November, 1914. 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



269 



ping- charges. As it will then be more 

 difficult for fruit growers to obtain a start 

 in fruit growing or to enlarge their per- 

 manent acreage the benefits at first derived 

 from the cainal will in time be offset by the 

 burden imposed on western growers by the 

 increased value of their land. 



An examination of the financial state- 

 ments of the Ontario Horticultural Asso- 

 ciation for the past few years shows that 

 when the balance brought forward each 

 year is eliminated approximately one half 

 of the receipts of the Association have been 

 paid out in the form of an honorarium or 

 salary to the secretary of the association, 

 and in the form of small grants to his 

 stenographer and similar help. The sec- 

 retaries of most horticultural societies re- 

 ceive little or no remuneration for what 

 often are most arduous labors. They per- 

 form their work because of their desire to 

 promote the cause of horticulture. The 

 local societies generally have need for all 

 the money they receive. Still they wisely 

 support the provincial association by mak- 

 ing grants to it of from two to five dol- 

 lars each out of their limited funds. The 

 secretary of the provincial organization is 

 a government official who receives a lib- 

 eral salary from the government to sup- 

 erintend the work of the horticultural so- 

 cieties. His duties as secretary of the pro- 

 vincial association are light indeed. It is a 

 little difficult to understand, therefore, 

 why he should receive such a large share 

 of the funds of the associatiom, derived, as 

 they are from the funds of the needy Jocal 

 organizations. Protests against this condi- 

 tion have been made privately in the past 

 without effect. It would seem, therefore, as 

 though the delegates to the approaching 

 convention might give the matter a little 

 of their attention. 



The Department of Trade and Commerce 

 at Ottawa, under the direction of Sir Geo. 

 E. Foster, has shown commendable enter- 

 prise this year in appropriating fifteen 

 thousand dollars to advertise the apple as 

 an article of diet in the consuming centres 

 of Canada. The advertisements that have 

 been running in the press have been weO 

 written and should be productive of good. 

 It is unfortunate that it was not found 

 possible to advise would-be buyers where 

 they could procure the fruit. Local grow- 

 ers who have fruit for sale would do wall 

 to take advantage of the advertising that 

 has been done by the Government by plac- 

 ing smaJJ advertisements in the papers 

 which have been carrying the advertise- 

 ments of the Government, stating- the var- 

 ieties of fruit they have for sale and their 

 price by the box or barrel. Some growers 

 who have already done this have been well 

 repaid for their outlay. 



The annual convention of the Ontario 

 Horticultural Association will be held this 

 month in Toronto. As usual it will be 

 conducted in connection with the Ontario 

 Horticultural Exhibition, The provincia,! 

 association has done much more to pro- 

 mote the interests of the local horticultural 

 societies than most of the societies realize. 

 We hope, therefore, that the local societies 

 at their annual meetings this month will 

 make it a point to see that delegates are 

 api)ointed to attend the convention in Tor- 

 onto of the Central Association. 



they have confidence in him. While Mr. 

 J'ohnsoin had had as wide an experience as 

 a fruit grower — and a successful one, too — 

 as probably any man in Canada, he is un- 

 assuming and modv^st and thus the morie 

 easily obtains the hearty cooperation of 

 those whose support he requires. We pre- 

 dict with confidence that through his efforts 

 much will be accomplished during the next 

 few years on behalf of the fruit interests 

 of Canada. 



W« luTite the offloers of ilorti- 

 oultuxal Societies to send in short, 

 pithy reports of work that would in- 

 terest members of other Hortloiiltnral 

 Sooletiee. 



CUELPH 



The Guelph Horticultural Society held a 

 flower show and sale this fall in aid of the 

 Red Cross Society, the returns of which 

 were handed over to be used for the bene- 

 fit of the wives and families of the voltin- 

 teers who are now representing the city 

 on European battlefields. The show was 

 held in the armoury and one hundred and 

 sixty dollars was realized. Messrs. A. and 

 J. Gilchrist provided five thousand beau- 

 tiful gladioli free of cost. They were sold 

 in no time amd three times the number 

 might have been disposed of. Some chrys- 

 anthemums donated by Captain Taylor also 

 found a ready sale. The variety. Princess 

 Patricia, was much admired. An interest- 

 ing programme of songs and music was 

 provided. 



DUNDAS 



The Dundas Horticultural Society started 

 its fall and winter meetings in October by 

 an illuminated lecture on bulbs and their 

 treatment. Excellent views of tulips, daffo- 

 dils, gloxinias, calceolarias, and some beau- 

 tiful orchids, were shown from the gardens 

 of Sir Edmund Osier of Toronto. The 

 lecture was given by Mr. Allen, who is Sir 

 Edmund Osier's head gardener. Mr. Allen 

 is a man well up in all branches of horti- 

 culture. He has had a wide experience in 

 England and Ireland. It is our intention to 

 keep up these illuustrated lectures and 

 thereby try to create a greater interest in 

 flowers, not only among the members of our 

 Society, but the town in general. — J. A. 

 Kyle, Secretary. 



ST. THOMAS 



Rivalry in the lawn, vegetable and flower 

 garden contest conducted by the St. Thom- 

 as Horticultural Society this year, was very 

 keen. Seventy-five places were entered. 

 The Collegiate Institute, Jos. Clarke, care- 

 taker, woin the silver medal and seven dol- 

 lars in cash offered for the best school. 

 The Balaclava St. School, with I. Wright, 

 caretaker, and Wellington St. School, with 

 Jos. Gillard, caretaker, tied for second 

 place. The Merchants' Bank won the first 

 prize offered for floral bcautification of 

 business places. Handsome prizes were of- 

 fered in the different classes. These were 

 on exhibition for some time in one of the 

 city stores. 



One point that was clearly revealed at 

 the Dominion Fruit Conference last month 

 was that fruit growers are "pleased with 

 the appointment of Mr. D. Johnson as 

 Dominion Fruit Commissioner and that 



At a meeting of the Ginseng: Growers' 

 Association of Canada, held in Toronto, 

 September 9th, the following officers were 

 elected : President, Mr. Austin ; first vice- 

 president, D. Menzies; second vice-presi- 

 dent, Mr. Leary ; secretary, P. Wilson; 

 executive, Rev. Dr. Medd and Mr. Sawyer. 



British Columbia 



New regulations empowering the British 

 Columbia provincial fruit inspectors to 

 seize all infected fruit, no matter where it 

 is on display, even though it has previously 

 been passed by the inspectors, have been 

 made by the Provincial Board of Horticul- 

 ture. This is the most drastic step yet tak- 

 en in the campaign against the importa- 

 tion of fruit affected with any form of plant 

 or insect disease. Cases have been report- 

 ed where evidences of infection were not 

 apparent at the time of inspection, but the 

 shipments, on being opened up on the fruit 

 stands a few days later, showed that in- 

 fection had ripened. These shipments will 

 no longer be protected by the inspector's 

 certificate and wiU be open for inspection 

 and seizure as if they had never been pre- 

 viously inspected and passed. 



Another regulation aimed at stamping 

 out the risk of infection from codling moth 

 calls for the inspection of all fruit cars 

 that enter Canada from any point in the 

 United States. These regulations, under 

 the powers granted by Sir John Thompson, 

 when he introduced the Horticultural Act 

 over twenty years ago, acquire the force 

 of statute ilaw after being gazetted in the 

 official Gazette. 



Another important decision of the Board 

 of Horticulture is a request to the Ottawa 

 authorities to place "black leaf forty" on 

 the free list. Black leaf forty is a prepara- 

 tion of nicotine and sulphur which is used 

 extensively for spraying purposes. It^ is 

 recognized as the best contact insecticide 

 known, and is made only in Kentucky, 

 where a special kind of tobacco is grown 

 for its manufacture. At present it pays a 

 dutv of twentv-seven and a ha,lf per cent, 

 in Canada. In the United States it retails 

 for twelve dollars and a half a gallon. In 

 this province, buying it in very large quan- 

 tities, the Government has to pay fifteen 

 dollars and twenty cents a gallon, the 

 growers still more. Carbon bi-sulphide, 

 which is used for fumigating insect pests, 

 was placed on the free list a short time 

 ago. 



The Board of Horticulture, which has 

 charge of horticultural regulations for the 

 province, is composed of the Minister of 

 Agriculture; Deputy Minister, W. E. Scott; 

 Fruit Inspector, Thomas Cunningham, and 

 a number of prominent fruit growers from 

 each distritct, including Messrs. Stratfield, 

 Metcalfe, Ricardo, McHardy, Palmer and 

 Woodward, representing respectively Van- 

 couver Island, The Lower Mainland, Okan- 

 agan, Kootenay, Kamloops and Victoria 

 districts. 



In order to thoroughly abolish any risk 

 of fire blight infection in the Okanagan 

 Valley, a field corps of ten men has been 

 out. under instructions from the Govern- 

 ment fruit inspector to inspect every tree 

 in every orchard in the Okanagan. Any 

 traces of fire blight were followed up, and 

 infected limbs or trees were committed to 

 the flames. The evidence of fire blight in 

 the province has only been slight, but In- 

 spector Cunningham and his staff are de- 

 termined to completely eradicate every ves- 

 tige of the blight for fear it gets a foot- 

 hold and works havoc in the orchards of 

 the Okanagan, as it has done in many of 

 the orchards of the adjoining state of 

 Washington. 



The United Fruit Companies of Nova 

 Scotia Ltd. some weeks ago sent F. M. 

 Chute to South .America to find a market 

 for a portion of their crop of apples. Trial 

 shipments during the past few years have 

 somewhat prepared the field. 



