160 REPORT OF THE SCOTTISH COMMISSION 



artificials, the land which in many cases is not otherwise manured, 

 is kept in a fair state of fertility. 



There is no lack of insect pests and fungus diseases in the valley, 

 and vigorous attempts are being made to keep them down. The 

 up to date fruit-growers spray their orchards three times every 

 season, once before the trees blossom, once immediately after the 

 blossom falls, and once again a fortnight later. The mixture is 

 usually made of 4 lbs. of copper sulphate, 4 lbs. quick lime, and 

 40 gallons of water, to which is added from ^ to | lb. of Paris green. 

 Spraying is one of the heavy items of outlay necessarily incurred 

 on a fruit farm, but it is one which must be incurred if failure is to 

 be avoided. 



The grower, almost invariably, picks his own apples. He may 

 also grade and pack them before disposing of them locally or sending 

 them to a commission agent for sale. In such circumstances, he 

 must provide himself with a fruit store and have a fairly good 

 knowledge of the packing business. More frequently, he sells his 

 fruit to apple buyers, who stipulate that it must be delivered at their 

 warehouses. There the fruit is graded and packed by experts. 

 Where the co-operative movement has taken root the fruit is con- 

 signed to the co-operative store and is graded and packed and 

 ultimately shipped to the market where it is to be disposed of. 



The average yield of fruit is difficult to estimate. We have it 

 on the authority of reliable growers in the valley that an acre of 

 good orchard land in full bearing will yield 100 barrels of 150 lbs. 

 each per year. The average price in 1908, at the point of ship- 

 ment, was about two dollars per barrel, which would give a return 

 of fully £40 per acre. We heard of returns much greater in amount 

 and in value. Possibly the above figures are as high as the average 

 could be put. 



In the Annapolis valley, so desirable for situation and so capable 

 of producing crops which more than pay the money expended on 

 them, it must seem strange that scores of farms are in the market. 

 As a matter of fact, we know of thirty fruit holdings in the valley and 

 elsewhere in Nova Scotia for sale. The reason is not that the fruit- 

 growers are doing badly, for this is not so. It is rather occasioned 

 by the unrest, which more or less is affecting the rural population 

 the world over. It is accentuated in Eastern Canada, because the 

 young men have the blood of the pioneers in their veins, and the 

 romantic story of farming and ranching in the wild west is ever 

 being told to them ; and, discontented and dissatisfied without 

 much reason, they are ever seeking pastures new. As a result, 

 there are openings in the Annapolis valley for fruit-growers par- 

 ticularly those of them who can combine fruit-growing and dairying, 

 — but they must be men of shrewdness, of intelligence, and of 

 perseverance. For such men, good farms, possibly to some extent 

 run out, with good buildings upon them, and planted partially with 

 iruit trees, may be bought at from £10 to £12 per acre. 



