MARITIME FEUIT GROWING 



PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND RAPIDLY COMING 

 TO THE FRONT AS AN APPLE COUNTRY- 

 NOTES FROM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT. 



WHILE the crop of apples has been 

 short in Nova Scotia and the 

 luscious Gravenstein is very 

 little in evidence this fall, Prince Edward 

 Island, under its excellent F. G. A. organ- 

 ization-, presided over by our friend Rev. 

 Father Burke, seems to be rapidly coming- 

 to the front as a fruit-gfrowing province. In 

 apples, plums and pears she has made 

 wonderful and permanent progress ; and 

 now it appears there is ample evidence that 

 she can grow peaches. A splendid specimen 

 of the Elberta species three years from plant- 

 ing was put on exhibition recently at Char- 

 lottetown by Mr. Murchison of Bonshaw- 

 Islanders are pleased with themselves. 



The cold and wet weather of spring play- 

 ed great havoc with the fruit prospects of 

 Nova Scotia. In blossoming time there was 

 very damp weather, and the pollen was not 

 as a consequence distributed. The Graven- 

 stein is almost a complete blank, despite a 

 perfect profusion of bloom. Later bloomers 

 seem to have done better. Baldwins and 

 Ribstons are a good catch and the quarter 

 crop of the province is made up of these and 

 some early varieties. Commercially, Nova 

 Scotia is not likely to compete very largely 

 in the foreign or domestic markets this 

 year. 



New Brunswick never attempted, to any 

 extent, fruit-growing. Not that apples can- 

 not be grown there successfully, but some- 

 how or other the spirit of organization, 

 which does all things now-a-days, has not 

 invaded her. She has had nurseries, has 

 made her own of the Duchess, for example, 

 which is everywhere grown in the Maritime 



Provinces under the name of *' New Bruns 

 wick," but has not induced the people in any 

 numbers to take to orcharding. 



Little Prince Edward Island, garden from 

 end to end, shut out from the possibility of 

 manufacturing by its insular position, has 

 been casting about to develop all its agricul- 

 tural possibilities. Fruit growing is among 

 them decidedly; and of late it has made 

 gigantic strides there. The Federal Gov- 

 ernment has given the F. G. A. two skilled 

 instructors, who have travelled over the 

 Island from end to end this season and held 

 demonstration classes in all the wide range 

 of horticultural work. They have got into 

 as many individual orchards as time would 

 permit, and proved the wisdom of Father 

 Burke's convention at Cobourg last year, 

 that missionary work in horticulture is best 

 done in the orchards of the class of farmers 

 needing instruction of that kind. A small 

 province like P. E. I. lends itself admirably 

 to this work. 



The Exhibitions have been dissappointing 

 in the fruit departments this year at Halifax 

 and St. John, while Charlottetown's display 

 has never been excelled in the provinces. 

 The Maritime Farmer, of Sussex, N. B., 

 thus alludes to this feature : 



" At this point (the fruit stands) came a 

 revelation of the show and it is apparent 

 that in the future, and in the very near 

 future at that, Prince Edward Island must 

 be reckoned with in the fruit markets of our 

 country. It is not alone the question of 

 quality but quantity as well." The writer. 

 Editor Ross, himselt an Ontarian, and well 

 qualified to judge, reviews lucidly the large 



