AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



285 



Mr. Linus Woolverton was born on 

 Dec. 12, 1846, at Grimsby, Ont. The 

 family of Woolvertons to which he be- 

 longs, is one of the oldest of this early 

 settled Niagara district, and trace their 

 family history back through 200 years 

 to England, where there are still found 

 several places of the name. His father, 

 Mr. C. E. Woolverton, who had himself 

 received his education at Madison Uni- 

 versity, New York State, so highly val- 

 ued university advantages, that he 

 spared no pains to give his son a thor- 

 ough college training. This course was 

 fully appreciated by the son, whose 

 thirst for knowledge and love of books 

 has always been one of his leading 

 characteristics. 



After due preparation at Grimsby 

 High School, and one year at the Uni- 



L. WOOLVERTON, M. A. 



varsity at Rochester, he entered the 

 University College at Toronto, taking 

 the first scholarship ($120) ever taken 

 at senior matriculation, in the depart- 

 ment of classics. During this course at 

 the 0"niversity, he gave much attention 

 to th e study of natural science, and this 

 has been of the utmost advantage in 

 later years to him in his horticultural 

 pursuits. In due time he was granted 

 the degrees of B. A., in 1869, and M. 

 A., in 1870. His first thought then was 

 to pursue the study of law, and, with 

 this. in view, he entered a law office in 

 Toronto, and spent a portion of the win- 

 ter of 1869-70 in legal studies. 



In October, 1870, he married Miss S. 

 F. Lorimer, daughter of the late Rev. A. 

 Lorimer, B. A., then Librarian of the 

 University of Toronto. For a term of 



15 years after graduation, he held the 

 position of examiner in Classics and 

 English at Woodstock College — a posi- 

 tion he felt obliged to relinquish on ac- 

 cepting the work of Secretary of the 

 Fruit Growers' Association of Ontario. 



Just about this time Mr. A. M. Smith's 

 retirement from partnership in the nur- 

 sery business with Mr. W.'s father, 

 made an opening for the son to come 

 into his place, and carry on a business 

 to which he had already given some at- 

 tention. The business was largely local, 

 and no agents were employed, as the de- 

 mand for nursery stock in this fruit sec- 

 tion was at that time very considerable. 

 After a few years Mr. Woolverton be- 

 came so enamored with fruit-growing, 

 that he resolved to quit the nursery 

 business and give his whole attention to 

 the former ; and, with the consent of 

 his father, who gave up the whole farm 

 to his management on the most generous 

 basis, also deeding him a portion of it, 

 he gradually planted out 100 acres in 

 fruit-trees. This farm is known as 

 " Maplehurst Fruit Farm," and is one 

 of the largest of its kind in Ontario; 

 certainly no other has such a large va- 

 riety of fruits of every sort under test. 

 In grapes alone there are about 90 

 varieties, strawberries about 50, and a 

 large collection of cherries, pears, ap- 

 ples, peaches, plums, etc. ; and here is 

 where the practical experience is gained, 

 necessary for the proper and intelligent 

 conduct of a horticultural journal. It 

 was the consideration of his practical 

 experience in horticulture, combined 

 with his educational advantages, that 

 led the Board of Directors of the Fruit 

 Growers' Association to give him the 

 appointment of Secretary and Editor, 

 on the retirement of Mr. D. W. Beadle, 

 the former Secretary. 



The management of this fruit farm 

 requires much attention, and would en- 

 gross one's whole time; but, by engag- 

 ing a competent foreman, Mr. Woolver- 

 ton has been enabled to give almost his 

 whole time to Association work. 



For many years previous to his ap- 

 pointment as Secretary, he was a regu- 

 lar attendant upon the meetings of the 

 Assocation, having been present at 

 Hamilton as a boy at some of the very 

 first meetings, and almost regularly ever 

 since. As a writer, he was among the 

 early prize essayists of the Association, 

 as will be seen by consulting some of the 

 older reports ; and to the earlier volumes 

 of the Canadian Horticulturist he con- 

 tributed a series of articles, entitled, 

 "Horticultural Gossip." 

 In 1885 he also wrote a series of 



