1-2 EDWARD VII. SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 A. 1902 



REPORT OF THE HORTICULTURIST. 



(W. T. Macoun.) 



Wm. Saunders, Esq., LL.D., 



Director Dominion Experimental Earms, 

 Ottawa. 



Sir, — I have the honour to submit, herewith, the fifteenth annual report of this 

 division. During the past year many experiments were made with trees, shrubs, 

 herbaceous plants, fruits, and vegetables, and a large amount of useful data was ob- 

 tained, but owing to the necessarily limited space available, only that which it seems 

 most desirable to publish is given. 



Character of Season. — Last winter was very unlike the previous one, for, while 

 the weather during the winter of 1899-1900 was very changeable, that of 1900-1 was 

 quite the contrary, and was noted for its long spells of cold weather. The winter set 

 in very early, as snow fell on November 14, and remained. On account of this early 

 fall of snow, and more following before very cold weather, the ground was protected 

 from frost, and there was practically no frost in the ground all winter, a very un- 

 usual occurrence at Ottawa. 



December was a cold month, the temperature falling to 18-8° E. below zero on 

 the 10th. There was a considerable quantity of snow, and by Christmas there were 

 fully 18 inches on the ground. 



During the month of January there was very little mild weather, and no real 

 thaw. The lowest temperature was on the 20th, when it was 25-5° F. below zero, 

 which was the coldest day of the winter. During that month the snow increased in 

 depth, and by the end of the month there were fully three feet on the ground. 

 February was a very cold month, and the temperature did not rise above the freezing 

 point from January 22 to March 2. While there were no heavy falls of snow in 

 February, that which came remained. The snow did not apparently begin to get less 

 until about the middle of March, and then it went slowly, as the weather was not 

 warm, and it was very cloudy from March 21 to April 10. After April 1, the wea- 

 ther became considerably milder, and when it became bright on April 10, the snow 

 was all gone except in the drifts. The heavy covering of snow all winter and the 

 absence of frost in the ground afforded good conditions for the wintering of herba- 

 ceous plants, and such things came through well, the strawberries, especially, being in 

 fine condition. There was, however, an unusual injury in the nursery among the 

 young apple trees, as the bark of many of them was badly split within a foot of the 

 ground. The trees grew until very late last autumn and the snow fell early on the 

 unfrozen ground when the young trees were well charged with sap. The cause of 

 the splitting was probably due to the fact that the snow prevented the frost from 

 reaching the lower part of the trunk until very cold weather came, and then the 

 severe frost caused the bark to burst. 



Many ornamental trees and shrubs which have been quite hardy or nearly so 

 in the past had a large amount of wood killed by winter. Fruit trees also suffered 

 in their tops much more than usual, while raspberry canes were badly injured, and 

 in consequence the crop was practically a failure in this district. 



As there was no frost in the ground, it was only necessary to wait until the snow 

 disappeared and the soil dried sufficiently to begin outside work. The first ploughing 

 of the season was done in the orchard on April 12, and hand labour on April 8. 



The spring continued very favourable for work, and there was scarcely any frost 



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