'74 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



August, 1909 



The Canadian Horticulturist 



Publuhed by The Horticultural 



PubUfthinr Company, Limited 



I'KTlCI-tHOKO, ONTAKIO 



EDITORIAL 



The Only Horticultural Magazine 

 in the Dominion 



Ofkiciai, Okgan ok British Columbia, Ontakio 



QuEHE(\ New Brunswick and Fkinck Edward 



Island Fruit Growers' Associations 



H. Bronson Cowan. Managing Director 

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



1. The Canadian HortiouItnrlBt Is published on 

 the 25th day of the month preceding date of 

 issue. 



2. Subscription price in Canada and Great Bri- 

 tain, 60 cents a year; two years, $1.(10. For United 

 States and local subscriptions in Peterbcro, (not 

 called for at the Post Officel 25 centM extra a 

 year, including postage. 



3. Remittances should be made by Post Office 

 or Express Money Order, or Eegistered 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 Bates 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 

 foUowing 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 spoiif^d 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, 1909 9,456 



February, 19u9. 9.:il0 



March, 1909 9,405 



April, 1909 9,482 



May, 1909 9,172 



.luno, 1909 8,891 



July, 1909 8,44T 



January, 1908 7,650 



February, 1908 7,824 



March. 1908 8,056 



April, 1908 8,250 



May, 1908 8,673 



June, 1908 8,840 



July, 1908 9,015 



August, 1908 9,070 



September, 1908 9.121 



October, 1908 9,215 



November, 1908 9.32.'i 



December. 1908 9,400 



Total for the year .104,337 



.Average each issue in 1907, 6,627 



Average each issue in 1908, 8.695 



(Increased circulation in one year 2.068) 



Sworn detailed statements wiTl be mailed upon 

 application. 



Our Protective Policy 



We want the readers of The Canadian Horti- 

 culturist to feel that they can deal with our 

 advertisers with our assuraui.- or the advertisers' 

 reliability. We try to admit to ou.' columns 

 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 Horticultur- 

 ist." Complaints should be made to us as soon 

 as possible after reason for dissatisfaction has 

 been found. 



Communications should be addressed: 



THE CANADIAN HORTICtTLTTTIlIBT, 



PBTEKBOEO. ONTAEIO. 



DARWIN 



The recent celebration of the centenary 

 of the birthdayof Charles Darwin and of the 

 jubileee of the publication of the "Origin 

 of Species" acknowledged on behalf of man- 

 kind the debt which is owed to the great 

 naturalist. Men from all parts of the world 

 assembled at the University of Cambridge to 

 honor the memory of the man who most 

 firmly established the science of biology, 

 the study of living things. 



To Darwin, horticulture owes much. His 

 was the mind that told us the story of evol- 

 ution, that gave us a rational theory of 

 plant distribution, that increased our know- 

 ledge of the means of seed dispersion, that 

 showed that classification is founded on des- 

 cent, that pointed out that "flowers are 

 adapted to be crossed, at least occasionally, 

 by pollen from a distinct plant" and that 

 "nature abhors self-fertilization," and that 

 gave innumerable other facts and theories 

 that form the basis of present-day horticul- 

 tural science. Some of these have been modi- 

 fied and enlarged by later study but Darwin 

 laid the corner-stone and constructed most 

 of what is known. As we are prone to ac- 

 cept and forget, it is well that the name of 

 Darwin has received in this celebration the 

 recognition and the respect that is its due. 



PROGRESS IN NEW BRUNSWICK 



The great extent of the lumbering in- 

 terests in the province of New Brunswick, 

 has resulted in retarding the progress of 

 agriculture to such an extent that the im- 

 pression has gone abroad that conditions 

 there are not favorable to farming and, in 

 particular, to fruit growing. Even among 

 the people of New Brunswick this feeling 

 has prevailed and the many abandoned 

 farms which one sees in a day's drive in the 

 country certainly would not correct the er- 

 ror. Attention is now being drawn, how- 

 ever, to the advantages of that province for 

 mixed farming, and the next decade will 

 show a marked advance in that industry. 

 It is still very much the habit, however, to 

 regard the sister province of Nova Scotia as 

 the source of supply for apples, while for 

 plums and more tender fruit the fruit grow- 

 ing sections of Ontario are depended upon. 



This must all be changed, and will be 

 so soon as the people of New Brunswick 

 get their eyes open to the fact that in many 

 varieties of fruit they can equal, if not ex- 

 cel, the other provinces. Already large and 

 successful orchards exist along the valley 

 of the St. John river and in some other sec- 

 tions, and the illustration orchards estab- 

 lished by the government of the province 

 in nearly every county will soon arrive at 

 a stage where they will demonstrate that an 

 apple orchard properly cared for will prove 

 a profitable investment. 



Very few farms at present are devoid of 

 apple trees. In some cases, they are simply 

 wild trees that have been set in rows and 

 left to bear such fruit as they will. In 

 other cases, unscrupulous agents have forced 

 upon the farmer such trees as they could 

 and these have been set in the grass field 

 where the grass is cut every year and the 

 trees left to do what they can on such sus- 

 tenance as is left in the soil. As the trees 

 in most cases made no proper growth, they 

 were entirely neglected and apple growing 

 pronovinced a failure. In cases where proper 

 care has been given this fruit, however, it 

 has proved a wonderful success. Many var- 



ieties of apples can be raised in the prov- 

 ince to as high state of perfection as any- 

 where in Canada. 



Elsewhere in this issue a number of arti- 

 cles tell what can be done in the St. John 

 valley and in other parts of the province. 

 Note the following letter that was receiv- 

 ed from Mr. C N. Vroom, of St. Stephen : 

 "In the valley of the St. Croix River, we 

 can raise Red Astrachans which, so far as 

 I can learn, cannot be excelled or perhaps 

 equalled on the continent, and in their per- 

 fection they are a most attractive and sale- 

 able apple. Such varieties as William's Red, 

 Wealthy, Gravenstein, Duchess, Fameuse, 

 Bishop Pippin (Yellow Bellflower), R. I. 

 Greening, N. W. Greening, Golden Russet 

 and many others will reach a high state of 

 perfection here and can be successfully and 

 profitably grown. Of course, in setting an 

 orchard the choice of varieties is all impor- 

 tant. It is better to grow a good Astrachan 

 than a Baldwin that is far inferior to those 

 grown in Massachussets, or it is better to 

 grow a Wealthy than a Ben Davis whose 

 sole merit is that it will keep for a year 

 or two. In my boyhood days, plums grew 

 here in abundance. The advent of the black 

 knot killed out the old trees and discouraged 

 re-planting. In planting an orchard of a 

 few acres, I am setting plums as a filler 

 one way in the rows and intend to keep up 

 a continuous planting of this fruit. We 

 have an excellent market for fruit and an 

 intelligent setting and care of orchards will 

 prove a profitable investment." 



To hasten the development of fruit grow- 

 ing and other horticultural pursuits, the 

 report of the New Brunswick Agricultural 

 Commission recommends the appointment of 

 a provincial horticulturist. Such a man 

 could promote general horticultural work, 

 teach practical horticulture at fruit meet- 

 ings .short courses and so forth, oversee 

 the illustration orchards, plan and conduct 

 experiments and encourage fruit growing, 

 truck farming and ornamental gardening 

 in many, other ways. This suggestion should 

 receive the favorable consideration of the 

 provinciAl government. The opportunities 

 for horticultural development are many. The 

 government, the provincial fruit growers' 

 association and the individual should make 

 the future more productive of accomplish- 

 ment than the past. 



PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND 



In various issues of The Canadian Hor- 

 ticulturist reference has been made to the 

 .splendid outlook for fruit growing on Prince 

 Edward Island. In apples, autumn and 

 early winter varieties are the most profit- 

 able producers. Mr. Alex. McNeil, Chief 

 of the Fruit Division, Ottawa, has said that 

 the finest box of apples that he ever saw 

 grown and packed in Canada was a box of 

 Baxters grown in Prince Edward Island 

 and exhibited at the annual meeting of the 

 provincial association in 1905. The early 

 and midseason varieties of pears do well. 

 The European class of plums grows success- 

 fully. Cherries of the Kentish type and 

 some others yield good crops. Small fruits 

 thrive luxuriantly in all parts of the Is- 

 land. Some varieties of all these fruits are 

 grown to perfection. There is no question 

 about the possibilities. It remains for the 

 Islanders to take full advantage of them. 



The provincial fruit growers' association 

 is younger than that of Nova Scotia, but it 

 is fully alive to the demands for intelligent 

 practice in the industry. It has done good 

 work in disseminating knowledge about what 

 to grow and how to grow it. There is oppor- 

 tunity for further effort in this direction. 

 The majority of farmers are indifferent to 

 the needs of the orchard. The "model" 

 orchards that are being managed under the 



