202 EXPERIMENTAL FARMS 



4-5 EDWARD VII., A. 1905 



infancy and necessarily some years musil elapse before there can be much return. 

 Peachland is older and should be in a position to ship fruit in considerable quantities 

 in a year or two. Many who are taking up land in this district have had no ex- 

 perience in fruit growdng, but a hopeful sign is the general desire for information by 

 the new-comers. There seems no doubt of the suitability of the climate for fruit, 

 nor with regard to obtaining good markets for the produce in the Kootenays, the 

 North-v/est Territories, and Manitoba. We may, therefore predict that with careful 

 management of soil and water and the experience that will be gained in the actual 

 t^ulture of the fruit, there is a large measure of success in store for these and similar 

 localities. In addition to apples, pears, cherries, and peaches, corn, melons, tomatoes, 

 and small fruits and vegetables generally are, it is stated, raised successfully. 



A very fine cherry orchard in full bearing was seen at Trout Creek, a few miles 

 below Summerlanod. Large shipments of delicious fruit were being made at the time 

 of cur visit. 



At Peachland the orchards on most of the lots are thrifty. Many of the peach 

 trees were coming into bearing and gave great promise. Examination of the soil 

 revealed areas of excellent quality, more particularly on some of the higher levels. 

 Careful m-anagement of the irrigation water is here necessary as it was noticed that 

 the seepage from water applied on the upper slopes appeared on some of the lots at the 

 base of the hill. In several places this was excessive and doing injury to the trees. 

 These lots required drainage rather than irrigation. 



Kelowna. — Several very fine cherry orchards were seen in this vicinity, notably 

 those of Mr. Pridham and Mr. Stirling, and that the district, spealving generally, 

 is eminently adapted for fruit there can be no doubt. Certain large estates in the 

 neighbourhood are being subdivided and sold in small lots for fruit culture and the 

 ' boom ' in land was apparently as active here as elsewhere in the Ok magan district. 



Through the kindness of Mr. Chaplin, Secretary of the Farmei-s' Institute here, 

 I was enabled to go over a large amount of the ground within a radius of 25 miles 

 of Kelowna. At one or two places patches of alkali occur and samples were taken for 

 further examination. One very interesting drive was through the main valley to 

 Duck Lake, returning by * Dry Valley.' This main valley, or rather the greater part 

 of it, has for the past twenty-five years been cropped with wheat withovit any rational 

 attempt to maintain the soil in a productive condition. The result is most deplorable. 

 Land that I am told was once .the most fertile, has been reduced to such a condition 

 that in many instances I could see the crop was not worth harvesting. The heavy 

 clay of which most of this land is composed has been depleted of its humus and avail- 

 able plant food to such an extent by continuous growth of wheat that it is now re- 

 frnctory, hard and altogether imsuitable, chemically and physically, for farrainq; pur- 

 poses. The only hope for this land which has been so ruthlessly treated lies in the 

 addition of humus and nitrogen through the growth of clover or some .other of the 

 legumes. This no doubt will be very difiicult to obtain at the outset owing to the condi- 

 tion of the land, and probably at first biickwheat or rye will be found easier to grow for 

 green manuring- These, however, should be followed by a leguminous crop to enrich 

 the soil in nitrogen. We also think that tile drainage and occasional liming will be 

 found valuable in reclaiming the land, both tending to improve its physical condition. 

 Towards Duck Lake several large hay farms were seen, the crops on the whole being 

 good. ' Dry Valley ' suffers for want of sufficient irrigation water. If by an engineer- 

 ing scheme water could be brought at a reasonable cost into this valley, there is a 

 large area of arable land here that would be made profitable. 



Yernon. — This is widely and favourably known as a fruit-growing district. There 

 is very little grain sown now, but the area devoted to fruits of all kinds is continually 

 on the increase. The planting out of orchards is considered a profitable investment. 

 The interest and pleasure of our visit to Veruon were much enhanced by our stay at 



