84 



that has fruited the past six years ; the fruit is medium size and of good quality, ripe in 

 September, will keep well only about six weeks. He has also a number of seedling 

 plums, but the fruit is little better than wild. The wild fruits in this section are plums, 

 cherries, gooseberries, currants, raspberries, blackberries and cranberries. The black- 

 berries ripens once in about six or seven years, gooseberries only bear every third year to 

 amount to anything worth while. Black and red currants, raspberries and strawberries, 

 bear well every year. The forest trees as a rule only bear seed once in three or four 

 years. In 1879 a large number of fruit trees were planted in this section, but the winter 

 of 1880 killed them all, and since then the settlers have been so discouraged that they 

 are not inclined to make further test unless through the advice of the Fruit Growers' As- 

 sociation as to proper varieties. One gentleman tells us there is no use in attempting to 

 grow anything in the Apple line excepting Siberian Crabs. But Mr. McCullogh has had 

 stronger faith, and thus far, at least, fortune smiles upon him. Out of 200 apples, six 

 pears, twenty plums, and two cherries planted, he only lost four trees last winter. As a 

 rule, he believes the trees sent out there are too large. The trees he planted were one 

 year old, and he believes they would have done better had he cut them back in the fall, 

 as he thinks the first winter's trial with young trees is having too much wood above the 

 snow line for the roots to support. He found a great many of them killed about a foot 

 from the top. Last winter was exceptionally severe however, and it was preceded by a 

 very wet fall, which, he claims accounts for the loss more than anything else. His ex- 

 perience is that when there is a very wet fall the sap is much weaker, and hence the 

 trees are unable to stand an extreme frost. He says that in a wet year it takes 100 

 barrels of sap to produce as much sugar as sixty barrels will produce in a dry year. 

 Through that entire section the first necessary step is to secure as dry a piece of land as 

 possible, and thoroughly underdrain it before planting. Both forest and orchard trees 

 sufier from sun scalding badly where the soil is wet, but this is rarely seen on dry spots. 

 Three parties report a fair to good crop of Clinton grapes well ripened the past season. 



In the district around Blind River and Bruce Mines the frost sets in about the last 

 of September or first of October, and the late spring frosts is about the seventh of June. 

 The soil generally through this section is a sandy loam. All along the Mississaga valley 

 the soil is well suited to fruit growing. Along the valley the wild fruits are a sure crop 

 every year, but the difiiculty is to find a market for them. The Indians sell a large 

 quantity of cranberries every year at about an average of five dollars per barrel, and there 

 appears to be a good demand for all that can be grown. The sample is said to be much 

 finer than any generally grown through the old settled portions of Ontario. Huckle- 

 berries and blueberries also find their way to the lake port towns and cities pretty freely. 

 Along the river bottoms there are as fine cranberry lands as any one could desire, where 

 the water advantages for flooding are perfect ; and with very little capital large crops 

 could be reaped every year. These wild cranberries are superior to the famous New 

 Jersey and Wisconsin berries. 



Signed on behalf of the Committee, 



Alex. D. Allen, Chairmvn. 



STRAWBERRIES 



Mr. Gott, in introducing a discussion on the question, " Which varieties of Straw- 

 berries are the most profitable for the market 1 " said this was a very difficult question to 

 discuss, and a far more difficult question to settle. There are some good varieties, how- 

 ever ; the old Wilson's Albany perhaps stands at the head of the list of good varieties — 

 profitable varieties. Not to say that it is a variety of the highest quality, but it has the 

 most money value in it. It is the best known of all the family of strawberries by the 

 people of this country. They are thoroughly acquainted with it, and know how to grow it. 

 The Crescent Seedling is apparently a new variety, but a variety of great promise. Its 

 fruit is not so hard as that of Wilson's Albany. It is large, and the berries are pretty 

 uniform in size, and readily command a market. The Cumberland Triumph is similar in 

 most respects to the Crescent Seedling, and the New Dominion is one of the same class of 



