FRUIT DISPLAY AT STRATHROY 



T. H. RACfe, MITCHELL. 



Fig. 2719. Mr. T. H. Race, Mitchell. 



A Director of the O. F. G. A. ; Chairman of 



the Floricultural Section of our Annual 



Meeting at Leamington, Ont. 



FOLLOWING up our notes on the 

 fall fairs, I want to say a few 

 words about the fruit at Strathroy. 

 The Strathroy fall fair gave every evidence 

 of being a well managed and well patronized 

 institution. The town of Strathroy is cen- 

 tered in a very fine agricultural district, and 

 is itself a pretty and progressive place. But 

 I saw no evidences of a live and active horti- 

 cultural society there, though they have one. 

 I believe. Like too many of our horticul- 

 tural societies, they are combining their 

 means and their energies with the agricultu- 

 ral society and devoting their attention to 

 the fall show rather than to the beautifying 

 of their home surroundings, parks and 

 streets. They need some stirring up in 

 civic improvement and horticultural effort. 

 The display of fruit at the fall exhibition, 

 in some respects, pleased me very much. 

 Thev have, without doubt, the soil and con- 



ditions about Strathroy for a very profitable 

 fruit section. The Baldwin does exceed- 

 ingly well there, and some of the finest 

 Kings that I came across during the fall 

 were in the Strathroy exhibit. Among the 

 many varieties especially adapted to the dis- 

 trict, besides those already mentioned, were 

 Russets, Ribston Pippin, Talman Sweet, 

 Cayuga Redstreak, Greening, Fall Pippin, 

 and a very fine apple which they call West- 

 ern Newton Pippin. I might add, by way 

 of emphasis, that the Russets shown were 

 particularly fine. 



But the fruit display was not without its 

 defects, and some of those I want to point 

 out as a lesson to future exhibitors. Too 

 little care was exercised in selection. Four 

 fair sized apples with a large one on top 

 does not make an ideal plate of fruit. The 

 one large apple lessens the value of the plate 

 by two points in uniformity of size. Be- 

 cause an apple is large, its size will not atone 

 for the warts, spots, or other blemishes upon 

 it. Every specimen should be free from 

 blemishes of all kinds, fair size, and as nicely 

 colored as possible. Above all, every speci- 

 men should be free from worms. This was 

 the greatest defect in the Strathroy display. 

 No matter how large or fine a specimen ap- 

 ple may oe, a worm will destroy its value as 

 a show apple. There is no demand for 

 worms in the British market, and a wormy 

 apple will not keep at home. With a little 

 more care in selection, observing these 

 points, the fruit growers about Strathroy 

 can set up as fine a display of apples as one 

 may find anywhere in the province. 



