DIVISION OF HORTICULTURE 685 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



the same time the edible qualities of the commercial pear. The seedlings resulting 

 from last year's work germinated very satisfactorily and are now growing in the seed 

 beds. 



GRAPES. 



A large number of young grape seedlings have been growing at the Experimental 

 Farm, but, owing to the very limited space available for growing these, the majority 

 of them were sent to the new Experimental Farm at Lennoxville, Quebec, where suffi- 

 cient room for their full development could be obtained and where correct records 

 might be secured of their hardiness. 



The seedlings were produced from seed of the following varieties of pure Labrus- 

 can origin namely, Moore Early, Concord, Worden, Vergennes and Champion and 

 from varieties of hybrid composition, having as their parentage Labrusca and Vin- 

 ifera origin, such as Campbell Early, Brighton, Niagara, Salem and Daisy. 



During the past season the young seedlings have grown satisfactorily. The seed- 

 lings from some parents have shown a markedly greater vigour than those from other 

 stock. 



GOOSEBERRIES. 



During the past few years a number of gooseberry seedlings have been grown, 

 -these seedlings resulting from former crosses between Rihes Cynosbati and Ribes oxya- 

 canthoides with Rihes Grossularia. These seedlings are three years old and the 

 majority of them fruited during the past season; amongst them were one or two 

 plants that were considered of sufficient value for further trial and breeding work, 

 but a large majority of them were similar to the wild parent types in fruit characters. 



STRAWBERRIES. 



During the season of 1914 a number of crosses were made between several of our 

 most satisfactory commercial varieties and several of our more common native species, 

 a collection of native species having been made the season before and characteristic 

 types isolated. From these crosses a good deal of seed was obtained and immediately 

 sown in a seed bed. Young plants soon began to appear and as their size permitted, 

 they were pricked off and then potted and grown throughout the entire winter, and 

 were large enough for field planting in the spring of 1915. Some hundreds of these 

 varieties are now being grown in the field in the hill system. A few of them have 

 flowered during the season of 1915 and give promise of producing valuable results. 

 All of this plantation should fruit during the summer of 1916. A large number are 

 also being grown under glass for future breeding work. 



The object in view is to secure, if possible, new series of strawberry varieties, 

 possessing vigour, hardiness and heavy bearing qualities together with the sweetness 

 and flavour so well known in the small wild species. 



VEGETABLE BEEEDING. 



TOMATOES 



During the past few years an effort has been made to isolate and establish a 

 variety of tomato that would mature a large proportion of its crop in the first four 

 weeks from the commencement of the tomato season. It had been found by experi- 

 ment that many of our early varieties of tomatoes came into bearing very gradually 

 and often produced no more than five or six per cent of their total crop during the 

 first four weeks of fruiting from the time of picking the first ripe fruit. A strain 

 that has been named Alacrity has shown a marked tendency to the production of a 

 large proportion of its crop early in the fruiting season. During the summer of 1915 



Ottawa. 



