iThe Canadian Horticulturist 



^ol. XXIX 



JULY, 1906 



No. 7 



TKe Ne-w Experiment Station in tKe Niag'ara District 



THE establishment of the new fruit 

 and vegetable experiment station 

 in the Niagara district marks an 

 epoch in the horticultural development 

 of Canada. It should become the most 

 important station of its kind in the Do- 

 minion, and ultimately one of the best 

 on the continent. The older stations 

 have done good work, but have been 

 handicapped by their locations and, 

 therefore, greater things may be ex- 

 pected from the new one. It is located 

 near Jordan in the centre of the best 

 fruit district in Canada. It will be of 

 value, not only to the Niagara dis- 

 trict, where it is located, but it should 

 be an important factor in the advance- 

 ment of fruit matters all over the Do- 

 minion, but particularly to portions of 

 British Columbia where conditions are 

 closely similar to those in Southern 

 Ontario. 



The ground for the new station com- 

 prises about 90 acres, and has been 

 given to the Ontario government by 

 Mr. M. F. Rittenhouse, of Chicago, who 

 was born and brought up near Jordan. 

 While otherwise well suited to its pur- 

 pose, it has two defects: it lacks the 

 protection of the mountain, only two 

 and a half miles away, and as a conse- 

 quence, its crops are a week late in 

 season; and, in the judgment of a rep- 

 resentative of The Horticulturist 

 who thoroughly examined the soil, it 

 lacks a sufficient quantity of light soil 

 to be ideal for experimental work with 

 peaches and other tender fruits. This 

 latter objection can be overcome by 

 the purchase of additional land of 

 that character. It is understood that 

 Mr. Rittenhouse has given the gov- 

 ernment an option on an excellent 

 farm of this type, across the road from 

 the farms already donated. 



Except, as already stated, that it 

 lacks the protection of the mountain, 

 the farm otherwise is ideally situated, 

 being almost in the centre of the Niag- 

 ara fruit district. It is located on the 

 extreme north-east comer of the town- 

 ship of Clinton in the county of Lin- 

 coln. The farm faces on the line be- 

 tween Clinton and Louth townships, 

 and has a shore line on Lake Ontario of 

 about one-quarter of a mile. 



It is about 12 miles from St. Cathar- 

 ines and 24 miles from Hamilton, or 



about midway between Hamilton and 

 the Niagara river. Although, at pres- 

 ent, somewhat difficult of access, there 

 being no railway station within three 

 miles, it is expected a station will be 

 established where the railway tracks 

 pass the farm about half a mile away. 

 The projected electric railway line from 

 Toronto to Niagara Falls, also, probably 

 will pass near the farm. 



It is interesting to note that the 

 town line between Louth and Clinton, 

 if extended across the lake, would run 

 directly up Yonge street, Toronto. In 

 other words, the new station will be 

 directlv across the lake from the citv. 



STRONG AND PROGRESSIVE 



I congratulate you on the very 

 interesting and profitable horti- 

 cultural journal you are publish- 

 ing in The Canadian Horticul- 

 turist. I prize it as highly as 

 any periodical coming to my desk. 

 You deserve the patronage of 

 every progressive citizen of Can- 

 ada. Few people appreciate as 

 they ought the value of a paper 

 that is as progressive and so 

 strong and forceful as is The Can- 

 adian Horticulturist. — A. N. 

 Brown, Middleport, N.Y. 



In the vicinity of the Rittenhouse 

 farm are a number of excellent fruit 

 farms, worth from §150 to $250 an 

 acre. The land for the station con- 

 sists of two farms that were given to 

 the government by Mr. Rittenhouse, 

 in two instalments. 



AREA OF the station 



The original offer comprised some 46 

 acres of land, after deducting the lots 

 for the school and school gardens and 

 a strip along the road required for road 

 purposes. In the second gift, known 

 as the Harris farm, there was originally 

 about 50 acres, but the lake has worn 

 away a small portion of it, causing the 

 shore road to encroach slightly upon 

 the original area; this, together with a 

 strip required to widen the road to 66 

 feet on the east side, lessens the area 



to about 44 acres. Together, the two 

 farms comprise about 90 acres. 



When Mr. Rittenhouse's first offer 

 was made, he agreed also to give the 

 government an option on an 88-acre 

 farm, owned by Mr. A. H. Culp, Jor- 

 dan Harbor, and located just across 

 the road from the original Rittenhouse 

 farm. Mr. Rittenhouse had obtained 

 an option on the farm from Mr. Culp 

 at SI 50 an acre, and agreed to turn it 

 over to the government at $100 an 

 acre, any time within the next three 

 years. Mr. Culp's farm is sandy in 

 character, and is one of the best fruit 

 farms in the locality. When the first 

 50 acres, given by Mr. Rittenhouse, 

 were being examined by Mr. C. C. 

 James, Deputy Minister of Agriculture; 

 President Creelman of the O.A.C., and 

 others, it was suggested by some one 

 that it would be much more convenient 

 to have the land for the experimental 

 farm in a block extending from the 

 Rittenhouse school to the lake. After 

 Mr. Rittenhouse returned to Chicago 

 he thought likewise. With Mr. Rit- 

 tenhouse, whose generosity is unbound- 

 ed, to think is to act. A few days later 

 he visited St. Catharines and bought 

 the Harris farm for $4,500, and pre- 

 sented it to the government. 



contour and soil 



On the first farm of 46 acres, the 

 contour of the surface is uneven. There 

 is a variety of soils. In the south-east 

 corner, by the school, are about two 

 and a half acres of light sandy loam 

 about two feet deep. This is the best 

 soil on the farm, and it is to be re- 

 gretted that there is not more of it. 

 There is, also, a sandy loam strip of 

 about six and a half acres running 

 through the farm, from north-east to 

 south-west, on the north-west side of 

 the ravine. This strip, although sandy 

 in character and excellent for peaches 

 and small fruits, is rather shallow, 

 being onlv about one foot deep on the 

 average, and it rests upon hard pan. 

 In the ravine, there are about four 

 acres of black muck, rich bottom land, 

 and valuable for experimental work in 

 vegetables. West of the ravine there 

 are one and a half acres of bush. In 

 the north-west corner of the farm there 

 are about four and a half acres of stiff 



