The Canadian Horticulturist. 35 



THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUNDS OF THE 

 "CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST." 



^^INCE it is the fashion with some of our contemporary horticultural 

 (^j journals to boast of their experimental gardens, in order that their 

 readers may not have it to say that their editors are only bookworms 

 and know nothing practically of gardening, we have thought it wise also to 

 give our readers a glimpse of the Woolverton Homestead and fruit farm, 

 sometimes referred to in these pages as " Maplehurst." 



It is winter. The deep snow will prevent our tramping through the 

 orchards, so we will climb the "Mountain " and take a view from there. 

 Yonder is the beautiful Ontario, n6w ice-bound and scarcely distinguishable 

 from the sky which meets it ; and^ lying between, the orchard of nearly one 

 hundred acres, planted with aprple, pear, peach, plum, cherry, quince 

 trees, grapes and small fruits of nlahy varieties. On the west lies the fruit 

 farm of Mr. E. J. Woolverton, President of the Niagara District Fruit 

 Growers' Stock Co., an organization for the sale of fruit in the various 

 cities ; and on the east, that of Mr. A. H. Pettit, President of the Lincoln 

 County Farmers' Institute. 



The farm was purchased nearly one hundred years ago by the writer's 

 great-grandfather, and formed a portion of a four hundred acre stock and 

 grain farm. About thirty years ago it was used as a nursery of 3^oung trees, 

 by Mr. C. E. Woolverton, with Mr. A. M. Smith, now of St. Catharines, as 

 a partner ; both of w^hom also took an active part in the early meetings of 

 our Association, and were among the eighteen constituent members who 

 met for its formation in the Board Room of the Mechanics' Hall, Hamilton, 

 in the month of January, 1859. Latterly it has been entirely devoted to 

 fruit culture and experimental work. The apple orchards are of various 

 ages, some of them nearly one hundred years planted, and consist of about 

 sixty varieties. There are some twenty or thirty kinds of pears grown, the 

 chief among which is the Bartlett, of which variety there is a large bearing 

 orchard. The principal market grape is the Concord, and some eighty other 

 kinds are being grown for trial. The Wilson and the Crescent are the chief 

 strawberries, but there are several out of the forty varieties under test which 

 promise to be more desirable. And so we might go on to enumerate 

 quinces, plums, cherries, blackberries, etc., but enough is already mentioned 

 to give our readers some idea of the practical work of which the results are 

 from time to time given to the readers of the Canadian Horticulturist. 



