DIVISION OF HORTICULTURE 327 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



EXPERIMENTAL STATION, STE. ANNE DE LA POCA- 



TIERE, QUE. 



REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT— JOS. BEGIN. 



The Experimental Station at Ste. Anne de la Pocatiere, Que., is situated within 

 three miles of the south shore of the St. Lawrence river, about seventy-three mile9 

 below Quebec and Levis. While the winters are severe here, they are tempered 

 somewhat by the nearness of the St. Lawrence river, which remains, in winter, a 

 large body of open water. Because of this, fruits which will not succeed at Ottawa, 

 for instance, do very well at Ste. Anne. An example is the European plum, of which 

 many varieties succeed admirably here. It is proposed to test thoroughly many 

 varieties of fruits, vegetables, and ornamental plants at Ste. Anne and to experi- 

 ment with different methods of culture in order to determine which is the best for 

 those parts of the province of Quebec where the climatic conditions are the same as 

 at Ste. Anne. 



In the autumn of 1912, about three and one-half acres of sandy loam soil were 

 thoroughly prepared for fruit trees. The land, which had been in sod for several 

 years, was ploughed in the summer and kept thoroughly harrowed until winter. In 

 the autumn of 1912, the land was drained by laying parallel rows of three-inch tile, 

 fifty feet apart and about three feet deep, from one end of the area to the other, 

 giving them sufficient fall to carry off the water through a four-inch tile at the 

 lower end. When putting in the tiles, it was planned to have them come midway 

 between two rows of trees so that there would be little danger of the roots filling 

 them. 



