242 



T HE CANADIAN H () H T I C U L T U R 1 S T 



Parliament and tHe Fruit 

 Industry 



In the House of Couinions, during the 

 debate of the estimates of $150,000 for "the 

 development of tlie hve stock, dairying and 

 fruit industries, the improvement of seeds and 

 the promotion of the sale of food and other 

 agricultural products," many subjects of in- 

 terest to fruit growers were mentioned. Mr. 

 J. K. Armstrong, M.P. for Lambton, said: 



"We have been urging the minister to estab- 

 lish experimental friiit farms in the Niagara 

 peninsula ; many of his supj^orlers from that dis- 

 trict have been urging on him the importance 

 of establishing such farms, but the minister 

 has paid no attention to their appeals. In that 

 part of the country another thing tliat we need 

 is a separation of the departments of fruit and 

 dairying. Again and again the minister has 

 been urged to separate the dairy and fruit de- 

 partments, but he continues to keep them under 

 one head. Urgent requests have been sub- 

 mitted to the minister to effect the separation. 

 How can he expect that Mr. Ruddick, Dairy 

 Commissioner, can give proper attention to 

 the fruit industry while, at the same time, he 

 is expected to give full attention to the dairy 

 industry?" 



On another phase of the question, not di- 

 rectly referring to the administration of the 

 fruit division, though concerning the industry, 

 Mr. Armstrong said some interesting things. 

 Speaking of the fruit industry he said: "This 

 industry should be developed by 50%. Ap- 

 ples are the easiest products to be shipped, 

 and our country is well adapted to the growth 

 of this fruit. Yet the minister remains with 

 folded arms, though opportunities present 

 themselves for an extension of our market to 

 Germany, which took $400,000 worth of our 

 apples last year, and will, probably, be ready 

 to increase that amount. The hon. gentleman 

 says that if Emperor WiUiam will send his 

 Tepresentative, he, the hon. minister, will com- 

 municate with that representative, but he is 

 notjgoing to open negotiations with a view to 

 extending this market for our fruit growers. 

 Let him look to the U.S. and see what they 

 liave accomplished. They were in the same 

 position, with reference to the German tariff, 

 as Canada is. But, a few months ago, they 

 made arrangements with Germany whereby 

 their apples go into that country at a great 

 advantage over ours. The outcome of the 

 minister's policy will be that we shall have only 

 one market to which to ship our product. The 

 German market is closed against us; practically, 

 our only market is the market of Gt. Britain, 

 which is open to the whole world as freely as it 

 is to us. I feel confident that the time is com- 

 ing when the Min. of Agric. and his government 

 ■will have to take more definite aftion, to open 

 the markets of the world to the products of 

 4he Canadian farm." 



Keeping' Quality of Plums 



That some plums are much superior to others 

 in keeping quality has been proved by Mr. 

 Auguste Dupuis, director of the fruit experi- 

 ment station, Village des Aulnaies, P.Q. Sev- 

 eral varieties were set in a shed when picked, 

 and some were found to be much more valuable 

 as long keepers than others. Without cold 

 storage certain varieties can be kept for some 

 time and sold at a high price. 



Over 50 varieties of European and American 

 seedlings fruited last summer and fall. The 

 Mirabelles, Bradshaw or Niagara, Grand Duke, 

 Washington Lombard, Quackenboss, Hudsoil 

 River, Dawson and Reine Claude de Montmor- 

 ency bore a very large crop. 



"As soon as they ripened," Mr. Dupuis writes 

 The HoRTictn<Tin?isT, "I kept plates of each 

 variety on shelves in a cool outhouse, to find 

 out how long they would remain in good con- 

 dition. The first to mature were the Jaune 



hative, the Jaunc trts haiivc unci iMvonie ha- 

 tive, August 10 to 12, about three weeks be- 

 fore Green Gage and Washington. The last 

 we picked were the Grand Duke, Coe's Golden 

 Drop, R. Claude de Havay and de Norbert, 

 dark blue and round. This was on October 

 10 and 12. A big frost on October 11 dam- 

 aged the Pond Seedlings, but did not injure the 

 de Norbert, a valuable variety." 



See our special subscription rate for 

 September. Clubs of four new sub- 

 scriptions for 1 year accepted for $1.00. 



Items of Interest 



The Toronto branch <.f the Onl. Veg. Grs. 

 Assn. held its 8th annual excursion on Aug. 1, to 

 St. Catharines. Over 600 persons availed them- 

 selves of the opportunity for a trip across the 

 lake and an enjoyable outing. An excellent 

 orchestra was in attendance and the day was 

 spent in playing games, running races and doing 

 many things that people are wont to do when 

 taking a holiday. So large was the crowd that 

 an extra boat had to be run to carry the people 

 home. Before boarding the first boat, some 

 unpleasant things occurred that resvilted in a 

 brief fight, reports of which, in the daily press, 

 were greatly exaggerated. It is to be feared, 

 however, that such reports may have been 

 founded in part on the fact that the association 

 permitted whiskey and wine to be offered as 

 prizes in a few events, and The Horticultur- 

 ist would suggest that such opportunity for 

 criticism be not permitted at future gatherings. 



Recently a committee appointed by the Ont. 

 Veg. Grs. Assn. visited the O.A.C., Guelph, to 

 gather informaticn on what is being done at 

 that institution for market gardeners. Another 

 committee has been commissioned to visit the 

 C.E.F., Ottawa, for the same purpose. This 

 committee is comprised of three growers, Messrs. 

 S. Baker and D. Smith, of Ottawa; and Mr. R. 

 J. Bushell, the president of the Kingston branch. 



An expert from the dept. of agric. at Wash- 

 ington, recently visited the trial grounds of Mr. 



H. H. Groff, at Simcoe, <3nt., for tin- jjuipusc ol 

 microscopic study of the methods of reproduc- 

 tion of the original wild species that enter into 

 the composition of Mr. Groff's inproved gladioli. 

 The selection of Mr. Groff's production by the 

 U.S. Dept. of agri., is a marked compliment both 

 to Mr. Groff and to Canada. 



It is reported that a large apple orchard, atjout 

 600 acres, will be operated a short distance from 

 Montreal. The company is capitalized at $300,- 

 000. A Dominion charter has l)een secured 

 under the name of the Dominion Orchard Co., 

 Ltd. Arrangements have lieen made with sev- 

 eral large Euroiiean importers to take over the 

 entire output of the orchard for several years. 



On Aug. 14, the new experimental farm in the 

 Niagara district was oflTicially opened. Many 

 prominent persons were present, including 

 Hon. Nelson Monteith, Min. of Agric, Toronto; 

 Pres. Creelman, O. A. C, Gueljih; G. A. 

 Putnam, Supt. Farmers' Institutes, Toronto; 

 E. D. Smith, M.P.; E. A. Lancaster, M.P.; Dr. 

 Jessop, M.L.A.; Mr, M. F. Rittenhouse, the 

 donor, and others. An all-day picnic and an 

 afternoon of speeches in Victoria Hall, made the 

 occasion a pleasant and an impiortant one. 



Notwithstanding the failure of some of the 

 shipments to Australasia last year, reports J. S. 

 Larke, Canadian Commercial Agent, Sydney, 

 N.S.W., there is likely to be inquiries for gcxid 

 Canadian apples in October. The prosperous 

 condition of Australia has increased the number 

 of purchasers of high-class fruit, hence there will 

 be a demand for an increased quantity, for 

 which good prices will be paid. Mr. Larke 

 writes also that the crop of potatoes in New 

 Zealand is much below what was expected. As 

 a consequence, prices have gone up. In October 

 and later, there will be a demand for any sur- 

 plus Canada can supply, at good rates. 



The Canadian Horticulturist, the na- 

 tional fruit, vegetable and flower journal 

 of Canada : 50 cts. a year, or 3 years 

 for $1.20. 



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Small Fruit Plants 



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WM. FLEMING 



NURSERYMAN 



P.O. Box 54 OWEN SOUND, ONT. 



