206 



THE CANADIAN HORTICCLTDRIST. 



were shown ; the Curnival Number of 

 the Montrciil iStar and Witness for the 

 hist two seasons have been distributed 

 broadcast over Britain and the Empire. 

 Photographs, as a rule, taken in Canada 

 ft)i- exportation, geneially show hei" sons 

 in their Avinter costumes of fur coats 

 and caps. So hirgely has winter taken 

 precedence in all works of art sent from 

 this to the mother country, that the 

 impression in the old world still ob- 

 tains, tiiat the French King only ceded 

 to his bi'other of England a few acres 

 of snow. No pains have hitherto been 

 taken to show our lovely spring, slim- 

 mer, and autumn climate to advantage. 

 There is only one way in which this 

 can be done in a jjractical manner, and 

 that is through the fruits we ripen. 

 Such gi-ains as wheat, barley, oats and 

 ])eas, of course, give evidence of " seed 

 time and harvest," but the bloom on a 

 peach, or the grape, or the lovely 

 bright color of the apple's cheek can 

 only be given by our bright clear sky, 

 and an unveiled sun. The Fruit 

 Growers' Association of Ontario, if 

 properly su])portod by the Government, 

 ;ire determined to make such an exhi- 

 bition as will wipe away from Canada 

 the reproacli which rests ui)on her in 

 this matter, and also the idea tliab we 

 are only a people whose not very remote 

 jirogenitors was a cross between the 

 native Indian and the p]s<jiiimaux. 



Fruit such as we cultivate is the 

 culmination of one of nature's choicest 

 gifts. Centuries have been expended 

 in Itringing the apple, the pear, and 

 the grajje to their present excellence in 

 Europe ; they have advanced in a i)aral- 

 lel line with civilization itself, with 

 which they keep pace, but in Canada 

 we are adapting new varieties fi-om 

 heretofore unknown strains to our soil 

 and climate, and we are doing so at a 

 rate which astonishes the workers them- 

 selves. It is well known to fruit 

 "rowers that English gooseberries and 



sti'awlierries, and the foreign gi'apes are 

 not suited to our climate ; that they 

 have to be united by the hybridist, or 

 accidentally by nature, to the native 

 ])lants of this country, and that the 

 oflspririg of these parents, such as the 

 Dempsey grape, or children of that, or 

 some other variety, will eventually be 

 obtained with hardy constitutions, early 

 ripening, and of a quality which will 

 vie with, if it does not exceed, those of 

 the vines of the Ehine and the Seine. 

 We know our fruits will ' show our 

 climate, and Ave trust they Avill testify 

 to the high standard to which our 

 people have i-eached in the a])))reciatiou 

 of nature's bountiful and best gift to 

 man — good fruit. 



We hope, as a Society, we will have 

 the friendly rivalry of our sister of the 

 Province of Quebec, in London in 1 88G. 

 We shall ever remember with pleasant 

 feelings the time we met in the beauti- 

 ful park at Philadelphia, during the 

 American Centennial in 187G ; and we 

 look forward to a similar meeting on 

 British soil next year. The decade has 

 not passed without a considerable ad- 

 vance in the cultm-e of fruit in both 

 Provinces. p. e. Bucke, 



Vice-Prcs. Fniit Gmvas' Ais'n of Ontario, 

 Ottawa, August 3rd, 1885. 



STRA^^^ERRIES -THEIR KIXDS AKD 

 CULTURE. 



Worth far more than the annual 

 subscription to the Horticulturist are 

 to its readers the excellent letters on 

 strawberry culture in late numbers of 

 the magazine from the pens of Mr. 

 John Little, of Fish Creek (Canada's 

 Strawberrif King) ; Mr. T. C. Bobin- 

 son, of Owen Sound ; Mr. W. W. Hil- 

 boi-n, of Arkona, and others. In 

 kinds, among the legion of them, we 

 could hardly ex|)ect them all to agree ; 

 nor do they in the manner of culture, 

 but like wise men thev agree to differ 



