June, 1921. 



SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE. 



255 



VARIETIES. 



The planting of uiisuitalilr varieties has cost grow- 

 ers in the Okanapran thousands of dollars. This mis- 

 take, however, could hardly have been avoided, as the 

 pioneer growers were naturally inclined to plant those 

 varieties which had proven successful in the Old Coun- 

 try, Eastern Canada or the United States, thinking they 

 would he e((ually well or better in the Okanagan. 

 Results, however, have ."-iliown that a good many 

 varieties that have been planted have not proven 

 suitable to Okanagan conditions. There have been 

 a few instances, also, where nurserymen have shipped 

 tree.s not true to name or have substituted wrong 

 varieties with the result that the grower found, after 

 his trees began to bear, that instead of Mclntoi-h 

 which he had ordered, he had Baldwins or some other 

 misuitable variety. 



More attention is now being paid to the successful 

 commercial varieties, so that the number of undesirable 

 sorts is gradually decreasing. Those who have unsuit- 

 able varieties should seriously and intelligently con- 

 sider if it would be to their advantage to top work 

 their trees to good varieties, or to pull out their un- 

 profitable trees and plant a young orchard, or if the 

 fault lies with the soil and location, to grow some other 

 crop which would be reasonably sure to give bflter 

 returns than the orchard. 



For a good commercial orchard the individual grow- 

 er should guard against the planting of too many varie- 

 ties, and on the other hand, the grower may make the 

 mistake of confining his plantings to but one or two 

 varieties. A safe rule to follow would be to plant not 

 less than three or not more than six different varieties. 

 Four will be sufficient in some cases. By choosing the 

 varieties that ripen at different seasons, one may ex- 

 tend the picking period which is an important factor 

 to consider in harvesting a fruit crop. 

 Varieties Recommended. 



While studying orchard costs and yields an effort 

 was made to determine which varieties were most suit- 

 able for the Okanagan botli from the grower's and ship- 

 per's point of view. Only those varieties which 

 have proven suitable for the valley and have been well 

 received on the market, were considered. It is not un- 

 likely that other varieties will be recommended later, 

 but as yet they have not been .sufficiently tested out 

 to warrant approval for commercial planting at this 

 time. 



In recommending commercial varieties for planting 

 in the Okanagan the valley has been separated into 

 two divisions. The northern half includes Kelowna and 

 the fruit districts north. The southern half includes 

 the fruit districts -south of Kelowna. 



Division 1. — Kelowna and north : Mcintosh, Deli- 

 cious, Rom? Beauty, Wealthy, and Duchess. 



Division 2. — South of Kelowna : Delicious, Rome 

 Beauty, Winesap, Stayman, Jonathan and Gravenstein. 



Mcintosh. — Undoubtedly the Mcintosh is one of the 

 leading varieties grown in the Okanagan. It appears 

 to be more particularly adapted however, to the nor- 

 thern end of the valley, bearing more regularly each 

 year than in the southern districts. The shipping quali- 

 ty of the northern grown Mcintosh also surpasses that 

 of those grown in the south end of the valley. 



The ]\IcIntosh comes into bearing early, is a fast 

 growing tree, and a heavy yielder, standing head and 

 shoulders above other varieties in this respect. 



The Mcintosh will largely thin its fruit on the tree 



and still produce a heavy crop of No. 1 apples. Never- 

 theless, thinning should be practised for be.st results. 



One of the main objections to this variety is that it 

 has a comparatively short harvest season and will drop 

 easily when it has reached maturity. 



Many growers are under the impression that tiie 

 planting of the Mcintosh has been, or will soon be, 

 overdone in British Columbia. It is a variety that must 

 be handled antl consumed in a ccmiparativcly short sea- 

 son, practically two months, October and November, 

 although with proper care one may enjoy the Mcintosh 

 until the New Year and even later. Also this variety 

 is now being planted largely in the. East. To offset 

 these facts, on the other hand, one miist remember that 

 the Mcintosh reaches its perfection in British Columbia 

 and the province should be able to more than hold its 

 own with this variety. 



Delicious. — Much attention has been paid to the Deli- 

 cious during recent years, and prices received for this 

 variety have topped those received for all other varie- 

 ties except on the Old Country market. 



The Delicious has proven very well suited for the 

 Okanagan and as shown in Table 5 ha.s given a greater 

 return per tree to the grower than any other variety. 

 The fruit is evenly distributed over the tree and heavy 

 thinning is not necessary as a rule. 



The Delicious may be considered the leading late 

 variety grown in the Okanagan. 



Rome Beauty. — This variety has gained in popularity 

 in late years. It is now considered one of the be.st bak- 

 ing apples on the market. 



The Rome Beauty has proven to be well adapted for 

 Okanagan conditions and will be favourably considered 

 in future plantings. More data is required to strike 

 what would be considered a good average yield for this 

 variety, although it is not likely that further records 

 would alter materially the yield as shown in fables 3 

 and 4.. 



Wealthy. — The Wealthy is a hardy tree and does ex- 

 ceptionally well in the Okanagan, especially in the 

 Xorthern section of the Valley. 



It has a tendency towards alternate bearing, over 

 bearing one year, and producing a light crop the fol- 

 lo^-ing year. During hea\y bearing years, considerable 

 thinning must be practised, as the apples will bunch and 

 will not thin themselves so readily as do the Mcintosh. 



Duchess. — The Duchess is the leading variety grown, 

 in the Northern end of the Okanagan. its .sea.son being 

 just ahead of the Wealthy. Unfortimately, sufficient 

 records were not received to give a fair average on yield. 



This variety, like the Wealthy, has a tendency to bear 

 fruit in bunches and thinning must be practised. 



The Duchess is a comparatively small growing tree 

 and should be considered chiefly as a filler. 



Winesap. — Extensive planting of the Winesap will 

 ]n-obably be made in the Southern end on the Okanagan 

 especially in the Osoyoos and Similkameen sections. It 

 does fairly well in the Penticton district, but further 

 North than this tlie fruit does not on the average deve- 

 lop the desired size. 



The market demand for the Winesap is good and this 

 variety will undoubtedly reach commercial importance 

 in the future in fruit districts south of Pentieon. 



The records so far received on yields for this varietv 

 are not sufficient to strike a reliable average. 



Stayman. — This variety iias not yet reached commer- 

 cial importance in the Valley. It appears however, 

 tc be well adapted for the Summerland and Penticton 

 districts, and will undoubtedly be given favourable con- 

 sideration in future plantings. 



