The Canadian Horticulturi^ 



Vol. XXX 



JANUARY, 1907 



No. 1 



TKe Future of tKe Apple in Ontario" 



JK. McNeill, CHief, Fruit Division, Otta-wa 



The; future of the apple trade in 

 Ontario rests upon several natural 

 conditions, soil, climate, markets, 

 transportation and the trend of trade, 

 as well as upon the character of the men 

 who are growing the fruit and the 

 character of the men who are handling 

 it. I will also assume that men will do 

 what is for their best interests, although 

 I am perfectly well aware that not in- 

 frequently this rule of action is violated. 

 On the whole it would be more correct, 

 perhaps, to say that I am endeavoring 

 to show the lines along which the apple 

 industry should develop rather than the 

 actual development that will take place. 

 Of the various elements that enter 

 into this problem I propose to select a 

 few, the importance of which has been 

 overlooked, or which are not likely to 

 be handled by others. Some of the most 

 important I will pass over with just a 

 simple reference. Transportation, for 

 instance, is a most important element 

 in connection with the future develop- 

 ment of the apple industry. Soil is also 

 another important element. Fortun- 

 ately here I need say little, inasmuch as 

 there are few parts of Ontario where the 

 soil is unsuitable for the culture of 

 apples. Some parts may be slightly 

 better than others, but on the other 

 hand the conditions are so uniform and 

 the question so local that it may fairly 

 well be omitted in an investigation of 

 this kind. 



GEOGRAPHY, TOPOGRAPHY AND VARIETIES 



I shall confine myself more particu- 

 larly to questions of climate and the 

 selection of suitable varieties for local 

 conditions and the trend of trade with 

 special reference to the markets. For 

 the purpose of developing these points, 

 I have drawn a map marking the vari- 

 ous portions of it to suit the conditions 

 which I believe prevail with reference 

 to temperature and climate generally. 

 I will use this map for the purpose of 

 drawing your attention to certain phys- 

 ical features that have a most import- 

 ant bearing on the development of ap- 

 ples, a bearing that has been entirely 

 overlooked in the planting of the or- 

 chards of Ontario. Nevertheless, by a 

 process of the survival of the fittest, the 



"An address deliviTed before the recent convention of 

 the Ont.Trio Fruit Growers' Association. 



trend of apple orcharding is shaping 

 itself very nearly as the physical fea- 

 tures of the province would dictate. In 

 any case, the development of markets 

 and the distribution of population has 

 proceeded so rapidly within the last 

 quarter of a century that those who 

 planted the orchards 25 years ago can 

 scarcely be blamed if they did not fore- 

 See some of the results that were in- 

 evitable now that their orchards should 

 be in full bearing. 



APPLES AND ALTITUDES 



I would first draw attention to the 

 heights of land. This element in the 

 determination of climate is not a strik- 

 ing one in Ontario. Nevertheless, the 

 net results of height above the sea level 



RanKs Hig'K 



The last issue of The Canadian 

 Horticulturist is most creditable 

 to the publishers. It takes rank 

 high up among the outdoor mag- 

 azines. — The Busy Man's Magazine. 



are just as definite and just as effective 

 as in mountainous districts such as Brit- 

 ish Columbia. The traveller in British 

 Columbia can stand at the foot of a 

 slope and pick tender flowers, but rais- 

 ing his eyes but a few hundred feet, he 

 can see the whole mountain top covered 

 with snow and, perhaps, even with 

 glaciers that never disappear. The re- 

 sult is brought about solely by the dif- 

 ferences in the height between the base 

 of the mountain and its top. 



The slopes in Ontario are so gradual 

 that we are not aware of the heights 

 we reach. I would, therefore, play the 

 schoolmaster to the extent of noting 

 that Lake Huron is 575 feet above the 

 sea level. Lake Erie 565, and I^ake On- 

 tario 262 feet. Compared with this we 

 have: Chatham, 589 feet, London 805, 

 Brantford 705, Stratford 1,189, Durham 

 1,687, Walkerton 931, Mount Forest 

 1,348, Orangeville 1,557, Lindsav 854, 

 Peterboro 649, Ottawa 215, Montreal 47. 



FOUR ,FRUIT DISTRICTS 



The accompanying map of Ontario 

 divides the province into four divisions 

 for apple culture. District No. 1 grows 



all the tender fruits, such as peaches, 

 apricots, dwarf pears of all varieties, 

 tender and all varieties of apples, plums, 

 pears, cherries, etc. This region is 

 specially adapted to early fruits and 

 vegetables, being from ten days to two 

 weeks ahead of the districts surround- 

 ing the large markets. 



District No. 2 grows excellent winter 

 apples of all varieties to perfection. It 

 is characterized by a large number of 

 comparatively small orchards contain- 

 ing numerous varieties of fruit. Many 

 portions are excellently adapted for 

 plum and pear culture. 



District No. 3 is specially adapted for 

 winter apples. There are many large 

 orchards especially on the shore of Lake 

 Ontario. The farmers here are making 

 a specialty of orcharding. A district 

 on the Nottawasaga Bay should be 

 classed with District 3, having large 

 orchards of comparatively few varieties 

 of winter fruit. 



In district No. 4 the ordinary winter 

 varieties are not hardy. This district, 

 however, grows Fameuse, Mcintosh Red, 

 Wealthy and Wolf River to perfection. 

 The first two are dessert apples that, if 

 properly packed, should command the 

 very highest prices as dessert apples. 

 The midland counties of western On- 

 tario, on account of their altitude, must 

 be classed with district No. 4. In this 

 district the ordinary winter varieties 

 grown in the adjacent counties are not 

 hardy. 



The height of land embracing the 

 counties of Dufferin, Wellington, Perth, 

 and Waterloo, renders the winter cli- 

 mate frequently so severe as to make it 

 impossible to grow the tenderer varieties 

 of apple trees. We are, therefore, 

 obhged to put these counties in the same 

 apple district as the northern portion 

 of the province, which I have designat- 

 ed as district No. 4, and which includes 

 the valley of the Ottawa and St. Law- 

 rence Valley, roughly as far as King- 

 ston. For the purpose of the apple in- 

 dustry I need only consider the more 

 favored portions of this district No. 4, 

 where thev grow the Fameuse and Mc- 

 intosh Red, the Wolf River, Duchess 

 and Wealthy. Such varieties as the 

 Spy, Baldwin, Cranberry Pippin, King, 

 etc., are altogether too tender for this 



