BRITISH NORTH AMERICA 



BRITISH NORTH AMERICA 569 



The commercial cultivation of strawberries, rasp- 

 berries, gooseberries, blackberries, and of sour cherries, 

 is extensive in many districts of the province. Local 

 conditions, such as the presence of urban markets or of 

 canneries, together with the availability of labor, sivm 

 to determine the localities which can engage profitably 

 in the production of these fruits. Large quantities of 

 even the most tender fruits, such as strawberries, are 

 shipped west to points in the prairie provinces, and 

 eastward in some cases to Quebec, New Brunswick 

 and Nova Scotia. 



The most important apple districts of the province 

 are all included in districts Nos. 2and3. The northern, or, 

 more correctly, the tipper limit of district No. 2, forms 

 approximately the limit of the commercial cultivation 

 of tin- Baldwin apple. Other important varieties grown 

 in district No. 2 arc Northern Spy, Greening and King. 

 That part of district No. 2 lying to the north of Lake 

 Ontario produces few Baldwins and some Greenings, but 

 the leading variety is probably Northern Spy. District 

 No. 3 grows winter varieties for storage purposes and 

 Northern Spy grown here keeps well until March or 

 April. The counties north of Lake Ontario also produce 

 large quantities of Ben Davis, Gano and Stark. These 

 varieties have been exported in large quantities for 

 many years to European markets. 



The area marked district No. 4 in western Ontario lies 

 at a much higher altitude than the surrounding dis- 

 tricts and is consequently much colder. There are few 

 apples grown commercially, but the climate corresponds 

 very closely to that of the St. Lawrence River Valley, 

 part of which on the map is also marked district No. 4. 

 The St. Lawrence River Valley has long been noted for 

 its Mclntosh Red and Fameuse. The Mclntosh Red, by 

 the way, had its origin in Dundas County, not far from 

 the St. Lawrence River, about 1790. (See page 317.) 



District No. 5 and the large extent of country lying to 

 the north of Lake Huron and Lake Superior, and extend- 

 ing to James Bay, is comparatively new and untried with 

 regard to its possibilities in fruit-growing. In one or 

 two districts of the great northland, apples are grown 

 successfully in a commercial way. This is true of St. 

 Joseph's Island, Algoma, and of the mainland of Algoma 

 District bordering on the north shore of Lake Huron. 



One of the most interesting features of Ontario hor- 

 ticulture is the existence within the province of a large 

 number of very successful fruit-growers' selling organ- 

 izations. The story of the work done by some of these 

 organizations in reviving the fruit industry in certain 

 previously neglected counties reads like romance. In 

 Norfolk County, on the north shore of Lake Erie, the 

 production of apples increased in ten years from nothing 

 to approximately 50,000 barrels, and this tremendous 

 development came about simply through the care given 

 to the old orchards, many of which had been standing 

 uncared for and idle thirty or forty years previous to 

 the organization of the fruit-growers' association. There 

 are some forty of these associations now doing business 

 within the province, and by their aid Ontario expects in 

 the future to be able to dispose of her fruit successfully 

 in the face of all competition. j \y_ CHOW. 



Manitoba. 



In considering the agricultural possibilities of the 

 province of Manitoba (Fig. 660), the subject of horti- 

 culture is too frequently overlooked or given scant con- 

 sideration. The fact that cereals can be grown with 

 great success has been very clearly demonstrated, but 

 up to the present time comparatively few of the persons 

 residing in western Canada have had sufficient confi- 

 dence in the fruit-growing possibilities of the country 

 to enter the industry on a very extensive scale. How- 

 ever, a few pioneers have opened the way, and to the 

 results of their work one looks for encouragement and 

 guidance. 



Geographically, Manitoba lies just north of the 

 international boundary line, extending from longitude 

 95 W. to 101 Yz W., or about 276 miles. Since the ex- 

 tension of the boundary, the northern limits are on 

 the shores of the Hudson Bay. The altitude varies 

 from 760 to 1,500 feet above sea-level. 



The annual precipitation in the Red River Valley 

 varies from 20 to 25 inches, and in the western part of 



660. Manitoba. 



the province from 15 to 20 inches. The average rain- 

 fall for the growing season May, June, July and 

 August varies from 8 to 11 inches. 



The annual sunshine is 47 per cent of the possible, 

 and during the growing season is 56 per cent, making 

 an average of 8.5 hours of bright sunshine a day, which 

 accounts for the phenomenal growth which is made by 

 most plants. 



The average monthly temperature in degrees Fahren- 

 heit is as follows: January, 1.9; February, .5; March, 

 14.4; April, 38.2; May, 50.4; June, 60.6; July, 64.6; 

 Aug, 62.1; September, 52.8; October, 40.7; November, 

 20.7; December, 7.5. Average temperature for the 

 growing season from the first of May to the first of 

 September is 59.2 F. 



In a country of such rich agricultural resources as 

 Manitoba, in which excellent crops of cereals can be 

 produced on an extensive scale with a minimum of 

 labor, one would naturally expect that the people would 

 turn rather slowly to the production of fruits, which 

 require much greater care and a much more intensive 

 and exact system of cultivation. The growing of this 

 finer class of agricultural products is usually delayed 

 until the country has become thickly populated and the 

 land has been brought into a fairly good state of cultiva- 

 tion. Making an allowance for the difficulties that must 

 be overcome in the production of fruits, some excellent 

 work has been done and substantial progress made. 



Among the valuable introductions is the Pyrus 

 baccata, or Siberian crab-apple, which was first planted 

 on the experimental farm at Brandon, in the year 1890, 



