92 EXPERIMENTAL FARMS 



1-2 EDWARD VII., A. 1902 



The crop of apples was light this year. There was not a good show of bloom to 

 begin with and the wet weather which occurred during the blossoming season was 

 very unfavourable to the pollination of the flowers, the result being that comparatively 

 few apples set. Varieties which had good crops on some trees were McMahon White, 

 Wealthy, Patten's Greening, Duchess of Oldenburg, Haas, Cross, Longfield, and 

 Salome. 



There was little blight in the orchard this year, and the season was a favourable 

 one for growth. The cover crop in a large part of the standard orchard was ploughed 

 under on April 13, and after cultivating several times to kill sod, the ground was re- 

 sown with common red clover at the rate of 12 lbs. per acre on June 4, which re- 

 sulted in a good stand. The cover crop in all the Kussian orchard was ploughed 

 under on April 23, and the soil kept cultivated until July 29, when it was re-sown 

 with clover, and there was a fine cover crop by autumn. In other parts of the stand- 

 ard orchard the clover was cut at intervals and allowed to rot, as has been the custom 

 in previous years. 



In the spring, 86 trees were planted in the apple orchards. Of these, 69 were to 

 fill vacancies, and 19 were planted in an additional row which was made to the Rus- 

 sian orchard. The vacancies were caused by death and by the rooting up of trees 

 of inferior varieties. The Tetofsky has not been found a profitable apple here, al- 

 though the tree is very hardy. It is inclined to overbear, and the fruit is small and 

 drops badly. In 1888, there were 40 trees planted of this variety, 27 of which were 

 living last spring, and as the space was required for the testing of other kinds, 13 of 

 these were removed. 



During the past season the early varieties were sprayed three times, and the 

 late varieties four times with Bordeaux mixture and Paris green, and the fruit was 

 practically free from spot, though the Codling Moth did some injury. Last autumn 

 47 trees, which were more or less affected by the Oyster-shell Bark-louse, were sprayed 

 with the lime mixture, and the results were very satisfactory, there being few scales 

 left on the trees. The trunks of the trees and large branches were washed with the 

 alkaline wash for the prevention of borers. This wash is made by reducing soft soap 

 to the consistency of thick paint by the addition of a strong solution of washing soda 

 in water, and is applied with a brush. Only two borers were found in about 1,200 

 trees, showing that the orchards are practically free from this insect. 



Last winter was a very hard one on the young top grafted trees and some which 

 had come through two winters without injury were killed outright. The blight of 

 1900 also had done much injury, both to the stocks and grafts, as a result there was 

 a great set-back to this work. However, some varieties are doing well. The work was 

 continued last spring and additional trees were grafted and others finished which 

 had been begun in previous years. 



SEEDLING APPLE ORCHARD. 



Most of the named varieties of apples growing in America to-day were origin- 

 ated as seedlings. Our forefathers brought apple seeds with them from the old land 

 arid sowed them in this country. The young trees raised from these grew up and bore 

 fruit, and occasionally a variety of merit would thus be produced, and then propa- 

 gated. In later times chance seedlings grew up in the fence corners and other waste 

 place?, and these also bore fruit and added their quota of good sorts. From trees like 

 these have originated such fine varieties as Northern Spy, Baldwin, Fameuse, Mcin- 

 tosh Bed, and many others. 



Of late years more systematic efforts have been made to originate new varieties 

 from seed. But the varieties of really useful apples which have originated in this 

 way have been very few indeed. 



At the Central Experimental Farm at Ottawa, considerable work has been done 

 in raising seedling apples, especially from seed of Russian varieties, but no kinds of 

 great merit have yet been produced. 



