An Important Fruit Convention 



THE control of orchard pests, the 

 regulating by law of the sale of nurs- 

 ery stock and the guestions of mar- 

 kets and marketing were among the 

 important problems discussed at the con- 

 vention of the Ontario Fruit Growers' Asso- 

 ciation, held at Toronto in November. 

 While these topics have been dealt with 

 many times in the past, they are always 

 new. Much valuable information in res- 

 pect to their solution was imparted by a 

 score of authorities at this convention. A 

 representative gathering of fruit growers 

 from all parts of the province was present. 

 The various addresses delivered and the 

 discussions that they incited resulted in the 

 passing of the following resolutions: 



"That it is the opinion of this associa- 

 tion that the disease known as 'little peach' 

 should be added to the Act respecting 

 'black knot' and 'yellows,' and that the 

 same regulation that applies to inspectors 

 under the San Jose scale Act shall apply 

 to the inspectors under the aforesaid Act. 



"That this association ask the Ontario 

 Government to pass legislation compelling 

 orchardists to spray effectively for the cod- 

 ling moth and that same be incorporated 

 in the present Act that has to do with the 

 control of orchard pests. 



"That this association forward its thanks 

 to the Grand Trunk Railway authorities 

 for renovating and enlarging the old Scott 

 Street fruit and freight shed in the City of 

 Toronto, all of which is greatly appreciated. 



"That it is the desire of this association 

 that the Dominion Department of Agricul- 

 ture continue in future its assistance in the 

 matter of arranging for cold storage services 

 on certair steamship lines for the carrying 

 of early and tender fruits to Great Britain, 

 and that same "be extended as conditions 

 may warrant. 



"Whereas, the announcement of the un- 

 timely death of Dr. James Fletcher, entom- 

 ologist and botanist at the Central Exper- 

 imental Farm has come as a grievous shock 

 to his many friends, the Ontario Fruit 

 Growers' Association, assembled in annual 

 convention at Toronto, begs to convey to 

 his sorrowing family and to Dr. Saunders 

 of the staff of the Central Experimental 

 Farm, this expression of its deep regret and 

 of sympathy with them in the loss which 

 they have sustained, a loss which is com- 

 mon to the whole Dominion throughout 

 which the deceased gentleman was well 

 known and highly esteemed." 



The election of directors for the ensuing 

 year resulted as follows: E. B. Whyte, 

 Ottawa; Harold Jones, Maitland; F. 8. 

 Wallbridge, Belleville; W. H. Gibson, 

 Newcastle; R. W. Grierson, Oshawa; A. W. 

 I'eart, Burlington; E. D. Smith. Winona; 

 G. A. Robertson, St. Catharines; James E. 

 Johnson, Simcoe; D. Johnson, Forest; F. 

 Metcalf, Blythe; C. W. Gurney, Paris, and 

 C. L. Stephens, Orillia. The officers will 

 be elected at a meeting of the directors next 

 January. 



THE PKBSIDENT'S ADDEES8 



In his opening address, Mr. A. W. Peart, 

 f)f Burlington, the president, called atten- 

 tion to the ravages of the codling moth in 

 I )ntario orchards. "There is great hope 

 among our fruit growers," he said, "that 

 tile codling moth may be controlled. In 

 some of the unsprayed orchards this year, 

 the ravages were unprecedented. I saw one 

 iirchard of Baldwins where the ground was 

 literally covered witii fallen fruit, all the 

 apples being wormy. The weather seemed 

 to be particularly favorable to the pest." 

 During the past season, the association 

 issued hundreds of circulars embodying the 



experiences of two or three of the most suc- 

 cessful orchardists in the province. Ex- 

 tracts from one of these circulars were pub- 

 lished in the March issue of The Canadian 

 Horticulturist. The circulars were sent 

 to apple growers in all parts of the province 

 and resulted in the methods advocated 

 being adopted in a number of cases, the 

 results being satisfactory. 



Mr. Peart referred also to the series of 

 fruit institutes that were conducted by the 

 association last winter and spring. It was 

 a departure along the line of practical 

 education. The programs were carefully 

 prepared, embracing subjects that had to 

 do with all branches of fruit culture. The 

 results were satisfactory to the fruit inter- 

 ests of the province. It is expected that 

 similar meetings will be held during the 

 coming winter. All farmers and fruit 

 growers should make it a point to attend 

 the ones that will be held nearest to their 

 places of abode. 



Reference was made, also, to the efforts 

 being put forth by the Ontario Department 

 of Agriculture to place Ontario fruit before 

 the public in this country and in Great 

 Britain. Large exhibits were made at 

 Winnipeg, at the Canadian National, Tor- 

 onto, at the Franco-British Exhibition at 

 London, England, and recently a large con- 

 signment of fruit was sent to the exhibition 

 of the Royal Horticultural Society in Lon- 

 don. At the conclusion of the latter exhibi- 

 tion, the fruit will be sent to various points 

 in Great Britain so as to demonstrate the 

 capaibilities of Ontario in the production of 

 high grade fruit. The greatest exhibition 

 of fruit from an Ontario viewpoint was the 

 one held in Toronto at the same time as 

 the fruit convention. It was a splendid 

 success. 



"The weather conditions of the past sea- 

 son," said Mr. Peart, "were unfavorable to 

 the development of fungous diseases but 

 the Greening apple was a noted exception. 

 In some districts, this variety is classed as 

 a winter apple but with me at Burlington, 

 it is a fall apple, being picked immediately 

 after Ribston. After picking, I noted a 

 greyish fungus adjacent to the stem of the 

 Greening, which is an unusual place for it 

 to appear. I packed some in boxes and 

 some in barrels and shipped them to the 

 Old Country. The result was very unsatis- 

 factory, the fungus developing so badly as 

 to almost wipe out the profit. I have been 

 informed that this fungus is a secondary 

 development from the black spot or scab. 

 Whatever it may be, it appears to be a new 

 visitor in the orchard. It is remarkable 

 that the Greening was the only] apple 

 affected." 



In regard to crops and prices, Mr. Peart 

 pointed out that the apple crop of the past 

 season was light so far as winter varieties 

 were concerned. Pears, plums and peaches 

 were from an average to a good crop. The 

 gross tonnage of grapes was heavy, although 

 the yield per acre was lighter than usual, 

 small fruits were a fair crop. Prices did 

 not rule as high as last year. On the whole, 

 however, fruit growers have done fairly well. 

 Trade depressions account to some extent 

 for the low prices. It behooves fruit growers 

 to appreciate this depression and to reduce 

 our expenditures to a minimum consistent 

 with economical management. 



"In regard to the problems that confront 

 us," remarked Mr. Peart, "T am one of 

 those who believe that fruit growing is still 

 in an experimental stage. The conclusion.s 

 we reach to-day are su'bject to revision in 

 the near future as our experience and 

 knowledge increases. One of the problems 



271 



that confront us is the question of the soil 

 naturally best adapted to any good fruit. 

 Another problem arises in connection with 

 soil variations in regard to different var- 

 ieties of the same fruit. The fringe of this 

 question is scarcely touched. Take pears 

 for example. The Kieffer pear produces 

 best on a sandy soil but my experience with 

 other varieties goes to show that a clay soil 

 is the natural home of the pear. There are 

 problems connected with the care and man- 

 agement of orchards. Others have ,to do 

 with spraying. The problem of co-opera- 

 tion is important, also the problems of 

 sorting, grading, packing and marketing. 

 Altogether, the fruit grower should feel 

 hopeful for the future. 



"The ideals of this association," con- 

 cluded Mr. Peart, "should be based upon 

 integrity, intelligence and industry — three 

 factors, moral, mental and physical. Upon 

 these three principals rests the future suc- 

 cess of the fruit growing industry of 

 Ontario." 



CONTROL OP NURSERY STOCK 



The legislative control of nursery stock 

 has been under consideration for some time 

 by this association. There is a feeling that 

 nurserymen should Toe compelled to guar- 

 antee stock true to name. During the past 

 year, a committee appointed by the associa- 

 tion to investigate the question went into 

 the matter thoroughly, meeting on one 

 occasion in conference with a committee of 

 nurserymen. Its report presented at the 

 convention by Mr. Robt. Thompson, of St. 

 Catharines, took the form of a draft bill 

 which will be published in next issue. 



STRAWBERRY OXJLTITRE 



A practical paper on "The Handling of 

 the Strawberry Plantation," was read by 

 Mr. S. H. Rittenhouse of Jordan Harbor. 

 It is puWished on page 259 of this issue. 

 An interesting discussion followed. Mr. 

 A. E. Sherrington of Walkerton said that he 

 prefers a good clover sod for strawberries. 

 He pointed out that the selection of plants 

 for setting is very important. "Do not 

 allow the rows to get too wide," said Mr. 

 Sherrington. "I take only one crop from 

 the plantation and then plow it down. It is 

 cheaper to plant than to cultivate an old 

 bed. The fruit should be picked when ripe, 

 neither before nor after. Do not pick when 

 the dew is on nor immediately after a rain ; 

 pick when dry. Grading the fruit can be 

 done but it is not necessary when the fru't 

 is well grown. Use clean packnges. Local 

 conditions have much to do with the suc- 

 cess of strawberry culture." 



"The preparation of the soil must be thor- 

 ough," said Mr. W. F. W. Fisher, of Bur- 

 lington, "and it must be well enriched. 

 Select only the best plants for planting and 

 when marketing, cater to the prevailing de- 

 mand." Mr. L. A. Hamilton, of Lome Park, 

 pointed out that strawberries can be grown 

 profitably between trees in young orchards. 

 "Do not make the rows too long. The pack- 

 ers will work more carefully on short rows. 

 Start them at the end nf the patch farthe-t 

 from the packing shed T take two crops 

 from mv plantation. After picking the first 

 crop, T burn over the vines and cultivfte 

 between the rows. In dry seasons, care 

 must te taken when burning or the crowns 

 may be injured. T sprayed my plants this 

 year with Bordeaux mixture and got a sup- 

 erior crop." 



THE CO-OPERATIVE MOVEMENT 



That the co-operative movement among 

 fruit growers has been satisfactory and is 

 progressing was pointed out in a report by 

 Mr. Jas. E. Johnson of Simcoe. Exoe]lo:i' 



