WKat Trees SKould Be Planted? 



Prof. C Reynaud, La Trappe, Quebec 



THE majority of farmers are reaping 

 their reward from the advantages 

 I which they have been able to draw 



ffrom their fruit orchards; with a large 

 P number of farmers this becomes their first 



Cross Section of Seedless Apple 



thought, and in this they are worthy of 

 all our encouragement. Nothing could 

 be better to make them love their new 

 venture. One is astounded at the enor- 



mous sums spent in the purchase of fruit 

 trees compared with the results obtained 

 in certain parishes. To explain this 

 state of things we could give many 

 reasons, of which one of the principal is 

 ignorance of the varieties doing well in 

 our climate. The farmers have often 

 been the victims of misrepresentations. 

 Fruits from elsewhere, good and beauti- 

 ful though they may be, have been sold 

 as thriving very well in that community. 

 It rests with the Pomological Society 

 of the Province of Quebec, whose prin- 

 cipal object is to work for the advance- 

 ment of fruit growing, to aid these 

 planters by the publication of the prin- 

 cipal varieties of apples whose culture 

 can be made successful in our province. 

 Such a list was made last year and the 

 Government has commenced its distribu- 

 tion through the country. With this 

 list the grower should be able to give his 

 order with a measure of certainty, doing 

 away with costly experiences. Further, 

 there is room to make a distinction in 

 this list between the trees raised under 

 home conditions and those coming from 

 another province. I admit, certainly, 

 that for a professional grower this dis- 



tinction is not of great importance, for 

 he can, by careful cultivation, overcome 

 the defects of imported stock. But with 

 the mass of growers the trees, so to 

 speak, look after themselves, only re- 

 ceiving a minimum of care in insuffi- 

 ciently worked land. The only trees 

 capable of giving us satisfaction are 

 those grown in the Province of Quebec; 

 moreover, most pomologists recommend 

 the procuring of trees from a nursery as 

 close to the place of planting as possible. 

 Our society, without showing any 

 partizanship, and in the interests of all, 

 should publish a list of those who have 

 nurseries in this province, and who sell 

 only that which they grow. By this 

 means it would put a stop to a fraudulent 

 business which does not fear to be car- 

 ried on even in the same vicinity where 

 a celebrated nursery, the oldest in the 

 country, has always given its clients 

 entire satisfaction, at times to its own 

 loss. I speak of the nursery of St. Roch 

 des Aulnaies, founded by our honored 

 president, Mr. A. Dupuis, and carried 

 on at present by one of our directors, 

 Mr. A. D. Verreault. It is a credit to 

 the province. 



I 



S'weet Pea Culture a Fine Art* 



I 

 ■ 



THE sweet pea of to-day is the re- 

 sult of many years of patient ex- 

 perimentation. Its beauty and 

 fragrance have made it a garden fav- 

 orite. Comparatively insignificant in 

 its early state, it was, nevertheless, 

 deemed worthy, of the untiring atten- 

 tion of such specialists as Henry Eck- 

 ford, of England; J. C. Schmidt, of 

 Germany, and W. A. Burpee, of the 

 United States, who have done more 

 to enhance its attractiveness than any 

 florists of modem times. From the 

 six or seven common varieties extant 

 in 1876, there have been propagated 

 several hundred named strains, of the 

 grandiflora and the. orchid-flowering 

 types, which so far surpass the original 

 that they seem almost of another 

 species. Recounting what has already 

 been accomplished, it is easy to predict 

 wonderful achievements for the future. 



SWEKT PEA HISTORY 



The cultural history of the sweet pea 

 dates back to the year 1699, when 

 Father Franciscus Cupani, an Italian 

 monk, and an enthusiastic botanist of 

 Panormus, vSicily, was the first to cul- 

 tivate it. He found the original pur- 



*This article will be followed by one dealinE fwith 

 cultural data and suggestions. 



Max Moineau, Toronto 



pie and the white varieties indigenous 

 to Sicily and Sardinia, the seed of 

 which he sent to England and to other 

 countries in Europe. From Ceylon, 

 through the instrumentality of Lin- 

 naeus, a Swedish botanist, came the 

 original red variety, the progenitor of 

 all our present-day reds, and the pink 

 and white variety known as the "Paint- 

 ed Lady." Not until 1730 did the 

 seed of the sweet pea become a mer- 

 cantile commodity, and for a succeed- 

 ing period of sixty-three years there 

 were but five varieties known — black, 

 purple, scarlet, white and "Painted 

 Lady." About 1833, the striped and 

 yellow varieties were introduced. There 

 was no further advance until 1860, 

 when the "Butterfly," a blue-edged 

 variety, with notched standard, made 

 its advent. Five years later "Invin- 

 cible Scarlet" won a certificate as the 

 very newest production, and in lS68, 

 in Germany, was originated the "Crown 

 Princess of Prussia," the first sweet pea 

 of a flesh-pink color. The beautiful 

 rose-pink "Adonis" had birth in 1882, 

 but it was soon eclipsed by the better 

 shaded "Princess Beatrice." For many 

 years only a few other varieties of in- 

 ferior quality were known. About 1898, 



the Americans, becoming enthused over 

 the remarkable achievements of Henry 

 Eckford, of England, introduced his 

 seed into California, and were so suc- 

 cessful that this state became the 



Longitudinal Section of Seedless Apple 



world's principal base of supply. It 

 was not long before more than 125 

 tons of seed were grown, and now in 

 California alone the production is en- 

 ormous. 



