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THE CANADIAN II () R I 1 C L L T U R 1 S T 



The Canadian Horticulturist 



Published by The Horticultural 

 Publishing Companj^, Limited 



The Only Horticultural Magazine 

 in the Dominion 



Official Organ of British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec 

 and Prince Edward Island Fruit GrQwers' 

 Associations and of the Ontai io Veg- 

 etable Growers' Association 



H. BrOmsun Cowan. Editor and Business Manager 



A. B. CirrriNO, B.S.A., Associate Bditor 



W. G. Rook, Advertising Manager 



W. WiCKHAM, Wellington Chambers. London Hridge.S.E., 



British Representative 



1. The Canadian Horticulturist is published the first 

 of every month. 



2. Subscription Price $1.00 a year, strictly in advance. 

 For all countries except Canada, United States and 

 Oreat Britain add 50c. lor postage. 



3. Remittances should be made by I*ost OflSce or Money 

 Express Order, or Registered Letter. Postage Stamps 

 accepted for amounts less than $1.00. 



4. Discontinuances— Responsible subscribers will con- 

 tinue to receive The Horticdltdrist until the publishers 

 are notified by letter to discontinue, when all arrearages 

 must be paid. 



5. Change of Address — When a change uf address is 

 ordered, both the old and the new addresses must be 

 triven. 



6. ^Advertising Rates quoted on application. Circu- 

 lation 5.500. Copy received up to the 23rd. Responsible 

 representatives wanted in towtis and cities. 



7. (.Articles and Illustrations for publication will be 

 thankfully received by the editor. 



8. tAll Communications should be addressed: 



THE CA.NADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



507 and 5U8 Manning Chambers 



TORONTO. CANADA 



THE NEW EXPERIMENT STATION 



While the new experiment station in the Ni- 

 agara district is not ideal in soil and climate, 

 yet, in view of the facts that it is centrally 

 located and that it was presented free to the 

 province, the government could not very well 

 have done otherwise than accept it. The re- 

 port:; of the officials sent by the Department of 

 Agriculture to investigate the conditions and 

 also the statements of many practical fruit 

 growers who visited the farm, are, in the most 

 instance:^ favorable towards the choice. It is 

 to be recognized, also, that it would be prac- 

 tically impossible to obtain a site against which 

 no objection could be raised. 



The two fundamental defects of the farm are 

 those of climate and of soil. Both these de- 

 fects, we believe, can be remedied. 



The climatic defect is in the matter of earli- 

 ness in season. The chosen farm, lying as it 

 does on the lake shore, like other farms in the 

 Niagara district similarly situated, is about a 

 week later than farms located under the moun- 

 tain. This means that there is more danger 

 of frost at the lake, and it also may mean the 

 buning out of certain varieties that require 

 long seasons for maturity. This climatic det- 

 riment can be mitigated later on, if found neces- 

 sary, by the purchase of a few acres directly 

 under the mountain two miles away, where in- 

 vestigations could be carried on with any 

 classes and varieties of fruits that experience 

 may show cannot be grown so successfully at 

 the lake. 



The soil detriment lies in the fact that the 

 percentage of light soil, as compared with 

 the ((uantity of clay and clay loam, is too 

 small. An experimental farm for best work 

 with fruits and vegetables should have at 

 least fifty per cent, of soil that is sandy in char- 

 acter. The new experiment station has very 

 little over twenty per cent. ; this is to be regret- 

 ted. The defect, however, can be remedied 

 by the purchase of the farm, or a portion of it, 

 across the road from the station, upon which 

 Mr. Rittenhouse has an option, and which he 

 will turn over to the government at $100 an 



acre. Since it is iK>s.siblc to eliminate these 

 two objections, the whole fruit growing com- 

 munity should unite in a whole-hearted effort 

 to make this cxi)erinient station one of the 

 most important on the continent. 



Although |>each soil on the farm is in the 

 minority, there is a great variety of soils for 

 work with other fruits and vegetables. The 

 fact, that the nature of the stjil varies from 

 black iTuick and clay to clay loam and a certain 

 amount of sandy loam, is imjxirtant. It will 

 make ixjssible the carrying on of the wide range 

 of experiments that the work will Ije expected 

 to cover. This diversity of soil is of even 

 greater import to the vegetable than the fruit 

 interests. 



While not much has been said on this point, 

 it must not be foigotten that the vegetable 

 growers of Ontario are keenly alive to the value 

 of the work that can be carried on at the sta- 

 tion, and that they are determined to see that 

 their interests are not neglected. This diver- 

 sity of soil will permit the growing of not only 

 grapes, pears and plums on the heavier land, 

 but the production of peaches and other stnall 

 fruits on the lighter soil; and it also affords ex- 

 cellent op[)ortunity for wo;k with the different 

 clas.ses of vegetables. The fjtiestion of geo- 

 graphical position is the next mo:;t vital con- 

 sideration. In this connection we have only 

 to consider the howl that wotild have been 

 rai.sed had the land selected been at any con- 

 siderable distance to the east or west of the 

 point chosen, to conclude that not much fault 

 can be found on this score. It is unfortunate 

 that the farm is not nearer a railway station. 

 There is reason, however, to believe that this 

 drawback is likely to be largely overcome. 



While the generotts donor is not the stamp of 

 man who is looking for praise, he is deserving 

 of the gratitude of the growers of not only the 

 Niagara district, btit of Canada, because if 

 the station fulfils its mission, it should become 

 the most important one of the kind in the Do- 

 minion. The comparative number of varieties 

 of fruit and vegetables that can be grown suc- 

 cessfully at Guelph and Ottawa, and at the 

 experimental jxjints in the Northwest, Quebec 

 and the Maritime Provinces, is so limited as 

 to leave a vast field of research work open for 

 exploration at the new station. 



It is not often we see a Canadian who has 

 made his fortune in another country, so loyal 

 to the land of his birth and boyhood, that he 

 welcomes an opportunity to expend the riches 

 gained among the people of another nation for 

 the upbuilding of his own. Would we had 

 more like him. 



A word or two in regard to the man who will 

 have charge of the station. He must be a big 

 man in every sense of the word, or with the 

 possibilities of becoming one plainly evident. 

 The success of the work will depend on the 

 man who has it in charge. A mistake in his 

 selection must not be made. The fact that 

 the station is to be allied with the Guelph Agri- 

 cultural College sets a limit to the salary that 

 can be paid, but it should not be less than $2,000 

 a year and a free house. 



The plans for future work will be made as 

 soon as the superintendent is appointed. There 

 should be no plans or proportioning of the land 

 for the different fruits that will require radical 

 changes at a later date. Hence, it is important 

 that more sandy soil be bought before the 

 appointment. The director will then know 

 what he has to work with, and better plans will 

 be laid out accordingly. In the meantime Hon. 

 Mr. Monteith is to be congratulated on the 

 proof he has given that his department is alive 

 to the needs of the Niagara district. The in- 

 terest he has shown in this matter is sufficient 

 to warrant the belief that it is the intention 

 of the department to make the conditions at 

 the new experiment station as nearly ideal 

 as possible. 



During the past two years we have greatly 

 improved The Canadian Horticulturist, and 

 now feel that the paper compares favorably with 



any of the other fruit pai)ers published on the 

 continent. What we want now is a larger 

 circulation. We feel t hal many more fruit grow - 

 ers should be taking the paj>er, than aie. This 

 has led us to make the vciy generous offer which 

 appears in this is,sue, to give Sl,200 to any tme 

 who obtains 1,0(X) new subscribers for the pa;xri . 

 There are numerous sections in Canada where 

 it should not l>e difficult to obtain this numbei 

 of subscribers. Our readers can do a great deal 

 to help us obtain new subr^ciiptions by lecom 

 mending The HORTicuuTtRisT to their friends 

 A. few timely words by oiu subscribers anions 

 their neighlxirs would be of material as-'istanct- 

 to us in helping us increase our substTiption 

 list. 



It is to be hoped that the csial)lishmenl of a 

 large experiment station in the Niagara District 

 will not be the cause, for some time to come, of 

 doing away with any of the .smaller stations, 

 now well established. Although conducted for 

 some years, the variety tests on the small stations 

 a,e just now proving of practical value to fruit 

 growers. Varieties of grapes and tree fniits 

 cannot be grown in a day. It takes the fruiting 

 of more than one year to show up the character- 

 istics that mark one variety distinct from 

 another, whether the distinctions are for better 

 or for worse. The government will do well to 

 continue the sub-stations for a few years, at 

 least until the new exjjeriment station is in a 

 position to give results. 



The Canadian Horticulturist congratulates 

 the fruit and vegetable growers of the various 

 provinces on the fact that the express com- 

 panies, operating in Canada, are to be under the 

 control of the Railway Commission at Ottawa. 

 The various fruit growers' associations of 

 Canada repeatedly have urged the Federal Gov- 

 ernment to pass legislative measures to bring 

 about this important condition of affairs. It is 

 gratifying to know that, at last, their efforts 

 have been rewarded. 



Ontario Horticultxiral 

 ExKibition 



Believing that the Ont. horticultural exhibi- 

 tion has been established on a permanent basis, 

 the directors have taken hold this year in a 

 manner which indicates that the exhibition next 

 Nov. will far surpass the past two attempts. 

 The Toronto city council has accepted an in- 

 vitation to appoint three members of the city 

 council to act on the board of directors. This 

 means that the city will take a greater interest 

 in the exhibition this year than ever before. 

 Already this year, several meetings of the board 

 of directors have been held, whereas up to this 

 djite last year only one had been held. At the 

 last meeting it was reported that half rates had 

 been obtained over the railroads, and that it 

 was probable that the railways will take hold of 

 the exhibition and advertise it extensively along 

 their lines, with the object of inducing a large 

 attendance. 



The prize lists will be ready for distribution 

 early in July. They were not ready until 

 October last year, which shows how much more 

 energy is being put into the exhibition this year 

 than before. Several new features will be added 

 this year which it is calculated will draw a large 

 attendance. 



Every grower on any considerable scale should 

 get a connection with dealers in various parts of 

 the country so they may be able to consign their 

 fruit where it will bring the best price under the 

 conditions. If this method of seUing should 

 become the rule, the glut would become a thing 

 of the past. 



Kindly do not remove my name from the 

 mailing list for The Canadian HoRTict ltirIsT. 

 The magazine is too interesting and I cotjld not 

 do without it. — R. S. Hood, Gait, Ont 



