CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



173 



THE SUMMER MEETING. 



THE town of Picton is Ijeautit'uUy 

 situated on a harbor of the same 

 name, and is the cliief town of Prince 

 Edward County. Hithero somewluit 

 out of the course of the regular line 

 of steamers, it will henceforth be no 

 longer at that disadvantage ; for the 

 Murray canal, which will soon be com- 

 pleted, will enable the steamers to sail 

 through the Bay of Quinte, calling at 

 Picton, Belleville and Trenton on tlieir 

 way. 



Mr. P. C. Dempsey, our director for 

 this county, met us at Trenton and 

 veiy kindly took us out to his fruit 

 farm ; for nothing is so interesting to 

 a fruit grower as a visit to the orchard 

 of a brother fruit grower. Mr. Demp- 

 sey's orchard of about fifty acres, 

 consists chieHy of apple trees, of all the 

 more profitable kinds, together with a 

 good many sample varieties which lie 

 is testing. The varieties which he 

 considers most profitable are the 

 Duchess, the Wealthy and the Ben 

 Davis ; for although the later is poor 

 in quality, yet its even form, good 

 color, and productiveness make it 

 highly valuable for export. His 

 orchard has good and clean cultivation, 

 and being situated upon an elevated 

 slope, shows off to good advantage 



The meeting at Picton was one of 

 great interest to all fruit growers. 

 Specialists were present in the various 

 departments of Fruit, Flowers and 

 Forestry, and the result was most 

 profitable. 



Among those participating in the 

 discussion were Chas. Gibb, Vice- 

 President Montreal Horticultural 

 Society ; W. W. Hillborn, Horticul- 

 turist of the Experimental Farm, 

 Ottawa; T. M. Orover, Norwood; Alex. 

 McD. Allan, and many others. 



The local attendance was compara- 

 tively small, because it had not been 

 well published by members in that 

 vicinity. This was a serious loss of 



valuable information to the fruit 

 growers of the county, who, had they 

 been notified of the meeting would no 

 doubt have been present in hundreds. 



Our special thanks are due to 

 the County Council for giving us a 

 most enjoyable trip up the bay some 

 five miles in a steam yacht to visit 

 Glenora ; a picturesque summer resort, 

 with a very curiously situated lake at 

 an elevation of nearly L'OO feet above 

 the Bay of Quinte. How this lake 

 receives its constant supply of beautiful 

 clear water no one seems to know ; 

 whether by means of a submarine con- 

 nection with Lake Erie, or by some 

 more mysterious means. 



The kind courtesy of the Picton 

 friends did not stop here ; they so 

 strongly urged the officials of oui- As- 

 sociation to remain over for a trip to 

 the far-famed " Sand banks " that we 

 consented ; nor had we cause for re- 

 gret. Fine large excursion carriages 

 were provided, drawn by first-class 

 carriage horses and the ten mile trip 

 was soon made ; showing us a fine 

 farming and fruit growing district on 

 our way, but alas ! parched and baked 

 by reason of one of the most protracted 

 drouths ever known. What a strange 

 sight those sand banks are ! Great 

 hills of sand, white as snow and fine 

 as flour, covering several hundred 

 acres of land, and constantly encroach- 

 ing upon the farms so unfortunately 

 situated. Well worthy was the 

 excursion of the time it occupied, and 

 our friends well deserved our parting 

 cheers and song as the train hurried us 

 away from Bloomfield station : — 



" For they are jolly good fellows 

 Which nobody can deny." 



We cannot close this account of our 

 reception at Picton, without making 

 especial mention of Mr. Wellington 

 Boulter, the proprietor of the Bay 

 of Quinte Canning Factory. This 



