EFFORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGIST AND BOTANIST 181 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



FETJIT CROPS. 



The fruit crops from one cause or another were somewhat irregular, except in 

 British Columbia, where they were well up to the average and of high quality. 



In Ontario, although a good crop of apples was marketed, there were districts 

 where they were poor. This was thought to be largely due to the severe winter of 

 1903-4, followed by the very heavy crop of last year, followed again by the hard 

 winter of 1904-5. Apples in the Ottawa district, where the orchards had been sprayed, 

 were of high quality and abundant. Heavy wind storms in October reduced the yields 

 of fir3t-clt,S3 fruit to some extent. 



The St. Lawrence and Ottawa valleys and the Eastern Townships of Quebec gave 

 good crops of autumn and early winter apiDles, but very light crops of winter varieties. 



Mr. A. McNeill, Chief of the Fruit Division of the Department of Agriculture, 

 in summing up the apple crop for the year says : — ' The Dominion, as a whole, will 

 produce about one-third as many apples as last year. The fruit will be freer from 

 sicab, but somewhat more injured by Codling Moth. The favourable weather of autumn 

 allowed the aiumerically small crop of tipples on the trees to fill up better than usual; 

 and, although the apples are on the whole rather small, they are clean and of good 

 quality, and probably the final result will give average paying returns to the growers.' 



The apple crop in K^ova Scotia is reported as being below the average on account 

 of a heavy frost in June, which injured the blossoms; nevertheless, it is estimated that 

 there were probably four hundred thousand barrels for export and the local market, 

 worth at current prices close to one million dollars. 



Mr. S. C. Parker, Secretary of the Fruit Growers' Association of ISTova Scotia, 

 reports on the crops of the celebrated Annapolis Valley, N.S. — 'Apples: crop fair, 

 probably 75 per cent of average, quality varying from good to very poor; fungi quite 

 bad although thorough si^raying gave some clean orchards. The pear crop was large, 

 but of rather poor quality. Plums and small fruits gave good crops. A severe frost on 

 June 6 did much injury to blossoms, and jDcrhaps easterly winds and dull weather 

 during the blossoming period did more. Early fall frosts injured the cranberry crop 

 somewhat. A sharp freeze on October 26 ruined many hundred barrels of unpicked 

 apples. Season was very favourable except for one or two frosts.' 



Losses from the attacks of injurious insects were less than usual in all parts of 

 the Dominion, owing to the much greater attention which is now being given by fruit- 

 growers to spraying and other advanced methods of orchard management. Peaches 

 in the Niagara district and in British Columbia, where grown, were a heavy crop. 

 Much the same may be said of pears and plums. Plum rot and curculio are mentioned 

 in Northern Ontario reports. The grape crop of Ontario was heavy, and as there were 

 no killing frosts till very late, the fruit ripened well. 



Small fruits almost everywhere gave fairly good crops. The insects which were 

 oftenest mentioned as injuring fruit crops were the San Jose Scale, the Codling Moth, 

 the Apple Woolly Aphis, which has been more abundant than for many years, the 

 Apple Aphis, the Oyster-shell Scale, and the Cherry Slug. The Apple Maggot men- 

 I'oned in my last report as present at Como, Que., was this year much more prevalent 

 in that locality, and a special effort was made to apprise the fruit growers of the best 

 icmedlal measures and the danger of neglecting to attend to the matter at once. 



Notwithstanding the magnificent crop of fruit gathered in British Columbia, 

 there was considerable injury done by regularly occurring insect pests. The Woolly 

 Apple Aphis and the Green Apple Aphis were very abundant in some places and did 

 noticeable injury. According to Mr. K. M. Palmer, who has excellent opportunities 

 for examining the crops throughout the province, the Eye-spotted Bud-moth has been 

 worse than for many years in the Victoria district. The injury of this caterpillar 

 was also much augmented by a late frost in May. Mr. Thos. Cunningham, the La- 



