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THE CAiNAJMAA 11 O 1( J 1 ( L L T I 1( 1 S 1 



The Canadian Horlicullurisl 



Published by The Horticultural 

 Publishine Company", Limited 



The Only" Horticultural Magazine 

 in the Dominion 



Offlciftl Organ of British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec 



and Prince Edward Island Fruit Gro^A^ers' 



Associations and of the Ontatio Vee- 



etable Growers' Association 



H. Bronson Cowan, Editor and Business Manager 



J. Albert Hand, B.S.A., Associate Editor 



W. G. Rook, Advertising Manager 



A. B. Cutting, B.S.A.. Travelling Representative 



1. The Canadian Horticulturist is published the first 

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THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



507 and 508 Manning Chambers 



TORONTO. CANADA 



THE SPRAYING SITUATION 



Happily for the fruit industry of Canada, 

 orchardists in all sections are gradually adopting 

 spraying as one of the essentials to the produc- 

 tion of first-class fruit. In some districts and in 

 some exceptional seasons, conditions are such 

 that the grower does not feel that the ravages of 

 insect or fungous pests warrant the expenditure 

 of time and money demanded for thorough work. 

 For continual success, year after year, scientific 

 spraying pays. Leading orchardists in the var- 

 ious fruit sections have proved this. 



Some successful growers claim that they can 

 reap bountiful harvests by proper cultivation 

 and by maintaining such conditions that insects 

 have no harboring or breeding places. These 

 precautions are beneficial, but where 60 or 75 

 per cent, of the crop is free from blemish under 

 such conditions, 90 per cent, would be perfect 

 if spraying were carried on in conjunction. In 

 most sections the orchard pests must be fought 

 in more ways than one. That this is the case 

 has been brought home forcibly during the past 

 few years to those who grow fruit extensively. 



The difficult part of the spraying problem is to 

 show the man with the small acreage that thorough 

 spraying must be done. Many such growers 

 cannot afford to purchase a power sprayer, and 

 effective work cannot be guaranteed by the 

 ordinary hand pump. In some sections, an at- 

 tempt has been made to have the spraying done 

 by the same system as threshing is done. This 

 method furnishes the proper power but it has 

 disadvantages. The chief objection is that a 

 great number of orchards are not sprayed at 

 the right time. Practically all the trees in a 

 locality are ready for spraying about the same 

 date. Farmers at the best, are slow to agree 

 under such circumstances. Everybody wants 

 the sprayer at the same time. The result is 

 numerous orchards go unsprayed and the owner 

 of the machine does not make sufficient cash 

 to convince him that it is a paying investment. 

 When associations own the machine and hire 

 the operator the latter difficulty is overcome, 

 but the former remains. 



There are two ways in which this may be 

 remedied. One is the education of the farmers 

 or fruit growers, by example where pos.sible, to 

 work together more harmoniously for mutual 

 benefit; the other is the placing on the market 

 of a less expensive power machine. At present 

 too many have to club together to make the oper- 

 ation of the machine a paying proposition, and 

 the result is some orchards do not receive effective 

 treatment. Thus, centres are left from which 

 insects and fungi spread to the surrounding 

 orchards. The same conditions exist in the 

 leading fruit sections. Here and there is a 

 grower who will not spray. His orchard, then, 

 is the breeding centre for the district, and the 

 labor connected with spraying is doubled to his 

 neighbors. 



There is yet much to be done before spraying 

 will become general in the apple sections. The 

 governments have done yeoman service, but 

 much remains to be done. The co-operative 

 fruit growers' associations, too, have in some 

 cases been of great benefit in introducing the 

 practice, and in forcing members to spray their 

 orchards thoroughly a certain number of times. 

 The small, unsprayed orchards are the curse of 

 fruit growing. It is the duty of those who realize 

 the advantages of spraying to spray the more 

 thoroughly and show their less intelligent neigh- 

 bors by practical results that it pays. It may 

 take time but eventuallv Ihev will be converted. 



DOMINION FRUIT CONFERENCE 



There will convene at Ottawa this month the 

 most important gathering of fruit growers ever 

 held in Canada. The delegates appointed by 

 the various provincial fruit growers' associa- 

 tions are the leading and most representative 

 fruit growers in the Dominion. It is well that 

 this is the case, because the matters that are 

 to be discussed are of vital importance to the 

 fruit industry. 



The convention will fail in one respect if it 

 does not succeed in arranging for the holding 

 of similar conferences at regular periods in the 

 future. Spasmodic gatherings of this nature 

 accompHsh but Uttle. There is as much and 

 even more reason for the holding of annual, 

 or at least bi-annual national conferences, as 

 there is for the annual conventions of the pro- 

 vincial associations. The matters to be dis- 

 cussed this year are of such far-reaching im- 

 portance they can be carried to a successful 

 issue only by systematic and sustained effort. 

 The provincial governments give financial as- 

 sistance to their local associations each year. 

 The Dominion government should do the same 

 for a larger body. 



The Can.\dian Horticulturist will be en- 

 larged next month that it may contain as full 

 a report of the conference as possible. Here's 

 wishing the gathering will prove a complete 

 and unqualified success — ^the first of many 

 more to follow. 



HORTICULTURE AT GUELPH 



In another column appears a letter explain- 

 ing some of the difficulties under which the 

 staff on horticulture at the Ontario Agricul- 

 tiu"al College has been working, and improve- 

 ments that are needed. This letter has been 

 brought out as a result of the criticism in these 

 columns last month of the work being done 

 by this department at the college. The latter 

 really goes to prove the strength of our con- 

 tention. Had the need for these improvements 

 been pressed with sufficient vigor, it is probable 

 they would have been secured long ago. 



In the speech from the throne, at the open- 

 ing of the Ontario Legislature, improvements 

 in the work at Guelph were foreshadowed. 

 The Horticulturist understands that con- 

 siderable is to be done to strengthen the hor- 

 ticultural department. We trust this is the 

 case, and will be glad to do what we can to 

 assist and supplement the work of this branch of 

 the college in every way possible. 



A RETRACTION 



The Horticulturist regrets u> find that in 

 its Winnipeg correspondence last month an in- 

 justice was done the branch of The Ottawa Fruit 

 and Pnxiuce Exchange at Winnii)eg, which was 

 credited with having sold 3(» to 350 barrels of 

 Ontario fall fruit a day at five lents a barrel. 

 Our Winnipeg corrcsp<jndent first sent us his 

 notes alone. These referred to the large quan- 

 tities of fall apples that were being stored in 

 Winnipeg, and that would have to be sold at 

 prices that would demoralize the market. Later 

 he forwarded a clipping from the Winnipeg Free 

 Press, which stated that large quantities of 

 Ontario fall fruit were being sold at five cents a 

 barrel, as high as 3.50 a day having V>een auction- 

 ed off by The Ottawa Fruit and Produce Co. 

 Although our correspondent did not vouch for 

 the truth of the article, he suggested that it 

 might be published in a manner that would tend 

 to strengthen the point made in his correspond- 

 ence. As space prevented our using the article 

 in full separately and as it had been sent by our 

 correspondent, we took the hljerty of embodying 

 a short note concerning same in his corre- 

 spondence. Care was taken Xo quote the Win- 

 nipeg Free Press as authority for this informa- 

 tion. 



The Ottawa Fruit and Pnxiuce Exchange has 

 written us that the information as published was 

 false and that the Winnipeg Free Press has made 

 a complete retraction of same. Instead of large 

 quantities of Ontario apples having been auc- 

 tioned off at that price some twelve barrels only 

 were sold. The.se apples had been kept in cold 

 storage by mistake through the shipper not 

 naming correctly the variety of apples in the cars. 

 The company further states that they have no 

 artificial heat in their cold storage cellar to injure 

 the quality of their apples, although our cor- 

 respondent did not intend to imply that they had. 

 These being the facts of the case The Horticul- 

 turist desires to express its regret that anything 

 was published that did an injustice to The Ottawa 

 Fruit and Produce Company. 



THe Fruit Gro-wers of Canada 

 Indignant 



It is evident from the expressions of opinion 

 that are constantly reaching The Canadian 

 Horticulturist that the fruit growers of Can- 

 ada are not going to be content until they have 

 and independent fruit commissioner of their own. 

 The feehng of dissatisfaction over the existing 

 arrangement, by which the chief of the fruit 

 division is under the dairy commissioner, is 

 general throughout the Dominion. The foUow'- 

 ing are views from representative fruit growers 

 that have been received recently. Rev. Father 

 A. E. Burke, Alberton, P.E.I., president Prince 

 Edward Island Fruit Growers' Association: 

 "This province, through the fruit growers' as- 

 sociation, has protested vigorously, by a reso- 

 lution sent to Hon. Mr. Fisher, against the deg- 

 radation of the fruit division of the Department 

 of Agriculture. We will continue to do so until 

 this important branch of our national resources 

 is placed on a proper footing and permitted to 

 exert the measure of influence it should exert 

 in developing fruit culture in Canada. The 

 general feeling is that a fully authorized com- 

 missioner should direct the policy of the fruit 

 division under the minister only, and nothing 

 less will satisfy the organization: specially fos- 

 tering horticulture or the horticui^ irists of this 

 country." 



Mr. J. C. Metcalfe, Hammond, B.C., president 

 British Columbia Emit Growers' Association: — 

 "The fruit interests of the Dominion are of suf- 

 ficient importance to have a department and 

 chief of their own. It should not be subordin- 

 ate to any other department or chief The head 

 of the fruit division should stand next to the 

 Minister of Agriculture and should not be under 

 the necessity of making representations through 

 an intermediate or the chief of another depart- 

 ment. The various problems that are continu- 

 ally cropping up and confronting the fruit grow- 



