Vegetable Crops Have Suffered from DrougKt 



THE drought in Ontario during tlic past 6 

 or 7 weeks has left its mark on the vege- 

 table crops. ReiK)rts from the crop cor- 

 respondents of the C)nt. Veg. Assn. indi- 

 cate that dry rot and drought have caused 

 a i)artial failure of the tomato croj), particu- 

 larly in the Niagara district. As an indication 

 of how seriously the canning factories view 

 the situation, the canners, wIkj usually do not 

 commence to pack tomal<K'S until the late 

 varieties conic in, began to buy and pack all 

 they could get of the early varieties. Potatoes, 

 likewise, were threatened and, due to scarc- 

 ity, are bringing good prices. CHher vege- 

 tables also have felt the need of moisture. 

 Showers that fell the latter part of Aug., how 

 ever, improved the situation considerably. 

 Cauliflower and cabbage are under the aver- 

 age, but may improve, if it rains frequently. 

 Onions will be about J4 a crop of good quality. 

 Root crops are holding their own. Celery, 

 good. Sweet com, small in ear. The de- 

 tailed reports are as follows: 



. OTTAWA DISTRICT 



pi Owing to drought and hot weather, crops are 

 in a peculiar condition. Tomatoes have rip- 

 ened too quickly, and consequently a glut is 

 on. Com is not well filled out, but there is 

 lots of it. Carrots, beets, parsnips and onions 

 are still coming in fast and of good quality. 

 Lettuce is in good demand and no supply. 

 Plenty of cabbage, but small, hard and tough 

 Cauliflower, very scarce. Late cabbage and 

 cauly are exiiected to be a short crop unless 

 it rains scxin. Early potatoes are stifi'ening 

 in price; the late crop is almost a failure, being 

 very small. I have seen or examined quite a 

 number of onion patches, and while they are 

 maturing a little early and small, the crop will 

 be the best that I have seen in years. — T. 

 Mockett. 



FRONTENAC COUNTY 



Kingston.— Continued dry weather and heat 

 keeps the late varieties of vegetables station- 

 ary. No growth is noticeable. Late sown 

 cauliflowers will be a light crop; some show 

 signs of heading, but are of no use. Cabbages 

 will yet head if rain comes soon. Onions are 

 ripe, but are small owing to the check given 

 by blight. The rot in potatoes seems to have 

 been arrested; early maturing kinds may prove 

 a fair crop. Tomatoes are suffering from the 

 extreme heat. One-third of the crop is re- 

 ported as useless. They are coloring too early, 

 and will not keep long. — Chas. F. Adair, Cata- 

 raqui. 



LENNOX AND ADDINGTON 



Napanee. — Tomato crop is not as large as 

 was expected; the fruit is not ripening as it 

 should, but there will be a fair crop. Pota 

 toes are rotting badly. Onions are a poor crop, 

 owing to blight. Cabbage is practically a 

 failure, owing to maggot in early spring. Cauli- 

 flower, beets, radish and other garden truck 

 will compare favorably with other years. — 

 E. M. Sherman. 



PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY 



West Lake.— Tomatoes are short of what 

 was expected. Potatoes are a good crop. 

 Com not as good as expected. — Stephen Lake. 



TORONTO DISTRICT 



Humber Bay. — Hot, dry weather has hurt 

 the tomato and cucumber crop, which will be 

 light. These crops are too far gone for rain 

 to do much good. Onions will be of first-class 

 quality, but small in size. Root crops are hold- 

 ing their own. Late cabbage is suffering for 

 want of rain. Early cauliflower are poor. On 

 account of the high breeding of the stock sent 

 out by seedsmen, the foliage is small, scarcely 

 enough to cover the heads. The outlook for 

 late cauliflower is not very bright. Late com 

 is doing well. Celery is an abundant crop, 

 of good quality, and free from blight. Squash 



is a good large crop. Early potatoes are al- 

 most all dug. Late potatoes are a light crop, 

 and scarce on the market. Prices have gone 

 up to 80c. a bu., and will reach $1 by end of 

 the month. Prices for vegetables vary every 

 few days; the following are for Aug. 22: Let- 

 tuce, 15c.-20c. a doz.; cucumbers, 2.')c.-40c a 

 bu.; tomatoes, 40c. -.'iOc. a bu.; beans, 75c. a 

 bu.; onions, choice white pickling, Ji2.2.5 a bu.; 

 Yellow Danvers, 75c. a bu.; beets, 30c .-40c. a 

 bu.; carrots, 50c. a bu., or 10c. a doz. bnchs.; 

 com, 5c. -8c. a doz.; celery, 25c. -50c. a doz., 

 cabbage, large size, $2.00 a hundred. — J. W. 

 Rush. 



Doncaster. — Crops promise to be good. Al- 

 though onions have blighted considerably, they 

 will be a fair crop. Celery is suffering from blight . 

 Cauliflower, cabbage, carrots, beets, parsnips 

 and cucumbers are doing well. Tomatoes 

 are a good crop, but are showring some rot. 

 Late cauliflower promises to be extra good. — 

 C. Gibbard. 



Bracondale. — Crops in general are looking 

 exceedingly well. Early tomatoes are about all 

 over owing to the need of rain; late varieties, 

 such as the pinks and larger kinds, are looking 

 and picking much better than at first expected. 

 Seed onions will be an average crop. Prize- 

 takers, badly blighted, with the sample small. 

 Late cabbage and cauliflower are in fine shape, 

 but need rain to mature nicely. Celery is 

 slightly blighted, but probably will pull through. 

 Prices are good for the summer season. — A. 

 W. Shuter. 



PEEL COUNTY 



Clarkson. — The early potato crop is good, 

 and prices also good; late potatoes not so good. 

 Sweet corn, a big crop with prices low. Onions 

 on light soil have suffered from drought ; on 

 heavier land, looking well. — W. G. Home 



HALTON COUNTY 



Burlington. — Late tomatoes have suffered 

 from drought; the rain of August 20 has helped 

 it somewhat. Early tomatoes were not as heavy 

 in yield as last sea.son but prices were good. 

 Onions will not be more than j of the crop they 

 were last season, due to hot and dry weather. 

 Transplanted onions are doing better than seed 

 patches. Late potatoes do not promise more 

 than J^ a crop. Celery, about the same as last 

 year — with prices better. Peppers are an aver- 

 age crop, with prices none too good — too large 

 an acreage. Egg plants are a fair crop and 

 paying about the same as last season. Late 

 cauliflower and cabbage promise a good crop, if 

 weather from now on is favorable. — J. A. Lindley. 



HAMILTON DISTRICTff I ^ ^ 



Hot and dry weather has threatened the 

 tomato crop, but the heavy rains of Aug. 20 helped 

 it considerably. However, the yield will not be 

 as large as last year. Dry rot is ruining a large 

 part of the crop and, besides, the blossoms and 

 small fruit do not appear to be as prolific as in 

 other years. Potatoes, selling at 90c. per bu., 

 would lead one to believe the crop is a failure; 

 while it may be light in other sections, the yield 

 here appears to be fair. Onions are only a fair 

 crop. Celery is fair. Early cauliflower is a 

 poor crop. I^ate cauliflower and cabbage will 

 improve after the recent rains. — Jas. A. Stevens. 



LINCOLN COUNTY 



St. Catharines. — No rain has fallen during the 

 past month, only a few light showers, barely suffi- 

 cient to lay the dust. Everything is suffering 

 severely. If drought continues the result will 

 be serious in many respects, although, indirectly, 

 good may result. One of the benefits will be in 

 raising the price of tomatoes. Last season 

 tomatoes were a good crop and growers who do 

 not look ahead, or who do not indulge in the 

 pastime of using their brains as much as their 

 hands, were falling over each other in signing 

 contracts for growing tomatoes at 25 cts. a bu. 

 for the season; as a result, all the growers had 



238 



to accept 25 cts. The shortage this season will 

 force prices up. Tlie contract price for 1907 

 should be 30 cts. No grower should sign a con- 

 tract for less before March 1, 1907. 



Melons are ripening, but small in size. Onions 

 are drying up and will only be a half crop, but 

 should cure well. Potatoes, early, are a fair 

 crop; medium, will be of gcx)d quality, but 

 under average; while late look like a failure. 

 Carrots, fair. Sweet corn will be very small 

 and short in the ear. Tomatoes have been 

 affected more or less with the black rot; blight 

 is now showing; unless rain follows soon, the size 

 of tomatoes will be small and the crop about 

 one-half of average. The exception to this is 

 that all crops on well-cultivated fields show a 

 fairly good yield and impresses the lesson of the 

 necessity for getting the land in gtxxl shape 

 early in the season and following it up with 

 thorough cultivation. Fruit Icxjks fairly well, 

 with a tendency to some small specimens; 

 grapes look remarkably well. — Robt. Thompson. 



WELLAND COUNTY 



Niagara Falls South. — Garden crops need rain ; 

 have had only a few light showers since July 3. 

 Beans are entirely dried out. Cabbage and 

 cauliflower are making slow growth. Celery is 

 suffering much from want of rain. Onions, 

 almost matured, undersized, about lialf a crop. 

 Lettuce and other salads almost ruined by the 

 intense heat. Com also shows signs of the 

 drought ; early com, good ; late, poor to medium. 

 Cucumbers, fair. Melons, peppers, egg plant, 

 squash, extra good. Early tomatoes, big crop, 

 badly sun scalded, but eagerly bought by can- 

 ners. Late tomatoes, except on moist, low- 

 lying soil, are suffering badly from dry rot; in 

 fact, some patches will be entire failures. The 

 prospects for a gocKl crop of late tomatoes have 

 decreased 50% since last report. Second early 

 potatoes, i crop; late, without rain soon, will 

 be no better. Roots are fair. — Thos. Stokes. 



BRANT COUNTV 



Scotland. — The onion crop is discouraging, 

 owing to continued hot and dry weather; the 

 crop is ripening fast and the onions have not 

 fully developed. The estimated acreage of 

 onions is 130 acres. Due to dry weather, also, 

 the tomato crop is almost a failure. The potato 

 crop is likewise threatened, and there is also 

 danger to fruit. The rain of Aug. 20 may im- 

 prove matters. — E. G. Malcolm. 



KENT COUNTY 



Chatham. — All kinds of vegetables are plenti- 

 ful. June-planted potatoes are suffering from 

 the drought and 'the yield will be materially 

 lessened ; early potatoes have been fairly plenti- 

 ful and the prospects are for high prices. Onions 

 are a fair crop, but as the acreage is smaller than 

 usual, there will not be many for export , Sweet 

 com is very abundant. Cucumljers are yield- 

 ing well on the sandy soils, but on clay they are 

 commencing to dry up. Muskmelons promise 

 to be a large crop, txith in numbers and size. 

 In some sections, grasshoppers are damaging 

 the crops, especially tomatoes, which are very 

 plentiful: the later crop may not be so plentiful. 

 Celery crop looks well and of a fair sample; rain 

 . is needed for blanching. — Fred Collins. 



LAMBTON COUNTY 



Sarnia. — Late potatoes not a good crop on 

 account of the blight ; second early were a disap- 

 pointment, small and only half a crop. Late 

 cabbage are doing well, but not as large an 

 acreage as usual. Second early, plentiful and 

 cheap. Onions, that were left by the maggot, 

 have done well ; the acreage is under the average. 

 Tomatoes, just beginning to come in freely; 

 about an average crop. Sweet com, good crop. 

 Turnips, good, but not grown extensively. 

 Other vegetables usual quantity and in fair 

 condition. — W. A. Broughton. 



