110 EXPERIMENTAL FARMS 



7-8 EDWARD VU., A. 1908 



Eamona, Eawdon, Sellvirk, Snelling, Sollna^^^ Sorley, Sanford, Souris, Selwyn, Vesta. 

 Virgil, Varna, Virden, Woburn, Wesley. Most of these are no better than, nor as 

 good as, the best named varieties fruiting at Ottawa, but it is hoped that some of 

 them -will prove very hardy and be suitable for the colder districts of Canada. Four 

 of these are described above, namely, the Claire, Neville, Eupert and Percival. Th? 

 descriptions of the others have not yet been published. 



COT^CLUSIONS EEACHED AFTEE NINETEEN YEAES' EXPEEIENCE AND 

 SEAECII FOE A HAEDY WINTEE APPLE OF GOOD APPEAEANCE 

 AND BEST QUALITY. 



The search for a hardy, productive winter apple of good colour and the best 

 dessert quality is becoming an old story in the Northwestern States, in the north, 

 central and eastern portions of the province of Ontario, throughout the province of 

 Quebec, and over a large part of the province of New Brunswick. Over this immense 

 territory the cry for many years has been for a long keeping apple which will compare 

 favourably in all particulars with the best long keeping apples grown in the more 

 favoured parts of the American continent. Why does this search still go on ? Will 

 the desired apple ever be found? Finally the attempts made to find it are the points 

 which after nineteen years' experience in this work may be discussed at this tim.e 

 when the probabilities of soon obtaining such an apple seem bright. 



From experience with over 3,000 species and varieties of trees and shrubs, ex- 

 clusive of cultivated fruits, from many countries and climates, which are under our 

 care and observation at the Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa, we have drawn the 

 following conclusions, regarding hardiness of trees. 



A tree or shrub which will withstand a test winter at Ottawa must be one which 

 ripens its wood early. 



Trees or shrubs which are native to places having a longer or much longer grow- 

 ing season than at Ottawa, grow longer than the native species or those from a some- 

 what similar climate to the native species, and when a test winter comes their wood 

 is not sufficiently ripened, or winter resistant, and they are more or less injured or 

 perish. 



After seventeen years' observations of this large collection which has increased 

 to over 3,000 species and varieties, it may be said that with scarcely an exception, and 

 those doubtful ones, no apparent increase in hardiness has taken place in individual 

 specimens. Plants which killed to the ground seventeen years ago, kill to the ground 

 still. Those which killed to the snow line, kill to the snow line still. Those which are 

 killed back one-half or merely a few inches at the tip do so still. Sometimes a tree 

 will remain hardy for several years and then kill back to near the ground. It is 

 possible that they are getting hardier very gradually, but if so this increasing hardi- 

 ness is scarcely imperceptible so far. 



~^ Another observation regarding tender trees has been that after a season when the 

 growth has been strong more injury is likely to occur than in a season when the 

 growth is short. 



Individual specimens of certain species have been found hardier than others. 

 This has been particularly noticeable in the case of the Hardy Catalpa (Catalpa hig 

 nonioides) which, as a rule, kills back badly at Ottawa, but some individual trees have 

 proven much hardier and bloom freely at Ottawa. The raising of seedlings from these 

 tender species has not been carried on long enough to state positively from our own 

 experience that hardier types will be produced in this way, but the history of such 

 work makes us hopeful. Some favourable results have, however, already been ob- 

 tained. 



Let us now tarn to the hardiness of apple trees, and we might include all other 

 large fruits that have been tested at Ottawa. About 700 named varieties of apples 

 have been tested. 



