276 



THE CANADIAN HOnTlCtJLTUIlIST 



December, 1910 



The Prize Wiuiag Half Car Load of 3ox«ii Apples Shawa at the receat Oatario Horticultural Exhibitioa by the Norfolk Fruit Growers' Associatioa 



Winter injuries may result from improper 

 ripening of the wood or it may be due to 

 improper nourishment. Instances ol tne 

 latter are found in cases where there nas 

 been heavy fruitage which drains the iiee 

 of its vitality unless there is sufficient food 

 available to supply the growing tissue as 

 well as the fruit. Nature directs all her 

 effort first to the development of seeu to 

 perpetuate the species, and the tissues of 

 the plant are supplied only after this want 

 has been met. Were we to place within 

 the reach of our trees food as required 

 I think we should hear less about the win- 

 ter killing of our bearing trees. The im- 

 proper ripening of the tissues of a tree 

 may be due to an excessive food supply, 

 or excessive moisture conditions in the 

 soil, or to a continued high temperature. 

 The temperature and food supply are 

 largely influenced by the moisture condi- 

 tions, although a combination of these 

 factors is responsible for late growth. 



The moisture conditions are in a meas- 

 ure within our control by the use of cover 

 crops. In irrigated districts the grower 

 has absolute control of this factor and can 

 ripen off his trees when he wishes by the 

 withholding of water. We have no such 

 absolute control in the use of cover crops, 

 for excessive rains at a certain period 

 may largely counteract any drying effect 

 wc wished to produce through the use of 

 a cover crop that tends to drv out the soil. 



EFFECTS OF COVER CROPS 



The following table will give some idea 

 of the relative drying effect of various 

 cover crops. These experiments were 

 conducted in our young orchard and show 

 the percentage of moisture in the son in 

 the middle of September: Millet, 7.24 

 Oats, 10. ; Rape, 10. i ; Winter Rye, 11.6 

 Crimson Clover, 11.8; Buckwheat, ii.8 

 Red Clover, 12.3; Vetch, 12.8; No Cover 

 Crop, 14.9. 



It will be noticed that the strong grow- 

 ing cereal crops and rape will run down 

 the moisture contents of the soil very rap- 

 idly, and for this reason they may be ad- 

 visable in some cases. The oat crop had 

 four per cent, less moisture than the 

 check plot growing no cover crop. Crops 



that form a dense math prevent evapora- 

 tion from the soil and this is one reason 

 probably why the clovers and vetch do 

 not so materially reduce the moisture 

 contents. It was found also that the 



quick growing cereal crops reduced the 

 moisture of the soil earlier in the season 

 than the clovers, especially than the Red 

 Clover, which requires a longer period 

 to form much leaf area. 



An Over Production of Apples Improbable "^ 



G. H. Vroom, Middleton, N. S. 



A LARGE majority of those present ing a period of thirty years. Yet all this 



have heard the statement made, is no evidence that our neighbors across 



possibly some of you have the border are less active or producing 



made it yourselves, that the time less apples than they did in the year 



was near when there would be so 1880. Just the opposite is the case, 



many apples grown that no mar- More and better apples are produced 



ket for them could be found and that the than formerly, but the demand is far 



orchards, which cost large sums of greater in their own country, 



money and much time and hard labor Perhaps it would not be an exagger- 



to bring to a bearing age, would be hewn ated statement to make if I should say 



down and cast into the fire. If this doc- that not more than ten per cent, of all 



trine of over-production has not reached the apples grown in the United States 



New Brunswick you are fortunate. find their way into any export market, 



It might be possible to produce more and I think it would not be going too 



apples than could be profitably market- far afield to say that judging from the 



ed, but judging from the history of apple increase in the population for the last 

 production and consumption in the past " ten years that at the end of the next 



it is not likely to transpire. ten our neighbors will be importing ap- 



Let us look back over the past thirty pies to be consumed by their own people, 



years and see what has taken place. In Now let us look at the condition of 



the year 1880-1881, the United States things in Canada, 



exported apples as follows: CANADIAN CONDITIONS 



From New York 600,000 barrels I" the year 1880-1 the number of bar- 



From Boston 510,000 barrels rels of apples exported from Montreal 



From Portland 40,000 barrels was 145.276- I" the year 1903 the ex- 



From Philadelphia 10,000 barrels Port had gone up to 732,000 barrels. 



But since 1903 it has dropped to 353,000 



Total from American barrels. Is this because the fruit grow- 



ports 1,160,00 barrels ers of the great provinces of Ontario 



In 1908-1909 the figures are as fol- an^ Quebec are giving less attention to 



]Q.^^,g. the growing of apples? Not by any 



From New York ...... .363,000 barrels means; more apples of higher quality 



From Boston 189,000 barrels are produced, but the demand is so 



From Portland 89,000 barrels steadily and rapidly increasing in Wes- 



tern Canada, where thousands upon 



Total 641 ,000 barrels thousands of settlers are taking up 



„ ^, c c J *u ^ tu farms and where larger towns and even 



By these figures v/e find that the ex- . . ■ • 1 * •„ „ a„„ 

 : c y c ^u IT -i J c* * .- cities are springing up almost in a day, 

 port of apples from the United States , , ^- ■ ^ c s- ^ *. u„^ tu^ 

 r , *^*^ , -u \ A that the time is not far distant when the 

 has decreased over :;oo,ooo barrels dur- , , . r /-> -. • a c\ „k«.^ ,Tr;ii 

 • ' old provinces of Ontario and Quebec will 



•A paper read at the annual convention in No- be exporting few, if any, apples. 



^l^tTon.' a^'sf Jo^rN^B.^'"" """""'' ""'" I" '^e year 1880-1 there was exported 



