56 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



Future of TVpple in Ontario 



A. McNeill, Chief, Fruit Division, Otta-wa 



{Concluded from last issue) 



I HAVE referred to the height of land 

 running through the central portion of 

 Ontario, beginning at Queenston and 

 constituting the bluff from Queenston to 

 Hamilton. This height of land, con- 

 tinuing, as it does, north to the Georgian 

 Bay, slopes much more rapidly towards 

 the east than it does towards the west 

 as it approaches the Georgian Bay, and 

 it begins near Collingwood to once more 

 take the high cliff form similar to that 

 between Queenston and Hamilton. It 

 is upon the eastern slope of this height 

 of land, near the Georgian Bay, that we 

 find some of the finest orchards in the 

 world. It is a happy blending of soil, 

 situation and climate that makes it an 

 ideal country in which to grow winter 

 apples. Here new orchards are being 



paying one for the farmer. The draw- 

 back is that he has to wait 10 years for 

 his dividends, and in this glorious age, 

 when fortunes are being exchanged 

 every few hours, 10 years looks to be 

 such a hopelessly long period that even 

 the patient farmer sometimes dismisses 

 the scheme in disgust. 



The counties north of Lake Ontario, 

 styled district No. 3, owe their high 

 reputation as an apple region, partly to 

 the cHmate, partly to the geological 

 formation, and partly to the shrewdness 

 of the orchardists in learning lessons 

 from the experience of the older orchard- 

 ists in the west. Geologically, the best 

 apple orchards in this district are in 

 what is known as the Iroquois Basin, 

 extending to the high land at varying 



Province of Ontario Divided into Four Districts for Apple Culture 



planted very rapidly, and as a general 

 thing the bearing orchards are com- 

 posed of comparatively few varieties. 

 The fruit growers of this district had 

 learned the lesson taught by the ex- 

 perience of the older orchardists in 

 southern Ontario and gave their orders 

 so as to have, say, three, four or a half- 

 dozen varieties in their whole plantation. 

 They also had sufficient confidence to 

 plant in large blocks of 10, 20 or 30 

 acres, and are now reaping the reward 

 of their forethought. 



It is not an uncommon thing at all in 

 this district to find large orchards that 

 are pajdng dividends on a capitalization 

 of $500 to $800 an acre. When you 

 consider that the land without trees is 

 valued at from 50 to 75 dollars an acre, 

 and that the cost of putting in an orchard 

 and caring for it until it comes into 

 bearing is probably not more than a 

 hundred dollars per acre, it can readily 

 be seen that the whole operation is a 



distances from the present shore of Lake 

 Ontario. This land is extremely fertile 

 and has the climatic advantages of the 

 lower situation protected by the high 

 ground to the north. Many very ex- 

 cellent orchards, however, are grown 

 on the high land just beyond this basin 

 till it merges into district 4, where only 

 the hardiest trees will grow. 



Large orchards are the rule in district 

 3. The varieties have been well selected 

 to meet the requirements of a winter 

 trade. Orcharding is a specialty with 

 many growers, and the enterprise is 

 considered extremely profitable. This 

 district is well adapted to the usual 

 methods of the apple operators. Owing 

 to the larger orchards, and the fewer 

 varieties, the cost of picking and pack- 

 ing is much smaller than in district No. 

 2. The recommendation here is, of 

 course, to continue along similar lines, 

 planting the hardy winter varieties. 



Cold storage is quite unnecessary for 



winter fruit in district No. 2 and 3. 

 They are, consequently, 25 cents a bar- 

 rel, at least, ahead of winter varieties 

 grown anywhere else to the south. The 

 business, therefore, of growing apples 

 might possibly, though it is exceedingly 

 improbable, become unprofitable in New 

 York state, while the growers in districts 

 2 and 3 could continue with a marg[in of 

 25 cents a barrel, at least. 



District No. 4 contains probably much 

 less than 1,000,000 apple trees, many of 

 these of unsuitable varieties. The area 

 covered is extremely large, so that, 

 with the exception of a few small sec- 

 tions in this district, it cannot be regard- 

 ed seriously in the light of a business. 

 Nevertheless, there is no part of Can- 

 ada where a larger return might be made 

 than in this district. They grow to 

 perfection here the Fameuse, the Mc- 

 intosh Red and the Wealthy. In addi- 

 tion to these the Alexander and the 

 Wolf River can be grown quite profit- 

 ably; they are much better apples and 

 better keepers than when grown further 

 south. Nevertheless, they are not of 

 extraordinary quality. The Fameuse 

 and the Mcintosh Red stand at the head 

 as dessert apples. If the excellence of 

 these apples as a dessert fruit were 

 recognized, and if the growers would 

 but pack in boxes after the style of the 

 Pacific slope fruit, the business would 

 be extremely profitable. There is a 

 splendid opening for any packers who 

 will take up the packing of these apples 

 in this district, and cater to the very high 

 class of customers — those who are will- 

 ing and able to pay a large price for a 

 most excellent article. 



SUMMARY 



To sum up the situation generally, I 

 should recommend that district 1, or 

 the counties along Lake Erie, should 

 devote themselves very largely to early 

 fruit. 



The pressing need in district No. 2, 

 or the counties along Lake Huron, is 

 better organization for harvesting and 

 selling. Cooperative associations are an 

 absolute necessity in this district of 

 small orchards, with many varieties. 



What has been said with reference to 

 the Ottawa and St. Lawrence valleys 

 is equally applicable to many parts of 

 the central high counties of South Grey, 

 Wellington, Waterloo and Perth. 



The Georgian Bay and Lake Ontario 

 counties, district No. 3, will undoubt- 

 edly devote themselves to the winter 

 varieties, and we can look for a large 

 increase in the acreage of orchards on 

 these lines. 



" I have less hope that many new or- 

 chards will be planted in district No. 4. 

 Nevertheless, if cooperative associations 

 were formed, that would induce a some- 

 what better culture, and introduce box 

 packing, fruit growing would become 

 one of the leading industries. 



