154 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



July, 1909 



The Canadian Horticulturist 



Publuhed by The Horticultural 



Publuhinc Companr. Limited 



PBTBRBORO AND TORONTO 



The Only Horticultural Magazine 

 in the Dominion 



Official Organ of British Columbia, Ontario 



Quebec, New Brunswick and Prince Edward 



Island Fruit Growers' Associations 



H. Bronson Cowan, Managrio^ Director 

 A. B. Cutting, B.S.A., Editor 



1. The Canadian Horticnltnrlst la published on 

 the 25th day of the month preceding date of 

 issne. 



2. Subscription price in Canada and Great Bri- 

 tain, 60 cents a year ; two years, $1.00. For United 

 States and local snbacriptions in Peterboro, (not 

 called for at the Post OfBce) 25 cents extra a 

 year, including postae:e. 



3. Remittances should be made by Post Office 

 or Express Money Order, or Registered Letter. 

 Postage Stamps accepted for amounts less than 

 $1.00. 



4. Change of Address— When a change of ad- 

 dress is ordered, both the old and the new ad- 

 dresses must be given. 



5. Advertising Rates quoted on application. 

 Copy received up to the 18th. Address all ad- 

 vertising correspondence and copy to our Ad- 

 vertising Manager, Peterboro, Ont. 



6. Articles and Illustrations for publication 

 will be thankfully received by the editor. 



CIRCULATION STATEMENT. 



Since the subscription price of The Canadian 

 Horticulturist was reduced from $1.00 to 60 cents 

 a year, the circulation has grown rapidly. The 

 fo' lowing is a sworn statement of the net paid 

 circulation of The Canadian Horticulturist for 

 the year ending with Dec, 1908. The figures giv- 

 en are exclusive of samples and spoiled copies, 

 and of papers sent to advertisers. Some months, 

 including the sample copies, from 10,000 to 12,000 

 copies of The Canadian Horticulturist are mailed 

 to people known to be interested in the grow- 

 ing of fruit, flowers or vegetables. 



January, 1009 9,456 



February, 1909. 9,310 



March, 1909 9,405 



April, 1909 9,482 



May, 1909 9,173 



June, 1909 8,891 



January, 1908 7,650 



February, 1908 7,824 



March, 1908 8,056 



April, 1908 8,25f) 



May, 1908 8,573 



June, 1908 8,840 



July, 1908 9,015 



August, 1908. 9,070 



September, 1908 9,121 



October, 1908 9,215 



November, 1908 9,323 



December. 1908 9,400 



Total for the year .104,337 



Average each iuue in 1907, 6,627 



Average each issue in 1908, 8,695 



(Increased circulation in one year 2.068) 



Sworn detailed statements will be mailed upon 

 application. 



Our ProtectiTe Policy 



We want the readers of The Canadian Horti- 

 culturist to feel that they can deal with our 

 advertisers with our aBsuranc- ol the advertisers' 

 reliability. We try to admit to ou.- coliunns 

 only the most reliable advertisers. Should any 

 subscriber, therefore, have good cause to be 

 dissatisfied with the treatment he receives from 

 any of our advertisers, we will look into the 

 matter and investigate the circumstances fully 

 Should we find reason, even in the slightest 

 degree, we will discontiue immediately the pub 

 lication of their advertisements in The Horti- 

 culturist. Should the circumstances warrant 

 we will expose them through the columns of 

 the paper. Thus, we will not only protect our 

 readers, but our reputable advertisers as well. 

 All that is necessary to entitle you to the bene 

 fits of this Protective Policy is that you include 

 in all your letters to advertisers the words 

 "I saw your ad. in The Canadian Horticulture 

 ist." Complaints should be made to us as soon 

 as possible after reason for dissatisfaction has 

 been found. 



Communications should be addressed; 

 THE CANADIAN HORTIOULTUBIST, 



PETERBORO. ONTARIO. 



EDITORIAL 



PROGRESS IN NOVA SCOTIA 



For many years, the Annapolis Valley in 

 Nova Scotia has been famous for its ap- 

 ples. To that district, Canada owes much 

 for pioneer work done in auvertising our 

 fruit growing capabilities in the British 

 markets. Many excellent displays of fruit 

 have been made by the province at exhibi- 

 tions in London, most important among 

 which was the magnificent exhibit made 

 at the Indian and Intercolonial Exhibition 

 in 1886. Since then, at Royal Horticul- 

 tural Shows, the province has effectively 

 advertised its capabilities and won many 

 honors. The export of apples to Great 

 Britain began about 1875 and the quantity 

 each year has increased from a few hun- 

 dred barrels at that time to over 700,000 

 last season. Nova Scotia apples command 

 top prices and are always in demand. 



In the days of the Acadian French, two 

 centuries ago, apples were grown success- 

 fully. Some of the trees still exist as aged 

 relics of a historic past that has been im- 

 mortalized in romance and song by a host 

 of poets from Longfellow to Roberts. Aside 

 from the commercial, there is a sentiment 

 about blossoming time and the apple har- 

 vest in the Annapolis Valley that attaches 

 itself to few other fruit districts. The peo- 

 ple of the Valley are proud of their heri- 

 tage and well they should be. It must not 

 be supposed, however, that the growing of 

 apples in Nova Scotia is restricted to the 

 Annapolis Valley. The contiguous fertile 

 valleys of the Cornwallis and Gaspereaux 

 livers are equally favored. In these and 

 in a few other localities also, the apple and 

 other fruits are extensively grown. 



While the province has long been in the 

 business and is up-to-date in most methods 

 connected with orchard practise, there is 

 room for development and progress. There 

 are several other localities there that give 

 promise of becoming good fruit growing 

 centres and trees and fruits should be 

 planted for home use on many farms all 

 over the province that now do not have 

 them. The educational work that is being 

 done by the provincial fruit growers' as- 

 sociation will do much to bring this about 

 and the lessons that may be learned from 

 the thirty or more "model orchards" that 

 have been established by the government 

 are many. Expert instruction is offered 

 also by the horticultural department of 

 the Agricultural College at Truro. The op- 

 portunities for acquiring knowledge and for 

 mutual benefit are readily available. 



Growers with established orchards would 

 do well to investigate the value of co-oper- 

 ation in the handling and selling of their 

 fruit. Three or four co-operative associ- 

 ations already have been organized. Oth- 

 ers should follow. This point was empha- 

 sized by Chief McNeill at fruit meetings 

 held last month as reported elsewhere in 

 this issue. The co-operative plan is the 

 best plan. Nova Scotia growers should 

 take advantage of it and thereby make the 

 fruit industry of the province still more 

 important and more profitable. 



CRANBERRY EXPERIMENTS 



Cranberry culture is becoming an im- 

 portant factor in the fruit industry of 

 Nova Scotia. In 1890, the output from 

 cultivated bogs amounted to 400 barrels ; 

 in 1898, it reached nearly 4,000 barrels; in 

 1908, about 8,000 barrels. A barrel holds 

 80 quarts, and a well managed bog should 



yield at least 150 barrels. At five or six 

 dollars a barrel the yield per acre sells for 

 $750 to $900. The crop is a profitable 

 one, but the growers are constantly meet- 

 ing with discouragement and disappoint- 

 ment. Insects and frosts are the worst 

 enemies and were particularly aggressive 

 during the years 1902 to 1906. In view of 

 the constant damage done by these ene- 

 mies and of the fact that a well made cran- 

 berry bog entails a comparatively large in- 

 itial expense, we would suggest that the 

 provincial government establish a cranber- 

 ry experiment station. A proper location 

 in a cranberry district, could be purchased 

 outright or arrangements, similar to the 

 "model orchard" plan, could be made with 

 an established grower. The cranberry grow- 

 ers of Massachusetts are worKing to secure 

 a station of this nature in that state, as 

 they are planting larger areas each year 

 and have to contend with the usual diffi- 

 culties. As the United States growers are 

 competing more each year with Canadian 

 growers, it is time that the industry here 

 was put on a firmer basis. 



A cranberry experiment station would 

 investigate insects and diseases and how 

 best to spray and otherwise control them. 

 It would determine the best methods of 

 flooding and other means of preventing in- 

 jury from frosts. Systematic experiments 

 with fertilizers could be carried on with 

 relation to their effect on the color, quan- 

 tity, size and keeping qualities of the fruit 

 and to determine their retentive values in 

 the soil. The propagation, development 

 and origination of varieties, the destruction 

 of weeds and mosses and the study of clim- 

 atic conditions could all be included in the 

 work. There are many problems to work 

 out and much to learn in this industry. 

 The establishment of such a station should 

 be considered favorably by the Nova Scotia 

 Department of Agriculture. 



THE STORAGE OF FRUIT 



The change made in the Cold Storage 

 Act at the la.st session of the Dominion 

 Parliament will help materially to encour- 

 age the building of warehouses for the 

 storing of apples. As originally drafted 

 the Act provided for the bonusing of ware- 

 houses for the cold storing of all kinds of 

 food products. To take advantage of the 

 bonus, the builder or builders was compelled 

 to accept any class of food products that 

 might be offered for storage. This was not 

 satisfactory to our fruit men. The change 

 makes it possible to erect warehouses for 

 the storage of fruit only. Our co-operatj 'e 

 associations, that have not erected ware- 

 houses, should avail themselves of the op- 

 portunity that is now presented. 



In order to gain further information on 

 the value of cold storage for fruit, Parlia- 

 ment voted at the last session $7,0(X) for 

 experimental work in this matter. While 

 some of the benefits of cold storage are 

 known already, there are many factors that 

 require further investigation These ex- 

 periments will be followed with interest by 

 our fruit growers. 



Four years will soon have passed since 

 the last Dominion Fruit Conference. Is 

 that too short a time in which to expect 

 another.^ At the March, 1906, conference 

 the Minister of Agriculture at Ottawa 

 practically promised to hold a similar con- 

 gress at the expiration of two years and 

 now it is nearly four. In this time the 

 fruit industry of all the provinces has been 

 assuming a larger magnitude and the prob- 

 lems of national concern have been increas- 

 ing proportionately. Our growers will ex- 

 pect another confer^Bce to be held next 

 winter. 



