60 WESTERN HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Doubtful Fruits, 



BY A. P. STEVENSON. 



This is the first time I have had the pleasure of appear- 

 ing- before you at any of your meetings, and at the invitation 

 of your honored presiding- officer, I esteem it a pleasure to 

 contribute my mite to the interest of your meeting- by relating 

 some of my experience in growing- fruit in our Province. 



I have thought it might be interesting to review briefly 

 some of my experience in attempts to grow the larger fruits 

 such as apples, etc., for after all it is around this class of 

 fruit that centres the most interest. Good paying crops of 

 small fruits can be grown here without much trouble, but 

 apples, ah ! that is another question ; have we not all learned 

 from dear bought experience that they are a failure here. 

 Apple growing in the North-West is yet an unsolved problem. 



I bought the first apple trees I ever planted in Manitoba 

 in the fall of 1874. They were planted that fall in a garden 

 here in Winnipeg ; in the spring of 1875 my trees were sound 

 asleep and they are sleeping yet. Soon after starting on my 

 farm at Pembina Mountain I bought another lot of standard 

 apple, cherry, and plum trees of all the standard eastern 

 varieties. They were a fine looking lot of trees ; all lived and 

 made a fine growth the first summer ; the following spring 

 not a living tree was left to mark the spot where they stood ; 

 what prevented me from surrendering to the hard winters I 

 cannot tell, unless it was the endless amount of energy and 

 perseverance it takes to make a fruit crank of a man. In 1880 

 I planted a number of crab apple trees ; the most of them are 

 with us yet and are healthy and apparently sound; they came 

 into bearing the third year after planting and have continued 

 to do so ever since. 



In 1885 were planted one year old trees of Duchess, 

 Wealthy, and Whitney ; more trees were planted up to 1890. 



