68 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



skilled man, with such assistance as he 

 found necessary, could cover about 4,000 

 trees for the season. He had used three 

 lines of hose, and always took care to have 

 one man go behind to spray underneath the 

 branches. He had used both gasoline and 

 steam power. 



Mr. W. H. Owen, of Catawba Island. 

 Ohio, was making use of compressed air as 

 power for spraying, and found it neither dis- 



agreeable nor expensive. The apparatus 

 is so arranged that one man does all, operat- 

 ing twelve nozzles from his platform at the 

 back of the wagon. A large co-operativ« 

 power sprayer of this kind would cost about 

 $600, and a man could spray twenty acres 

 of peach trees in one day. Anyone own- 

 ing such an outfit would have a good in- 

 come making and applying a spraying mix- 

 ture at a charge of 3 cents a gallon. 



THE OUTLOOK FOR APPLE GROWING IN ONTARIO 



Sir : I remember with considerable satisfac- 

 tion and pleasure the very profitable and well 

 attended meeting of the Fruit Growers' Asso- 

 ciation of Ontario last November at Leaming- 

 ton, at which I was pleased to be present during 

 the whole session. 



Great Progress. 



Prom the time I used to meet with your 

 association with much more regularity than 

 I do now, along back in the seventies, I clear- 

 ly saw at this late meeting that onward 

 steps had been taken and that surprising 

 progress had been made. Deeper and more 

 vital questions relating to the great questions of 

 transportation and its requirements, packages 

 and packing stations, experiment stations and 

 their work, horticultural topics, etc. For all 

 of these various items, indicating large internal 

 growth, we are most truly pleased, and do hope 

 that this may be still more evident all over this 

 young and promising country. Now, while we 

 say that we are glad of the many small family 

 apple orchards already planted and bearing all 

 over this country, scarcely a small farm hold- 

 ing being without them, and even the vegetable 

 garden having its moiety of apple trees close 

 packed in between the rows ahd beds, yet we 

 are satisfied that for commercial purposes this 

 method of procedure is not good or profitable 

 to men. "Why ? because commercially it is too 

 small a business and not sufficient to attract 

 the attention of the buyers or the markets. And 

 here let me explain what is the commercial out- 

 look that I am trying to lay before your readers 

 and the reasons for the depression at present 

 ruling or pervading the apple growing business 

 in Ontario. 



Plant Apple Trees. 



I am about to make this proposition that 

 before we can make apple growing as a 

 business success we must plant apple trees 

 on a much larger scale and grow more apples 

 and better ones, and so make a life business of 



it and not merely plant a few trees for pas- 

 time or pleasure as so many of us are and have 

 been doing. Everybody is now having a small 

 quantity just for family use, you know, but no- 

 body taking proper care of them or tries to 

 make them satisfactory in doing their best, so 

 if they get any fruit it is all right, and if they 

 get none it is all the same, because, you know, 

 we have not much care or interest or money in 

 them anyway. Now, in direct contrast to all 

 this old kind of thing, we have made up our 

 minds, after very long, deep and protracted 

 consideration of this whole matter, to venture 

 to propose another plan of working. It is to 

 plant apple orchards on a large scale suited for 

 the commercial requirements of the time and 

 the markets. These may be planted wherever 

 the soil and climatic conditions are known to 

 be favorable, two or three in a township or half 

 a dozen in a county, or a very attractive one 

 near a great populous centre. The sorts to 

 plant must be selected after a thorough know- 

 ledge of the varieties and the demands of the 

 distant markets, and these grown to the high- 

 est state of perfection that the sorts are capa- 

 ble of, and the question of market is absolutely 

 sure and profitable returns will assuredly fol- 

 low. Now, providing the conditions of soil, 

 climate, moisture and capital are all right, 

 which is very often the case in Ontario, after 

 proper selection and thorough preparation of 

 soil, cleaning, culture, fencing, etc., planting is 

 then in order, and these trees may be of good 

 thrifty stock not over 2 or 3 years from the 

 bud. Plant of these not less than a thousand 

 trees for first output, and these not too many 

 varieties, not more than four good standard 

 sorts in the lot ; but some would prefer only 

 one or two. Then as these grow, and the capi- 

 tal and help will assure you, go on planting un- 

 til the full number of five thousand or one hun- 

 dred acres are reached and in good thriving 

 condition. A few successful orchards in any 

 certain locality of our country after they begin 

 to come into bearing would secure an immense 



