The More Tender Fruits in Nova Scotia 



Ralph S. Eaton, Hillcrest Orchards, Kentville 



IN Nova Scotia, as in Ontario and most 

 parts of the United States, the Jap- 

 an plums have not been the success 

 anticipated when they were first sold 

 freely to growers. Even the Burbank, 

 undoubtedly the best of the Japanese 

 with us, has been most disappointing 

 during last three years, and some small 

 blocks of Burbank of splendid growth, 



plums after the more permanent trees 

 begin to crowd them. The writer pro- 

 bably stands alone among orchardists in 

 his faith in the practicability of this work 

 but, after transplanting 200 plum trees, 

 eight to twelve years old, two seasons 

 ago, after they had borne their third or 

 fourth heavy crop, and now have a pros- 

 pect of from one to two bushels of plums 



Packing Japaneie Plumi at Hillcrest Orchardt, Nova Scotia 



from seven to ten years old, have not 

 borne a crop. The writer, who has about 

 4,000 "Japs," took the precaution to in- 

 terplant fairly thoroughly the Red June 

 and Abundance among the Burbank but 

 though, with the exception of last three 

 years, the crop of Burbank has been sat- 

 isfactory, there is no proof of special 

 virtue in the interplanting, as the Red 

 June will usually bloom from three to six 

 days ahead of Burbank. The cold, rainy 

 weather during blossoming period has 

 probably been the cause of failure for 

 these seasons. At present, the prospects 

 for this year are excellent. 



The Red June is quite apt to drop its 

 leaves in midsummer which causes the 

 fruit to follow soon after. The wood of 

 the Wickson variety will not stand our 

 winters and the October Purple has so 

 far not been a satisfactory bearer. The 

 Chabot was liked by one or two who 

 fruited it for two seasons. The Japans 

 will not be planted much more in Nova 

 Scotia unless this season's experience 

 changes the feeling towards them. Such 

 European varieties as Reine Claude, 

 Monarch, Grand Duke, Coe's Golden 

 Drop, and even Lombard, are more popu- 

 lar, and the old Magnum Bonum is still 

 a great favorite. 



It has never been considered practical 

 to transplant fillers of apple, cherry or 



per tree this year, bringing them nearly, 

 if not quite, up even with those of same 

 variety and position not transplanted, 

 and this with but hardly one per cent, 

 loss, he is confident that it is practicable. 

 Equal success in transplanting large 

 numbers of apple and cherry trees of 

 same age, places this work beyond any 

 question of experiment and in the writ- 

 er's opinion settles the oft-discussed point 

 of the advisability of planting fillers. 



PEACHES AND APRICOTS 



Quite an interest was taken in peaches 

 six to ten years ago, the most popular 

 varieties being Early Crawford, Alexan- 

 der, Hynes' Surprise, Mountain Rose 

 with some Elbertas, Fitzgeralds and 

 Crosbys. 



Alexander and Hyne's Surprise are apt 

 to rot before ready to pick and are now 

 discounted. Some fine specimens of 

 Early Crawford, Fitzgerald and Crosby 

 are frequently shown at exhibitions, but 

 few orchardists have the desire to grow 

 peaches on a commercial scale. 



Some lovely specimens of apricots have 

 occasionally been grown here and, 

 though the trees usually blossom well, 

 the fruit seems to drop soon after it 

 forms. 



OHEEEIES 



Nova Scotia is splendidly adapted to 

 cherries. Gov. Wood, Windsor, Black 



14B 



Tartarian and Black Eagle seem to be 

 the best bearers among the sweet varie- 

 ties. Yellow Spanish and some others 

 have proved shy bearers. Schmidtz' 

 Bigarreau is a beautiful hardy cherry and 

 fair bearer but the fruit will not stand 

 up well for shipping. Amongst the sour 

 cherries, the Early Richmonds, English 

 Morello and Montmorency, are the best, 

 the last standing away ahead as a com- 

 mercial sort, and is the best money 

 maker of all varieties grown here ; it will 

 stay on the trees a week after it might 

 be thought ready to pick and then stand 

 three to four days of shipment. 



My Model Orchard Methods 



Herman M. Rice, Bear River, N. S. 



Being situated west of, and nearer the 

 Atlantic Ocean fogs, than that great 

 fruit district of Nova Scotia, the Cornwal- 

 lis Valley, Digby county is but in its in- 

 fancy as a fruit-producing territory ; yet 

 I notice each year at the provincial ex- 

 hibitions that we are producing apples 

 and pears that compare favorably with 

 the rest of the province and plums and 

 peaches unexcelled by any competitors. 



My old orchard of three and one-half 

 acres, set out twenty years ago, was 

 made up of all kinds of apple trees, be- 

 ing a job lot which my father took as a 

 little better than nothing for a bad debt. 

 As I have had to graft many trees, the 

 orchard is not in full bearing yet; how- 

 ever, some trees of the Spy variety have 

 yielded as high as nine barrels per tree, 

 with Ben Davis not far behind. 



The younger trees shown in the il- 

 lustration, are in the government model 

 orchard and were set in May, 1903. This 

 orchard covers two acres and the trees 

 are set thirty-five feet each way, with 

 plum, pear, cherry, or peach as fillers in 

 the rows one way ; these fillers are bear- 

 ing considerable fruit already. 



We spray with Bordeaux mixture 

 three times each year and cultivate as fol- 

 lows : Early as the season permits, we 

 plow and then harrow every week until 

 July 1st, when we give a light top dress- 

 ing of barnyard manure and wood ashes, 

 and seed to clover a space four feet on 

 each side of trees. The remainder is 

 planted to roots and vegetables. The 

 clover serves to check the new growth, 

 and allows it to harden, as well as pro- 

 vides a protection for the roots in winter 

 and supplies humus and nitrogen when 

 turned under the following spring. We 

 prune off one third of the new growth 

 each April, thereby causing the trunk 

 to develop and fruit spurs to form. The 

 man in the picture is a six-footer, so the 

 trees do not show up too badly for five 

 years' growth. 



