DIVISION OF HORTICULTURE 287 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



until the 15th, after which it was moderately warm to cool, and the remainder of the 

 summer was unusually cool. The lowest temperature in July was 45-6°F. on the 

 31st. During August, the temperature was above 80°F. only three times, the warmest 

 day being the 14th, when it was 81-5°F. The lowest temperature was 40-4°F. on 

 the 30th. Showers were frequent in August. During September, the temperature 

 reached 80°F. only once during the month, on the 7th. The first .autumn frost was 

 on the 30th, when the temperature dropped to 28-5°F., killing tender annuals, grape 

 leaves, tomatoes, melons, squash, etc. September was a cool, showery month. 

 October was fine but rather cool. The highest temperature was 75°F., on the 6th, 

 the temperature rising above 70°F. only three times during the month. The lowest 

 temperature was 26-2°F., on the 16th. Owing to the cool summer and autumn, the 

 conditions were unfavourable for the ripening of melons and grapes, although a con- 

 siderable quantity of these did mature. 



Winter set in on November 25, in 1912, which is one day later than the average 

 for the past fifteen years About 21 inches of snow fell, a very heavy fall for the 

 first. There was little or no frost in the ground. The coldest day in November was 

 the 28th, when it was 5-2°F., and the warmest was on the 6th, when it was 58-4°F. 

 December was very mild for that month, the temperature being above freezing on 

 17 days, but the weather was very changeable. It was down to zero and below only 

 four times during the month, the lowest temperature being -4-2°F., on the 21st. By 

 the end of the month, there was only three or four inches of snow on the ground. 

 January, 1913, was another very mild month, the temperature rising .above freezing 

 on 16 days and being below zero on only 4 days. The lowest temperature was -16- °F. 

 on the 13th. The weather was very changeable during the month, with considerable 

 rain. By the end of the month there were only about 3 inches of snow on the ground. 

 February was the coldest month of the winter, although the lowest temperature, which 

 was — 18°F. on the 25th, was the highest minimum temperature in any winter of 

 recent years, and there were no continuous spells of very cold weather. It was below 

 zero on fifteen days of the month. The highest temperature was 37-8°F. on the 21st, 

 but it was above freezing only three days. Owing to the many thaws during the 

 month of January and the frosty weather which followed them, there was much ice 

 during February, making conditions very unfavourable for herbaceous plants, parti- 

 cularly strawberries. There was no heavy snowfall in February and at the end of the 

 month there were only about ten inches of snow on the level, with ice beneath. The 

 weather continued cold until March 10, at which time there was about eighteen inches 

 of snow, the most there had been since early in December. 



Bush fruits, low-growing plants, and roots of trees did not have the usual protec- 

 tion during the winter. By March 21, the ground was bare in many places, and by 

 the 24th the snow was practically all gone except in drifts, and later light snows 

 remained but a short time. 



While the winter, on the whole, was a mild one, the many changes of temperature 

 must have been hard on plants. It is noted that most of the fruit buds of cherries 

 and European plums are dead. 



FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CROPS IN CANADA, 1912. 



The apple crop in most fruit districts of Canada in 1912 was scarcely a medium 

 one, but in British Columbia it was good. In Eastern Canada, the fruit was com- 

 paratively free of apple scab in the early part of the season, became badly affected 

 in many places in the latter part of summer owing, doubtless, to the damp weather. 

 This reduced the grade and the prices, which for the best fruit were relatively low 

 but were still lower for these poorer grades. In eastern Ontario and the southwestern 

 part of the province of Quebec, the ravages of the tent caterpillars lessened the crop 



