176 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



July, 1915. 



Demonstration Work in B. ( . 



H. Thornber, Assistant Provincial Horticulturist 



OWING to the many and varied condi- 

 tions met with In British Columbia 

 by the fruit grower, a large amount 

 of demoastratlonal and experimental work 

 hats been found necessary. This work has 

 served a doulble purpose; first, It advances 

 the Industry at a more rapid pac« than 

 when left to the observations of the «rult 

 grower, and, second. It prevents many 

 costly mistakes from being made iby the 

 fruit growers in their attempts to grow 

 opohards. 



While the few pioneer orchards located at 

 various points in the province have been 

 of some value in determining the proper 

 varieties for those districts wherein they 

 are located, they have often served to mis- 

 lead growers as to the exact value of some 

 of the most imiwrtant varieties. To-day, 

 many mistakes are ibeing discovered regard- 

 ing varieties, and many of them can t)e 

 attrihuted to otoservations made on the re- 

 sults in these orchards. 



Previous to 1900, little authentic informa- 

 tion regarding the best varieties for eacii 

 district had "been compile'd. There was 

 also a great diversity of opinion regarding 

 the selection of nursery stock; the proper 

 distances for planting; proper methods of 

 pruning; when and how to spray; how to 

 culUvate; and last tout not least, prajctically 

 nothimg was known regarding the cost of 

 these various operations. During the past 

 fifteen years, and especially since 1909, 

 much definite information has heen col- 

 lected on these subjects. The origin of the 

 greater portion of this information has 

 been from deanonstratdons ajnd experiments 

 in old orchards and from the results of the 

 orchards under the supervision of the Gov- 

 ernment which were called Demonstration 

 Orchards. 



These orchards were started in 1911. At 

 present there are sixteen, located at the 

 following points:— JCowichan, Nanaimo, 

 Hammond, Aldergrove, Lower Nicola, Wal- 

 hachln, Shuswap, Salmon Arm, Willow 

 Point, Rossland, Birchibrook, Waldo, Win- 

 dermere, New Denver, Wardner and Golden. 

 There is also a small-fruit plantation at 

 Chilliwack which is under management 

 similar to the orchards. 



The area of each of these orchards is 

 about five acres, and it is set aside tor the 

 use of the Government for five years. The 

 owner agrees to clear and fence, to provme 

 and maintain the irrigation system; to (bear 

 the cost of cultivation; furnish all neces- 

 sary implements; keep records of the cost 

 of each operation, and, if requested, make 

 reports on the progress of the orchard from 

 time to time. 



The Government provides the trees, 

 plants and prunes them, and gives instruc- 

 tions, through the district horticulturist, re- 

 garding tJie care of the orchard; and pays 

 any outside expenses in excess of those 

 necessary for the actual management of 

 the orchard. At the expiration of the 

 agreement, the orchard 'becomes the pro- 

 perty of the owner. 



These orchards contain the most suitalble 

 varieties for the respective distTicts. As a 

 rule, fillers are used. Some of these or- 

 chards are intercropped with small fruits, 

 potatoes or root crops, while others are 

 cultivated during the ^summer season and 

 seeded to a cover crop in the fall to aid in 

 ripening the trees and to improve the soil. 

 The pruning is done by the local horticul- 

 turisit in order to demonstrate different 

 systems and to ensure uniformity. 



At various times during the year these 

 orchards are used for demonatration work 



in spraying, pruning, etc., and the orchard 

 is open to the Inspection of tho public at all 

 times. The public meeWiigs are arranged 

 through the Farmers' Inatltute or by the 

 horticulturist In charge. The attendance 

 at these meetings is usually jrood, aind much 

 interest Is taken by the noighiboring or- 

 chardists as well as by the owners. 



Otiier forms of orchard demonstration 

 work are being carried on also. Among 

 these, packing, pruning, spraying, thinning 

 and fertilizing demonstrations and tests are 

 the most important. 



The Apple Packing Schools were inaugur- 

 ated In 1911, when thirteen were held. This 

 number Increased to 30 in 1912, and to 41 

 In 1913. In 1914 the numJber of classes de- 

 creased to 37, and in 1916 only 25 have been 

 requested to date. This decrease does not 

 indicate a decline in the interest taken in 

 packing, hut shows that a sufficient num- 

 ber of packers has ibeen produced to handle 

 the bulk of the crop. In 1914 it was estim- 

 ated that 75 per cent, of the crop was 

 packed by pupils of the Government pack- 

 ing schools. The packing schools consist 

 of twelve 3-hour lessons extending over six 

 days. The minimum number of pupils is 

 12, and the maximum numljer allowed is 

 16 for each school. A fee of $2.00 Is 

 charged for admission. 



These schools have been very success- 

 ful and have been adopted in parts of Aus- 

 tralia and Tasmania, as well as in Nova 

 Scotia and Ontario. 



Aside from the numerous pruning demon- 

 strations 'Which are held imder the direc- 

 tion of the Farmers' Institute in the Demon- 

 stration Orchards, and in the orchards of 

 fruit growers, a distinct line of pruning in- 

 struction was installed in the spring of 

 1914. This resulted from the fact that 

 sufficient ■ information regarding pruning 

 could not ibe given in a single demonstra- 

 tion. These "Pruning Schools," as they 

 are called, were patterned after the Apple 

 Packing Schools, and are conducted by the 

 assistant horticulturists. Briefly, they con- 

 sist of ten 3-hour lessons extending over 

 five days. A minimum of eight, and a maxi- 

 mum of twelve pupils is allowed for each 

 school. The admission fee is $1.00 for each 

 student. Last year, 26 pruning schools were 

 held, and this year, at the present writing, 

 over 55 have been applied for, and more 

 applications are coming in every week. 



Spraying demonstrations have also been 

 given at various places in the province. 

 These have heen divided into two generpl 

 classes. First, demonstrations liave been 

 given under the auspices of the Farmers' 

 Institute, to show how to mix and apply 

 the siprays; and the value of the different 

 nozzles with various sprays. Second, ex- 

 periments have Ibeen made to test the value 

 of the different sprays. The three sprays 

 mainly under consideration were Lime Sul- 

 phur, Soluble Sulphur and Bordeaux. These 

 were used last year for Apple and Pear 

 ScaJb in orchards at Salmon Arm and Har- 

 rop. As high as 97 per cent, clean fruit 

 was secured Iby the proper use of Lime 

 Sulphur. Similar results were secured by 

 Bordeaux, ibut a considerable amount of 

 russetting was noticed which was not pre- 

 sent when Lime Sulphur was used. The 

 Soluble Sulphur gave fair results, hut until 

 further tests are made, It cannot be recom- 

 mended for general use. Other spraying ex- 

 periments have also heen made by the In- 

 .spectlon Branch of the Department of Agri- 

 culture, with good results: 



One experiment was made In thinning 

 apples. The increase in favor of thinning 



was between 130 to 150 per cent, over the 

 un thinned trees. More experiments in 

 thinning will be conducted in the future, 

 and If they give such promising returns as 

 these have in the past, it will become a 

 much more general practice. Fertilizer ex- 

 periments have also been sUrted. but from 

 the nature of the.se no results will be pub- 

 lished for some time yet. 



Transportation Matters 



G. E. Mcintosh, Trau«iMjrlation Agent for the 

 Ontario Fruit Growers' Ai>sociation 



As the fruit sTiipping season approaches 

 and with it perhaps unusual difficulties, 

 owiing to market conditions, Ontario grow- 

 ers are requested to advise me of any mat- 

 ters whicli In their opinion should be un- 

 dertaken to improve transportation service 

 for the coming season. The following in- 

 formation may be of value: 



The express merchandise receipt form 

 was recently the subject of di.scussion be- 

 fore the Board of Railway Commissioners 

 as a result of complaints made by the ship- 

 ping public. It was stated that the expresa 

 companies had sought refuge from payment 

 of certain claims behind the wording of 

 subjection (C) of section 5 of the receipt, 

 which provided that the company would 

 not be liable "for any loss, damage or de- 

 lay caused from conditions beyond Ita 



control." 



Complainants held that the express com- 

 panies had taken the position that acts of 

 the railway company occasioning loss, dam- 

 age or delay were "conditions l>eyond Its 

 (the express company's) control. As the 

 Commission states, the express company 

 engaging to perform the contract of car- 

 riage agreed to, has the right to do it In 

 any way it pleases so far as the shipper is 

 concerned, as long as the method adopted 

 does not damage the shipment or cause the 

 shipper loss either by undue delay or for 

 any other caiiee. 



The Commission has ordered that the re- 

 ceipt be amended by substituting for the 

 present protested conditions a phrasing 

 under which the express companies will not 

 be permitted to relieve themselves from li- 

 ability for acts or default of the railways 

 over whose lines they operate. 



Double Charges. 



The Commission has also dealt with tne 

 question of collection of express charges at 

 destination on prepaid shipments, and has 

 ordered that in future the companies shall 

 firmly affix to every shipment a label which 

 will clearly show whether or not the charges 

 have been prepaid. Shipments composed 

 of two or more packages may be dealt with 

 by affixing a label to one of the packages, 

 providing the label states how many pack- 

 ages are in the shipment. 



A complaint was made by W. H. Bunting, 

 of St. Catharines, against an increase by 

 the G. T. R. in the rates on manure in car- 

 loads, from Toronto, for Cajiadian Northern 

 orders that the rate of 3% cts. per 100 lbs. 

 he disallowed, and the rate of 2% cts. per 

 100 libs, previously in effect be restored, 

 .subject to a minimum carload weight of 

 60,000 lbs. 



Loss and Damage Decisions. 



A shipper of peaches who should or- 

 dinarily have loaded a car In 10 hours took 

 34 hours to do it, by which time the ice 

 which had filled the bunkers melted so that 

 it would no longer protect the shipment. 

 The carrier receipted for the peaches as in 

 apparent good condition. As soon as the 

 car was loaded, it was taken to a re-icing 

 station. The Commission held, that when 

 the carrier sent the car fully iced to thH 



