250 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



October, 1913. 



Fruit at the Canadian National 



This was expansion year at the Cana- 

 dia-n National, and the friut exhibit was 

 in harmonv therewith. As a whole, the 

 displa\ was the largest ever staged at 

 this exhibition. The size and color was 

 the best ever seen for the time of year. 

 In the matter of accommodation there is 

 still room for improvement. The displays 

 by seed firms were interesting and reliable, 

 but thev should not be so placed as to 

 break up the fruit exhibits, as was the case 

 this year. Then, too, the exhibits of rail- 

 way "and steamship companies should be 

 confined to their proper places and the 

 horticultural building utilized for horticul- 

 tural exhibits only. ^^ , 



A change that would add to the attract- 

 iveness of the showing would be the giv- 

 ing of more prizes for baskets and other- 

 wise displayed fruits. Then, too. it might 

 be wise to drop some of the late varieties 

 and enlarge the prize list for earher ones. 

 The late varieties had little or no color. 

 A feature that would add greatly to the 

 educational value of the exhibits and also 

 to the general interest would be to have 

 the name of the variety and exhibitor more 

 plainly shown after the fruit had been 

 judged. , , ,. 



Pears were of good color and quality. 

 The plate exhibits were remarkably smooth 

 and in most cases uniform. The showing 

 was well above the average of past years. 

 In baskets for display there was keen com- 

 petition. One of the judges remarked that 

 he saw some Bartletts that were as good as 

 any he ever saw come from California. A 

 few exhibitors made a mistake in selecting 

 a poor color of covering for the baskets. 



Plums were the best ever shown. The 

 number of entries was large and the com- 

 petition close. Peaches were of good size 

 and extra fine color. It was evident that 

 they caught the eye of the visitor. 



Grapes were well up to the high stan- 

 dard set in other years. 



APPLES 



The display of apples was easily the 

 best ever shown. The color was fifteen 

 to twenty per cent, ahead of last year and 

 the quantity almost double. The boxed 

 fruit might easily be increased if the prize 

 list was extended, only the standard var- 

 ieties now being represented. In the ar- 

 rangement of the competitive box exhibits 

 there was room for improvement. Each 

 exhibitor had to place his own entries, so 

 no general scheme of arrangement was 

 carried out. It would be well to stipulate 

 that fruit in boxes for export should be 

 wrapped. There was some splendid fruit 

 shown in the box entries, one box of 

 Duchess being particularly noticeable. 



The plate and cone exhibits were excep- 

 tionally well colored. As Prof. Crow, of 

 the O.A.C., who judged the entries, re- 

 marked: "The color is extra fine and the 

 fruit is slightly cleaner than last year. 

 Exhibitors, however, should have learned 

 by this time that wormy fruit is not want- 

 ed. I didn't give any prizes to wormy 

 fruit. A number, too, are making a mis- 

 take in selecting too large specimens of 

 the dessert varieties. Typical apples of 

 the variety should be chosen. In the cook- 

 ing sorts, size with quality is desirable. 

 A number of specimens were minus the 

 stems." A pleasing feature is that more 

 exhibitors are showing and the prize 

 money is being more widely distributed. 



COMMERCIAL VaCKAGF.S 



Mr. Harry Dawson, one of the judges on 

 Commercial Packages, stated that never 

 before had the fruit showv. at the Exhibi- 

 tion been as well packed or as uniform in 



quality as this year. Not only apples, but 

 plums, grapes and pears were all much 

 better packed than in former years. 



"We will soon," said Mr. Dawson, 

 "know how to pack as well as they do in 

 the west, and be able to hold our own even 

 with California. An encouraging feature 

 of the commercial packages," continued 

 Mr. Dawson, "is the fact that there is an 

 unusually large number of entries in all 

 classes. Among the boxes of apples is one 

 of Duchess, which is the best packed box 

 of apples I have ever seen, either at this 

 .-.how or at the Ontario Horticultural Ex- 

 hibition. It excels in uniformity of colour, 

 uniform size of the apples and in the firm- 

 ness of the pack. As regards the general 

 exhibits, they also show more uniformity 

 than usual, there not being so many ofT- 

 packs, as most of the exhibitors have fol- 

 lowed the 2-3 pack, the next most popular 

 pack being the 3-4," 



Ontario's exhibit 



In the Government Building, the Fruit 

 Branch of the Ontario Department of Agri- 

 culture had a fine display. All the fruit 

 was exceedingly well colored, and as soon 

 as the more perishable varieties showed 

 signs of decay they were replaced by a 

 fresh lot so that the showing was always 

 fresh and attractive. An interesting feat- 

 ure was a box of standard dimensions, all 

 made of glass, containing some beautiful 

 Chenango strawberry apples. The glass 

 enabled the spectators to view the style of 

 pack to the Tjottom of the box. The 

 pe.-'chps and plums were exceptionally fine. 



Welland and Lambton counties had fine 

 exhibits of fruits. The peaches were pos- 

 siblv the best at the fair. A well-loaded 

 branch of a Welland county plum tree 

 gave an idea of the productiveness of that 



district. Lambton county showed some 

 extra fine boxed apples. The exhibit was 

 tastefully arranged, a mirror at the back 

 giving it the appearance of double its 

 actual size. The British Columbia exhibit 

 gave a splendid idea of the fruit growing 

 possibilities of that province. The fruit 

 was mostly shown as plate specimens. The 

 boxes used were the North-western stan- 

 dard size. 



SOME OF THE PRIZE WINNERS 



The gold medal for the best display of 

 fruit went to W. J. Furmiger, St. Cathar- 

 ines, who also got first on collections of 

 10 varieties pears, 15 varieties plums, 6 

 varieties plums (green or yellow), and 5 

 varieties plums (red or blue). First on 

 fancy package, display basket, and fiat- 

 covered basket of plums, display basket of 

 grapes and flat-covered basket of peaches 

 were also won by Mr. Furmiger. 



J. H. Coming, Waterdown, was promi- 

 nent in the apple classes, winning first 

 on exfWrt Duchess, Blenheim, Wealthy, 

 ?nd Spy, and on plate exhibits of Duchess, 

 Fameuse, Gravenstein, Hubbardson, Weal- 

 thy, and Spitzenburg ; also first on 20, 10, 

 and 5 varieties cooking apples and for 

 pyramids of Blenheim, Duchess, King, 

 R. I. Greening, St. Lawrence, and Weal- 

 thy. 



Other prominent exhibitors in the apple 

 class were W. E. Weese, Carrying Place ; 

 J. Guthrie, Dixie; R. Williamson, Carry- 

 ing Place: and T. Bunting, St. Catharines. 



A. E. Freel, Niagara-on-the-Lake, was 

 first in all peach collections. In grapes, 

 similar honors were won by L. Haynes, St. 

 Catharines. Other prize winners were : 

 W. D. Woodruff, St. Catharines ; A. W. 

 .\ustin. Port Dalhousie; F. G. Stewart, 

 Homer ; and R. Cameron. The prize 



money in the plum classes was 

 divided. 



well 



Fighting San "Jose Scale in Ontario 



Jas. A. Neilson, PortSDover, Ont. 



During the past spring the Fruit Branch 

 of the Department of Agriculture engaged 

 the writer to undertake the work of in- 

 vestigating the prevalence of the San Jose 

 Scale in the orchards of Ontario. As a 

 result of the work, which began April 21, 

 we have found the San Jose Scale to be 

 rather widespread, especially in the south- 

 western part of the province. The pest 

 has been found in the following counties: 

 Oxford, Middlesex. Lambton, Essex, Kent, 

 Elgin, Norfolk, Welland, Lincoln, Went- 

 worth, Halton, and Peel. 



The San Jose Scale is one of the worst 

 pests that the fruit grower has to fight, 

 but fortunately it can be controlled. From 

 observation of a number of orchards, pre- 

 viously infested, we have found that this 

 very destructive pest can be completely 

 ovVcome by spraying the affected trees 

 with the lime-sulpliur mixture. The spray 

 should be apilied on the dormant wood, 

 before the buds break open in the spring 

 or after the leaves drop off in the antumn. 

 If the trees are badlv affected the rough 

 bark should be scraped off and the trees 

 rather severely pruned. It is absolutely 

 necessary to be very thorough in the spray- 

 ing of the trees. Every branch, and even 

 the smallest twigs should be covered with 

 the sprav mixture. 



This i$ rendered necessary by the mar- 

 vellous powers of reproduction which the 

 San lose S'-ale possesses. One female in 

 the course of a season is capable of bring- 

 ing forth offspring which will multiply to 

 one million. From this fact we can see 

 the necessity of being thorough in the 



spraying, as even the smallest twig left 

 untouched will rein f est the whole tree. 



CONCERTED ACTION NECESSARY 



To secure the best results in an infested 

 area, concerted action is necessary on the 

 part of the fruit growers. Unless this is 

 secured, the efforts of those who do spray 

 are to a certain extent rendered ineffec- 

 tive. From interviews with a large num- 

 ber of fruit growers, we have found that 

 compulsory spraying would be welcomed 

 by many, especially in sections where the 

 San Jose Scale is prevalent. Competent 

 inspectors should be appointed to see that 

 the negligent ones do their duty. 



Fruit growers should keep a sharp look- 

 out for this pest, as it is much easier to 

 control in the initial stage than when it 

 has become established. The San Jose 

 Scale is spread in the first place chiefly 

 on nursery stock ; therefore growers should 

 deal only with reliable nurserymen. Birds 

 and insects also carry it from tree to tree 

 and from orchard to orchard. 



The Department of Agriculture will fur- 

 nish upon request a spraying calendar, 

 giving full and complete directions for 

 spraying for the San Jose Scale and all 

 other fruit pests. 



Peaches, plums and other soft fruits are 

 not susceptible to being preserved for any 

 length of time in cold storage. The best 

 that can be done is to keep them in a firm 

 condition for transportation and marketing 

 at reasonable distances. — J. A. Ruddick, 

 Dairy Cold Storage Commissioner. 



