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THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



December, 191 1 



than sub-acid and sweet apples. 



In my season's 'work I noticed that all 

 I he infested orchards with which I came 

 in contact were in that class known as 

 tihe "Neglected." This has also been 

 Mr. Caesar's experience, so we are al- 

 most forced to the conclusion that in 

 some way not clear to us, good orchard 

 practice keeps the "Railroad Worm" 

 out of the orchard. 



Growing Nursery Stock* 



W. T. Macoon, Dominieo Harticoltaritt, Ottawa, 0»f. 



In cutting back the trees that have 

 made one years' growth, we cut back 

 the following spring almost to the 

 ground, and in that way we get the sec- 

 ond year a very strong, healthy growth, 

 which usually matures well before the 

 winter. At Ottawa we get the most sat- 

 isfactory results from root grafting our 

 trees on crab apple stock. This is be- 

 cause in the cold parts of the country, 

 as well as in New Brunswick, Quebec, 

 and Eastern Ontario, we find that apple 

 trees will not succeed on as cold soils as 

 they will in the south of Ontario or the 

 .Annapolis Valley, hence it is most im- 

 portant, if we cannot have the soil as 

 well drained as we desire, to have roots 

 which will withstand such as nearly as 

 possible. Crab apple trees will succeed 

 in cold soils much better than apple 

 trees ; you will find them growing in wet 

 land where apples would not stand. We 

 believe for our conditions it is well to 

 have our apple trees grafted or budded 

 on these hardy roots, as being able to 

 withstand the colder condition of the soil 

 the tree will do better. After twelve 

 years experience, I am more and more 

 confirmed in this opinion. 



SOW IN THE FALL 



We sow the seed of the Martha, Whit- 

 ney or Hyslop in the fall, and make nur- 

 -sery beds ; the first thing in the spring 

 these seeds will germinate and almost 

 every seed will come up. We leave the 

 seedlings in the beds for that winter; the 

 following spring we set them out in the 

 nursery, putting the trees six inches 

 apart in rows three feet apart. You can 

 either leave these trees for budding or 

 use them for root grafting. We prefer 

 root grafting, for the reason if the farm- 

 er is going to have a small nursery it is 

 much easier to graft in the winter than 

 in the summer, when one is usually very 

 busy. The .second year we dig up these 

 young trees and heel them in in the cel- 

 lar, and during the months of February 

 and March we root graft on these stocks. 



We allow the stock to grow two 

 years before we graft, and sometimes 

 put them in hotbeds and force them to 

 be seedlings. About the first of June, 

 after danger from frost is over, they are 

 transplanted to nursery rows. In that 

 way you can get very fine trees, large 

 enough the first year. 



'Conolnded from November isstie. 



In the spring, cut back one-third of 

 the top of a three year old tree. The 

 lirst buds to start in the spring are the 

 top buds, and if you cut back too .severe- 

 ly you will delay the budding some time 

 and the tree will make about one-half its 

 growth in the year, and sometimes just 

 loaf out. It a severe winter follows it is 

 .-ilmost sure to die. JJuring the last few 

 years with trees from our nursery I pre- 

 fer to leave almost the whole top on, but 

 I take out the unnecessary wood. You 

 should cut back to the bud which is on 

 the outside of the branch so that your 

 branches will not run inside the tree. In 

 getting trees from a distant nur.sery, or 

 where you do not know how long they 

 have been out of the ground, I think it 

 is necessary to head back the trees quite 

 severely when planting so as not to ex- 

 haust the moisture. You had better 

 head back nursery stock about one-half 

 of the growth all over the tree. Leave 

 all the roots on, except broken or dam- 

 aged ones. Do not put old manure in 

 the hole, as you are liable to burn the 

 roots. The best land on which to grow 

 your nursery stock is a rich, well drain- 

 ed, sandy loam, a soil with possibly a 

 gravel sub.soil. Use .soil which will not 

 encourage a late growth of the tree. 



Ontario vs. British Columbia 



There seems to be n sreat deal ot adver- 

 tisinsr done, promoting: fruit growing- and 

 fruit lands in British Columbia. Thev 

 quote fruit lands at from three hundred 

 dollars to three hundred and fifty dollars 

 an acre. At what age do trees come into 

 bearing on this irrigated land? Is the 

 quality of the apple ahead of the central 

 Ontario grown fruit and the production per 

 acre any greater? I have about seventy- 

 five acres of young orchard in Northum- 

 berland county, and a friend of mine is 

 thinking about purchasing some orchard 

 land in the Okanagan Valley. I have been 

 persuading him to set out an orchard here, 

 in Ontario, where land can be purchased 

 for seventy-five dollars an acre. Please let 

 me know how the two propositions com- 

 pare.— W. W. F., -Northumberland Co., 

 Ont. 



As regards the possibilities in apple 

 culture in British Columbia as compared 

 to Ontario, we will discuss the question 

 only from a financial standpoint and as 

 a business proposition. Ontario posses- 

 ses many advantages as an apple pro- 

 ducing section all of which are possess- 

 ed to a greater or less extent by British 

 Columbia. British Columbia is at pre- 

 sent importing far more apples than she 

 is exporting, the figures for last year 

 being twenty-eight thousand one hun- 

 dred and three barrels imported, and 

 one thousand nine hundred and twenty- 

 three barrels exported. Consequently, 

 prices are much higher in British Col- 

 umbia than they are in Ontario. This 

 may be changed considerably when Brit- 

 ish Columbia begins to export large 

 quantities of apples, as she will in a 

 few years' time. The price may then 

 drop to meet the lower prices prevail- 



ing in Oregon and Washington States. 

 British Columbia claims an advantage 

 in the superiority of the color and size 

 of her apples, while Ontario claims a 

 superiority in quality. This may be 

 true and the apples may differ consider- 

 ably in the two provinces, but the apples 

 of either province, when well grown, can 

 compete successfully on any market of 

 the world against the apples of any 

 other country. There need be no fear 

 of the apples of either province begging 

 for a buyer. 



COST OF LAND 



As our correspondent states, lands are 

 quoted as high as three hundred dollars 

 to three hundred and fifty dollars an 

 acre in British Columbia, while good 

 lands suitable for apple growing in On- 

 tario can \x purchased around seventy- 

 five dollars an acre. This should be 

 the deciding factor in locating an or- 

 chard. The mere cost of the land at 

 three hundred dollars per acre in British 

 Columbia will buy the land, pay for the 

 trees, and bring an orchard into bear- 

 ing in Ontario. One must consider that 

 cost of living, labor, material, and sup- 

 plies are higher in British Columbia 

 than they are in Ontario, consequently 

 the returns should be proportionately 

 high. 



In British Columbia young apple trees 

 come into bearing at a very early age. 

 It is supposed that they require a longer 

 period in Ontario. This is largely due 

 to the lack of method in Ontario in the 

 past rather than to climatic or other 

 disadvantage which she may possess. 

 The writer has seen four-year-old apple 

 trees in Ontario producing a heavy crop 

 of fruit under the proper methods of 

 culture and general care. Of course, all 

 varieties will not produce at this age, 

 neither will they do so in British Colum- 

 bia. The best orchards in Ontario will 

 warrant the statement that trees will 

 produce as regularly, as heavily, and al- 

 most as early as they do in British Col- 

 umbia. But. we must remember that a 

 variety suitable for British Columbia 

 may not prove suitable for Ontario, and 

 care should be taken to choose varie- 

 ties that have proved satisfactory in tfie 

 section in which it is intended to plant. 



THE C30NCLrSI0N 



If our correspondent makes a good se- 

 lection of apples, using early bearing 

 varieties as fillers for the later bearing, 

 larger growing varieties planted as stan- 

 dards, and buys land in a good apple 

 section in Ontario, he should never re- 

 gret it. Let him adopt good methods 

 of culture, fertilizing, pruning, and 

 spraying, as many growers in Ontario 

 are doing, and he has a safe and sound 

 investment. True there may be many 

 difficulties in either province to over- 

 come, but the progressive growers of 

 both provinces have demonstrated that 

 all difficulties may be successfully over- 

 come. — G.B. 



