HORTICULTURE. 



Long before he became Director of Experimental Farms, Dr. 

 Saunders was intimately associated with horticulture. Both upon 

 his own farm near London and as a Director of the Ontario Fruit 

 Growers' Association, he took a keen, practical interest in the fruit 

 industry. His knowledge of botany and entomology, as well as 

 horticulture, made him a leader in this work, and so when the larger 

 field opened to him, he was well prepared to enter upon it in a broad 

 and effective way. 



Lp to the time the Farms were established, little experimental 

 work in fruit growing had been undertaken in Canada, except by 

 enthusiastic individuals scattered here and there throughout the 

 Dominion. It is true an experimental orchard had been set at the 

 Ontario Agricultural College, but previous to 1887, little information 

 had been published regarding the work there. 



The need of systematic experimental work in horticulture was 

 keenly felt at that time as the fruit industry was developing very 

 rapidly, and with this development insect pests and fungous diseases 

 were increasing also, and experiments were very necessary to find 

 the most economical way of controlling them. While varieties 

 of fruits had been discussed at fruit growers' meetings for years, 

 no permanent experimental station had been established for the 

 testing of old and new varieties, except at Guelph, and the experience 

 of the individual grower with, of necessity, a limited area for experi- 

 mental purposes, had mainly to be taken as a rule in the planting 

 of orchards. The origination of new varieties more suitable to the 

 climate of Canada, than those which had originated further south, 

 was a line of work which a few horticultural enthusiasts had under- 

 taken with gratifying results, and which offered a field for valuable 

 work at an experiment station. 



The work of the Horticultural Division has been supervised 

 by three different officers since 1887, viz.: Mr. \V. W. Hilborn, Horti- 

 culturist from 1886 to 1889, Mr. John Craig, Horticulturist from 

 1890 to 1897 and \V. T. Macoun from 1898 to the present time. 



The original area of land in the Horticultural Division at the 

 Central Farm was 40 acres, which has been devoted to experiments 

 with fruits and vegetables. In 1898 the forest belts, comprising 

 about 21 acres, were added to the Horticultural Division, and in 

 the same year, Mr. Macoun w T as appointed Curator of the Arboretum 

 and Botanic Garden, as well as Horticulturist. The Arboretum and 



