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THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



February, 1908 



Nova Scotia Fruit GroAvers 



AT the annual convention of the Nova 

 Scotia Fruit Growers' Association, 

 which was held in Berwick in Decem- 

 ber, an interesting discussion took 

 place on "Orchard Management." Prof. 

 F. C. Sears of the State Agricultural College, 

 Amherst, Mass., took the fertilizer question for 

 his theme. He gave the results of an experi- 

 ment carried on for nine years at the college 

 farm, showing the value of stable manure and 

 other fertilizers as applied to the orchard. A. 

 McNeill, Chief, Fruit Division, spoke on pruning 

 and said that a little pruning at the right time 

 was enough. A saw was unnecessary in an 

 orchard; hand pruners if used when they should 

 be would do the work. Trees should be headed 

 low, 18 to 24 inches. In these days of insects, 

 scale and fungus, low-headed trees were more 

 easily cared for than the old style of high 

 spreading tops. G. W. McLean, of Woodville, 

 said he had not pruned his orchard for 15 years, 

 and was satisfied that too much pruning was 

 done by many orchardists. "Spraying" was 

 discussed by W. H. Woodworth and others. 



Professor Cumming stated that the efforts to 

 check the incursion of brown-tail moth reported 

 in Annapolis county had met with marked 

 success. A recent inspection of the infested 

 territory resulted in the discovery of compar- 

 atively few nests. He announced that efforts 

 would be continued with the hope of completing 

 the extermination of this new pest, and said 

 that a bounty of 10 cents for each nest collected 

 would be paid by his department. Professor 

 Cumming also said that work at the college was 

 progressing most favorably. The attendance 

 was larger than ever before, and great interest 

 was manifested. 



"Fruit Growing in New England" was the 



subject of an illustrated address by Prof. Sears. 

 The professor, who has spent six months on the 

 staff of the Mass. College, succeeding ten years in 

 the Annapolis Valley, evidently was not favor- 

 ably impressed with the importance of orchard- 

 ing in the state. 



Professor F. A. Waugh, also of the Mass. 

 College staff, gave an interesting talk on "Smaller 

 Fruit Trees." This address was illustrated with 

 lantern slides, and urged the importance of 

 smaller orchard trees for convenience in pruning, 

 spraying and picking fruit. 



The well-worn question of ocean transporta- 

 tion was again thrashed out, and a series of 

 resolutions passed again urging upon the Depart- 

 ment of Trade and Commerce the necessity in 

 the interests of fruit growers of compelling the 

 Furness-Withy Steamship Co. to live up to the 

 terms of their contract, or withhold the subsidy. 

 It was pointed out that in spite of the fact that 

 the contract called for a 12-knot service or 10 

 days' passage, the steamers were seldom getting 

 under a 12-day passage, and sometimes 14. 



Cooperation in marketing was introduced by 

 Frank A. Bolson, of Middleton. Mr. Bolson re- 

 ferred to the advantages to be gained by a 

 combination of effort. Expenses could be 

 reduced, a more uniform pack of fruit secured, 

 and wider advantages gained in other ways. 

 Mr. McNeill went into the question on a broader 

 scale, referring to the cooperative organizations 

 of the Pacific slope, and instanced a number of 

 such cooperations successful in Ontario. Sec- 

 retary Parker said one company had been organ- 

 ized in Berwick, and was doing business this 

 year. The company had to organize under the 

 Nova Scotia Joint Stock Companies Act. 

 They had a nominal capital of $10,000. The 

 company had 12 members subscribing five 



shares each, or $6,000. They were operating 

 in a rented warehouse, and were packing about 

 10,000 barrels this season. The company had 

 sold a good proportion of their output, including 

 about 2,000 barrels of Gravensteins at $2.75 

 for No. 1 stock, including 25 % of No. 2. They 

 had also sold 2,000 barrels hard stock at $3 

 with usual proportion of two's. As was to be 

 expected they had met some difficulties and 

 found obstacles, but all interested were well 

 pleased with the progress made. 



The following officers were elected: Pres., 

 R. W. Starr, Wolfville, ; senior vice-pres., G. C. 

 Miller, Middleton; sec, S. C. Parker, Berwick; 

 assistant sec, J. H. Cox, Cambridge; treas., 

 G. W. Munro, Wolfville. Each county also is 

 represented by a vice-president. 



New Spraying Machine. — A spraying machine 

 that is being introduced into Canada for the 

 first time is the Protumna Gas Sprayer. Not 

 only is it claimed to have all the points of other 

 sprayers as regards simplicity, effectiveness and 

 lightness, but also it has a patent device ff)r 

 spreading the gas when it enters the spraying 

 tank in such a way that it saves a large percent- 

 age of gas; in other words, one drum of gas will 

 throw much more spraying material than with 

 any other gas machine. The American Horti- 

 cultural Distributing Company, of Martinsburg, 

 W. Va., are introducing it, and are making a 

 very liberal introductory offer. This firm main- 

 tains an experimental orchard of 20,000 trees, 

 where'every kind of spraying pump and appar- 

 atus, as well as insecticides and fungicides, are 

 thoroughly tested before being offered for sale. 

 The Protumna Gas Sprayer is the outcome of 

 experience, not theory. Read the advertise- 

 ment^on another'page and write direct to the 

 makers for further information. 



Hi 



enry's Nurseries 



PACIFIC COAST GROWN SEEDS 

 for the farm, garden, lawn or conserv- 

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 reasonable prices. Each variety tested 

 as to vitality before sending out. Fin- 

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 Dahlias in Canada for spring planting. 



Thousands of Fruit and Ornamental 

 Trees, English Hollies, Greenhouse 

 Plants. Home grown. 



No Borers. No .Scale. No fumigation to damage 

 stock. No windy agents to annoy you. Buy 

 direct and get trees and seeds that grow. Bee 

 Supplies, Spray Pumps and Spraying Material, Cut 

 Flowers, etc. Oldest established nursery on the 

 mainland of British Columbia. Catalogue Free. 



M. J. HENRY 



3010 Westminster Road - Vancouver, B.C., Canada 



Mention The Canadian Horticulturist when writing 



