1 88 Work in a Canadian Orchard. [Sess. 



important one in all civilised parts of the north temperate 

 zone — is carefully studied. Probably the apple sprang from 

 the wild apple of Europe, but there is no means of knowing 

 when or where its improvement began to take place. All we 

 know is that improvement has been much accelerated of recent 

 years, notwithstanding the fact that at the beginning of the 

 Christian era the Eomans cultivated a few varieties, which 

 might compare favourably with some grown at the present 

 time. The tree has a wonderful power of adaptability to 

 soil and climate, but it is beyond doubt most at home in the 

 temperate climate of North America. Named varieties are 

 becoming very numerous, so that at present there are prob- 

 bably over 2500 of these. Every taste, no matter how eccen- 

 tric, may be satisfied. The season during which the apple 

 may be had in perfection is of long duration, some varieties 

 being ready early, others late ; and now that cold storage is so 

 successfully adopted, apples may be had all the year round. 

 To the farmer the profit on the crop depends much on whether 

 the varieties he produces suit the market in which he offers 

 his fruit, and it most of all depends on the skill of the grower 

 himself. A considerable time, however, must be allowed 

 between the planting and the reaping. The better the sort, 

 the longer the tree takes to come into a fruitful condition. 

 Once it has become fruitful, a healthy apple-tree will remain 

 so for a very long period, — even up to a hundred years or more. 

 Ontario, the province of which I write, began to assume a 

 position of much importance as an exporting centre for apples 

 about forty years ago. In 1900 the yield reached the grand 

 total of about 36,993,017 bushels, and there were 6,518,048 

 trees of bearing age, and beyond that 3,430,670 young trees 

 in the province. The best flavoured, most highly coloured, 

 and longest keeping fruit is produced in Canada. The lines of 

 work at the Central Experimental Farm include the testing of 

 the hardiness, productiveness, quality, and freedom from disease 

 of the different varieties of apples : also the different methods 

 of propagating and grafting have been tested. During these 

 experiments, which were begun in 1887, nearly a thousand 

 varieties have been tested. It may be asked. How are there 

 so many varieties ? The answer is that there are three ways 

 of producing varieties : first, from fortuitous seed ; second, by 



