Canadian Horticulturi^ 



V-ol. XXXII 



FEBRUARY, 1909 



No. 2 



The Horticultural Possibilities of Manitoba 



James Murray, Superintendent, Experimental Farm, Brandon 



it 



DF the prairie provinces, all of which 

 have been lavishly supplied with 

 edible wild fruits, Manitoba re- 

 reived probably the most abundant 

 ;hare. Wild strawberries, raspberries, 

 warrants, saskatoons, cherries and plums 

 jrow abundantly, and have long been a 

 source of fruit supply and, although 

 good in quality and frequently abundant 

 yielders, they have not been permitted 

 to occupy the field alone. Improved 

 varieties have been grown since the early 

 settlement of the province, and the suit- 

 able sorts have survived the trials of 

 many years. The progress that has been 

 made in thirty years in fruit, flower, and 

 vegetable growing is notable, and may 

 be taken as an index of what may be 

 accomplished. 



SMALL FRUITS 



One of the most successful lines of 

 horticulture is the growing of the small 

 fruits — currants, raspberries, and goose- 

 berries. These grow profusely in a wild 

 state and under cultivation have been a 

 striking success from their earliest intro- 

 duction. Strawberry growing has not 

 met with the same success, but in some 

 districts splendid crops of a high class 

 of fruit are harvested. The difficulties 

 in the way seem to be the late spring 

 frosts, the high winds and the lack of 

 sufficient moisture. Where these factors 

 can be counteracted or controlled, straw- 

 berry culture should be at least fairly 

 successful. Blackcaps and blackberries 

 have not been so successfully grown as 

 red raspberries, but on this farm have 

 met with fair success. 



APPLE GROWING OUTLOOK 



Apple growing in Manitoba has not 

 yet reached the stage where it may be 

 classed among our industries, but is 

 making such progress that its exponents 

 are no longer regarded as visionaries, 

 ^fost of the early attempts to grow 

 jjples were unsuccessful on account of 

 Ithe stocks not being sufficiently hardy, 



!but the introduction of hardy Russian 

 varieties, and the use of Pyrus baccata 

 as a stock is rapidly changing this. It 

 jis now no uncommon sight to see a few 

 bearing trees of such crabs as Transcen- 

 dent and Hyslop, and of apples like 

 Hibernal and Duchess in farmers' 

 grounds in many parts of Manitoba, par- 

 ticularly in the southeast. 



On the Experimental Farm consider- 

 able progress has been made largely 

 through the use of Pyrus baccata as a 

 hardy stock and, to a certain extent, as 

 one of the parents used in cross breed- 

 ing. Among the varieties fruiting here 

 are Hibernal, Duchess, Repko, Kislaga, 

 Transcendent and Hyslop. Besides these 

 there are a great many cross-breds and 

 seedlings, some of which are of fair size 

 and quality. 



By far the best known apple grower in 

 Manitoba is Mr. A. P. Stevenson of Nel- 

 son, who has been experimenting for 

 over twenty years with apples, and who 

 for several years has been reaping the 



Kind Words from Manitoba 



Editor, The Canadian Horticul- 

 turist : — I must compliment you on 

 the improvement that has been made 

 in The Canadian Horticulturist 

 during the past three years. I find 

 it very interesting from month to 

 month, and think that you should 

 have a large number of subscribers 

 in this province. — James Murray, 

 Superintendent, Experimental Farm, 

 Brandon, Manitoba. 



fruits of his labors. Mr. Stevenson has 

 had as much as sixty barrels of standard 

 apples in one season, and has fruited 

 over thirty varieties. Of these he recom- 

 mends only a few, such as, Anisim, An- 

 tonofka, Simbrisk, Blushed Calville, 

 Wealthy and Hibernal. In justice to 

 other fruit growers, it should be men- 

 tioned that the location and altitude of 

 Mr. Stevenson's farm are unusually well 

 adapted to fruit growing. His success 

 could no doubt be repeated at many 

 points in Manitoba, now that northern- 

 grown stock can be secured. 



PLUMS 



Plums are plentiful in a wild state in 

 some parts and, as many of them are of 

 good quality, they have been introduced 

 into cultivation very successfully. At- 

 tempts to grow European or Japanese 

 plums have not been successful. 

 cherries 



Cherry growing cannot be said to be 

 of any irnportance. The pin cherry 



23 



(Prunus pennsylvanica) and choke cherry 

 {Prunus virginiana) are everywhere com- 

 mon, but are a poor substitute for the 

 genuine article. A variety introduced by 

 the Experimental Farm — the Japanese 

 cherry (Prunus tomentosa) — has fruited 

 at Brandon and seems to be hardy. It 

 will probably prove useful. 



vegetables grow to perfection 

 Vegetables- are such a conspicuous 

 success in Manitoba that a word is called 

 for. Nowhere in Canada can vegetables 

 of finer quality or greater yields be 

 grown. Our very long days and bright 

 sun force the growth and give a product 

 unsurpassed in flavor. Tomatoes grown 

 in the open can frequently be used for 

 six weeks, and sweet corn grows to per- 

 fection and occasionally ripens. All the 

 vegetables commonly grown in other 

 parts of Canada are at home in Mani- 

 toba, and give crops as heavy and of as 

 fine quality as produced anywhere. 



GARDEN FLOWERS 



The climate of Manitoba seems to be 

 particularly well adapted to the growth 

 of perennial flowers and hence they arc 

 largely depended upon by many of our 

 gardeners. Paeonies, iris, campanula, 

 larkspur, columbine, phlox and numerous 

 others make splendid displays of bloom, 

 and all the annuals that succeed well in 

 Ontario make a better display here. Our 

 long days of bright sunshine give colors 

 much more striking than where the days 

 are shorter. Success with annuals docs 

 not depend upon starting the plants 

 under glass as we have fully fifty var- 

 ieties of annuals in full bloom each year 



from seed sown in the open. 



J 



HORTICULTURE IS ADVANCING / 



Interest in horticultural matters^ is 

 being encouraged and stimulated by a 

 number of horticultural societies scatter- 

 ed throughout the province, especially by 

 the Western Horticultural Society. By 

 periodical shows, competitions ana meet- 

 ings, these societies encourage the plant- 

 ing of trees, shrubs and flowers,/and-the 

 beautification of grounds and streets. 

 Our landscape lacks the variety and beau- 

 ty of the eastern provinces and such so- 

 cieties have a wide field for their work. 

 They have accomplished a great deal 

 already in many towns and cities and 

 they deserve every possible help and en- 

 couragement. 



