The Canadian Horticultun^ 



Vol. XXX 



OCTOBER, 19U7 



No. 10 



Apple Growing in tKe Province of Quebec* 



Ox the Island ^of Montreal, in the 

 t-arlv days, when the Fameuse 

 apple was supreme, followed close- 

 by the Ponime Gris, Bourassa and 

 iiada Reinette, one would realize as 

 ich for one barrel of Fameuse as for 

 ..\o of winter apples from Ontario. 

 Pomme Gris were sold in half-barrels at 

 fancy prices. The late Hon. E. Prud- 

 honime sold, in one year, $7,000 worth 

 of apples. These results stimulated a 

 great many to go largely into apple 

 growiiig, with the hope that in a few 

 years their fortunes would be made, and 

 that in their old age they would take 

 ,their ease, but the old saying of the poet 

 Burns came true : "The best laid schemes 

 of mice and men gang aft aglee." When 

 their young orchards came into bearing, 

 the insects became numerous, especially 

 the codling moth and plum curculio, 

 with an occasional deluge of caterpillars ; 

 then followed the fungous disease known 

 as the apple scab, which for a number of 

 years ruined 'the crop. 



Some farmers got discouraged and 

 chopped down their orchards. All sorts 

 of remedies were tried, until a French 

 scientist, in Bordeaux, France, discov- 

 ered what is now called the Bordeaux 

 mixture. This remedy is now used in 

 all the fruit-growing sections of the 

 world. .\\\ up-to date frtiit growers 

 have a good spraying outfit . Those who 

 spray find that it pays. 



The severe winters of 1903 4 were very 

 hard on the orchards, in some sections 

 killing out whole orchards. The intro- 

 duction of Russian varieties of apples by 

 the late Mr. Chas. Gibb, encouraged a 

 great many in the colder parts of our 

 country to grow these varieties with a 

 great measure of success. There are 

 seedHngs and hybrids of these apples 

 propagated at the Central Experimental 

 Farm at Ottawa that will be a great 

 boom to the country. This is the past 

 with its successes and failures, its ups 

 and downs, but altogether more success 

 than failure. Those who come after us 

 make use of our experience. 



* One nf the papers read last week at the summer 

 meeting of the i*om()U)Eical and rruit CfrowinK S*K-ict>- 

 of the Province of Quebec. 



R. Drodie, A^estmovint, Quebec 



Now, what is the outlook for the 

 future? Our worthy Premier, Sir Wil- 

 frid Laurier, truly said that "The nine- 

 teenth century was for the United States, 

 but the twentieth century is for Can- 

 ada." What share shall the fruit grow- 

 ers of Quebec have in the prosperity of 

 our vast Dominion? Can we share with 

 Ontario and British Columbia in sup- 

 plying the great provinces of the west 

 with fruit that they can not grow? 



With the shipping ports at our doors, 

 and with improved iraiTSportation facil- 

 ities, including cold storage and ventilat- 

 ing fans, we have access to the markets 

 of Europe, but we, in the province of 



Of MucK Interest 



Please accept my congratulations 

 on the attractive appearance and 

 interesting contents of The Can- 

 adian Horticulturist. — S. W. 

 Fletcher, Professor of Horticulture 

 and Landscape Gardening, Mich- 

 igan State Agricultural College. 



Quebec, are not taking advantage of 

 these great opportunities. We are plod- 

 ding along in the old rut, and are allow- 

 ing the other provinces to get ahead of 

 us. Some say that we cannot grow ap- 

 ples to a large extent in Quebec. It was 

 an eve-opener to one of my friends from 

 Ontario recently, when he saw the 

 fruit-growitig regions of the Island of 

 Montreal, and of the Counties of Rou- 

 ville, Chateauguay, Huntingdon, Vau- 

 dreuil and Lake of Two Mountains. 



It was amusing, at the Dominion Con- 

 ference of Fruit Growers, held in Ottawa 

 two years ago, to hear the delegates 

 from British Columbia and those from 

 the Maritime Provinces vie with each 

 other in praising their respective prov- 

 inces in relation to fruit growing. The 

 delegates from Quebec were too modest 

 to do so. They are not given to blow- 

 ing their own trumpets. They have 

 erred to the other extreme and have 

 not made known the fruit fulness of their 

 own province, .'\pples, plums, cherries, 



pears, grapes, and even tobacco, can be 

 grown successfully. 



What is wanted is more care in the 

 selection of locations and soils in setting 

 out orchards. Trees are set out in land 

 with cold, wet subsoils. They make a 

 healthy growth for a few years, and, 

 when the roots strike the cold bottom, 

 they lose vigor and gradually die. 



More care should be taken, also, in 

 the selection of varieties. In the last 

 report of the Quebec Pomological So- 

 ciety is a valuable list of varieties, pre- 

 pared by a committee of the society, 

 that should be distributed over our 

 province. 



Greater care should be taken in the 

 preparation of insecticides and their 

 applications. I know of a case where 

 a man lost over $2,000 worth of apple 

 trees. It was recommended by a lec- 

 turer to paint the trunks of the trees 

 with good paint, so as to prevent the 

 ravages of the borer. There was spirits 

 of turpentine in the paint and it caused 

 the damage. 



More care should be taken in the 

 packing and marketing of our apples. I 

 strongly recommend cooperation. Every 

 grower should read Mr. Alex. McNeill's 

 (Chief, Fruit Division, Ottawa) Bulletin 

 on cooperation, also his bulletin on 

 packing apples in barrels and boxes. 

 They are replete with valuable informa- 

 tion. I would suggest that they be 

 printed in the annual report of our 

 society. 



The great trouble in many orchards 

 is that the trees are neglected, while 

 much care and fertilization is given to 

 other crops. Some men are looking for 

 better varieties of apples to supplant the 

 old kinds. If the old I-'aineuse could 

 only speak, you would hear the echo 

 from hill to hill: "Oh, for a better class 

 of farmers to take care of us!" 



THE RESOURCES OF THE PROVINCE 



The province of Quebec is a land of 

 boundless possibilities. It excels in the 

 manufacture of butter and cheese, as 

 well as in fruit production. It leads in 

 the manufacture of maple products. 



:*m>L 



