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not prepared for it. My plum trees were killed — three-fourths of them — both in the 

 nursery and in the orchard ; and it was not because they had a very heavy crop the year 

 before. As for the grapes, they bore a slight crop. They were never worse covered than 

 they were last winter ; and I was not looking for any. All my cherries that are worked 

 on the Mazzard stock were killed ; and I do not know of a single instance where they were 

 grafted on the Mahaleb stock that they were killed, and they were growing side by side. 

 My theory of the peaches being killed is that, in the Indian summer we have, the 

 buds, after the foliage has been off some time, become swollen by the warm weather, and 

 are thus destroyed. A warm fall is almost sure to kill the peach buds with me. 



Mr. GoTT. — Last winter was considered the most disastrous winter that we have 

 come through for a number of years. In some places it affected the apple trees, though 

 just in our immediate neighbourhood we have had one of the finest crops we have had for 

 several years. Our plums were considerably affected— some varieties especially. The 

 cherries were killed outright, especially those belonging to the Heart varieties. In grapes 

 it pointed out to us those varieties that would kill down by frost. The Rebecca was 

 killed to the gound, as was also the Isabella. The Eumelan was killed also very badly. 

 The Rogers' No. 3 was killed entirely down to the ground. The Adirondac was killed 

 so that it scarcely recovered any foliage from the old wood. The Salem was very badly 

 killed so that it bore no fruit. The lona was injured to a certain extent so that the fruit 

 amounted to very little. Around the town^of Strathroy the peaches were killed outright. 

 We lost no peach wood ; but we lost all our fruits. The Balsam buds were killed by the 

 winter's cold. 



Mr. Beall. — I can scarcely think that the cold through the winter, although it was 

 such a severe winter, did the injury that has been attributed to it, because with us it is 

 supposed to be a cold climate, and 1 have not heard of a solitary thing having been killed 

 in the neighbourhood — not even shrubs. I find that the lowest temperature we had was 

 about 28 below zero ; and that was on the second of February. Now, it is possible that 

 Mr. Woodward's theory is correct, and if it is I can account for the effects being wanting 

 at OttaAva as Mr. Bucke says they were. It is quite possible that Mr. Woodward's theory 

 is correct ; because the cold wave that we had at that time in November — that is from 

 the 16th to the 26th — was to the south of us principally. At Erie, in Pennsylvania, 

 the thermometer went down eight or nine degrees lower than at Toronto. The intense 

 cold was to the south of us, I find that with us the thermometer registered nearly ten 

 degrees below zero on the 2'4th of November, and still nothing was injured. I think 

 the solution of the question can only be found in a better knowledge of meteorology^ 

 and that the Fruit Growers' Association should take means to get more knowledge on that 

 subject. I think it would be to the interest of the fruit growers if comparative statements 

 were obtained and published every year from certain given localities relative to the 

 weather. It would assist in giving us knowledge which we do not possess now, and can 

 not possibly possess. 



Mr. Woodward. — The first frost that we had at Lockport, I remember distinctly, was 

 on the 6th day of November. I remember taking grapes ofi" the vine that day plump and 

 nice, and up to the time we had that severe weather there had not been frost enough to 

 drop the leaves from the trees, while at Ottawa, and at Mr. Beall's place, I have no doubt 

 it would be different entirely, and the same temperature would not kill there that killed 

 with us. I remember being in a plum orchard on the 9th day of December, and a gentle- 

 man was showing me his plum trees. It was at Adrian, Michigan. I took out my knife 

 and cut a tree, and said to him, "your trees are killed." They had dropped their leaves, 

 and then when the warm wet weather had coilie on they had started out, and many of the 

 trees had young leaves on them as large as a mouse's ears, and they were frozen up in that 

 succulent state. 



Mr. Dempsey. — Although the winter was very severe with us we suffered very little. 

 The frost in November came upon us so early that we had only got our trees properly 

 covered over. The first frost was the first one that killed anything. There were only a 

 couple of varieties of apples that I noticed to be affected at all by the cold winter, and 

 strange to tell you they were Russian varieties. Our plums stood the severity of the 

 winter very well, and blossomed in the spring, but we had no fruit ; of course the frowt 



