88 EXPElUilEXTAL FARMS 



1-2 EDWARD VII., A. 1902 



after the early part of April. Tlie warmest day in April was on the 2Sth, when the 

 temperature was 79 'S° F. Everything was well advanced by the middle of May, and 

 at that time the season was fully a week earlier than in 1900. The warmest day of 

 the month was on the 8th, when the temperature rose to 81*2° F. 



There had been very little rain all spring, but beginning with May 10, there 

 were few days on which it did not rain until after June 3. This long period of rainy 

 weather had a bad effect on the setting of fruit, as the conditions for the fertilization 

 of the flowers were very unfavourable. As a result, the crop of apples, plunxs, and 

 grapes was much lighter than it would probably have been otherwise. 



June was a warm month all the way through, and beginning with the 21th it was 

 hot, the temperature rising to 96 r8° F. on the 28th. This hot weather continued till 

 July 2, when the heat moderated, but from July 12 to IS, there was another hot spell, 

 the highest temperature of the year being recorded on the 16th, when it rose to 

 99° F. This hot weather lessened the strawberry crop considerably, and was very 

 injurious to potatoes, except where there was thorough cultivation. August was also 

 a warm month, but not as warm as July. September was mild to warm. The first 

 frost, which was a very light one, occurred on the 20th, when the melon vines were 

 injured, but tomatoes were not hurt. There was a very high wind on the 28th which 

 blew off a great quantity of apples and blew down several trees. The weather was 

 fine and mild in October and very favourable for. fall work. The temperature did 

 not fall belpw 30° F. until the 28th, when it went down to 27° F., killing the foliage 

 of the grape vines. Up to this time such tender plants as Cannas had not been killed, 

 and in sheltered places tomato vines were still green. The early part of November 

 wars also very favourable for outside work. On the 13th there was a heavy rain, 

 which, freezing on the trees, weighed down the branches very much and many were 

 broken, the cutdeaved birches suffering most of all. Four inches of snow fell on the 

 14th and remained, and winter may be said to have set in on that date. 



Fruit Crop. — The season of 1901 was not, on the whole, a favourable one for 

 fruit. Owing to very rainy weather during the blossoming season the apples, plums, 

 and grapes did not set their fruit as well as usual, but there was not a good show of 

 bloom on the apple trees from the outset, and the crop of this fruit was small, but 

 of good quality. There was a fair crop of American plums, but the flower buds on 

 the European varieties were winter killed, and hence there was no fruit from them. 

 The pears had been so badly blighted in 1900 that there were few of the trees in con- 

 dition to bear fruit, and hence there was practically none of that fruit. The flower 

 buds of the cherries were killed by winter, and there was no crop. The raspberry 

 crop throughout the Ottawa district was practically a failure, the canes having been 

 badly injured by winter and in many cases killed outright. Although bent down at 

 the experimental farm, for greater protection, they suffered badly, and there was a 

 very light crop of this fruit. Strawberries came through the winter well and prom- 

 ised a very heavy crop, but hot, dry weather came during the ripening season which 

 lessened it considerably, though the crop on the whole was good. The grapes ripened 

 well, but owing to poor fertilization of the flowers the crop was light. 



The potato crop, which was light in the Ottawa district, was good at the Farm. 

 Tomatoes ripened well and there was a large crop this year. This was a favour- 

 able season also for tobacco, the yield being good, and most varieties were well ma- 

 tured. 



PROGRESS OF THE WORK. 



The work of the Horticultural Division continued to progress favourably this 

 season, and most of the experiments undertaken in former years were carried on 

 again. 



