THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



43 



to interfere. On the other hand, experience 

 has shown that in some cases cliques obtain 

 control of a society and manipulate its funds 

 largely to their own benefit. This may be done 

 in various ways such, for instance, where the 

 membership is small, by devoting most of the 

 money of the society to the purchase of seeds, 

 bulbs and plants for the members. In other 

 cases, practically all of the money may be 

 diverted to the holding of one large exhibition 

 annually, which often is but slimly attended 

 and at which the prize money is divided among 

 about a doz^n exhibitors. There are so many 

 excellent lines of work that societies can under- 

 take, it is desirable that there shall be provision 

 in the act which will prevent any one line being 

 followed to the extreme. We feel that the new 

 act should be given a trial as it is. It will be 

 time enough to demand a change when it has 

 been shown that its various provisions are 

 likely to result in more harm than good to the 

 societies as a whole. 



The best features of the act are that it pro- 

 vides for an increase in the grant to horticultural 

 societies, that it abolishes all cause for friction 

 between agricultural and horticultural societies 

 m regard to their grants, and that hereafter the 

 grants to societies instead of being practically 

 uniform from year to year, as in the past, will 

 depend as to their amount, upon the work done 

 by the societies. During the next few years 

 there promises to be a marked increase in the 

 number of these societies in Ontario and in the 

 alue of their work. 



Prince Ed"warcl Island Letter 



Rev. FatKer Durhe, Alberton 



Along the line of the Michigan Central R.R 

 in southern Ontario the company has planted 

 catalpa trees. Work of this kind is to be com- 

 mended. While it is done by the company with 

 a business view it tends to beautify that portion 

 of the country. As it will ulitmately furnish 

 posts and ties for the railway, it will help to 

 check the rapid deforestation of southern 

 Ontario and other parts of the province that 

 now is going on and is to be regretted. Al- 

 though the planting of these trees is in only an 

 experimental stage, there are many districts 



govt where it would be advisable for the C.P.R. and 



10 a the G.T.R. to do likewise. 



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Fruit Gro-wers See Minister 



Objection was urged to the action of the Ont. 



J' Fruit Grs. Assn. by a deputation on Jan. 

 [before the Minister of Agriculture in Toror 



24 

 'oronto. 

 The action was also resented of the assn. in 

 appearing before the tariff commission last 

 summer without the authority of the fruit 

 growers of the country. 



The delegation claimed that the provincial 

 assn. did not properly represent the fruit inter- 

 ests, also that they have not authority to act 

 in the matter, as their powers are educative 

 d. ■' and not legislative. The minister promised to 

 lere ef look into the matter. 



There were present A. H. Pettit, H. L. Roberts, 

 N. Cossitt, J. A. Livingston, Fred Henry and 

 J. E. Henry, of Grimsby; W. B. Bridgeman, T. 

 H. P. Carpenter, J. Thompson, E. M. Smith, W. 

 M. Orr, I. Vanduzer, Winona; T. Lewis, Bar- 

 tonville; J. Webster, Stony Creek. 



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At a meeting of the directors of the Hort'l 

 Pub. Co., Ltd., held in the offices of the company, 

 Toronto, Jan. 23, reports were presented that 



«11 *? showed that the company has been making satis- 

 'actory progress. Great growth was shown in 

 " le case of both The Canadian Horticulturist 

 id The Canadian Florist, the 2 publications 

 owned by the company. The following board 

 of directors was elected: Messrs. W. H. Bunting, 

 St. Catharines; J. H. Dunlop, Toronto; A. W. 

 Peart, Burlington; H. Jones, Maitland; Elmer 



.flviipj Lick, Oshawa; Hermann Simmers, Toronto; 



•tkel* ind H. B. Cowan, Toronto. At a subsequent 



je tskii meeting of the directors, Mr. Bunting was elected 

 president, Mr. Dunlop, vice-president, and Mr. 



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»HE great question of varieties of apple trees 

 comes up at every convention. Some hold 

 to its paramount importance for successful 

 orcharding, with tyros in the business, 

 at least; others make the broad and proud 

 boast that Prince Edward Island can grow well 

 all the apples which flourish in the northern 

 temperate zone. Senator Ferguson, who does 

 as well as says, is now ready to get up and 

 make this latter assertion. Still it is just pos- 

 sible that some varieties do better here than 

 others, generally speaking. In special situations 

 and when well fertilized and handled, most 

 apples, we believe, can be grown successfully. 



Take the early varieties. No place can grow 

 the Yellow Transparent to greater perfection. 

 They are hardy and fruitful and of the best 

 quality for an early apple. Then, following 

 them, the Red Astrachan and Duchess grow and 

 bear profusely. Alexander and Wolf River, its 

 close parent, cannot be grown better anywhere; 

 and we grow Fameuse, Mcintosh Red, Canada 

 Red and Baxter, just as well. We like to believe, 

 too, that we can outdo Nova Scotia in its favorite 

 Gravenstein. Certainly ours are delicious apples 

 — large, luscious, well-colored and longer keeping 

 than the Annapolis VaUey fruit. 



In winter sorts we can succeed in Spys, Kings, 

 Russets, Ribstons, Starks and Ben Davis. 

 Some think the Baldwin is not among our suc- 

 cesses; others say we can grow excellent Bald- 

 wins. One thing sure, we have had considerable 

 winter-killing of this stock. But a few winters 

 ago, when Nova Scotia suffered severely in its 

 Gravensteins and Baldwins too, if I mistake not, 

 peciJiar weather conditions obtained which 

 may not recur in a lifetime. 



'owan, sec.-treas. 





We have Robertson's "Inkerman," too, 

 which will do well and is a much better keeper 

 and finer apple than it gets credit for being in 

 some quarters. It is a root growth from a 

 standard tree planted by Mr. Robertson when 

 he started out orcharding away back in the 

 fifties; whilst it must have had a place in the 

 extensive nomenclature of the past, it cannot be 

 placed by our present day pomologists, all of 

 whom have been asked in vain to identify it. 

 Now it carries the name of Mr. Robertson's 

 farm and nurseries, "Inkerman." He has 

 propagated great numbers of them and his heart 

 is more completely in it than in any other island 

 apple. 



We have another species here which Mr. Mc- 

 Rae, of PownaU, has brought before the associa- 

 tion and country, and which was produced much 

 after the way of the Inkerman. It is called 

 "Dodd, " because it was an old English gardener 

 of that name that originated it. It is a pretty 

 apple, and of fairly good quality; it will not keep 

 like the Inkerman, however. These two apples 

 are all that we can call peculiarly "Island 

 apples." We have the old French Pippin — a 

 link binding us to Acadian days. 



The whole nursery question came up at our 

 late meeting as vital to the fruit industry. As, 

 however, the representative of the Ontario 

 firms could not get over, we did not take any 

 decided action. That something must be done 

 to secure us against nursery frauds, all believe; 

 and even if we admit poor planting and handling 

 in many cases, there is still ground enough to 

 educate offhand many sellers of stock from 

 without who have victimized the people awfully. 

 I will return to this matter in my next. 



A. IV 



A 



Important Meeting of Fruit Grcwers 



MONG the questions discussed at a meet- 

 ing of the directors of the Ont. Fruit 

 Growers' Assn. held in Toronto, Jan. 8, 

 were the tariff on fruits, substitudon 

 of nursery stock by nurserymen, and the 

 cooperative movement among fruit growers. 

 A resolution was passed appointing a com- 

 mittee to confer with the Michigan Hortl. 

 Soc'y, should they ask for it, regarding the 

 recent resolution of the Michigan Soc'y ad- 

 vocating a reciprocal interchange of fruit 

 products between Canada and the U.S. The 

 personnel of the committee is: Robt. Thompson, 

 St. Catharines; J. L. Hilborn, Leamington; and 

 Elmer Lick, Oshawa. When the resolution was 

 passed, the Board had not received any direct 

 communication from the Michigan Soc'y asking 

 for an ejcpression of opinion regarding the 

 matter. The feeling of the Michigan Soc'y 

 became known to the Ont. Assn. through the 

 press. The committee was instructed, there- 

 fore, not to act until a definite request had been 

 received. 



The ^resolution and discussion that followed 

 was the result of a motion that had been drafted 

 by W. L. Smith, of Toronto. Not being able to 

 be present, Mr. Smith had asked Alex. McNeill, 

 chief of the fruit division, to present the motion. 

 Mr. McNeill, in the discussion, favored free 

 trade. He said that such was not likely to be 

 for many years yet, but that the idea was good. 

 He pointed out that the U.S. fruit exports 

 amounted to less than 1% of the production. 

 In the near future, he said, the U.S. is going to 

 be an importing country. When that time 

 comes, free trade in fruits will be of value to 

 Canadian growers. Mr. McNeill mentioned in 

 particular the value of free trade to the 

 growers in the counties bordering Lake Erie. 

 Should the tariff be removed on both sides of 

 the line, the future would see steamer loads of 



fruit leaving Canadian ports every night, and 

 landing their cargoes the following morning at 

 U.S. ports. The geographical features of the 

 U.S. immediately south of Lake Ontario are not 

 conducive to successful fruit culture near large 

 cities that are located on and near the lake shore. 

 The fruit area of that section of the U.S. lies 

 some distance from those markets. For this 

 reason, in the event of free trade, growers in south- 

 western Ont. would have the control of that 

 market. This eventually would transform that 

 portion of Ont. into one large fruit and truck 

 garden. 



The other side of the question was discussed in 

 a practical manner by A. W. Peart, of Burlington, 

 who contended that free trade would be an in- 

 jury to the industry in this country. The 

 balance of trade between the two countries is 

 against Canada. In the U.S. there are approx- 

 imately 10 acres of fruit to our one. There the 

 cost of production is less. Were the tariff doors 

 open, American growers could, and would, flood 

 our markets. He took the view, also, that the 

 directors of the assn. did not have the right to 

 discuss such a subject. Other views of Mr. 

 Peart's may be found in another column qf 

 this issue. 



An opposite view was taken by A. A. Wright, 

 M.P. for S. Renfrew, who said that Canada 

 wants cheaper fruit and fruit for a longer period 

 in the year. The market of the west is great 

 and it, in particular, wants cheap fruit. By 

 having cheaper fruit, more people can be educat- 

 ed into the habit of eating fruit; and when they 

 acquire the habit, three times the present quan- 

 tity will be consumed. Geo. A. Robertson, of 

 St. Catharines, said that Canada is big enough 

 to take care of itself, and that Canadians should 

 have the Canadian market. 



It was finally decided that the resolution 

 should not actually approve of the stand that 



