Xovember, 1907 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



285 



SKould Hold AnotHer Conference 



THAT the fruit growers of Canada are de- 

 sirous of holding another Dominion Fruit 

 Conference, and in 1908, is evidenced by 

 the many letters to that effect that have 

 been received by The Canadian Horticul- 

 turist. A conference every two years is 

 necessary to keep pace with the rapid growth 

 of the industry. In recent issues of this pub- 

 lication various letters from growers have 

 been published. Our readers are invited to 

 send letters stating their opinions. The fol- 

 lowing are from delegates to the last conference: 



Mr. O. C. Miller, Middleton, N.S.: "It is bene- 

 ficial for the fruit growers to meet and discuss 

 the various subjects belonging to their business. 

 I would not think once in three years too often 

 for this purpose. Perhaps every two years 

 would be better. This would depend on the 

 amount and natme of material to be brought 

 before the conference." 



Mr. R. Brodie, Montreal: "There was a lot 

 of unfinished work at the last conference. Our 

 time was so limited the matter of transporta- 

 tion, for instance, did not receive enough at- 

 tention. What is the good of inspection, if, 

 by shunting and rough handling, our fruits are 

 bruised and injured? Other matters of equal 

 importance were overlooked. By all means 

 let us have another conference." 



Mr. Linus Woolverton, Grimsby, Ont : "I am 

 decidedly in favor of another Dominion Fruit 

 Conference. Quick transportation and easy 

 communication has made the world smaller, 

 and we must meet the new conditions. Ques- 

 tions once affecting only one locality now affect 



and interest the whole Dominion. In fruit, 

 the whole world is our market, and we want 

 to capture it for Canada in those fruits in 

 which she excels. Cooperation is the cry; 

 we must rally about this watchword." 



Mr. D. S. Manson, Winnipeg, Man.: "The 

 success that attended the conference held last 

 year, together with the great advantages which 

 were gained by the suggestions that were made, 

 where they were acted upon by the Government, 

 renders it necessary to have another convention 

 next year. I can think of no better time than 

 about the same date. I think that the sub- 

 jects for discussion should be left largely to 

 questions of growing and packing of the fruit. 

 It would be unadvisablc to ask for any change 

 in the Fruit Marks Act. It is possible that I 

 may change my opinion before the conference 

 is called, but the one year's experience we have 

 had with the Fruit Marks Act goes to show 

 that it is almost as near to what is required as 

 we can make it. When changes are made too 

 frequently, there is trouble in getting the pack- 

 ers to keep pace with them, and it is a feature 

 not to be lightly overlooked. With the Fruit 

 Marks Act properly enforced, the dealers in 

 Winnipeg are in a position to handle the out- 

 puts of Ontario and British Columbia growers, 

 if they can put their goods on this market to 

 equal the productions of Washington, Cali- 

 fornia and other fruit producing sections of 

 the United States. Transportr.tion, packing 

 and cold storage are questions that also can 

 be dealt with to the advantage of the growers." 



TKe Coldstream Valley 



^■of 

 l^ad 



THE 

 ind 

 wit 



H. Gordon, "V 



HE premier position in the fruit growing 

 ndustry of British Columbia is held, 

 ithout a close rival, by the Coldstream 

 Valley, which contains the largest com- 

 ercial orchard of the province, and consists 

 of a tract of land remarkably uniform in its 

 adaptability to the raising of' fruit. The val- 

 ley, which lies in close proximity to Vernon, 

 owes its development to the Earl of Aberdeen, 

 who purchased the Coldstream Estate in 1891, 

 and has since then consistently extended his 

 holding^ and spared no expense to prove the 

 capabilities of the land. The estate, which is 

 now controlled by a limited liability company, 

 of which the Earl of Aberdeen is chairman, 

 comprises some 13,000 acres, and contains at 

 present 350 acres of orchard, of which 160 

 acres are in bearing. Surrounding the estate 

 are numerous smaller orchards, ranging from 

 10 to 50 acres in extent, held by private owners, 

 chiefly settlers from the Old Country and east- 

 ern Canada. The company offers irrigated 

 land for sale, in lots of about 20 acres, at $150 

 to .S200 an acre. The varieties of fruit grown 

 upon the estate are apples, pears, prunes, 

 plums and cherries; the apple is the chief pro- 

 duct. In 1906, the estate shipped ,563 tons of 

 fruit. The chief market is found in the western 

 provinces, but the Coldstream apple is l)Ccom- 

 ing known and appreciated in England, and 

 it is likely that the London market will in the 

 near future absorb a large proportion of the 

 ])roducc of the valley. The estate has devel- 

 oped a system whereby owners of lots may 

 have their orchards planted and cultivated 

 for one, two, three or five years; this arrange- 

 ment is agreeable to those who do not propose 

 to enter into residence at first, and to those 

 who may wish an object-Ie.sson in fruit culture. 

 The debt which British Columbia owes to 

 the Coldstream Ranch is great. The Okana- 

 gan Valley, in particular, probably owes the 

 best j)art of its recent development' to the en- 



emon, 



B.C. 



tcrprise and persistent energy of this estate. 

 Commercial fruit growing has been established 

 in British Columbia as a permanent and prof- 

 itable industry; the absolute necessity for a 

 complete system of irrigation has been' proved; 

 the right varieties of fruit to grow have been 

 selected; excellent markets have been opened 

 up — these are the accomplishments of the 

 last 10 years, in which the Coldstream Ranch 

 has borne the lion's share of the work, and 

 from which the fruit growers of this decade are 

 profiting. It is under the able management 

 of Mr. W. Crawley Ricardo that these devel- 

 opments have taken place, and it is to his ini- 

 tiative that the Okanagan Valley, the Vernon 

 district especially, owes the latest and great- 

 est development, namely, the new irrigation 

 scheme, the main canal of which was formally 

 christened the Grey Canal at the time of the 

 visit paid to it by His Excellency the Gover- 

 nor-General of Canada last year. Two lakes 

 between the hills above the Coldstream Valley 

 have been utilized as storage reservoirs, and 

 their united capacity increased by means of 

 dams to 20,000 acre-feet; that is, a capacity 

 equal to a surface of 20,000 acres covered with 

 water to a depth of one foot. The dam on the 

 first lake. Lake Aberdeen, will be 16 feet high 

 and 200 feet long, impounding water to a depth 

 of 12 feet over 800 acres; the lower lake. Lake 

 Haddo, will also Ije dammed, and will impound 

 10,000 acre-feet. The stored water, released 

 through sluice gates, will flow in the Ijed of a 

 creek for twelve miles, and descend gradually 

 to an elevation of 2,200 feet above sea level, 

 where it will enter the Grey Canal. This canal 

 is 14 feet wide at the bottom and carries three 

 feet of water at a velocity of four feet a second, 

 or nearly three miles an hour. There is a .set- 

 tling basin near the inlet, and a Cippoletii Trajje- 

 zoidal weir; in parts it has Ix'en found conven- 

 ient to convert the canal into a flume 11 feet 

 wide by three feet deeji. A run of .ibout six 



iniles altogether brings the canal to the south 

 side of the Coldstream \alley, where it divides 

 to water the north and south sides respectively. 

 The southern system will amplify and extend 

 the system at present in use upon the Cold- 

 stream Estate and its surrounding orchards. 

 The main branch is carried across the valley 

 to the north side in wooden pii)es 6,300 feet long, 

 and will enter the north canal at an elevation 

 of 180 feet above the floor of the valley. This 

 north canal will be 24 miles long when con- 

 structed as far as projected; it will convey 

 ample water, not only over the Coldstreaiii 

 Valley, but also over the Spallumcheen Valley, 

 seven miles north of Vernon, whence it will 

 reach Okanagan Lake. A total area of 16,000 

 acres of the best fruit and farming land in the 

 country will thus receive the necessary watei 

 for irrigation. 



The entire system should be completed in 

 1910, but the upper portion of the country 

 supplied will receive water next year. The 

 cost of the scheme is estimated at $250,900 

 the money being sujjplied by a company of 

 British capitalists. The water will be sup- 

 plied on a sliding scale of rates based upon 

 the quantity used; it will l)e measured over 

 Cippoletti weirs, a useful apparatus for the 

 prevention of waste. 



The effect of the scheme has been and will 

 be to double and even quadruple the price of 

 the land supplied with water. The soil and 

 climate having been proved conclusively to be 

 suitable for fruit growing, it is certain that 

 large tracts of land will be converted into or- 

 chards. Already there is evidence that the 

 inhabitants of Vernon and district appreciate 

 the benefits to be conferred upon them by the 

 scheme, which owes its conce])tion to the fore- 

 sight of Mr. W. Crawley Ricardo and its suc- 

 cessful progress to the ability of Mr. A. E. 

 Ashcroft, C.E., who is in charge of the work 

 and to whom I am indebted for most of the facts 

 which I have recorded. 



Protect Birds from Cats 



Editor, Canadian Horticulturist, — Now 

 that such an interest is shown in improving the 

 appearance of our country.side, cities and towns, 

 by planting hedges, bushes and vines, it seems 

 but timely, in order to protect our birds, both 

 from an economic and artistic standpoint, to 

 ask the readers of The Canadian Horticul- 

 turist to keep only the cats that are neces- 

 sary. Such birds as the little chipping-sparrow, 

 yellow warbler, cat bird and robin are a source 

 of great pleasure to all nature lovers, as well 

 as of profit. The little sparrows in the vines 

 by the house may seem troublesome at times, 

 but that can be overlooked when the tender 

 care of the young ones by the parents is ob- 

 served, and how often they are fed. The same 

 may be said of the robin. There is the disad- 

 vantage of the robin's liking for fruit, but who 

 does not long for the robin's cheery note in 

 early spring? 



C>ne of the most favorable times for the still 

 hunting of the birds by the cats is after the 

 birds have gone to rest, but when it is still 

 light. Another is when the young commence 

 to fly. It is estimated that a cat destrnys .50 

 birds in a season, so keep them shut u]' as 

 much as possible during the nesting season, 

 from May to September. — Stuart W. Cody, 

 Sweaborg, Ont. 



We have received from Blackie Bros, of 

 Halifax, X.S., a neat little booklet that tells 

 the story of Cauipbcll's N'ico Soap, what it will 

 do and how to use it. Many practical men have 

 used this insecticide with much satisfaction. 



I have been a subscriber to Tub Canadian 

 HorTicL'LTuri.st for several years, and find its 

 hints and articles most useful to an amateur 

 gardener. — .Mrs. F. T. I'ro^i, Smith's l"alls, Ont 



