I lO 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



May, 1908 



"Everything that is grown in a sub-tropi- 

 cal country can be grown to perfection in 

 this valley. Corn ripens in July and can 

 be ripened at intervals as late as Novem- 

 ber. Four full crops of alfalfa are har- 

 vested in a season. I sometimes allow the 

 cattle to run on the fourth crop. From the 

 other three, I get an average yield ot 5% 

 tons to the acre. All the hardier fruits, 

 such as apples, pears, plums and cherries 

 grow to perfection and in abundance. This 

 district is particularly adapted for toma- 

 toes. Watermelons, peaches, apricots, wal- 

 nuts, and almonds and all the different* 

 varieties of grapes, including the Tokay, 

 Muscat Alexandra, Zinfindell, German 

 Resling, Concord and Niagara, do equally 

 well. It is usually a matter of surprise to 

 fruit experts, who believe that the deli- 

 cate Black Hamburg grape can not be 

 grown in British Columbia, except under 

 glass, that I have grown them here in the 

 open at Keremeos successfully for the last 

 10 years and also the Prunus Simonii, a 

 tender variety of fruit, supposed to be of 

 Chinese origin. We grow the sweet po- 

 tato and V3ry good samples of tobacco. 



"As to quality of our fruit, I might refer 

 you to the result of the last Horticultural 

 Fair at London, Eng., where British Co- 

 lumbia fruit captured the gold medal, while 

 at the PrcJVineial Fair at New Westminster, 

 last September, which was open to the 

 world, my own small exhibition of 100 

 pounds, net, took 24 prizes — 18 first and 6 

 second — and it is a well known fact in 

 the Valley, that my orchard was in the 

 poorest condition it has been for the past 

 10 years. 



"To the fruit grower looking for a loca- 

 tion, this district, with its mild, sunny cli- 

 mate, clear spring water, railroad facili- 

 ties, with a surrounding mining country, 

 demanding an ever increasing supply of 

 fruit, can not be too highly recommend- 

 ed. We have people here from various dis- 

 tricts, including California, and they are 

 unanimously agreed that for an all-year 

 climate, this can not be excelled." 



These statements by Mr. Kichter regard- 

 ing the Similkameen, have been vouched 

 for by the leading fruit growers in British 

 Columbia. The majority of them acknow- 

 ledge that, as quickly as this valley be- 

 comes better known, it will be one of the 

 best fruit growing sections in the province. 

 The success attained by Mr. Eicliter has 

 caused him to sell his rancli to a large 

 land company, that is now placing it on 

 the market in small blocks. The irriga- 

 tion system is well under way and an 

 ample supply of water has been provided 

 for. 



The town site of Keremeos is near the 

 head of the valley, and where the creek 

 of the same name joins the Similkameen 

 Eiver. This is one of the finest sites that 

 could have been selected. Owing to the 

 tropical climate, it should not be long be- 

 fore Keremeos will be known as "The 

 Pasadena of the Canadian California." 



The valley is the warmest and driest 

 in British Columbia. It varies in width 

 from one-half mile to four miles from 

 mountain to mountain, and contains some 

 of the richest land in the province. The 

 bottom lands are sub-irrigated, and have for 

 years been used as meadows. Rising above 

 these meadows, in gentle slopes, are bench- 

 es of large area. It is on these benches 

 that the largest amount of work is being 

 done. It only requires the water, which 

 will be furnished by irrigation, to enable 

 the land to produce the finest fruit. 



The following are a few results obtained 

 by some of the growers in the Similkameen 



Valley: four and a half acres of onions pro- 

 duced 95 tons at $22 a ton, or $2,090; ten 

 acres of potatoes produced 200 tons at $14 

 a ton, or $2,800; one acre of tomatoes, 5,000 

 plants, bore 85,000 pounds at two cents 

 a pound, or $1,700; two-thirds of an acre 

 of strawberries produced $900; tobacco pro- 

 duced $100 an acre between fruit trees; a 



twenty-acre peach orchard brought $10,875 

 on the trees; one and a third acres of pears 

 brought $1,420; one apple orchard produced 

 12 tons an acre and brought $750 an acre. 

 Now that better transportation facilities 

 have been provided, it is expected that 

 there will be a great rush to take up land 

 in this section. — W. G. E. 



The Fruit Bark Beetle 



L. Czesar, Ontario Agricultural College, Guelph. 



MANY cherry trees^in],the_Niagara [district 

 last autumn^were losing their leaves as 

 if a blighthad suddenly come^upon them. 

 Having heard of this, the writer along 

 with one or two of the fruit growers made an 

 investigation in September, and found that, in* 

 many cases, the real cause of the withering of 

 the leaves was that a tiny beetle was attacking 

 the4trees.%This beetle is known as the fruit 

 bark beetle, or shot-hole borer, Scolytus rugu- 

 losus. 



The beetle is about one-eighth of an inch 

 long and one-third of this amount in breadth, 

 is almost cylindrical in shape, and black in 

 color. In dead trees it makes little round holes 

 like shot-holes, and from this sometimes gets 

 ■ the name of shot-hole borer. If the bark of 

 badly-infested dead trees be removed, the whole 

 surface of the wood is often found to be en- 

 graved with little timnels or channels, running 

 in different directions. In these channels, the 

 white, legless grubs of the beetles are often 

 found, it being the grubs that make the cham- 

 bers. 



The insects, it is generally believed, pass 

 the winter in the grub (larval) stage, though 

 there are many indications that eggs also re- 

 main over winter in the little pockets under 

 the bark, along the small tunnels made by the 

 females. In early spring, the larva or grubs, 

 pass through their transformations and come 

 forth as beetles, and almost at once seek weak- 

 ened or dead trees or branches to lay their 

 eggs in. Often, however, as was the case last 

 year, they will, when numerous, spread from 

 diseased or dead trees to perfectly healthy ones 

 and there do much damage. When a healthy 

 tree is attacked, the presence of the beetle can 

 easily be seen by the gummy exudations that 

 come forth from the wounds made. Attacks 

 may be made on any part of the tree, trunk, 

 branches or twigs. 



Cherry trees are not the only ones to be at- 

 tacked. A few plum trees at St. Catharines 

 were found to be badly attacked, and in the 

 United States, peach trees are, as a rule, worst 

 assailed. Apple and pear trees also are some- 

 times attacked. 



Though the insect did much harm last year 

 and will probably do much this year also, un- 

 less precautions are taken, yet the farmers 

 need not become unnecessarily alarmed. The 

 insect has been known in Canada for some 

 time, and in some parts of the United States 

 has, on several occasions, been very destructive, 

 but it has been possible to control it in each 

 case. 



In seeking a remedy, we must remember 

 first, that the insects pass the winter in one 

 form or another under the bark; secondly, that 

 in almost every case they attack dead or weak- 

 ened trees before going to healthy ones. Con- 

 sequently, the remedy is to cut out and burn 

 every dead fruit tree of whatever kind, and 

 also any very weak or dying tree, and all dead 

 or badly-attacked branches. These must not 

 be thrown into heaps and left there, but 

 must be burned at once. All old brush piles 

 should be destroyed in the same way. In 

 this manner most of the hibernating larvae 

 and eggs will be destroyed. If, in addition to 

 this, trees that have been slightly attacked 

 have manure scattered around them, the in- 



creased ^vigor^ thereby given will often enable 

 them to recover from the injury. - 



Spraying is usually resorted to as a meai 

 of warding off attacks. A carbolic and soaj. 

 wash is usually recommended, one quart soft 

 soap or one pound hard, one gallon water, half 

 pint crude carbolic; dilute to 40 gallons. Su< 

 a wash must be put on in the spring, in Apr; 

 as the adult beetles begin to emerge vei 

 shortly after the warm weather begins. Th; i 

 seems to be no reason why lime-sulphin put 

 on at this time should not also have the same 

 result. To secure the best results from either 

 of these washes, it will be necessary to spra-. 

 •aX least, the infested trees a second time, afti 

 an interval of a week or ten days. 



It is perhaps necessary to call the attention 

 of fruit-growers to the fact that in localitir 

 where the San Jose scale is prevalent, trees n^ 

 treated for this scale are sine to become weai 

 ened or killed, and afford favorable breediii 

 centres for the fruit bark beetle. Hence, 1 

 using lime-sulphur to check the San Jose sea It 

 preventive measures will also have been take; 

 against the beetles. 



Of Wide Influence. 



Editor, The Canadwn Horticulturist: 

 The announcement in the December issue that 

 The Can.^dian Horticulturist had completed 

 its 30th year, caused me to look up back num- 

 bers. It is 27 years 

 since I first became 

 subscriber. 



While The Canadi.a 

 Horticulturist ma 

 have been intended p: : 

 marily for Ontario, ii 

 scope of usefulness ha 

 not been provincial. 

 Fruit growers in every 

 province have found sonu 

 thing within the pages 1 

 the publication to enthuse, 

 encourage and instruct 

 , ,, ^.1 them in producing more 



Mr. J. C. Gilman and better fruit, to grade 

 better, pack better and to place before the con- 

 sumer, in the best possible condition, the pro- 

 ducts of their orchards. I wish the publication 

 continued success. — J. C. Gilman, President, 

 New Brunswick Fruit Growers' Association, 

 Fredericton, N.B. 



In future the Ontario Horticultural Ex- 

 hibition will be under the control of an As 

 sociation that will be called "The Ontario i 

 Horticultural Exhibition Association." At '• 

 a meeting of the directors of the associa- 

 tion held recently, it was decided to or 

 ganize and become incorporated under Th 

 Associations' Act. A constitution and by 

 laws were adopted. The following ofBcert 

 were elected: Hon. Pres., E. J. Score, Tor- 

 onto.; Pres., W. H. Bunting, St. Cathar 

 ines; First Vice-Pres., H. E. Frankland, 

 Toronto; Second Vice-Pres., Mr. Couse, 

 Streetsville ; Treas., J. H. Dunlop, Toronto; .• 

 Sec, P. W. Hodgetts, Toronto. 



