154 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



June, 1907 



b /ia|^ nM%>> /~M^^ na|^ /^%4%>> /^M%>> /)a%>t ^1M%>> n%4%>< (^' 



NOTES FROM THE: PROVINCES | 



By our Reg'ular Correspondents and Others y 



Ji'^^lTK/ *<H|*^ hHI*^'' «<r%t^ *<#*^ hHI*^ *<15^ 



BritisH Columbia 



C. p. Metcalfe, Hammond 

 Frosts in the latter part of April and the early 

 part of May curtailed the expectations of the 

 fruit grower that the year would lie one of 

 large crops. Fruit growers fully expected that, 

 owing to the lateness of the spring, tlie bloom 

 of trees and plants would escape injury from 

 frost. The crop of strawberries has been almost 

 cut in half, especially the early varieties. Rasp- 

 berries and blackberries have escaped the spring 

 frosts, but were winter killed a little in some 

 parts. Cherries, particularly sweet cherries, 

 have suffered heavily, and the crop will be a 

 light one. Plums and apples seem to have es- 

 caped fairly well. Only some of the early 

 blooming varieties have been touched. The 

 bloom of the prunes and pears has not fallen yet, 

 but the prospects are for a fair crop. 



Spring spraying has been nearly completed, 

 and the weather has been all that could l)e de- 

 sired for beneficial results. The Provincial Gov- 

 ernment is enforcing the laws regarding the 

 spraying and care of orchards. Between 1,500 

 and 1,600 orchards have been inspected. The 

 campaign for the protection of the fruit industry 

 of the province is looked upon with disfavor by 

 many of the owners of old orchards, who, in the 

 past, have done nothing in the way of spraying, 

 pruning, etc. But the enterprising fruit grower 

 has everything to gain and will welcome these 

 attempts to control, to a certain degree at any 

 rate, the spread of fruit pests and fungous dis- 

 eases. The government has also undertaken the 

 spraying of the orchards on the Indian Reserves, 

 hoping to demonstrate to the Indians the bene- 

 fits to be derived and also to control the insect 

 pests and fungous diseases in those parts. 



The OKanagan "Valley 



H. L. Gordon, Vernon 



The late spring has not retarded the opera- 

 tions of the local real estate agents; indeed, 

 their activities seem greater than ever, and 

 their numbers increased by arrivals from Win- 

 nipeg. Something very Uke a boom is in the 

 air in certain parts of this valley, but a steady 

 legitimate business is proceeding in and around 

 the older centres. 



The most notable deal of recent times has 

 just taken place in Vernon, the capital of the 

 Okanagan. Two estates, comprising together 

 about 17,000 acres, have been sold for a sub- 

 stantial figure to a Belgian syndicate, well- 

 known for its operations in land in South Am- 

 erica, South Africa, Egypt and nearer home. 

 It is said that 8,000 acres of this land is irrig- 

 ible, and that a large proportion of it will be 

 divided into small lots for sale as fruit farms. 

 The quaUty of the land thus purchased is 

 quite up to the high standard prevaiUng in 

 this district, but it is only the fact that water 

 for irrigation purposes has recently been made 

 available that has permitted the purchase 

 with a view to fruit-growing. 



It is to be hoped that when the. land is offered 

 for sale in 10 and 20 acre lots, as fruit-land, 

 the vendors will bear in mind that the fruit 

 farmer requires also a little pasture or range 

 for his horses and cow, and will offer suitable 

 land at a more moderate price than is now asked 

 for fruit-land. This has been overlooked in 

 some previous divisions of property in the 

 neighborhood of Vernon; the purchasers of 

 lots at $150 to $200 an acre have natiu-ally 

 desired to set out every available acre in or- 

 chard, and have been denied land at a reason- 

 able price for pasture. It thus happens that 



many fruit farmers here are reduced to feeding 

 their horses on hay costing $25 per ton, and 

 their famiUes upon condensed milk. A few, 

 a very few, amongst the many English, Scot- 

 tish and eastern Canadian famiUes, who have 

 settled here in search of a profitable pursuit, 

 amidst pleasant surroundings, can' afford to 

 smile at the irony of the situation; to the ma- 

 jority it appears an undesirable addition to 

 the heavy expenditure incurred while await- 

 ing the arrival of the orchard at the bearing 

 state. 



KlMGbec 



Auguste Dupuis, Director, Fruit Experiment 

 Stations 



In the eastern and northeastern part of the 

 province the winter has been extremely cold, 

 15 to 30° below zero, weather lasting whole fort- 

 nights. Snow fell early in November and did 



Mr. Auguste Dupuis 



Director, Quebec Fruit Experiment Stations 



not melt before the middle of April. No sudden 

 changes of temperature having occurred and 

 the cold weather having increased gradually, the 

 apple; pear, plum and cherry trees did not 

 suffer; the fruit buds are perfect and promising. 



The season is very backward; buds are just 

 beginning to swell. All through the province 

 more fruit and shade trees are planted tliis 

 spring. Unfortunately great mistakes are inade 

 in the selection of varieties. Hardy ones that 

 mature their wood promptly should be chosen. 

 The popularity of the Baldwin, Greening and 

 King apples for home use induces farmers to 

 buy these varieties, quite unsuitable for cultiva- 

 tion in the north, where the summer is too short 

 for maturing their wood. 



Another hindrance to successful orcharding 

 is the ignorant tree pedlar. Some nurserymen, 

 advertising for agents, mention that no experi- 

 ence in tree culture is needed to sell trees; 

 therefore, agents incompetent to guide the farm- 

 ers on the selection of varieties, on planting and 

 culture, often tell the farmers to do the least 

 preparation of the soil and after culture possible 



The Hon. Mr. Allard, Minister of Agriculture, 

 being informed of the losses incurred by injudi- 

 cious selecting of varieties and by wrong planta- 

 tion has secured the services of experts to in- 

 struct the people in practical fruit growing. The 



demonstrations are made in the orchards and 

 do much to educate the farmers. 



Arbor Day was well observed this year. A 

 great destruction of eggs of the tussock moth 

 was made by school children in some localities. 

 Prizes were given. This caterpillar increased 

 prodigiously last year. Those who do not gather 

 the eggs will see their trees defoliated. I gathered 

 and coimted 42 nests on a Tolman Sweet apple 

 tree : if left on the trees over 10,000 caterpillars 

 would have hatched from the eggs, each nest 

 containing 250 to 300 eggs. 



Fruit stations have been established in Ber- 

 thier and Yamaska counties, where the fruit 

 industry has been neglected. The niu-series of 

 Ontario, whose advertisements in The Canadian 

 HoRTicuLTiJRiST is a guarantee of their products, 

 have made extremely large sales. Whole train 

 loads have come to this province this spring. 



Montreal 



E. H. Wartman, Dominion Fruit Inspector 

 The heavy frost of Friday night. May 10, 

 produced ice as thick as an ordinary pane of 

 glass, and made some of our apple orchardists 

 fear results. I have \-isited a number of or- 

 chards, and on examination of buds, feel as- 

 sured that no damage is to be feared, as the 

 season being so cold, the buds are very back- 

 ward. Fruit buds show up well. As the Fa- 

 meuse will produce about 80% of the crop of 

 the island, I look for more of this variety than 

 last year. Later on I expect to see many dead 

 Umbs on om- apple trees on account of being 

 encrusted by oyster-shell bark-louse. What 

 a pity, when proper spraying will destroy them! 

 Raspberry canes are in a healthy condition. 



Probably 3,000 barrels of apples are still in 

 cold storage, and in irregular condition. In 

 some barrels of Spy apples, No. 1, five speci- 

 mens would cover the loss by rot; others will 

 necessitate repacking at a loss of half a bushel. 

 The packer who thinks that he can mix in 

 half a bushel of windfalls in a barrel of No 1 

 apples, and expect them to keep late in spring, 

 is making a mistake. Last week I saw a fruit 

 dealer open a No. 1 barrel of Spy apples from 

 pressed end, and finding them so beautifully 

 colored and preserved, he marked $7 on the 

 barrel as a sale guide. It always pays to keep 

 carefully hand-picked apples by themselves 

 and to mark windfalls, " windfalls," no matter 

 how free they appear to be from bruises when 

 gathered from the ground. This mark is a 

 danger warning that will put money in the fruit 

 man's pocket. 



Prince Edward Island 



Rev. Father Burke, Alberton 



The spring outlook is, as elsewhere, any- 

 thing but early. We are usually a month be- 

 hind Ontario with the seeding. We had a 

 snowstorm on May 12, something of a rarity 

 for us even. But I see that the cold wave has 

 extended to the greater part of the continent, 

 and we cannot complain, even if complaining 

 did any good. 



As the great drifts of the past winter melt 

 away from our plantations, I notice that there 

 has been considerable damage done, by break- 

 ings-down. Snow seems to have piled up in 

 the most unaccountable way, in places never be- 

 fore menaced, and, as a consequence, there is lam-, 

 entation among the orchardists, in many parts. 



Our own modest orchard experienced a very 

 general curtailing, two years ago, from this 

 source. We bolted and braced and doctored 

 the bruised and broken trees, with a care and 

 tenderness which should have merited future 

 exemption; but, the sins of improper location 

 have to be expiated, and storms and the like 

 are no respecter of persons This year again, 

 the snow piled in mountains on the older por- 

 tion of otu' planting, and the old fractures 

 were quickly discovered, and our painstaking, 

 as a general thing, turned to naught. Shovel- 

 ling with trees, too closely placed and well 

 grown, does little good, in our experience. 



