BRITISH NORTH AMERICA 



BRITISH NORTH AMERICA 571 



to any extent, and consequently imports of canned fruits 

 and vegetables, fresh fruits and flowers, have been very 

 heavy in proportion to the population, and of exports 

 there have been none. A rapidly increasing resident 

 and floating population, combined with the attractions 

 of grain-farming, to some extent account for this. There 

 is no adequate reason why vegetables, small fruits and 

 flowers should not be grown in quantity sufficient at 

 least to meet the demand of the home market. There 

 is ample evidence at any of the fairs held in the various 

 parts of the province that the soil and climate are suit- 

 able for the production of a large variety of vegetables of 

 unexcelled quality. It has been proved that vegetables 

 and flowers can be grown profitably under glass during 

 the coldest winters. The most important points to con- 

 sider in locating such industries are access to market 

 and cheap fuel. A glance at the map will show many 

 favorably situated distributing points on the network 

 of railway lines, while the lignite of the Souris Valley 

 in the south and the wood of the northland, readily 



661. Saskatchewan. 



solve the fuel problem without considering the possi- 

 bilities that lie hidden in the straw piles that accumu- 

 late or are burned o_n the millions of acres of grain 

 fields each season. 



Small conservatories and nurseries located at Prince 

 Albert, Moose Jaw and possibly other points, are devot- 

 ing their attention mostly to winter vegetables, while 

 at Saskatoon 2.5,000 feet of glass is used in the produc- 

 tion of pot- and cut-flowers. There is also a large de- 

 mand for shrubs and ornamental trees for the beautify- 

 ing of the homes so rapidly growing in numbers in 

 village, town and city, but few nurseries are specializing 

 in that line. The abundance of native small fruits such 

 as the currant, gooseberry, raspberry, saskatoon, blue- 

 berr\', cranberry, cherry and strawbero', has to some 

 extent delayed the introduction of cultivated varieties 

 into the gardens of the residents in those portions of 

 the province most suitable for successful fruit-growing, 

 and, on the other hand, those living on the open prairie 

 have first to grow shelter-belts before they can hope 

 for good gardens. When shelter is provided, the hardier 

 varieties of small fruits and crab-apples may be grown 



without difficulty. There arc, however, peculiar weather 

 conditions that should be considereil before anything of 

 this kind be attemjited on a commercial scale. Bright 

 warm days and cold nights in April, and frosts in May, 

 determine the extent of the fruit crop. It is true, how- 

 ever, that some of the evil effects of freezing and thawing 

 can be avoided by protection of the stems from the 

 direct rays of the sun. 



In isolated instances, in sheltered gardens, some of 

 the hardiest varieties of standard apples, such as Hiber- 

 nal, Anisette and Blushed Calviiie, are growing and 

 some are producing fruit, but the day is yet distant 

 when it can be said that apples are commonly grown 

 here. The late Director of the Dominion Experimental 

 Farms, Wm. Saunders, since the beginning of these farms, 

 took a keen interest in the finding of suitable fruits 

 for the prairie provinces and in the encouragement of 

 horticulture, and has been ably assisted in this by 

 Angus Mackay, Superintendent of the Indian Head 

 Farm, where the Siberian crab has been found hardy 

 enough to withstand the most severe climatic vicis- 

 situdes. This hardy crab has been used in the produc- 

 tion of most promising hybrids and as stock on which 

 to root-graft hardy cross-breeds. At the same station 

 varieties of the native Manitoba plum of good quality 

 have been developed. Work of this kind is also being 

 undertaken at the more recently established experi- 

 mental stations at Rosthern and Scott. Another insti- 

 tution that, under the superintendence of Norman M. 

 Ross, has aided greatly in demonstrating to the people 

 the possibilities in the way of landscape gardening and 

 floral beautification of home surroundings, is tlie Do- 

 minion Forestry Farm at Indian Head, from which many 

 millions of trees are distributed yearly to the farmers 

 on the open plains to be planted, as windbreaks and 

 shelter-belts, under expert supervision. Much encour- 

 agement was given to the horticulture of the North- 

 west Territories, and Saskatchewan especially, by the 

 interest displayed by A. E. Forget, recently Lieuten- 

 ant-Governor, and the skill and success of his popular 

 gardener, George Watt, who was ever ready to advise 

 and assist the inquiring amateur. Probably no farm 

 in the province could boast of so attractive a garden 

 as that of Gerald Spring-Rice near Pense, where in 

 typical Old Country fashion its labyrinth of walks mid 

 the choicest of flowers and shrubs, was centered by a 

 sun-dial. Another farm on which the possibilities in 

 the way of garden and fruit-culture have been demon- 

 strated is that of George Harvey in the Indian Head 

 district, where shelter-belts, .shade trees and hedges 

 provide the protection so necessary for success in horti- 

 culture and nesting-places for the birds that are of 

 so much assistance in controlling insect form. Personal 

 mention should also be made of .John Ashworth, a 

 member of the legal fraternity, who, from love of 

 flowers and the pleasure of overcoming obstacles, estab- 

 hshed the Saskatoon Nursery Company, which is now 

 a profitable industry. 



So closely is bee-keeping associated with successful 

 fruit-growing, that it may not be out of place to say 

 that very few in this province have yet turned their 

 attention to the production of honey, although it has 

 been amply demonstrated that bees make honey of 

 excellent flavor from the abundance of wild flowers on 

 the prairie; and bees may be safely wintered notwith- 

 standing the severity of the frost at times. 



There are now only two horticultural societies in the 

 province, one being located at Reginaand in receipt of an 

 annual civic grant, the other having been just started at 

 Saskatoon. No direct aid to liorticulture is given by 

 the provincial government, but thnjugh the Extension 

 Department of the ITniversity of Saskatchewan, the 

 agricultural societies and the homemakers' clubs may 

 draw grants founded on their prize lists, in which horti- 

 cultural competitions may ajssume a prominent place and 

 expert judges are furnished when required. There is no 



