as well as several other varieties, by
budding on strong-growing stocks, and in this way it makes a very
satisfactory plant, if properly cared for.—_Vick’s Magazine._

                                 —————


                             LAWN GRASSES.

As to the grasses best adapted to soils and situations, it may first be
said that a wet soil is hardly to be considered as a fit situation for a
lawn; nevertheless there are places where a wet condition of the soil
cannot well be avoided, and for such the best grasses are _Poa
trivialis_, or Rough-stalk Meadow Grass, _Alopecurus pratensis_, or
Meadow Foxtail, and _Agrostis vulgaris_, or Red-top. For average good
soil I have had the best results from a seeding in about equal
proportions, of _Poa pratensis_, or Kentucky Blue Grass, _Festuca
duriuscula_, or Hard Fescue, _Agrostis canina_, or Creeping Bent,
_Cynosurus cristatus_, or Crested Dog-tail, and the Pacey Dwarf Rye
Grass. The two last named are especially adapted to light, dry soils, as
they are deep rooted and very fibrous, and will continue green in the
dryest of weather, even when the Kentucky Blue is apparently dead.

It is a great mistake to stint the seed when making a lawn. Three or
four bushels to the acre should be laid on, and fairly covered before
rolling down. The small graniverous birds, especially the sparrows, will
be sure to eat all the seed left on the surface.—_American Garden._

                                 —————


                        GOLDEN QUEEN RASPBERRY.

The Golden Queen may be termed an albino of the Cuthbert or Queen of the
Market, but whether a seedling or a so-called “sport” I am unable to
state, as it was discovered growing in a patch of twelve acres of that
variety in the summer of 1882, on my farm in Camden County, New Jersey.
I was at once forcibly impressed with its merit from its vigorous
growth, large size and beauty—on picking a few of the berries and
tasting them, it is putting it mildly to say I was delighted. Since the
day it was found I have employed every means of testing the variety with
the object of determining fully its character; and from my experience
with it I think it may be fittingly described as a variety of six
cardinal virtues, viz.: 1. In flavor it rivals (some have pronounced it
superior to) that venerable and highest in quality of all raspberries,
the “Brinckle’s Orange.” 2. In beauty it transcends all other
raspberries I have ever seen, being of a rich, bright creamy-yellow,
imparting to it a most appetizing effect, both in the crate and upon the
table. 3. In size it challenges the large Cuthbert. 4. In vigor it fully
equals its parent—the canes attaining the dimensions of the Cuthbert or
Queen, noted for its strong growth—and resist heat and drought even
better. 5. In productiveness it excels the prolific Cuthbert. 6. In
hardiness it has no superior. The past unprecedentedly severe winter
several rows of it stood wholly unprotected at one side of a large field
of the Cuthbert, all of which were so badly killed by the cold that I
was compelled to mow them all to the ground, yet not a branch of the
Golden Queen was injured. In addition to the foregoing, which is of less
interest to the grower for the family supply, but of paramount
importance to the grower for market, the berry is so firm that when
pressed out of shape, it will, when turned out of the basket, resume its
true form and not loose any of its juice, or, as is termed by fruitmen,
“will not bleed;” also, if allowed to become overripe on the bush, it
will not, as is usually the case with raspberries, drop to the ground as
soon as the bush is disturbed, but retains a firm hold upon the stem.
“What are its faults?” some one will ask. It would indeed be a novel
fruit without any. And it doubtless possesses some. Yet I must say they
have yet to be manifested, unless it would be desirable to have it ripen
earlier. Its season is that of its parent.—EZRA STOKES, _in Orchard and
Garden_.

                                 —————


                          THE LONGFIELD APPLE.

Prof. Budd: “There is one variety of Russian apples which has been
fruited almost across the continent, which has exhibited many desirable
peculiarities for places where something hardier than Fameuse is needed.
The name, as nearly as I can give it to you in English, is “Longfield.”
The Russian name is “Longerfeldskoe.” During the last three years it has
been loaded with fruit with me, making an annual growth of 12 to 14
inches while thus bearing. It is longer than the Jonathan, about the
weight of an ordinary Missouri Janet; yellow, with a blush nearly equal
to that on Maiden’s Blush; keeps through the winter at the north. It has
been extensively tried, and I think it should now have more general
notice. The quality is quite as good as that of Fameuse, which it
resembles in texture. I do not, however, consider it among the hardiest
of Russian apples, but it is hardier than the Fameuse.”—_Rural
New-Yorker’s Report of the American Pomological Society._

                                 —————


                   BLANCHING CELERY WITH DRAIN TILE.

                            BY FRED. GRUNDY.

The experience of another season has served to confirm my faith in this
practice. It is certainly superior to the laborious banking process when
intelligently managed.

Celery intended for early use should be set in trenches about three
inches deep, which should be kept open in all subsequent cultivation of
the ground. When ready for blanching, all the small outside stalks are
removed, because they are of no value whatever, leaving but three or
four stalks around the heart. Three or four-inch tile are then set over
the plants, and the earth banked up against them about eight inches
high. This banking must be done to prevent the tile from becoming too
hot in the sun, which they will do to the great injury of the confined
plants. Later on, when the weather becomes cooler, banking with earth is
not required. The celery blanches perfectly inside the tile, and comes
out clean, white and crisp.

Our family is small, and a few stalks are all we require for a meal. To
get them I lift the tile, break off as many as needed, in the same
manner as rhubarb stalks are broken, replace the tile and the plant
continues to grow and supply fresh, nutty stalks, until the ground
freezes. Fifty good plants set in rich soil give us a full supply of
this delicious vegetable, from the time it tastes good until Christmas.
At the beginning of freezing weather the plants are taken up with some
roots and earth adhering, set in a long, narrow box, containing about
four inches of sand, and placed in the cellar.

I find Golden Heart Dwarf and Crimson Dwarf the most suitable varieties
for this section, and I grow them exclusively. I use them with tile one
foot long for bleaching. For the tall varieties of celery, tile eighteen
or twenty inches long can be procured.—_Philadelphia Weekly Press._

                                 —————


                               MEALY BUG.

We have tried various emulsions of kerosene oil for this pest, but with
indifferent results. Alcohol, which is the basis of most insecticides
for mealy bug, will do the work, but it is too expensive for general
use. The imported preparation known as “Fir-tree oil” is by far the best
and most economical remedy we have yet tried. It kills the bug and its
eggs, and does no practical injury to the plants. In using the fir-tree
oil or similar insecticide, it is better, when practicable, to dip the
plants in the preparation. In my experience one dipping is as good as
ten syringings, and much more economical. A common error in the use of
all insecticides is the want of persistence in their use. It is much
better to use a weak application of any insecticide frequently than a
stronger dose of it at less frequent periods. For example, we have
always found it more effective and safe to fumigate with tobacco smoke
our house twice a week lightly, rather than once a week and more
heavily.—CHAS. HENDERSON, _in the Country Gentleman_.

                                 —————


                       AUTUMNAL COLORED FOLIAGE.

All the gaylussacias and vacciniums (huckleberries, cranberries, etc.,)
turn so brilliantly that for this reason alone they are worth a place in
ornamental plantings. _V. corymbosum_ (swamp blueberry) is sometimes ten
feet high and six or eight feet in diameter. It is attractive in flower.
The fruit is beautiful and tastes better than it looks. Its habit fits
it admirably for the formation of specimen plants, and in autumn it is
fairly refulgent with glowing crimson. When it is remembered that this
shrub is of the easiest cultivation, is it not strange that no one
plants it? Will the time ever come when American planters will break
loose from traditions of Old World gardens, and use the plants adapted
to the American climate and American surroundings?—_Philadelphia Weekly
Press._

                                 —————


                PLANTING BULBS FOR SUCCESSION OF BLOOM.

In planting my Dutch Bulbs I repeated a plan for successive cropping of
flowers in the spring, on two small beds that in the past has usually
pleased me greatly. These beds are only two feet across and lie
conspicuously on each side of the front walk near to the steps. I set
out Crocuses, Hyacinths and Parrot Tulips all in the same beds.

My way of planting was as follows: First, I dug up the soil well, mixing
in some manure during the process, and after shaping up the top tramped
it rather firmly. Then I dug out each bed exactly five inches below the
surface. On this bottom fifteen bulbs each of Single Hyacinths and
Parrot Tulips were set, and covered with a layer of two inches of soil.
This new surface was for the Crocuses, and on it I placed six dozen
imported bulbs, dividing the spaces between them uniformly.

Early next Spring there will be sheets of Crocus flowers over these
beds. These will soon be followed by Hyacinth, and later yet will come
along the Parrots.

After the Tulips are done, the same beds are planted with summer
flowers, thus securing to me an almost perpetual period of bloom from
March until October.—_Popular Gardening._

                                 —————


                             JAPAN ANEMONE.

These plants are herbaceous perennials, with numerous radical leaves,
and sending up leafy flowering stems a foot to three feet in height;
these flower stems branch several times, each branch having a leaf at
its base, and terminated by a flower. They are wonderfully hardy plants
standing unprotected in the lowest temperature known in the Northern
States, or from twenty to thirty degrees below zero, Fahrenheit. To
produce the finest effects in the garden these plants should be set in
masses, the two colors near each other, supported by a background of
leafy shrubs.

As cut flowers for vases they are valuable, and they also serve an
excellent purpose, when potted, in furnishing the greenhouse with
flowers in the autumn months, when there are few other flowers to
enliven it. The plants are easily increased by division of the
roots.—_Vick’s Magazine._

                                 —————


                         THE JEWELL STRAWBERRY.

We have found this to possess more points of merit than any other we
have ever tested, if we may judge by the experience of two seasons. The
plants are very vigorous and free from disease. The berries begin to
ripen June 12. The average size is large from the beginning until the
end of the season—the form broadly conical, often flattened or widened
at the top. The largest berries with us measured four inches in
circumference. The color is a bright red, and the quality is very good,
though not best. They are firm enough to ship to a distance. Its great
claim to superiority rests in the vigor of the plants, the uniformly
large size of the berries, and its productiveness, in which latter
respect it is thought to stand first among all known varieties of
strawberries.—_Rural New-Yorker._


  PRINTED AT THE STEAM PRESS ESTABLISHMENT OF THE COPP, CLARK COMPANY
                          (LIMITED), TORONTO.




                           TRANSCRIBER NOTES

Misspelled words and printer errors have been corrected. Where multiple
spellings occur, majority use has been employed.

Punctuation has been maintained except where obvious printer errors
occur.

[The end of _The Canadian Horticulturist, Vol. 9, No. 7_, edited by D.
W. (Delos White) Beadle.]