THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



257 



that they will express their views through The 

 Canadian Horticulturist. 



Horticulture is an art. Aside from the 

 pecuniary advantages to be derived from the 

 growing of fruits and flowers, there is an aesthetic 

 aspect that is unquestionable. Horticulture 

 appeals to the highest faculties in human 

 nature. It elevates. The Royal Horticul- 

 tural Show has done much for England. A 

 Horticultural Exhibition, held annually in 

 Toronto, will do much for the province of On- 

 tario and for Canada. It will stimulate a 

 feeling for something in life better than the 

 humdrum of daily business and care. Most 

 men admire flowers, women love them, and 

 children adore them. They are silent but 

 efficient teachers of the practical value of 

 aesthetics and the benign influence of beauty 

 upon life and character. Flowers will be on 

 exhibition in Massey Hall in November. While 

 the Ontario Horticultural Exhibition is not a 

 new departure, still it is only in its infancy. 

 Much money is necessary to make it a success. 

 Some assistance is needed. Many readers of 

 The Horticulturist are wealthy, and being 

 friends of horticulture, they may be willing to 

 contribute towards making the exhibition this 

 year the greatest horticultural show ever held 

 in Canada. A little assistance now, when it 

 is needed most, will be the means of placing 

 the show in a jxisition where such will not be 

 needed later on. Already a number of per- 

 sons in Toronto and elsewhere has made cash 

 donations. Others, who may care to do so, 

 are requested to send their contributions to 

 Mr. J. H. Dunlop, treasurer Ontario Horti- 

 cultural Exhibition, Toronto. 



The fruit exhibits at the Canadian National 

 are about the same in point of size each year. 

 No progress is noticeable. Were it not for 

 the large exhibits shown this year by the Gran- 

 tham and St. Catharines societies, the display 

 of plate fruit would have been small. A bigger 

 exhibit is necessary. Such will not be made, 

 however, until the prize-list is revised. To 

 encourage fruit growers in exhibiting, a larger 

 prize-list and more money is required. Fruit 

 is perishable. Exhibitors u.sually show at a 

 loss. Very little fruit is fit for use or sale after 

 the show. For these reasons, growers are 

 backward in exhibiting. Something should 

 be done, and soon, to encourage a larger and 

 better exhibit in this department. 



Cooperative experiments with vegetable crops 

 should be conducted by the horticultural de- 

 partment of the Ontario Agricultural College 

 in conjunction with the Experimental Union. 

 A suggestion to this effect is published on an- 

 other page of this issue, and is a good one. 

 The horticultural department at the O.A.C. 

 should be sufficiently alive to undertake work 

 on these lines, and many more that could and 

 will be suggested in The Canadian Horticul- 

 turist, without it being necessary for atten- 

 tion to be drawn to the need. 



Again our failing for the good things of life 

 has been taken advantage of. Not long since 

 we were presented, much to our delight, with a 

 basket of peaches, bouncers that fairly dripped 

 with lusciousness. They came from the fruit 

 farm of Mr. G. W. McLelan, of Port Dalhousie, 

 Ont. A contril)Ution of grapes and peaches 

 from "Lakeview," the large fruit and dairy 

 farm of Major F. M, Carpenter, Fruitland, Ont., 

 also surprised us in our sanctum. They were 

 much appreciated, even though they may have 

 been the cause of delaying this issue of our 

 paper. 



Now is the time to discuss the work of the 

 new Niagara experiment station. A good sug- 

 gestion offered now will be worth more than a 

 dozen later. Close attention should be given 



the details in planning the initial work. Every 

 detail should be so mapped out that radical 

 changes will not have to be made at a later 

 date. The Horticulturist is of the opinion, 

 for instance, that the planning of the work 

 should not include apples. Variety tests and 

 other experimental work with apples should be 

 left to the sub-stations in other parts of the 

 province, and to the various experimental 

 farms. Apples can be grown in many locali- 

 ties to greater perfection than they can in the 

 Niagara district. Moreover, land in that dis- 

 trict is too valuable to make apples a profitable 

 crop. By leaving the work with apples to those 

 stations better adapted for it, more area, time 

 and expense can be given to the tender fruits 

 that are adapted only to the Niagara and simi- 

 lar districts. 



The successful sale and transportation of 

 apples depends largely on the placing of con- 

 signments in reliable hands and on proper 

 facilities for the ocean carriage of same. Honest 

 buyers and an efficient steamship service are 

 both essential. Such is, we believe, the char- 

 acter of those firms that advertise in The C.\n.\- 

 dian Horticulturist. Growers and shippers 

 will do well if they consult the advertising 

 columns in this issue. 



The Horticulturist begs to acknowledge 

 the kindness of Mr. Roderick Cameron, of 

 Niagara F'alls, Ont., in treating two members 

 of the staff so royally when on recent trips to 

 Victoria Park. Mr. Cameron is one of our 

 most valued contributors. He is a man of 

 wide experience in horticultural matters, and 

 takes great pride in the large and varied col- 

 lection of plants at Victoria Park, which is 

 equal in beauty to any park on the continent. 



Pressure of space has prevented the publica- 

 tion of the third of a series of articles being 

 written by our representative who, earlier in the 

 season, visited Great Britain in the interests of 

 fruit growers and of this paper. It will appear 

 in the November number and will deal with the 

 manner in which Canadian fruit Jisj sold injthe 

 Old Country. 



Excellent A.rran^ements 



The Ont. Horticultural Exhibition which will 

 be held in Massey Hall, Toronto, Nov. 6-10, 

 should this year far eclipse the two previous ex- 

 hibitions, owing to the fact that much better 

 arrangements have been made for it. The 

 railway companies have agreed to run excursions 

 at half rates from all parts of the province on 

 Wed. and Tliurs., Nov. 7-8. These tickets will 

 be good for return up to Saturday, Nov. 10. By 

 these excursions those who desire to attend the 

 annual conventions of the fruit growers and vege- 

 table growers and Ont. hort. assns. will be able to 

 do so at half rates, and without the trouble of the 

 certificates. Exhibitors and others who desire 

 to attend on earlier days or on Fri. or Sat. will be 

 able to do so on the certificate plan. By buying 

 a certificate from their local agent, they will l)e 

 able to return free regardless of the number in 

 attendance, but they will have to have their 

 certificates countersigned at the exhibition, for 

 which a charge of 25 cts. will be made by the 

 railway companies. As the railways will adver- 

 tise these excursions, a large attendance from all 

 parts of the province is expected. It is possible 

 that the railways will add a charge of 25 cts. to 

 each railway ticket for admittance to the horti- 

 cultural exhibition. Those who purchase a 

 railway ticket will thus have in addition a ticket 

 of admission to the exhibition. Members of the 

 associations, who will be entitled to season 

 tickets for 50 cts., who buy these railway tickets 

 and pay the extra for admission to the exhibition, 

 will be returned the 25 cts. for their admission 

 couimn attached to their railway ticket. 



The exhibits in all sections promise to excel 

 last year's splendid showing tx)th in point of 



quality and number of entries. The number of 

 exhibits of vegetables will be nearly double those 

 of last year. The Toronto school board is ar- 

 ranging that the senior pupils shall attend the 

 exhibition Wed., Thurs., and Fri. mornings be- 

 tween 11 and 12 o'clock. The school teachers 

 of Toronto will be addressed by representatives 

 of the Agricultural College at Guelph, who will 

 have charge of the nature study exhibits at the 

 exhibition. It is possible that the directors of 

 the exhibition will give luncheons each day to 

 prominent people. In addition to all these 

 features, the fact that the famous Black Dike 

 band, whom it is said have secured more prizes 

 for their excellent playing than any other band 

 in the world, will be present each afternoon and 

 evening of the exhibition and will arrange to 

 present specially prepared programs to the 

 enjoyment of all who attend. 



The prize-lists are being circulated Copies 

 may be had upon application to the secretary, 

 Mr. H. B. Cowan, Parliament Bldgs., Toronto. 



Vegetable Topics 



A most interesting program is being prepared 

 for the annual convention of the Ont. Veg. Grs. 

 Assn. convention to be held in Toronto at the 

 time of the Ontario Horticultural Exhibition in 

 Massey Hall, Nov. 8 and 9. At a meeting of the 

 executive held Sept. 22 at Hamilton, at which 

 Messrs. F. F. Reeves, of Humber Bay; Alex. Mc- 

 Means, of Guelph, and R. O. Lewis, of Hamilton, 

 were present, it was decided to invite the follow- 

 ing gentlemen to speak on the subjects men- 

 tioned below: W. A. Emery, of Aldershot, on 

 "Melons"; E. J. Mahoney, of Hamilton, on 

 "Tomato Growing" ; John Lewis, of Hamilton, on 

 "Fertilization in Relation to Vegetable Growing" ; 

 E. J. Malcolm, of Scotland, on " Onion Growing" ; 

 R. Brodie, of Montreal, and E. E. Adams, of 

 Leamington, on "Forcing Early Vegetables"; 

 E. Gibbard, of Todmorden, on ' ' Tomato Growing 

 under Glass"; A. Mclnnes and T. Benstead, of 

 Stratbroy, on "Celery Growing"; and Eugene 

 .Davis, of Grand Rapids, Mich., U.S.A., on 

 "Lettuce Forcing and Bean Growing." 



It was decided to draw attention to an error 

 in the vegetable prize-list for the exhibition, in 

 .section 36, which should read Onions, yeUow, 

 best string. P| j-, 



A Duty on Tin Plate 



A vigorous protest is being made in the press 

 and by farmers in counties bordering on Lake 

 Ontario against a company that is constructing 

 a big factory in Morrisburg, Dundas Co., for the 

 purpose of manufacturing tin plates for the 

 farmers. The name of the company is the 

 Canadian Tin Plate and Sheet Steel Co., Ltd. 

 It is petitioning the Dominion Government for a 

 protective tariff on tin plate. The farmers of 

 Prince Edward Co. are up in arms. They feel 

 that a duty placed on tin plate, so as to promote 

 the interests of the company, would be disastrous 

 to the dairy and canning industries. 



The farmer and the fruit grower use large 

 quantities of tin plate in the utensils and machin- 

 ery of the farm. The canning industry of On- 

 tario uses millions of tin cans every year. Should 

 this company accomplish its purpose the price of 

 cans would go up, and to counteract it, canners 

 would be forced to pay lower prices for fruit 

 and vegetables. The farmers resent the exac- 

 tion of such a tribute. The farmer of the west, 

 who use large quantities of canned goods, also 

 will suffer. The establishment of a factory for 

 making tin plate in Canada, under such condi- 

 tions, will be contrary to the interests of 

 fanning community in all its branches. 



On Sept. 17, the large fruit warehouse of 

 Titterington Bros., St. Catharines, Ont., was 

 totally destroyed by fire. 



In the Niagara dist. there has been a shortage 

 of baskets. "This has and is causing considerable 

 anxiety among growers. 



