178 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



July, lOOl 



NOTES FROM THE PROVINCES | 



By our Regular Correspondents and OtHers {a 



Prince Ed-ward Island 



Rev. Father Burke, Alberton 



The extraordinarily rcmarkaljle conditions 

 for the spreading of orchard [lests last year, 

 will make this season an active one for the 

 orchardist. The oyster-shell bark-louse is 

 very . prevalent. The whitewash process is 

 being used for its destruction. Many applied 

 the pure lime wash; while this remedy is help- 

 ful when applied in November, it is not likely 

 to rid the trees of the jiest when applied in 

 spring. Rains remove it too quickly. Whilst 

 there are a few indications of mice ravages, 

 we are not apprised of any considerable damage. 



Considerable new planting is Ijeing done. 

 We have every hope in the business. In the 

 meantime, spray, spray, spray. 



Qviebec 



Auguste Dupuis, Director, Fruit Stations 



Although the blooming of fruit trees in east- 

 ern Quebec' is 19 days later than last year, it 

 is very promising. Cherries, plums, and ap- 

 ples rnake a good show, excepting Fameuse, 

 Alexander, Duchess and Russets. According 

 to reports received from several counties, the 

 cloudy cold weather and occasional rain in 

 May and the first 10 days in June, have been 

 most favorable to trees planted this spring. 



Small fruits of all kinds are in the best condi- 

 tion generally, but specially promising in the 

 fields and gardens near Quebec city. Market 

 gardeners have suffered considerably by the 

 heavy frosts of the first days in June; their 

 tomatoes and other lender vegetables were 

 destroyed. 



BritisK Columbia 



C. p. Metcalfe, Hammond "^ 



The weather has been exceedingly dry and 

 drought has done little to help the frost-injured 

 crops along. Strawberries are in full swing, 

 but the crop will be a light one, probably not 

 more than 50%. Raspberries are showing 

 poorly, the dry weather causing the frost- 

 injured canes to turn yellow. Blackberries 

 promise a medium crop. Both apples and 

 pears will average a fair crop, some varieties 

 being heavily loaded and others light. Prunes 

 will be a lighter crop than last season. 



Proper and frequent cultivation is one of 

 the most important details of orcharding. 

 Most fruit growers hoe and cultivate only when 

 necessary to keep the weeds down, and pay 

 little attention to the loss of moisture. In dry 

 spells, instead of paying particular attention 

 to the retention of moisture in the soil by keep- 

 ing the surface from crusting with a dust mulch, 

 they allow the cultivations to become less fre- 

 quent because the weeds do not thrive any 

 better than the trees from lack of water. 



Owing to the limited number of nurseries 

 and the rapid growth of the fruit growing in- 

 dustry in this province, fruit growers have had 

 to irnport most of their nursery stock from 

 the eastern provinces and from the United 

 States. All imported stock has to pass through 

 the fumigation station, and be subjected to 

 examination. If found infested with insect 

 pests or fungous diseases it is destroyed, and 

 the apparently clean stock is fumigated. Now, 

 many of the fruit growers are complaining that 

 the fumigated trees seem to have very little 

 vitality left and some are killed outright. 

 , A provincial cooperative association is be- 



ing formed, and is seeking incorporation, for 

 the handling of the fruit and produce of the 

 province, composed of the local associations. 

 The following have joined: Kootenay, Revel- 

 stoke, Salmon Arm, Kamloops and Chilliwack, 

 and others have signified their intention of 

 doing so. One rule governing the association 

 is as follows: Each local union, or exchange, 

 shall subscribe for two shares for the first oO 

 members or fractional part thereof, and an 

 additional share for each additional 50 or frac- 

 tional part thereof. The idea is to control 

 the output of the local associations under one 

 management. The scheme is perhaps a little 

 premature, as the local associations and fruit 

 growers of the province are hardly educated 

 in the benefits of thorough cooperation, but it 

 is a step in the right direction. 



Montreal 



E. H. Wartman, Dominion Fruit Inspector 



Cherry, plum and apple trees on the island 

 of Montreal bid fair for a crop. The way in 

 which California fruits are appreciated in this 

 city was told on Friday, June 14, by the prices 

 paid for the first car of California apricots, 

 peaches and plums. Apricots sold at $2 a 

 crate of 12 quarts. This figure means over 

 $5 a bushel. Peaches brought the same price. 

 Plums, being less numerous in packages, went 

 as high as $3. .55, which is over $9 a bushel. 

 In years gone by, it was a common occurrence 

 to buy any of these fruits in California for one 

 cent a pound, or 60 cents a bushel for canning. 

 This leads one to believe that some person is 

 making money out of them. This car arrived 

 in excellent condition, and must have Ijeen 

 very gratifying to Hart and Tuckwell, who 

 are the agents of the Earl Fruit Co. 



Strawberries have been coming in in fair 

 quantities. The Maryland strawberry boxes 

 hold, when level full, 56 cubic inches. The 

 fruit weights about one pound, two ounces. 

 The man is a hero who ventures to pay $2,000 

 for a car of fruit so perishable in its nature. 

 The quality of Maryland berries, and the man- 

 ner in which they are crated are a credit to that 

 noted berry state. 



In many cases, Ontario berries arrive too 

 slack. Purchasers some times have to take 

 10 boxes out of 60 to fill the balance properly. 

 This calculation has to be made by a shrewd 

 buyer, or he will be out on the deal. To be an 

 all-round expert on fruits and fruit packing, 

 one should see the systems of packing from 

 other countries, and then couple this with his 

 own experience and ability. 



there is a comparatively poor market for these 

 apples when northern grown fruit of the sanie 

 varieties of no better fiavor, and not so good 

 looking, are selling at high prices. These are 

 facts that can te verified by hundreds in southern 

 Ontario as well as Ijy the apple buyers. 



Under the circumstances I could not agree 

 with Mr. Johnston when he recommends the 

 planting of Baldwins, vSpies, Kings, and Russet 

 Why grow these apples and sell them for a mer. 

 pittance! A Brighton buyer reports that li 

 bought several thousand barrels of these winti 

 varieties in the neighborhood of the town m 

 .Simcoe, Norfolk County, at .10 cents a barrel last 

 year. Of course Mr. Johnston says very truly, 

 that if proper care had been taken of these apple? ; 

 if cooperative associations had been formed' 

 and cold storage plants established, these apples 

 could have been doubled or trebled in value; 

 but the same care bestowed upon Duchess and 

 Wealthy would certainly yield much larger 

 profits. 



Nature has marked out southern Ontario as 

 the early fruit region of Canada, and the area 

 of this early fruit region is comparatively limited. 

 Why then should this early fruit area attempt 

 to compete with the late fruit area that is almost 

 unlimited? My advice to the fruit growers of 

 southern Ontario is to follow the teachings of 

 nature and of experience, and devote themselves 

 to the early and tender fruits and avoid as far 

 as possible competition in late fruits. — A. Mc- 

 Neill, Chief, Fruit Division, Ottawa. 



SoutKern Ontario Apples 



Editor, The Canadian Horticulturist, — 

 Your readers in southern Ontario will have read 

 the interesting letter on "Apple Growing," by 

 James E. Johnston, Norfolk County, in the May- 

 number. With this letter I heartily agree, 

 except upon one point; and even on this one 

 point, namely, the keeping qualities of the 

 southern-grown winter varieties, Mr. Johnston 

 and I are at one practically. No finer apples 

 are grown in the world; few trees are more 

 prolific, and I quite agree with Mr. Johnston 

 that if proper care is taken of the apples, they 

 can be kept fairly well into the winter season; 

 but as a matter of fact, neither farmers nor 

 apple buyers will go to the trouble of taking 

 proper care of these apples, and consequently 



Gardening in Vancouver 



M. J. Henry 



Ornamental gardening in Vancouver is be- 

 coming an established fad. Very few new 

 residences are built without the owners in- 

 vesting from f5 to $200 in ornamenting their 

 grounds. 



Jobbing gardeners are rushed with work, 

 and command from 35 to 40 cents an hour, 

 and some of them more. A few years ago the 

 owners employed white gardeners to lay out 

 their grounds and then had the work finished 

 with cheap Chinese help. To-day "John" 

 has got on to the job, and wants "allee samee" 

 white man's pay. 



T-wo Leading Societies 



The two largest horticultural societies in 

 Ontario are located in Ottawa and St. Cathar- 

 ines. Considering the population in its vicinity 

 the St. Catharines society leads all the others 

 in the province as regards the largest propor- 

 tionate membership. The Ottawa society 

 started out at the teginning of the year with 

 an ambition to secure 400 members. It al- 

 ready has obtained about 350. 



The St. Catharines society already has over 

 300, and is fast increasing its membership. It 

 is not unlikely that the St. Catharines society 

 by the end of the year will lead all the other 

 societies in the province. This speaks well for 

 the work of Mr. W. B. Burgoyne, the president 

 of the Ontario Horticultural Association, who 

 is also the president of the St. Catharines Hor- 

 ticultural Society, as well as for the work of 

 his capable board of directors, and specially 

 the secretary, Miss L. A. Radcliff. 



The increasing demand for jjerfect fruit has 

 caused fruit growers to gi\^e greater care to the 

 picking of the fruit. No other device is as 

 necessary as a ladder that is light, easily ad-, 

 justed, and strong. Many fruit growers have 

 expressed themselves in the highest terms of 

 the ladders manufactured by the Berlin Wooden- 

 ware Co. of Berlin. The new illustrated book- 

 let just issued by this firm contains a full de- 

 scription of the goods they manufacture, and 

 it is well worth writing for. 



