The Canadian Horticultun^ 



Vol. XXX 



JULY, 1907 



No. 7 



TKe Fruit Industry of BritisK Columbia 



Max-well SmitH, Dominion Fruit Inspector, Vancouver 



FRUIT growing in British Columbia, 

 like the chniatic and soil conditions 

 in its various districts, is so diver- 

 sified in character and of such import- 

 ance that it is hardly possible to do the 

 industry anything like justice in the 

 space at our command, and when the 

 reader has perused this article t(^the 

 end, he must bear in mind that there 

 still remains much to be said on the sub- 

 ject. A historical sketch would be of 

 interest to many, but the wants of in- 

 ' ending settlers or investors may be bet- 



r served by a general outline of the 

 I ) resent conditions and prospects of the 

 industry. 



Although it is only sixteen years since 

 the first full carload of fruit was shipped 

 out of British Columbia, progress has 

 been fairly rapid and people are now 

 beginning to realize something of its 

 possibilities as a fruit-growing province 

 In the season of 1904, the fruit crop of 

 British Columbia was valued at $600,000 

 and the area under cultivation estimated 

 at 14,000 acres. 



In 190,5 the area under fruit had been 

 increased to 20,000 acres, and the total 

 revenue derived therefrom was nearly one 

 milHon dollars. In the same year some- 

 thing like $500,000 was expended in the 

 purchase and improvement of fruit lands 

 and the average price received for grade 

 No. 1 apples from October 1, 1905, to 

 March 31, 1906, was $1.27 per 40-lb. 

 box, f.o.b. shipping point. The early 

 varieties started out at $1 net, and dur- 

 ^ g the latter part of February and 



irch as high as $2 per box was being 

 lid for strictly No. 1 in carload lots. 

 The average prices of other fruits for the 

 season of 1905 were: Pears, $1.38 per 

 40-lb. box; prunes and plums, 75 cents 

 per 20-lb. box; peaches, $1.15 per 20-lb. 

 box; strawberries, $2.30 per 24 basket 

 crate; raspberries, $2.19 per 24 basket 

 crate; blackberries, $2.40 per 24 basket 

 crate; gooseberries, 5}^ cents per lb.; 

 crab apples, 2i^ cents per lb. ; tomatoes, 

 5}/^ cents per lb. ; currants, 7 cents per 

 lb. ; cherries, 9 cents per lb. 



Outside of the quantities consumed 

 in our own cities the chief market for 

 British Columbia fruit is the prairie 

 provinces; a market which will always 



demand the best that the fruit-grower 

 can produce and in ever-increasing quan- 

 tities, so that British Columbia need 

 have no fear, no matter how rapidly the 

 industry develops, of an over-production 

 of good, clean commercial varieties. The 

 province is most favorably situated, in 

 being contiguous to the great plains of 

 the middle west, where fruit-growing on 

 a commercial basis is not likely ever to 

 be a success. That territory is sure to 

 increase rapidly in population and the 

 consumption of fruit will be enormous. 

 It is a curious fact that the average 

 family on the prairies consumes more 



For BritisK Columbians 



Allow me to congratulate you on 

 the very marked improvement in 

 The Canadian Horticulturist. 

 Each number is better than the 

 preceding one. The reduction in 

 price should have the effect of 

 placing it in the home of every 

 lover of fruit and flowers. — W. J. 

 Brandrith, Secretary-Treasurer — 

 British Columbia Fruit Growers' 

 Association. 



fruit than do those of British Columbia 

 and it is quite natural, also, to expect 

 that as the farmers of Alberta, JSaskatch- 

 ewan and Manitoba succeed, within a 

 comparatively few years, in laying bv 

 sufficient to keep them in comfort for 

 the rest of their lives, they should look 

 to British Columbia, with its congenial 

 climate, magnificent scenery and tre- 

 mendous, unexplored and undeveloped 

 natural resources, as a place in which 

 to spend their declining years. 



There is little need for this province to 

 spend money in trying to induce immi- 

 grants from other countries to come here 

 and settle. The best immigration work 

 that British Columbia can do is to de- 

 velop the fruit-growing industry and to 

 send large quantities of first-class fruit 

 properly grown, harvested, packed and 

 shipped into the great grain country 

 east of the Rocky Moimtains. This will 

 judiciously advertise the province and 

 bring our own people here as soon as 



159 



they become tired of the mcfre rigorous 

 climate of the prairies. 



The topography of the country from 

 the standpoint of the fruit-grower may 

 be better understood by a reference to 

 the map which accompanies this article. 

 The geological formations and climatic 

 conditions render it necessary to divide 

 the fruit-growing area of the province 

 into nine general divisions. 



No. 1 might be called the southwest- 

 em coast district, which includes the 

 southern half of Vancouver Island, ad- 

 jacent islands, and what is usually called 

 the lower mainland. Here the produc- 

 tion of small fruits may be said to be 

 more successful, and consequently more 

 profitable, than that of the tree fruits. 

 Nevertheless, there are a number of 

 very excellent varieties of apples, pears, 

 plums, prunes and cherries which grow 

 to perfection in this district, besides 

 many different varieties of nuts, and, 

 in especially favored spots, peaches, 

 grapes, nectarines, apricots and other 

 tender fruits. 



In most parts of this district the mild 

 character of the climate and the exces- 

 sive moisture during the winter season 

 are very favorable to the development 

 of fungous diseases, and it is therefore 

 necessary to practice persistent and 

 systematic spraying of the orchards, 

 clean cultivation of the soil, and a 

 thorough system of under-drainage in 

 order to get the most profitable results. 



District No. 2 includes the valleys of 

 the Upper Fraser, as far north as the 

 fifty-second parallel, the main Thomp- 

 son, the North Thompson, the Nicola 

 and Bonaparte Rivers. Here there are 

 practically none of the above-named 

 difficulties to contend with, but the ques- 

 tion of water to irrigate the lands is one 

 requiring serious consideration, as with- 

 out an abundant supply of water in the 

 "dry belt" it is impossible to be sure of 

 a crop every year. The prospective 

 fruit-grower, however, does not have to 

 contend with the heavy forests along 

 these rivers that have to be encountered 

 on the coast. The fruits grown are of 

 the very highest quality and include all 

 the varieties mentioned in connection 

 with district No. 1 . One of the largest 



