50 



SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE 



October 



Results of Fruit Culture on the Forest Nursery 

 Station at Indian Head 



By NORMAN M. ROSS, 

 Forestry Branch Nursery Station, v 



Indian Head, Sask. 



(Paper read before the Official Horticulturists' Association of the Northern 



Great Plains.) 



This station Avas not established with 

 a view to doing any special work with fruit 

 and we have no appropriation for develop- 

 ing that line. However, we received so 

 many enquiries for information as to the 

 varieties wliich may be grown under prai- 

 rie conditions that the writer thought it 

 advisable to make a tiial of what might 

 prove successful so as to have some prac- 

 tical experience on which to base such in- 

 formation. 



Of course we all known that currants 

 and raspberries may be grown to perfec- 

 tion. Gooseberries and strawberries have 

 also proved very satisfactor}-. Beyond se- 

 curing a few plants of unnamed sorts 

 from the Experimental Farm we have 

 'done nothing particular with currants. 

 With raspberries, however, we planted a 

 number of kinds such as Louden, Turner, 

 Minnetonka, Shipper's Pride, Sunbeam 

 and Herbert, and later, in 1919, Chata, 

 Minnesota No. 4 and St. Regis. Of course 

 the Herbert has undoubtedly proved the 

 strongest grower and most prolific, with 

 immense berries. The Minnesota No. 4 ap- 

 pears very promising and may equal the 

 Herbert wlien plants are well established. 

 We do not find that the Herbert is any 

 less hardy than other kinds. Our canes 

 are always laid down for winter and grown 

 under the hill system. 



Wo made no trial with gooseberries until 

 19] 9, when plants of Pearl, Carrie, Rideau 

 and Downing were set out. These have 

 all made great growth and commenced to 

 boar well this season. 



With strawberries, wo started in lOOG 

 with Senator Dunlap and Bodorwood. Tbo 

 former has given us good crops every sea- 

 son since. The Bederwood, while doing 

 very well in certain seasons, has not boon 

 so uniformly good. We have been trying 

 tlie everbearing varieties for a number of 

 years such as Progressive, Superb, Ameri- 



cus and 1017. It cannot be said that with 

 us these have given such good results as 

 the Senator Dunlap. In favorable seasons 

 with plenty of rain we have had good ber- 

 ries up to the middle of October: but for 

 the liome garden to grow for preserving 

 purposes we would consider the Dunlap 

 most suitable. A very large percent of 

 the everbearers killed out with us last 

 winter, while the Dunlaps under the same 

 conditions came through well. 



Of the plums we have tried Aitkin, Che- 

 ney, Stevenson's Mammoth and the native 

 Manitoba wild plum. Of these the 

 Mammoth has borne lieavily and pro- 

 duces a fruit of good size and fair 

 quality, especially for preserving. The 

 Aitkin l)lossoms very early and sometimes 

 gets caught by frost. Still our trees have 

 for four or five seasons 1)orne fair crops. 

 The fruit is of good size and very attractive 

 appearance but not of particularly good 

 quality. The Cheney has given us very 

 heavy crops, three to four weeks later than 

 Aitkin, and makes most excellent preser- 

 ves. We secured quite a large number of 

 the Hansen Hyl)rids whicli liave been 

 planted now about six years and all have 

 proved reasonably hardy. Of these the 

 best and most prolific are Sapa, Oziya and 

 Opata. The Sapa bears very heavily, the 

 fruit is deep crimson and the flesh a deep 

 red. It makes a splendid preserve of quite 

 distinctive flavor. The Oziya is a good 

 sized yellowish fruit of very pleasing 

 flavor. Under Professor Hansen's advice 

 these Hybrids have been grown in bush 

 form so that the branches may be laid on 

 tlie ground for winter protection. We also 

 got from Professor Hanson tlio Tokata. 

 Tliis seems to l)o more of the |>lum type, 

 both in habit of growtli and size of fruit. 

 These bore fruit first in 1920 and this sea- 

 son show a very good crop. Tho fruit is 

 larger than tho Mammoth, ripening pos- 



