CENTRAL EXPERIMENTAL FARM NOTES. 



^Z2> 



poration, ag-ain this year, and he no doubt develop the fruit g-rowing- possibilities q{ 



with the old Board will do much to advance Prince Edward Island, and we must earnestly 



its interests in this opening- year of the bend our energies to the task, 



century. There is much to be done to fully Alberton, March i, 1901. A. E. Blrke. 



CENTRAL EXPERIMENTAL FARM NOTES— XV. 



;f),LTHOUGH the weather has been less 

 severe during the past month than 

 ^^^^ during the previous one, the tempera- 

 ture has rarely risen above the freezing 

 point. The coldest day in March up to the 

 14th was on the 3rd, when it was 9.5° F. 

 below zero. There have been no heavy 

 falls of snow this month. On March loth 

 heavy rain fell for a few hours and this, 

 freezing on the trees, caused them to be- 

 come thickly coated with ice, and they were 

 so weighed down that many trees had large 

 branches broken off them. Owing to the 

 heavy covering of snow this winter there has 

 been practically no frost in the g-round, a 

 most unusual occurrence here. 



By the time the April number of the Hor- 

 ticulturist is published it will be time to 

 think about tree planting and garden mak- 

 ing, and as it is often difficult for a fruit 

 grower to decide on what varieties of fruit to 

 plant, the following list of those which have 

 been found to succeed best at the Central 

 Experimental Farm may prove helpful to 

 those who live where the climate is much 

 the same as at Ottawa. 



Apples — Summer — Yellow Transparent, 

 Red Astrachan, Duchess of Oldenburg. 

 Sometimes the Red Astrachan is a shy 

 bearer. Autumn — St. Lawrence, Wealthy, 

 and Alexander. Of these. Wealthy is the 

 most profitable if well grown. It is inclined 

 to overbear, and the fruit should be thinned, 

 if necessary, to increase its size. 



Early Winter — Mcintosh Red, Fameuse, 

 Scarlet Pippin, Shiawassee Beauty, Wolf 

 River. 



Winter — ^Scott's Winter, Gano, Red Ca- 



nada, Salome, Golden Russet, Pewaukee, 

 Ben Davis. Gano resembles Ben Davis 

 somewhat, but is much more highly colored 

 than that variety. • 



Pears — Pears do not succeed well at Ot- 

 tawa. The better varieties are not hardy, 

 and the Russian sorts, though quite hardy, 

 are poor in quality and much aff"ected with 

 blig-ht. If there can be any discrimination 

 made among- the Russian varieties, Besse- 

 mianka is probably the best to plant. Flem- 

 ish Beauty appears to be the hardiest of the 

 better pears, and has fruited at Ottawa. 

 Clapp's Favorite, also, may succeed under 

 very favorable conditions. 



Plums — Neither the European nor Jap- 

 anese plums are safe to plant at Ottawa as 

 a commercial investment. Under especially 

 favorable conditions they may bear heavy 

 crops, occasionally, but as a rule the fruit 

 buds are killed. Of the European plums. 

 Early Red, Richland, and Glass Seedling 

 have proved the hardiest, the Early Red 

 being probably the hardiest of the three. 



American plums do very well, and some 

 of them are so fine that they are well worth 

 growing- for market, especially where the 

 European sorts do not succeed. If a judici- 

 ous selection of varieties is made, the ripen- 

 ing period of these plums may be extended 

 over a month. 



Seventy-six varieties have now been tested 

 here, and the following, given in their order 

 of ripening, have proved the best : 



Cheney, Bixby, Gaylord, New Ulm, Wolf, 

 City, Silas Wilson, Stoddard, Hawkeye, 

 Wyant, American Eag-le, Hanmer. 



Cherries — Practically no cherries are 



