574 BRITISH NORTH AMERICA 



BRITISH NORTH AMERICA 



not excelled elsewhere. The interior valleys now 

 ship about 600 carloads of apples to prairie and 

 coast markets, and to Australia, China, Japan and 

 England. Pears are largely planted, not only in the 

 interior, but also on the coast where they are relatively 

 more successful than are apples, the principal varieties 

 being Bartlett, Clairgeau, Anjou and Flemish Beauty. 

 Plums and prunes are also of considerable commercial 

 importance, the Pond Seedling or Hungarian being 

 the principal plum, although the Italian prune is more 

 largely grown commercially than any other variety of 

 either plum or prune. Peaches are practically confined 

 to the Lower Okanagan valley, and the Triumph, 

 Early Crawford, Yellow St. John and Elberta are most 

 largely grown commercially. The total shipments 

 probably aggregate about 100 carloads. Cherry trees 

 are planted throughout the province on a commercial 

 scale, the hardier sweet cherries, especially the Bing, 

 Lambert and Royal Anne throughout the interior, 

 while on the coast the Olivet and English Morello, 

 both preserving cherries, meet with particular success, 

 the growers obtaining an average of 11 cents a pound 

 for a period of years. Not the least important among 

 the tree fruits are the crab-apples, particularly Trans- 

 cendent and Hyslop, grown most largely in the Okana- 

 gan 'Valley. The Transcendent is thought to be the 

 most profitable apple for a period of years in the prov- 

 ince. Prairie markets have recognized the superiority 

 of the British Columbia crab-apple and are paying 

 prices extremely satisfactory to the fruit-grower. The 

 apricot is grown to some extent in the warmer interior 

 valleys. Nut trees are being experimented with 

 throughout the province and indications are that some 

 varieties of walnuts will prove commercially profitable 

 on the coast. 



In small-fruits British Columbia has some areas, 

 especially those contiguous to the delta of the Fraser 

 River, that are preeminently adapted to the strawberry 

 and raspberry; the loganberry also flourishes in the 

 coast regions and is proving profitable. Blackberries 

 are grown to some extent on the coast, as are 

 currants and gooseberries, although the latter are in- 

 clined to mildew, with the exception of the Oregon 

 Champion, a western variety now grown almost exclu- 

 sively. The interior valleys, especially those having a 

 more humid climate, are growing strawberries and rasp- 

 berries commercially to an increased extent. Taken as a 

 whole, however, the acreage m small fruits is only a 

 small fraction of that devoted to tree fruits, and this is 

 quite likely to be the case indefinitely. 



Vegetable-growing is practised throughout the prov- 

 ince, the white potato, onions, tomatoes, cabbage, 

 and celery being the principal cnps in the order named. 

 The potato is grown as a field crop in practically all 

 districts and the average yield an acre in 1911 was 230 

 bushels. British Columbia potatoes won the Stillwell 

 trophy at the National Land and Irrigation Exposi- 

 tion, New York, 1911, which proves the general excel- 

 lence of the soil and climate of the province for the crop. 

 The potato-beetle is unknown and blight is not usually 

 serious enough to warrant, preventive measures. Pota- 

 toes are shipped in commercial quantities to the Yukon, 

 to northern British Columbia, to the coast cities, to 

 the mining camps and to the prairie provinces. The 

 acreage in 1911 was about 13,000 acres and this was 

 increased in 1912. The onions, of which the Yellow 

 Globe Danvers is grown in the Okanagan Valley to the 

 extent of about 100 carloads a year, are shipped to 

 coast and prairie markets. The summer nights are too 

 cool for the tomato except in the arid interior valleys 

 where they are grown in large quantities both for ship- 

 ping fresh and for canning purposes. Cabbage, celery 

 and other vegetables are grown on an extensive scale 

 commercially on suitable soils throughout the province, 

 notably at Armstrong. 



The greenhouse business surrounding the cities of the 



coast, has trebled in volume in three years, and openings 

 still remain for its extension throughout the province. 

 Bulb-culture is making progress in the district surround- 

 ing Victoria, and will become an important commercial 

 industry when labor becomes cheaper. 



The regions are shown on the map (Fig. 663). Hor- 

 ticulturally British Columbia is as yet almost confined 

 to the southern part, and only the different areas so 

 included are here discussed. 



Districts Nos. 1 and 2 on the map are distinctly 

 coastal in character. The Japanese current tempera 

 the climate throughout the entire year so tha 

 weather is very uncommon, and the summer tem- 

 perature very rarely reaches over 80. The humidity 

 is high almost throughout the year, and the annual 



663. Horticultural Regions of British Columbia. 



precipitation (which is nearly always in the form of 

 rain) runs from 30 to 120 inches, the average in the 

 horticultural areas being around 55 inches. This falls 

 largely in the winter months, and July and August are 

 often so very dry as to cause a loss from drought. This 

 area has a remarkably long growing season. Owing to 

 the coolness of the nights, tomatoes, corn, and the like 

 do not ripen. Early apples do well, but winter apples 

 cannot be matured successfully. Fungous diseases 

 also restrict apple-culture to a serious extent. Pears, 

 however, do well; small-fruits do exceptionally w<;ll, 

 and preserving cherries are very profitable. District 

 No. 1, being the southeastern part of Vancouver 

 Island, with an annual precipitation of about 40 inches, 

 is rather drier than the lower mainland district Nn. 

 2, but this difference has no great influence on the 

 character of its products. In these districts only a 

 small proportion of the land suitable is being mm 

 to produce what it is capable of producing. The local 

 markets still import considerable quantities of prod- 

 uce from California, Oregon and Washington. 



