Mr. W. T. Macoun, Canada's Leading' Horticulturist 



RECOGNITION of the services and 

 ability of Mr. W. T. Macoiui, Horti- 

 culturist, Central Experimental Farm, 

 Ottawa, recently has been made in 

 a material way, by his having received 

 within the past year at least two offers invit- 

 ing him to sever his connection with the de- 

 |iartment at Ottawa, and to assume similar 

 iluties elsewhere. Fortunately for the Central 

 l',,xperimenlal Farm and for the practical hor- 

 iculturists of Canada, Mr. Macoun has dc- 

 .lincd these tempting offers. As his work 

 lid achievements are of great value to all 

 .ranches of horticultural interest. The Cana- 

 iJiAN Horticulturist thinks it only proper 

 iiid of general interest to publish a few words 

 II further recognition of Mr. Macoun's services 

 i> the country. As a horticultural investi- 

 gator, Mr. Macoun stands jacile princeps in 

 vanada to-day. Mr. Macoun's reputation has 

 not been gained through cheap notoriety, by 

 riginaling curious things in the world of 

 jruit and flowers, but by successfully solving 

 many of the problems of the practical com- 

 mercial fruit and vegetable grower. He is 

 recognized by all who know him as a persistent, 

 never-tiring, painstaking worker, a close ob- 

 server, and one who makes his deductions after 

 much thought and with great caution. He 

 has become an exjiert or specialist in several 

 phases of what we might term " northern hor- 

 ticulture," but more particularly on the apple 

 and potato and their culture. 



He has paid si^ecial attention to the develop- 

 ment of a hardy winter apple of fine appear- 

 ance and good dessert quality, believing that 

 such an apple would be of inestimable value 

 to the colder parts of Canada. 



Many instructive and valuable experiments 

 have been carried on with a large number of 

 old and new varieties, to find how far these 

 different sorts can be grown with profit in the 

 different chmates of the Dominion and the 

 localities where they can be produced to the 

 greatest advantage. Over 600 named varie- 

 ties of apples and crabapples have been under 

 test. Experiments have been conducted in 

 shipping apples to Great Britain, in storing 

 apples, in recording the individuality of apple 

 trees, and in determining various other import- 

 ant features in the apple tree and its fruit. In 

 cultural exjK-riments with apples, Mr. Macoun 

 has ct)nducted investigations in fall vs. spring 

 planting, in root killing of apple trees, in cover 

 crops, in mulcliing the soil with green clover, 

 in top-grafting, in the close planting of apple 

 trees, in preventing injury from sun scald and 

 by mice. Excellent experiments have been 

 conducted to determine the value of whitewash 

 as a means of retarding bud growth in spring 

 and for destroying oyster-shell bark-louse and 

 other insects. Valuable experiments also have 

 been carried on with other tree fruits. With 

 grajies, Mr. Macoun has tested the various old 

 and new systems of training, the best means 

 of protecting the vines during the winter and 

 spring, and he has originated many new seed- 

 lings by cross fertilization and selection, in 

 small fruits, much excellent work has lieen ae- 

 compHshed in the testing of \'arieties and in 

 trying the best methods of culture, pruning, 

 protection for winter, and in originating new 

 varieties. 



The experiments carried on by Mr. Macoun 

 in the cultivation of vegetables to find out 

 what varieties are Ijest suited to the various 

 climates of the country also have proved of 

 much value. The results of these tests and 

 lists of varieties suitable for cultivation on 

 the farm and on the market garden have been 

 published from time to time. For 17 years, 

 Mr. Macoun has been carrying on experimental 

 work with potatoes and he published an ex- 

 haustive bulletin on the subject in 1905. It 



might not be going too far to say that Mr. 

 Macoun is the best posted man on potato cul- 

 ture in this country — certainly we know of no 

 one here who has, to such an extent, studied 

 and mastered the growing of this indispensable 

 vegetable. Innumerable varieties, both stand- 

 ard and new, have been tested. Work has been 

 conducted to determine to what extent varie- 

 ties change or can be improved by selection. 

 Others have been worked out in treating vari- 

 ous potato diseases, in learning the resistance 

 of the various varieties to blight and rot, in 

 recording how far varieties are affected by 

 change of seed In potato cultural methods, 

 work has been carried on to gain information 

 in regard to the best time to plant, the best 

 fertilizers, the kind of sets to plant, best depth 

 to plant and other points of value. 



Valuable conclusions have also been arrived 

 at by Mr. Macoun in various lines of work con- 

 nected with the growing of ornamental plants, 



Mr. W. T. Macoun 



.iich as herbaceous perennials, woody climbers, 

 llowering shrubs, deciduous and evergreen 

 trees, and so on. Work in forestry has not 

 Ijeen neglected as Mr. Macoun has under his 

 care some 21 acres of forest belts. 



Mr. Macoun's writings show that he keeps 

 himself in close touch with horticultural ex- 

 jx-rts in the United States and elsewhere, and 

 that he uses the information thus obtained 

 for the furtherance of fruit growing in Can- 

 ada, so far as it is applicable or adaptable to 

 our conditions, and this leads us to say that 

 Mr. Macoun is one who firmly believes in the 

 press as an excellent channel tlirough which 

 to disseminate knowledge. In this matter, 

 as also in that of answering the questions of 

 his fruit gnjwing correspondents, Mr. Macoun 

 is doing a most important and valuable work 

 - one which is highly appreciated throughout 

 the lengtli and breadth of our land. 



Besides tlie particular work in which Mr. 

 Macoun is engaged at the Central Experimental 

 Farm in Ottawa, he lends the value of his ex- 

 perience to horticultural matters of various 

 kinds in all parts of Canada. He has taken a 

 very active part in the administration of the 

 Ottawa Horticultural Society, probably the 

 most successful horticultural society in Can- 

 ada. In both the Lady Minto and the Lady 

 Grey garden competitions in Ottawa, Mr. Macoun 

 acted in the capacity of judge by special re- 

 quest. He is a member of the board of con- 

 trol of the fruit experiment stations of Ontario, 



12S 



and of the new fruits committee of the Ontario 

 Fruit Growers' Association, and of the exeSu- 

 tive committee of the American Pomologies 1 

 Society 



Natural Species 



H. H. Groff, Simcoe, Ont. 



The popular theory that species breed true 

 has no longer a place in advanced thought. There 

 is nothing rigid in nature, all forms are in a state 

 of flux or evolution, more or less apparent. 

 i5;Species are sections of natural orders. If by 

 breeding between species the earlier influence is 

 made apparent by atavism, why should we ex- 

 pect the species, a later development, to be 

 inflexible ? 



The point of difference seems to be between 

 what are called elementary species and taxon- 

 omic species. This would class the former and 

 more flexible sub-section as varieties during the 

 long natural process, producing more complete 

 isolation with increased powers of individual 

 resistance to crossing as well as more certain 

 forces in reproduction whencrossingisattempted. 

 When this process evolves the most complete 

 isolation, the form is entitled to rank in the 

 latter class. 



The brief span of individual human investiga- 

 tion is far too short to secure the needed com- 

 prehensive knowledge and definite facts desired. 

 In nature there is no absolute uniformity of 

 type, and all types, no matter of what apparent 

 fixity, are constantly, though imperceptibly, 

 undergoing change These constitute the ele- 

 mentary species. 



When the evolutionary process is complete 

 and the forin stands in the last stage of its 

 isolation as a distinct and individual concentra- 

 tion of vital force, it is entitled to classification 

 as a taxonomic species. In this stage it will 

 hold its place only so long as it may withstand 

 the encroachments of another and more virile 

 member of some other natural order. This is the 

 course of nature in plant, animal and human life. 



The work of the scientific plant breeder is now 

 sufficiently progressive to supply the needed 

 illustrations for practical use and educative pur- 

 poses. The modern investigator does not ex- 

 pect his product to pos.sess a rigidity not sup- 

 pUed by ages of natural influence, and it is well, 

 as such inflexibility would t)e an insuperable 

 barrier to our progress, on lines of xsthetic, 

 useful and commercial value. 



More and Better Apples. — -It is estimated that 

 apple orchards sprayed with Swift's Arsenate of 

 Lead will yield a 25 to 50% larger crop and pro- 

 duce apples with a much higher market value 

 per barrel. Potato crops have been found to be 

 doubled through the protection afforded by 

 Swift's Arsenate of Lead against the potato bug. 

 No lime is needed, but it can be successfully 

 mixed with Bordeaux mixture for a combined 

 insecticide and fungicide. Any one interested 

 in this subject may receive a very interesting 

 and valuable book l^y sending a postal card re- 

 quest to the Merrimac Chemical Co., Broad St., 

 Boston, Mass. 



A cooperative fruit shipping association has 

 been organized at Georgetown, Ont. At a 

 recent meeting of Georgetown fruit growers, 

 it was decided to form a joint stock company 

 with a capital of 81,000. The use of a large 

 freight shed on the G.T.R. track has been 

 secured where the fruit will be packed. The 

 name of the association is "The Georgetown 

 Fruit Growers, Limited," and the following 

 officers were elected: Pres., Wm. Bowman; 

 vice-pres., W. A. Wilson; sec. and manager, 

 Frank J. Barber; treas., Wm. Bradley; di- 

 rectors, Jas. Harrison, Wm. Thompson, and 

 H. A. Reed. 



