/>71 /.S70-Y OF HOUTICVLTURE ^ 603 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 ^~" 



EXPERIMENTAL STATION, FREDERICTON, N.B. 



KEPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT, W. W. HUBBARD. 



CHARACTER OF SEASON. 



The winter of 1912-13 was mild and favourable for fruit trees, shrubbery, etc., 

 though the ground was rather bare for the best wintering of small fruits. Three very- 

 hot days in the latter part of April started some plants that were afterwards damaged 

 by frost. May and June were both wet and cold, and so unfavourable was the 

 weather at the blossoming period that pollination was most diiEcult, and^the fruit 

 crop a widespread failure. From July 1 onward the season was all that could be 

 desired, and trees and plants went into winter in good condition. 



HORTICULTURAL REPORT. 



The land allotted for flowers and vegetables was a piece 187 by 300 feet, which 

 had previously grown buckwheat; this was ploughed in the fall of 1912. The spring- 

 preparation of the land was retarded owing to the frost remaining in the ground until 

 somewhat late in the season, but a start was made on the 20th May by the application 

 of twenty-four loads of barnyard manure and, after a thorough discing, a dressing of 

 900 pounds of fertilizer containing 2-Y5 nitrogen, 10-6 phosphoric acid, and 8-3 potash 

 was applied, the laud was then gone over again with the disc harrow, rolled, and har- 

 rowed, with the spike-tooth harrow. Frequent cultivations during the summer kept 

 the weeds down and conserved moisture. 



About 7,000 ornamental trees and shrubs were set out in the nursery, and have 

 done well, with the exception of some of the evergreens. 



A flower border for annuals, 300 feet long by 5 feet wide was prepared, and about 

 twenty varieties were grown and produced great quantities of bloom of high quality. 

 Thirty varieties of waved sweet peas were grown in a row 300 feet long, and were in 

 bloom from July 21 to October 17, making a background to the boi'der. 



A number of varieties of perennials were sown in cold frame and transplanted to 

 nursery rows in readiness for planting out in their permanent quarters next spring. 



The orchard, comprising 104 trees, had been very much neglected prior to the pur- 

 chase by the Government, consequently the trees required a good deal of pruning, 

 scraping and spraying. A number of Scott winter apples were top grafted with Tomp- 

 kins King, Rhode Island Greening, Northern <Spy, Yellow Bellflower (Bishop Pippin), 

 Gravenstein, Ribston, Mcintosh, and Merritts, and the majority have taken. 



VEGETABLES. 



A number of varieties of vegetables were grown during 1913. Owing to the back- 

 ward spring, things made very slow growth, and it was not until the first week in July 

 that any appreciable improvement was made. 



In the following tables will be found the results obtained : 



