SMALL-FRUIT GROWING. 



CULTURE IN FARMKRS' (lARDENS. 



Fig. 1113.— Mr. B. Oott. 



Mr. B. (Jott was the eldest son of a family 

 of nine, and who emigrated from across the 

 .Atlantic in the year 1845, being then 12 years 

 of age They first settled in the township of 

 Southwold, near .St. Thomas, but in 1852 the 

 family took up a lot of some "200 acres in the 

 township of \Vest Williams, Middlesex Co., 

 and came there into the unbroken forest to 

 make their future home. But the eldest son 

 started otl' in another direction and, after 

 engaging with the Upper Canada Book and 

 Tract .Society, Toronto, was appointed to the 

 Co. of Wentworth, Out., as travelling agent 

 or colporteur, in the autumn of 1856. After 

 following this work for some two years, he 

 put himself to the so-called (irammar School 

 of those (lays in Ancaster, and so fitted him- 

 self under the etficient tuition of James Re- 

 gan, M.A., for the work of Common School 

 teaching in Canada, and made his first ettbrts 

 in this line in the township of Oneida, HaUli- 

 mand Co., on the Grand River near Cayuga, 

 and then in Ancaster near Ancaster village. 

 In .January, ISGl, he attended the Provincial 

 Normal School at Toronto for one session, 

 and after passing, came to Arkona, Lanibton 

 Co., to begin his work as teacher of their puli- 

 lic school. Continuing teaching in Watford, 

 Thedford. Corunna and other places for some 

 eight 3-ears, and finding it not to agree with his 

 health, he decided upon a change. He then 

 bought a small farm near Arkona and thence- 

 forth determined to devote himself to practi- 

 cal horticulture and to be known as a practi- 



cal nurseryman and fruit grower, a life-long 

 desire for which he had been secretly eying 

 and preparing himself from the first. 



In l.S()2 the .Vrkona Nurseries were estab- 

 lished, where they exist to this day ami have 

 lieen very serviceable in these lines to the 

 whole surrounding country. There he took 

 great pleasure to make it his especial business 

 in life to introduce, produce and grow new 

 and valuable fruits and fruit trees and plants 

 in our midst, and took great pains to so teach 

 and educate the people of all ranks in the 

 beauties and great values of good fruit and to 

 grow them for themselves. 



In this he has been eminently successful, 

 although it is conunonly said " the way of 

 the pioneer is hard." To-day he hasthe 

 great satisfaction of knowing that the whole 

 region of country for many miles around .Ar- 

 kona has come to be one of the greatest and 

 best regions for fruit growing in \\'estern 

 Ontario, and especially so in strawberries and 

 raspberries. 



Mr. Gott has been fully interested in the 

 good work of the Ontario Fruit Growers' 

 Association for many years. He was ap- 

 pointed on the Directorate of the Association 

 during the presidency of the much esteemed 

 Dr. Burnet, at their annual meeting at Ham- 

 ilton, Fel)ruai-y 6th, 1878. This is esteemed 

 as one of the most valued relationships of his 

 life and was what gave direction, tone and 

 vigor to all his operations. 



In 189.3 Mr. Gott, well-worn and tired from 

 his labors, determined to leave the work to 

 other and younger hands and heads, and so, 

 placing the whole nuitter in the hands of his 

 sons, retired to the thriving town of Strath- 

 roy, where he at present may be seen inter- 

 ested in his own small garden and the welfare 

 of the people and the town where he lives. 

 May the labor of his hands gieatly redound 

 to the best interests of his beloved country. 



BL.\CKBERRIES. 



rj) V Blackberries we would at this lime 

 /yv mean and designate Rubus Frutico- 

 ^y sus, ord. Rosacea, otherwise known 

 as Brambleberries, as distinguished from 

 Black raspberries or Black caps, Rulnis 

 Occideiitalis, of which I have before 

 treated. But many of our most valued 

 sorts have come directly from the na- 

 tive American wild Blackberry, Riilnis 

 Villosus, found all over this northern 

 continent, and propagated by judicious 

 crossings and selections, etc. This 



173 



