FRUIT TREES AND BUSHES HAVE WINTERED WELL 



Repoi'ts whifih have rea.ched The Canadian 

 HorticuMurist from the principal fruit districts 

 in Canada sbow tiha.t fruit trees and bushes have 

 come throug-h .the winter in unusually good con- 

 dition. The only loss reported is in Nova 

 Scotia and Prince Edward Island, where the 

 heavy snow bi-oke down &ome of the trees and 

 where mice have done smme damage. 



In the le'ading: fruit sections spraying is on the 

 increase. Where fruit is not grown extensively 

 but little interest in spraying- is being shown. 

 There has not been a marked increase in plan- 

 tations in any of the provinces. 



EASTERN ONTARIO. 



Mr. Harold Jones, Maitland, Ont. : Fruit 

 trees of all kinds have come t'hroug;h the winter 

 in excellent condition. Apple ti-ees especially look 

 ibrig-ht and healthy, and the fruit bud is in good 

 condition. With favorable weather the chances 

 are for a good crop. Mice did some damage to 

 trees near fences, but the injury is not serious, 

 a few trees having portions of the bark chewed, 

 but hajdly any g-irdled. Strawbenries are com- 

 ing out brigiht and healtiby, no winter • injury 

 even in plots that had no covering. There is 

 practically no planting being done in this 

 vicinity. The farmers and fruit growers are 

 discouraged owing- ito losses and low prices for 

 their fruit the last two or three years. Spray- 

 ing is also being neglected in some cases. There 

 are some of our most careful growers spraying 

 as carefully as ever, but the tendency is to ne- 

 glect the work. 



THE GRIMSBY DISTRICT. 



Mr. Linus Woolventon, Grimsby, Ont. : The 

 past winter has been a favorable one for fruit. 

 The cold has not been severe enough to injure 

 the fruit buds, and there has been an excellent 

 covering of snow to protect the roots of trees 

 and fruit crowns of strawberry plants. Indi- 

 cations point to an excellent fruit year, giving 

 good profit to the fruit grower if better methods 

 of sale can be found. Planting is always going 

 on in the Niagara district, but not of apple 

 trees, especially on its rich sandy loam, where 

 even the Baldwin goes too moich to wood to pro- 

 duce aibiundant crops. A great many app'le or- 

 chards are being grubbed out on this account. 

 Intelligent sprayang is being practised, and 

 power sprayers are coming into common use. 

 NEAR WINONA, ONT. 



Mr. Murray Pettit, Winona, Ont. : Everything, 

 including small fruits, has come through the 

 winter in first-class .shape. Prospects are ex- 

 cellent. The gro'und was covered with snow, 

 and strawberries were well protected, and there 

 has been little freezing or thawdng since the 

 snow left to cause injury. It has been several 

 years since fruit came through the winter so 

 well. 



AROUND ST. CATHARINES. 



Mr. W. H. Bunting, St. Catbairines, Ont. : 

 Winter has been favorable for all kinds of 

 fruit, and except where vitality has been weak- 

 ened by San Jose scale or other causes' trees are 

 in good condition. Prospects are for a good 

 crop. Not many apples or grapes are being- 

 planted, but there is a considerable increase in 

 peaches and cherries. Spraying is on the In- 

 crease. 



Mr. R. F. Robinson, St. Catharines, Ont. : 

 Trees, vines, bushes and strawberry plants have 

 wintered extremely well, as the wood was well 

 ripened last fall, especially where the land was 

 plowed early and a cover crop put in. Mo.s.t 

 varieties are sufficiently full of fruit ibuds for 

 an average crop. Sti-awberries wintered well, 

 but did not thrive last year sufficiently to make 

 a very big crop, and the acreage was lower than 

 usual owing to the difficulty in securing plants 

 last spring. If the rot is controlled in sweet 

 cherries this year there is excellent showing in 

 most varieties. The acreage of fruit in this 

 section is not increasing very rapidly for three 

 reasons : 1. Expense of nursery stock ; 2. The 

 ravages of the winter of 1903-4 ; 3. Anxiety as 

 to the possibility of controling the San Jose 

 scale. Of peaches the Yellow St. John, Nia- 

 gara, Fitzgerald, Alberta, early and late Craw- 

 fords, Toronto and Smocks seem the favorite 

 varieties. Of plums the later varieties such as 

 Coe's Golden Drop, Reine Claude, Monarch and 

 Grand Duke, but not so many Japanese plums 

 as formerly. In cherries, E. Richmond, Mont- 

 morency and English Morello of the sour kinds, 

 and coimparatively few sweet cherries are being 

 set. The Cuthbert, and where the land is suit- 

 able, the Marlboro raspberry. Strawberries, 

 Michael's Early, Brandywine and Williams are 

 the most popular. There i.s- considerable in- 

 crease in spraying, especially with the lime and 

 sulphur. Practical men now consider it an 

 absolute necessity. However, there is yet room 

 for much more enthusiasm in this cause. 



IN QUEBEC. 

 Mr. A. C. Abbott, Hudson Heights, Que. : 

 Trees, vines and bushes have stood the winter 

 well and are in good condition. The fruit :buds 

 indicate an average crop of apples and plums. 

 There are only a few large orchards An this 

 vicinity, and outside of these planting is only 

 done with a view to supplying the needs of the 

 home or the local demand. Apples principally, 

 with plums and a few pears, are the only varie- 

 ties of fruit planted. Spraying is not on the 

 increase. It is only the larger growers that 

 spray. 



PROSPECTIS BRIGHT IN NOVA SCOTIA. 



Mr. D. C. Crosley, Berwick, N. S. : Apple, 

 plum and pear trees have wintered well, but 

 have been badly broken by snow drifts, and mice 

 caused great loss. Strawberries and other 

 small finiit have wintered better than usual. 

 The prospect is bright, but late frosts may ruin 

 it. Last ^year's market prices discouraged 

 planting of increase^, areas. The favorite varie- 

 ties of apples are iStark, Wagner, Ben Davis, 

 Baldwin, Gravenstein amd Bishop Pippin. 

 Spraying is on the increase, many g-rowers be- 

 lieving it to be the only method of securing 

 good fruit. 



Mr. A. A. Blight, Waterville, N. S. : On ac- 

 count of the unusual depth of snow quite a per- 

 centage of trees were broken down. Mice also 

 caused considerable damage, especially in or- 

 chards under sod. Small fruits and strawber- 

 ries wintered well. Fruit buds indicate a good 

 crop. There is only about 40 per cent, of the 

 average amount of planting, growers being dis- 

 couraged by low prices lost season. The favor- 



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