Causes of Failures in Apple Growing in Quebec' 



ONE of the principal causes of failure 

 in apple growing is the want of 

 thought, — not studying the var- 

 ious conditions concerned, but taking 

 things for granted and doing these in the 

 same way that our fathers and grand- 

 fathers did. Before the Central Experi- 

 mental Farm was started in Ottawa, it 

 was taken for granted that apple orch- 

 ards could not be grown for profit in 

 that vicinity, but after years of selection 

 and experimenting with varieties, they 

 have an orchard to be proud of. 



PLANTING TENDER VARIETIES. 



Losses have been made in setting 

 out tender varieties, not suited to our 

 climate, while profits could be made out 

 of those that succeed well. At the pre- 

 sent time, nurserymen in the more fa- 

 vored regions are better educated in the 

 needs of our northern climate than they 

 were, but purchasers need to watch the 

 tree agent with colored pictures of fruit, 

 pleasing manner and high prices. That 

 licious winterapple. Northern Spy, is count- 

 ed a hard variety in western New York, 

 recommended there to top-graft tender 

 varieties, but in the province of Quebec, 

 it is not hardy. A sure way of losing 

 money is to plant tender and half hardy 

 varieties. 



UNDRAINED SOILS. 



Losses are made in setting out trees 

 in soils that are not well drained. A 

 good deal of the bark bursting and win- 

 ter-killing of trees is caused by the effects 

 of heavy autumn rains, followed by se- 

 vere winters in undrained soils. 



ORCHARDS IN SOD AND PASTURED. 



It is admitted that, to grow apple trees 

 successfully, it is best to cultivate, es- 

 pecially for the first ten years. If you 

 want to destroy trees while young, sow- 

 grain and seed down to grass. The 

 trees will be stunted in growth, but in 

 all likelihood there will be a good crop 

 of after-grass and clover. At that 

 time of the year the cow pasture is gen- 

 erally bare. You will say, "It is too 

 bad having this grass go to waste, while 

 if I turn in the cows it will increase the 

 flow of mlk. There is such a lot of grass 

 the cows won't hurt the trees." What 

 will be the result? Probably half of the 

 trees will be destroyed. 



A TRANSPORTATION FACTOR. 



Another cause that makes apple grow- 

 ing not so profitable as it might be is 

 the long distance the apples have to be 

 hauled to the nearest railway station 

 or steamboat landing. No matter how 

 much a fruit section is advertised and 

 boomed, if it is far from a shipping 

 point, it will take away most of the pro- 

 fit. In the province of Quebec, the time 



•Extracts from an address given at Summer 

 meeting of Quebec Pomological Society at La 

 Trappe. 



R. Brodie, Notre Dame de Grace 



to dispose of the apples is before navi- 

 gation closes. 



THE LABOR QUESTION. 



The labor question at the time of the 

 apple harvest has a great deal to do with 

 the profits out of an orchard. On the 

 Island of Montreal, thousands of barrels 

 of apples are shaken off the trees and 

 filled loosely into waggons that hold 

 about ten barrels, the purchasers com- 

 ing for them in the orchards and giving 

 on an average of $i.oo a barrel for them. 

 I have heard of box cars being filled up 

 in bulk with Fameuse apples shaken 

 from the trees in other parts of the pro- 



sions, while many of the boys that re- 

 main on the farm cannot sign their 

 names. The boys should have the ad- 

 vantage of a good education. 



Blackberry Root Cuttings 



John Fergnson, Marches', N. B. 



The process of making root cuttings is 

 to dig up the entire plant, securing all 

 the roots possible over one-eighth of an 

 inch in diameter. These should be cut 

 into pieces, two or three inches long, and 

 should be planted in broad rows, some- 

 what as peas are planted, covering about 

 two inches deep. Before severe freezing 



A Part of the Great Fruit Show Held at St. Catharines Last Month 



The extensive display of the St. Catharines Cold Storage and Forwarding Co. may be seen 

 at right bacliground ; general display of fruits from farm of Mr. Albert Pay, St. Catharines, at 

 left background; collection of peaches by Wm. Armstrong, Queenston, at end of second table 

 (baskets reclining). These three exhibits won Wilder medals. See page 227. 



vince. It is too bad that this should 

 happen so near a shipping port. 



To make a success of packing and 

 marketing apples, we need co-operative 

 associations with central packing houses 

 like they have in some parts of Ontario. 

 The farmers in Quebec co-operate in the 

 manufacture of butter and cheese ; why 

 not in the grading and packing of fruit? 

 HORTICULTURAL EDUCATION. 



Last but not least. — Give the boys the 

 advantage of a good horticultural edu- 

 cation, either at the Oka Agricultural In- 

 stitute, at La Trappe, or at the Macdon- 

 ald College. There is a prejudice among 

 a few farmers against education in con- 

 nection with farming. Money is spent 

 lavishly for these studying for profes- 



215 



weather sets in, the bed should be cov- 

 ered with five or six inches of strawy 

 stable manure to prevent deep freezing. 

 In the spring the covering is raked off, 

 and by the middle of June the rows will 

 be studded over with buds coming from 

 every piece of root planted. These plants 

 are much better than the "sucker" plants 

 Ixicause they have large numbers of fine 

 fibrous roots and are much more sure to 

 live and make stronger canes. 



Apply a dressing of barnyard manure 

 to the patch in late fall or very early in 

 the spring. If no disease attacks them, 

 blackberry plants will, with good treat- 

 ment, live and bear fruit for ten or fif- 

 teen years, much of course depending 

 upon soil and cultivation. 



