Fruit Gro^ng in tKe OKanagan Valley 



H. Gordon, Vernon, British Columbia 



THE success achieved within it by 

 a number of old-established grow- 

 ers of fruit has gained a reputation 

 for the Okanagan valley which attracts 

 increasing numbers of land-seekers. The 

 Okanagan valley is reached from Sic- 

 amous Junction on the main line of 

 the Canadian Pacific Railway by a 

 branch railroad which runs for 40 miles 

 through the Spalluracheen valley and 

 the northern end of the Okanagan val- 

 ley to the head of Okanagan Lake. The 

 valley averages three miles in width. The 

 lake lies north and south, and is about 

 eighty miles long. Parallel to this lake 

 at its northern extremity lies the pic- 

 turesque Long Lake twelve miles in ex- 

 tent, the valley of which runs north 

 for thirty miles, and merges in the 

 Okanagan valley at Kelowna. The 

 Colsdtream (or White) valley joins the 

 Okanagan valley from the east close 

 to Vernon, which is situated a few 

 miles from Okanagan Lake and two and 

 a half miles from Long Lake.f ^ 



DISTRICTS FOR FRUIT CULTURE ' 



After leaving Sicamous the thriving 

 little towns and fertile districts of En- 

 derby and Armstrong deserve mention 

 first. Here the rainfall appears to be 

 sufficient in some parts to allow growth 

 without irrigation. Vernon is the rail- 

 way and agricultural centre of the 

 valley. It lies 1,260 feet above sea 

 level, and is surrounded by beautiful 

 country and many orchards, as well as 

 by much land adapted to fruit growing. 

 The most striking feature is the uniform 

 adaptabihty to fruit culture of large 

 contiguous tracts of land. This is the 



is being planttd largely in the Cold- 

 stream district ; this apple is somewhat 

 fastidious in regard to soil and climate, 

 but the growers have confidence that 

 the local conditions are suitable. 



Kelowna lies close to Okanagan Lake 

 upon its eastern shore, and is the im- 

 portant centre of a growing district 



Harvesting Spys on Coldstream Estate 



Twenty five acres netted in 1905, ?12, 000. Photo by Boie 



containing at present about 3,000 acres 

 of orchard. The same varieties of 

 apple are grown as in the Vernon dis- 

 trict, but Yellow Newton Pippin is now 

 popular. The orchard of Mr. T. W. 

 Stirling is the chief of manv good orch- 

 ards in Kelowna, just as that of the 



Sutton Beauty Apple Trees in Mr. J. L. Webster's Orchard, Vernon 



Photoeraph furnished hy Mr. .Maxwell Smith 



favorite apple district, and seems to 

 have an assured future. The chief 

 varieties grown are Spitzenberg, Jona- 

 than, Wagner, Wealthy, Northern Spy, 

 Mcintosh Red and a few others. 

 Cox's Orange Pippin, acknowledged 

 throughout the markets of Europe as 

 the best flavored apple in cultivation, 



Coldstream Estate holds the premier 

 position in Vernon. 



South of Kelowna, the black loam 

 of the north is replaced generally by a 

 more sandy soil. Several of the few 

 old-established small orchards here have 

 made a success of peach growing, and 

 stimulated others to follow. It is esti- 



mated that about 100,000 peach trees 

 have been planted in one settlement 

 alone, that of Summerland, during the 

 last two years; whilst its twin neighbor, 

 Peachland, follows closely upon its ex- 

 ample. Triumph, Alexander, Hale's 

 Early and Yellow St. John, are amongst 

 the leading varieties. The growers wisely 

 supplement the growing of peaches 

 with the less hazardous culture of 

 the apple, and produce excellent fruit; 

 but as yet have, of course, placed only 

 a very small fraction on the market 

 of the possible future annual output. 



The prospects before these ener- 

 getic and enterprising settlements are 

 excellent, and they are making sturdy 

 progress under the enthusiastic guid- 

 ance of Mr. J. M. Robinson. Both 

 places depend for communication only 

 upon the lake stearner, and the settle- 

 ment named Pentictcn, situated at the 

 southern extremity of the lake, is at a 

 similar disadvantage. The soil at Pen- 

 ticton resembles generally that of Sum- 

 merland, and apples and peaches are 

 planted in a similar manner. Thirty 

 thousand acres are here in the hands of 

 the Southern Okanagan Land Co., 

 under the management of Mr. W. T. 

 Stratford. In the old orchard of the 

 original homestead of the property 

 stands a cherry tree which produces 

 fruit in a manner to rival the prolific- 

 ness of a Kentish orchard. The poetic 

 imagination of the Winnipeg estate 

 agent has calculated on the basis of 

 the doings of this tree the amount of 

 profit derivable from an acre of cherry 

 trees, humorously forgetting that it 

 has taken thirty summers to bring this 

 cherry to its present productive state. 

 Cherries are being planted here as else- 

 where throughout the valley, Bing, 

 Lambert and Royal Anne being the 

 most popular varieties. It is probable 

 that Penticton will ultimately prove 

 an important fruit section. 



The last twelve months has seen the 

 birth of several new centres designed 

 to attract the fruit grower. Okanagan 

 Centre and East Summerland are 

 amongst the most promising of these, 

 and offer attractions to those who 

 desire to share in the development of 

 a district from its beginning. 



SUCCESSES 



From this brief survey it is evident 

 that the Okanagan valley promises to 

 be an enormous fruit producer. The 

 northern part is proved to be well 

 adapted for apple culture; the southern 

 half is probably a good peach country; 

 throughout- the whole valley, cherries, 

 plums, prunes, and pears succeed in 

 properly selected parts. The fruit pro- 



