150 FRUIT RAXCHING. 



peratively demanded if ilie varieties selected for the 

 main crops are such as do not fertilise their blossoms 

 themselves. In that case, the orchardist must plant 

 a certain proportion of trees of varieties uhich \vill 

 help to pollenise the blossoms of his main-crop 

 varieties. 



The first point to decide, then, is this. Shall I 

 plant for the British market, or shall I plant for the 

 prairies? In the former case, the selection must be 

 made from what are essentially winter apples, as 

 winter apples are not only the best keepers, but also 

 the best travellers. In the latter case, mid-season 

 varieties compete with the winter varieties for our 

 choice. 



Before we go further, there is yet another im- 

 portant consideration which must not be overlooked. 

 We ought to bear in mind the fact that, while one 

 district is specially suited to produce one kind of 

 fruit, as grapes, or peaches, or apples, in better 

 quality or greater abundance than another district, 

 so one district may, in consequence of its natural 

 advantages, be better fitted to produce a particular 

 variety of apple, while a second district will excel in 

 a second variety, and a third district be pre-eminent 

 in a third. Now, while this fact is one of very great 

 importance in the abstract, on the field of actual prac- 

 tice it cannot, unfortunately, as yet play any great or 

 decisive part in British Columbia. The orchards in 

 this province are not yet old enough to have told us 

 with any degree of certainty what varieties grow best 

 in particular districts. All that can be affirmed with 

 safety is that certain varieties grow well and satis- 

 factorily in such and such a district. For instance, 



