THE CANADIAN HORTICU|LTURIST 



283 



Besides what may be acquired through ob- 

 servation, visitors have the opportunity of 

 talking with the prize-winners and obtaining 

 pointers on the manner in which they produced 

 the fruit, flower or vegetable that won. By 

 conversing with exhibitors, the grower may 

 gather information, also, in regard to the habits 

 of various varieties, as to whether they are 

 productive and hardy, what their weak points 

 are, and what the strong ones. Attend the 

 conventions, hear the addresses and take part 

 in the discussions. Growers and lovers of 

 horticulture, amateur and professional, should 

 not fail to come to Toronto for the Ontario 

 Horticultural Exhibition. The jdate is No- 

 vember 6 to 10 — five days. ^ 



THE SEEDLESS APPLE 



.\s we feared would be the case, the report of 

 the Hon. John Dryden on the Spencer Seedless 

 Apple, that appeared in the last issue of ThU 

 Can.\dian Horticulturist, is being quoted in a 

 manner intended to mislead the unwary. Read 

 this from the IVatchman-Warder, Lindsay: 



"The trees are being introduced into Ontario 

 and are highly recommended by the Hon. 

 [ohn Dryden and other prominent agricul- 

 turists. Mr. Dryden, who made a special 

 visit to Mr. Spencer's orchard, says the apples 

 are seedless, the trees vigorous, early and 

 heavy bearers, and in his opinion will do well 

 in Ontario. The apples are sure to command 

 a high price for their many excellent qualities." 

 A recent issue of The Glengarrian, Alexandria, 

 said; 



"It is a choice apple with a delightful 

 flavor, and has no core or seeds. Hon. John 

 Dryden recently made a personal examination 

 of the trees and fruit and [gives a favorable 

 report of the results." ^_ 



Those who note the reference to a "delightful 

 flavor" and have read the remarks on this point 

 by Prof. John Craig, of Cornell, that appear on 

 another page, will see how misleading the state- 

 ment is. -Again we warn the fruit growers of 

 Canada to be cautious in taking hold of this 

 variety. 



The San Jose scale is spreading in Ontario. 

 Evidence of this is furnished continually. The 

 Provincial Government was approached recently 

 by growers in Harwich township, Kent county, 

 and asked for relief. Scale is now found, also, on 

 apple trees in the vicinity of Tillsonburg. Grow- 

 ers in these sections and in others to which the 

 scale has spread have not done their duty. 

 They have not taken steps at the beginning to 

 check the pest. Two government experts are going 

 into the district to conduct spraying operations. 

 Meetings also will be held. These things are all 

 right as far as they go but they are not enough. 

 The growers themselves should make a deter- 

 mined effort to control the spread of this pest. 

 They should not wait until their orchards are 

 almost destroyed before making the effort. 

 This is the cause of the anxiety in Kent county. 

 Growers there devote most of their attention to 

 vegetables, beans in particular, and neglect the 

 fruit orchard. As a result, the scale has made 

 much headway without being noticed. Growers 

 everywhere should be on the watch. There is 

 no reasonable cure for the pest other than spray- 

 ing. It behooves growers to be up and doing. 

 Every man in scale-infested districts should 

 spray. Those who refuse ought to be made to 

 do so by la f. No one should be excepted. \ 



local meetings in the various fruit districts. 

 The convention program this year is the best yet. 



As yet there has been no discussion on the 

 manner in which the new experiment station in 

 the Niagara district should be controlled. This 

 is a matter for serious consideration on the part 

 of the fruit and vegetable growers and all factions 

 interested, directly or indirectly, in the future of 

 the new station. A wrong move at the beginning 

 may hamper the afterwork and value of the farm. 

 As a basis for discussion we would suggest that 

 the station be placed under a board of five mem- 

 bers, to be appointed, one by the Ontario Fruit 

 Growers' Association, one by the Ontario 

 Vegetable Growers' Association, one by the 

 Ontario Agricultural College, and two represent- 

 atives growers by the Minister of Agriculture. 



The "plugging" of apples in barrels is some- 

 thing for which the fruit inspectors should be 

 continually on the watch. Plugging is the prac- 

 tice of opening barrels that contain apples more 

 or less decayed and substituting sound apples 

 for the bad ones that are found on the face. 

 It is a means of deceiving the buyer and the 

 fruit inspector. In a word it is one form of 

 robbery. 



Fakirs usually are caught by their own 

 schemes, some time, some how. Pew " get -rich- 

 quick" games can be played forever. The 

 schemers behind them soon expose themselves 

 and from then on are not to be trusted. We 

 have been caught once or twice, and now are 

 taking special care to see that the advertisers in 

 The Canadian Horticulturist are worthy. 

 Readers may deal with them and feel that they 

 are going to get a square deal. Consult the 

 advertising columns in this issue. 



We would compliment ^the Ontario Fruit 

 Growers' Association on the excellence of the 

 program that has been prepared for the annual 

 convention this fall. The elimination of a 

 medley of topics on cultural directions is a good ' 

 move. The subjects selected for discussion are 

 of a broader and more general nature. There 

 are just enough addresses on cultural matters 

 to lighten the more heavy features. The details 

 of orchard management are better discussed at 



Fruit Gro-wers' Prog'ram 



Addresses by leading horticulturists in Ontario 

 will be delivered at the annual convention of the 

 Ont. Fruit Grs. Assn. in Toronto, Nov. 7 and 8. 

 It is expected, also, that Mr. Roland Morrill, of 

 Benton Harbor, Mich., one of the most successful 

 peach growers in the U.S., will be present and 

 speak on "Low-Headed Peach Trees." The 

 secretary is corresponding, also, with Mr. R. W. 

 Shepherd, of Como, Que., for an address on 

 "Heading Back Injured Apple Orchards." 

 While other features may still be added, the 

 following is the program as assured to date — it 

 is furnished by P. W. Hodgetts, sec, O.F.G.A.: 

 Wednbsdav, Nov. 7 

 9.30 a.m. — "Work of the Association for 

 1906," Jas. S. Scarff, Woodstock; Appointing 

 of committees; Report of Committee on New 

 Fruits. 



2.00 p.m. — Dominion Conference of Fruit 

 Growers; "Immediate Results," W. H. Bunt- 

 ing, St. Catharines; and "Future Work," A. W. 

 Peart, Freeman; "Fruit Statistics," C. C. 

 James, Deputy Minister of Agr , Toronto ; Report 

 of Committee on Revision of Constitution. 



8.00 p.m. — "Low-Headed Peach Orchards," 

 speaker from the U.S.; "Heading Back Injured 

 Apple Orchards," speaker probably from Que.; 

 "Fruit Laws, Provincial and Federal." 

 Thursday, Nov 8 

 9.00 a.m. — Elections of Directors; "Future of 

 the Apple in Ontario," A. McNeill, Chief, Fruit 

 Division, Ottawa; "Markets of the Northwest": 

 "Tender Fruits," Robt. Thompson, St. Cathar- 

 ines, and "Apples," A. E. Sherrington, Walker- 

 ton. 



2.00 p.m. — Report of Transportation Com- 

 mittee; "The Strawberry," W. F. W. Fisher, 

 Burlington; Report of Cooperative Committee; 

 "What the Fruit Shipping Associations are 

 Doing," 5 minute reports from]18 points in the 

 province. 



A neat and well-prepared catalogue of bulbs 

 for fall planting is that issued by the Wra. 

 Rennie Co., Limited, Toronto. It tells not only 

 what to plant but also how to do it. Send for a 

 copy. 



Fruit Gro-wers at OaKville 



The Oakville Fruit Growers, Limited, one of 

 the enterprising cooperative fruit associations of 

 Ontario, opened its new and substantial fruit 

 house in a pleasant and interesting way. In- 

 vitations were issued for a luncheon on Oct. 11. 

 One of the capacious apartments of the fruit 

 house was set apart for the occasion. A judicious 

 arrangement of evergreen boughs about the room 

 and carnations in vases, ferns and asparagus 

 plumosus on the tables made a pleasing effectr 

 After luncheon was served, an interesting 

 program of toasts and speeches was enjoyed. 

 At the beginning, letters of regret were read 

 from Hon. Sydney Fisher, Hon. Nelson Mon- 

 teith, Mr. Alex. McNeill, G. C. Creelman, P. W. 

 Hodgetts and others. The president of the 

 Oakville Assn., Mr. W. H. McNeil, graciously an- 

 nounced the various toasts. In responding to 

 "The Fruit Division," Mr. P. J. Carey, D.F.I., 

 contrasted the methods of handling fruits in the 

 past with those of to-day. Then, apples were 

 always bought by the lump, the buyer took 

 everything and the grower got low prices. The 

 packing was bad, the main point often was to 

 make a No. 3 apple look like a No. 1. A fair 

 apple year was then thought to be when there 

 were enough No. I's to face the ends of the bar- 

 rels. In the past, it was impossible to trace 

 fraudulent dealings, as fictitious names were the 

 rule. To-day, fruit is picked in season. Good 

 and correct brands are used (in this connection 

 the speaker complimented the Oakville Assn. ' 

 on having a brand that is almost faultless). 

 Now, the correct name and grade mark must be 

 placed on the barrel. Growers to-day can hold 

 their fruit until the market is favorable. Mr. 

 Carey also spoke of the prospects for trade in 

 the west. He said that there is no chance of 

 apples ever being raised in Manitoba, com- 

 mercially. 



In response to the toast to our "Sister Organ- 

 izations," Mr. Robt. Thompson, of St. Cathar- 

 ines, spoke of the good work being done by his 

 association and by the cooperative movement in 

 general. He said that the day of the commission 

 man is past, as these associations can hold their 

 fruit and largely control prices. The future of 

 fruit growing is bright. The west wants our 

 fruit if they can depend on the pack ; confidence 

 is gradually becoming established between west- 

 ern buyers and Ontario growers. The bad pack- 

 ing of Ontario fruit has been exaggerated. Mr. 

 Thompson said, also, that the railroads of this 

 country are not giving good service. For the 

 western market, U.S. companies do better. If 

 Canadian railway companies will not give the 

 required service, it will be necessary for Ontario 

 growers to ship via U.S. lines. 



The toast to "Transportation" was responded 

 to by Mr. H. W. Dawson, of Toronto. He said 

 that the greatest difficulty in the way of success 

 in fruit growing is in the matter of distribution. 

 Fruit men send too much to one market at a 

 time, while others have nothing. This illus- 

 trates the value of cooperation whereby the full 

 and empty markets may be located. Mr. Daw- 

 son said that he would sooner pay more money for 

 apples packed in a central packing house on the 

 cooperative plan than for those packed in the 

 orchard He referred also to the dissatisfaction 

 that has been felt this season with respect to 

 the express companies. While the Dominion 

 Express Co. has given the better service of the 

 two, neither has made any attempt to carry 

 fruit as it should be done. Shipping by express 

 is a poor way of handling fruit. It is better to 

 ship by freight whether in carloads or small lots. 

 Various other toasts were proposed and re- 

 sponded to. In the course of some general re- 

 marks, Mr. Herbert Ingleliart, of Merton, spoke 

 highly of The Canadian Horticulturist. He 

 advised all the fruit growers present to become 

 subscribers. The Horticulturist is a paper 

 for Canadians. 



Earl Grey and his son. Lord Howick, were 



so much impressed with the Nelson, B.C., fruit 



lands that each has purcliased a small fruit 

 ranch of about 30 acres. 



