Fruit Growing in tKe West 



D. 'W. SucKanan, Director, Buchanan Nursery Co., St. Charles, Manitoba 



ACrOOD measure of success has al- 

 ready been attained in the growing 

 of some kinds of fruit in the west, 

 and the outlook is more and more prom- 

 ising as the years go by. In the early 

 days there were many failures in grow- 

 ing grain crops, simply because" the new 

 .settlers did not know how to farm to 

 suit the pecuUarities of our soil and 

 climate. It did not take many years to 

 learn that different methods must be 

 followed here in order to achieve success 

 in growing grain crops, compared with 

 methods followed in other countries. 

 What is true of grain appHes with even 

 greater force to fruits. 



Professor Green, of Minnesota, per- 

 haps the best known fruit authority in 

 that state, says: "It would be better 

 that a man should know absolutely 

 nothing about growing fruit, than that 

 he should undertake to grow fruit in 

 ^linnesota on the same principles as are 

 followed in the east." The exact words 

 used by Professor Green are not here 

 given, but the meaning is the same. What 

 he hassaid of Minnesota applies with even 

 greater force to Manitoba and other 

 prairie provinces. The one who would 

 grow fruit in Manitoba must study the 

 conditions and conform to them. When 

 this is done, growing fruit here will be 

 a much easier and more successful under- 

 taking than most people suppose. It is 

 true that there have jjeen more failures 

 than successes in growing fruit here, 

 but that is because the conditions under 

 which attempts were made were such as 

 to make failure a certainty from the start. 

 In the first place the stock used was 

 entirely worthless for this country. 

 Most of the stock planted in this coun- 

 l ry has been entirely worthless and alto- 

 gether unsuited to the climate. Even 

 yet, with the experience gained in the 

 past as a guide, thousands of dollars' 

 worth of worthless stock is annually im- 

 ]X)rted. Much of the stock brought in 

 will not succeed in the northern portions 

 of Ontario, say, for instance, the lower 

 valley of the Ottawa, s(j that it could 

 hardly be expected to thrive here. 



Many people, after attempting the 

 impossible with worthless nursery stock, 

 come to the conclusion that fruits can- 

 not be grown here, and by vigorouslv as- 

 serting this belief they create a false 

 impression. Others, by a careful selec- 

 tion of varieties and proper modes of 

 cultivation, are succeeding where many 

 have tilled. Through the efforts of the 

 few successful pioneer horticulturists, 

 we have learned much that will enable 

 any intelligent person to succeed in 

 growing many varieties of fruit, if the 

 proper varieties are secured and proper 

 methods of cultivation are followed. 



Of the small fruits, strawberries are 

 generally considered the most uncertain 

 crop here. One will meet thousands of 

 persons who will state most positively 

 that strawberries cannot be grown suc- 

 cessfully in these provinces. They are 

 quite certain, because they have tried 

 and failed, but all the same, strawberries 

 can be grown here successfully — -just as 

 successfully as any other crop. It is 

 simply a matter of following a system 

 of cultivation adapted to the country. 

 The proper system has been worked out 

 with great success, and has never been 

 known to fail. Therefore it does not do 

 to bank on what even a great number 

 of people declare to be a fact. 



advantage. Raspberries seldom suffer 

 damage from spring frosts, and proper 

 attention to cultivation and mulching 

 will tide them through any ordinary 

 drouth that we are likely to have. Most 

 varieties require winter protection of the 

 fruiting canes, if a really good crop is 

 desired. 



In tree fruits, we must admit that only 

 a measure of success has been attained, 

 and that within certain areas. There 

 are certain sections of the country where 

 a fair measure of success has been 

 reached in growing standard apples. 

 Only trees grown here are worth plant- 

 ing, and it is simply folly to send away 

 to the states for tree fruits. Trees 



A Busy Scene in Ontario at Raspberry Time 



Currants of many varieties may be 

 grown in almost any part of these prov- 

 inces with good results, and there is no 

 good reason why every settler should 

 not have an ample home supply of this 

 healthful fruit, if common sense and 

 ordinary care is used in growing them. 



In gooseberries, the range of varieties 

 adapted to the country is more limited, 

 but several good varieties may be de 

 pended upon. In our own grounds we 

 have been more successful with goose- 

 berries, perhaps, than with any other 

 fruit crop, that is, when care in cultiva- 

 tion, and so on, is taken into account. 

 Gooseberries have invariably been a 

 heavy crop in our grounds. 



Raspberries, especially a number of 

 the red varieties, may be grown to 



propagated from specimens that have 

 stood our chmate for years, are the only 

 ones worth planting. This appHes to 

 apples, crabapples and plums. When 

 this fact is understood by our people, 

 there will be fewer failures and many 

 more successful attempts to grow tree 

 fruits in the three species named. 



The outlook for tree fruits in at least 

 a considerable part of these western 

 provinces, is quite encouraging. The 

 fact that some good orchards, number- 

 ing up to hundreds of trees, have been 

 successfully established, gives great hope 

 for the future. It is simply a question 

 of planting only the best stock, propa 

 gated from the hardiest trees that have 

 stood our climate for years, combined 

 with originating new varieties here. 



