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THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST, 



G. C Castun. 



(Division No. 13.) 

 Represented by G. C. Caston, Craighurst. 



Mr. Caston is a 

 past president of the 

 Ontario Fruit Grow- 

 ers' Association, and 

 has charge of the 

 Fruit Experiment 

 Station in Simcoe 

 county. He is one of 

 the oldest institute 

 worlcers, and is well 

 ■ond favorably known 

 in this capacity 

 thraughout the prov- 

 ince. In addi ion to 

 the subject of fruit, 

 Mr. Caston is pre- • 

 paaed to discuss cold 

 storage and trans- 

 portation ; also the 

 marketing of farm 

 products. He has 

 probably done as 

 much as any other 

 man to introduce hardy fruits suitable to our northern climate. 



In the district comprising- this division the 

 present year has been a favorable one for most 

 varieties of fruit. Strawberries, although 

 somewhat injured by drought, were a fairly 

 good crop. Raspberries, although not so good 

 as in 1902, were yet an average crop. 



Two Good Blackberries. 



The blackberry has not been grown commer- 

 cially in our district, with the exception of my 

 own plantation I know^ of none being grown in 

 a commercial way, and the reason is not far to 

 seek. Nursery agents have been selling varie- 

 ties that were not suited to the climatic condi- 

 tions of the district ; they would grow well in 

 summer but would lose nearly all the bearing 

 wood during the winter, and consequently this 

 fruit has been neglected. After a trial of some 

 twenty varieties I have found two that exactly 

 suit our conditions, the Eldorado and Agawam, 

 both of good size and quality, and produce mag- 

 nificent crops, so that I have found them to be 

 one of the most profitable of the small fruits. 



Various Fruits. 



The cherries were the next thing to a failure 

 this year, and plums, though plentiful and cor- 

 respondingly cheap in the district near and 

 around the Georgian Bay, were further inland 

 only a very moderate yield. Pears, which are 

 not extensively grown as yet, were very good in 

 quality. Apples were good in both quality and 

 quantity. That universal favorite, the North- 

 ern Spy, was more than usually prolific this 

 year and the quality very fine. One mistake 



that has been made in our district is the plant- 

 ing of too many fall apples and of too many 

 varieties. Realizing this, planters are now con- 

 fining their planting to winter varieties only, 

 and only a few varieties of these. Some, act- 

 ing on advice from experienced growers, are 

 taking the better plan of planting Talman 

 Sweets and other hardy varieties for the pur- 

 pose of top-grafting them with the best winter 

 sorts for commercial purposes, the chief of 

 which is the Spy. 



An increased interest is being taken in the 

 growing of orchard fruits. As an instance of 

 this, the Board of Trade of the town of Orillia 

 asked the Department of Agriculture to send 

 some one to investigate the capabilities of that 

 immediate locality for the production of com- 

 mercial apples. As a result of this action 

 Messrs. Creelman and McNeill were sent to that 

 place in the early part of the summer, and I be- 

 lieve their investigation proved that the best 

 commercial varieties can be grown successfully 

 there, more especially by the system of top- 

 grafting on hardy stock. 



■My district is a very large one, reaching from 

 Lake Simcoe to the Lake of the Woods, larger 

 than all the others put together, and I am 

 pleased to say that apples are being grown 

 away north of that district of Algoma where it 

 was not thought possible a few years ago. On 

 Joseph's and Manitoulin Islands, and in several 

 places on the northern shore of Lake Huron, 

 and even on Lake Superior, some of the hardy 

 varieties are being grown. And I believe that 

 there is a strip of country reaching the whole 

 length of the north shore of Lake Huron, to 

 Garden River, a few miles wide, that will grow 

 a great many of the varieties that we are grow- 

 ing in the more southerly sections. 



As a result of a meeting held in Toronto of 

 the Board of Control and Experimenters, a 

 move has been made toward having more ex- 

 periments in fruit growing conducted in New 

 Ontario, chiefly in the Temiscaming country. 



Orchard Meetings. 



I attended a number of orchard meetings in 

 our district, in company with Mr. McNeill, in 

 April. There were properly advertised, were 

 well attended, and an interest manifested that 

 will, I hope, lead to some practical and profit- 

 able results. Mr. McNeill explained very fully 

 at each meeting the commercia 1 side of fruit 

 growing, and we hope that co-operative mar- 

 keting will be one of the features of the future 

 of the industry in our section. 



