204 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



September, 1910 



kind, and l.ilc sprint,^ IVosK ,iic nut prev- 

 alent. 



"Funj;u.>," or a|)|)lu m alj is, ul course, 

 common, but both scab and codling 

 moth are kept under control by spraying. 

 Instances are on record of orchards turn- 

 ing out as high as ninety-three per cent. 

 No. I fruit. Choice varieties of No. i 

 grade, such as Spy, King, Snow and Mc- 

 intosh Red, sold last year for $3.50 a 

 barrel f.o.b. 



The counties lying along the north 

 shore of Lake Ontario, between Toronto 

 and Belleville, contain the heaviest ap- 

 ple-producing section of the province. 

 The orchards lie mainly within ten or fif- 

 teen miles of Lake Ontario, and the apple 

 district is consequently a strip of coun- 

 try about ten or fifteen miles in width, 

 embracing parts of Ontario, Durham, 

 Northumberland and Hastings counties. 

 The county of Northumberland is said 

 to produce more apples than any other 

 county in the province, and has to-day 

 upwards of six thousand acres planted 

 to apples, half of which are bearing. 



There is already a large acreage of or- 

 chard through the whole Lake Ontario 

 district and planting is still going forward 

 at a rapid rate. In the western half of 

 the section, the principal varieties in 

 bearing are Baldwin, Spy, King, Green- 

 ing, Russet and Ben Davis. The latter 

 plantings contain more fall varieties. 

 Stark is replacing Ben Davis to a certain 

 extent. The eastern half of the district 

 produces Ben Davis in a very large quan- 

 tity, with Spy, Baldwin and Greening 

 next in order. Of late years Ben Davis 

 has fallen somewhat in popular favor and 

 is being replaced by Stark. 



SOME LARGE ORCHARDS 



Orchards vary in size from five to twen- 

 ty acres. There are not a few plantings 

 of fifty acres or more in extent. At Osh- 

 awa, Newcastle and other points success- 

 ful cooperative associations are in opera- 

 tion, and within the sphere of their imme- 

 diate influence good care of orchards is 

 the rule. Through the whole district cul- 

 tivation cannot be said to be the general 

 practice, although the better class of 

 growers are accustomed to thorough till- 

 age. Apple scab is in most seasons more 

 or less common and the codling worm is 

 also prevalent. 



Spraying is fairly general through the 

 district but is not .so widely nor so intelli- 

 gently practi.sed as it might be. Late 

 spring frosts are not often serious, but 

 early frosts in fall are not unknown. The 

 picking season is somewhat short and al- 

 though the general practice through the 

 district is to pack in the orchard, it is fre- 

 quently found necessary to make use of 

 barns and sheds for the purpose. The 

 Oshawa and Newcastle Fruit Growers* 

 Associations make use of their large park^- 

 ing houses for this purpose, apples jjeing 

 packed in the orchard loosely and with- 

 out grading. 



The Lake Huron district cinbraics .1 

 large area of country lying east and south 

 of Lake Huron, including portions of the 

 coimties of Lambton, Huron and Bruce. 

 In Bruce and the northern part of Huron, 

 the apple belt is only a few miles in width, 

 but in the southern part of Huron and in 

 Lambton county the area extends inland 

 for some distance. The climate is more 

 equable than that of either of the districts 

 previously mentioned, and extremes of 

 summer and winter temperature are de- 

 cidedly uncommon. 



It is only in the northern part of the 

 district that winter injury of trees has 

 been noticed, and even here the districts 

 immediately adjoining the lake are almost 

 entirely free. The climate is moister than 

 that of the counties lying to the north of 

 T^ake Erie and Lake Ontario and is con- 

 sequently more favorable to a develop- 

 ment of apple scab. Owing to the protec- 

 tive influence of the lake, late spring and 

 early fall frosts are of rare occurrence. 

 The picking season is sufficiently long to 

 permit of apples being handled without 

 dani^er of severe freezing. Codling worm 

 is common, especially in the southern por- 

 tions of the district. 



DECLINE HAS BEEN HEAVY 

 The decline of orcharding is particular- 

 ly noticeable through the Lake Huron 

 district. It is only in certain localities 

 that the industry is making progress One 

 cannot fail to be impressed by the large 

 number of excellent orchards which are 

 receiving little or no care. It is evident 

 that encouragement of some kind is need- 

 ed. Whether the growers will take the 

 matter into their ov.n hands and estab- 

 lish their own selling organizations, re- 

 mains to be seen. 



To a man possessing business ability 

 and a certain amount of capital, there 

 could be no more promising financial pro- 

 position than the leasing of orchards in 

 this district, especially in the vicinity of 

 Goderich, county of Huron. The men 

 who are making most money out of the 

 apple business in Ontario to-dav are en- 

 gaged in this line-of activity. Large num- 

 bers of orchards of good varieties are 

 simply occupying ground waiting for 

 some enterprising man to take hold of 

 them, and make them pay. 



The apricot is as hardy as the peach, 

 and it thrives in the same localities and 

 under the same general cultivation and 

 treatment, but demands rather strong 

 soil.— From Bailey's Cyclojsedia of 

 American Horticulture. 



Some of the best fruit districts in our 

 sunset province, British Columbia, are 

 greatly favored by nature for controlling 

 fruit pests because of gentle rains or in 

 some parts an almost entire absence of 

 tliat commodity in summer. Bordeaux 

 mixture or arsenate of lead applied in 

 summer may be found in winter show- 

 ing plainly on the bark and fallen leaves. 



Root Pruning a Plum Tree 



Prof. W. S. Bl>ir. Mtcimtli Collet^, Q«e. 

 In iiiiij-suiiiiiicr ot liMI 1 dug a trench 

 around a plum tree, about four foot from 

 the trunk and alirut 20 inches deep. I then 

 sowed some conimer<ial fertilizer and filled 

 up the trench. This year the tree has a 

 Kood eroi> of fruit The tree is 12 or 14 

 years old. It never bore before. Had the 

 cutting of the roots anything to do with 

 starting the tree to bear?— W.E.L., Dun- 

 das, Ont. 



Any operation which checks growth 

 during midsummer has a tendency to- 

 ward the development of fruit buds. If 

 a tree is making a strong vegetative 

 growth it is not so liable to develop fruit 

 buds, the energy apparently being di- 

 rected to this channel. .'\ny injury to 

 the root such as root pruning would tend 

 to check the vegetative or wood growth 

 and as a result the energies of the tree 

 would be directed to the formation of 

 fruit. Nature is bound to reproduce 

 her kind and any form of injury, es- 

 pecially during the summer, throws the 

 whole energy of the plant towards bring- 

 ing this about. 



Late June and early July pruning is 

 often advocated where trees are mak- 

 ing much wood growth and not fruiting 

 well. Pruning done at this season has 

 the same tendency as the root pruning 

 referred to, the tree apparently suffering 

 a check from the operation. Early spring 

 pruning on the other hand has a tendency 

 to invigorate the tree for the rea.son 

 that at this time the normal wood growth 

 is being made and the removal of buds 

 throws the energies of the root into the 

 remaining buds. 



Summer pruning to induce fruitfulness 

 .should therefore be done just about the 

 time the vegetative growth is ceasing 

 and the terminal bud about ready to 

 form. If done earlier new growth of 

 wood may result. 



Trees growing in grass are liable l(j 

 be thrown into fruiting for the same 

 reason, namely, that during late June 

 and early July the grass not only drie^ 

 up the .soil but removes a large propor- 

 tion of available food material necessary 

 for growth, checking the tree as a result, 

 following which many fruit buds de- 

 velop. 



Harvesting the Grape Crop * 



D. K. Falv.y, Westfield, N. Y. 



The grape crop usually requires from 

 f)o to too days from date of blos.soming 

 to harvesting. Our harvest -usually be- 

 gins about September 25. A large per- 

 centage of the grapes put in baskets are 

 packed in the field in eight pound bas- 

 kets, drawn to the fruit house and wilted 

 twenty-four hours. The baskets are 

 then refilled when necessary, covered and 

 taken to the car. Many pick in trays 

 and after wilting the grapes pack them 

 in baskets. This method insures a bet- 



•Extract from an address delivered at the last 

 annual meeting of the Ontario Fruit Grower?' 

 Association. 



