234 



Canada 



CANADA 



the province, by the low parallel lines of hills, known as 

 the north and south mountain ranges, is important and 

 valuable as windbreaks. The numerous bays and inlets 

 assist in equalizing temperatures, and exercise a marked 

 influence upon the longevity of the apple tree in this 

 region. The soil consists of sand, sandy loam and clay, 

 overlaying sandstone formation. The enormous rise and 

 fall of the tides have produced extensive deposits con- 

 stituting the present marsh and dyked lands. These 

 marsh lands serve the purpose of supplying an abundant 

 annual supply of herbage, in addition to yielding an in- 

 exhaustible store of cheap, natural fertilizer, used by 

 fruit-growers with great advantage upon the upland 

 orchard areas. Figs. 342, 343. 



Fruit Begions and -fVtii^s.— Kentville, Wolfville, and 

 Berwick are important fruit producing centers. Here 

 are found many of the old English types of apples, such 

 as Golden Pippin and Devonshire Quarrenden. Good 

 apples are grown in nearly all parts of the province, but 

 the valleys already mentioned contain the major portion 

 of the bearing orchards. The total orchard area is esti- 

 mated at 80,000 acres, and is rapidly increasing. Pears 

 have long been cultivated, but the industry has not grown 

 like the apple. Plums are widely cultivated. Domestioas 

 and Japans do well; Moore's Arctic is the favorite of the 

 former class and Burbank of the latter. 



The export of apples to Britain began in 1875, and hag 

 been steadily on the increase since that time. The mar- 

 ketable crop of apples in 1896 amounted to 500,000 

 barrels, nearly all exported to Britain. The characteris- 

 tic apple of the province is Gravenstein. This, with 

 Bibston Pippin, was imported from England by Hon. 

 Charles Eamage Preseott, between 1830 and 1835. Col. 

 John Burbidge introduced the Nonpareil Russet. Doctor 

 Inglis, the first bishop of Nova Scotia, introduced Yellow 

 Bellefleur to the Annapolis valley, where it is now known 

 by the name of Bishop's Pippin. 



The cranberry industry is developing rapidly. In 1890 

 the output from the cultivated bogs amounted to 400 

 barrels; in 1898 it had nearly reached 4,000 barrels. The 

 varieties cultivated are selected from the wild marshes. 



The fruit-growers of the province are intelligent and 

 energetic. The Provincial Fruit-growers' Association, 

 the oldest in the Dominion, assists in maintaining a hor- 

 ticultural school, which was established at Wolfville 

 and is affiliated with Acadia College. 



The fruit-growing industry in Cape Breton is yet in 

 its infancy. The climate and soil resemble that of Prince 

 Edward Island, and practically the same class of fruits 

 are being tested. 



New Beunswick.— The climate of this province fa- 

 vors a mixed husbandry. Wild raspberries, strawber- 

 ries, blueberries and cranberries grow in wild profusion, 

 and have to some extent hindered the growing of culti- 

 vated forms. Apples may be grown successfully for home 

 use in nearly all parts. Commercial orchards are now 



342. Ontario. Quebec and 

 Nova Scotia. 

 1,1, peach and grape regions ; 2, mixed ^ 

 fruit zone; 3 general agriculture, and 

 apples. Nova Scotia : 1, plums; pears, apples; 2, apples. 



being planted in the valley of the St. John river, at 

 and about Woodstock. Damson and Moore's Arctic 

 plums are grown to a considerable extent. A few grow- 

 ers have found it profitable to protect their plum trees 

 in winter by planting them in such a manner as admits 

 of the trees being reclined on the ground in the autumn, 



The snowfall is heavy, and is a sufficient protection. 

 Thomas A. Sharpe, of Woodstock, is a pioneer in this 

 work. Of apples, the following varieties have been 

 most successful in the St. John river valley: Duchess, 

 Wealthy, Fameuse, Pewaukee, Longfield, and Scott's 

 Winter. The small-fruit harvest is a week later than in 

 Nova Scotia. New Brunswickers are therefore enabled 

 to place their berries upon the Boston market at a time 

 when competition from other quarters is light In these 

 classes of fruits. Native raspberries and wild cranber- 

 ries (Vaccinium Vitis-Idaa) are gathered and shipped 

 in large quantities to Boston. V. Vitis-Idma is com- 

 monly known in New Brunswick as Wolfberry or Low- 

 bush Cranberry. In the past, lumbering, fishing and 

 mining have absorbed much attention in New Bruns- 

 wick, but fruit culture is constantly receiving increased 

 attention. Bright minds are at work in the province. 

 What to grow, and how to grow it, are questions receiv- 

 ing earnest attention. 



Quebec. — The climatic conditions in eastern Quebec 

 approach quite closely those obtaining in many parts of 

 New Brunswick. We find the principal fruit areas ly- 

 ing south of that great artery of commerce, the St. 

 Lawrence river. Here and there, not on the low clay 

 flats, but on the higher middle elevations, with gravelly 

 subsoil affording natural drainage, we find orchards 

 made up of '* La Belle Fameuse," Pomme Gris, and St. 

 Laurent, truly Canadian and truly delicious apples. In 

 the lower St. Lawrence region, especially on the north 

 side, the keeping season of apples is very much ex- 

 tended — or rather, the ripening season is very much re- 

 tarded. At Chicoutmi, on the Saguenay, Red Astrachan 

 ripens about the end of September and Wealthy is late 

 winter. 



In L'Islet county, about 70 miles northeast of the city 

 of Quebec, plum-growing has become a somewhat spe- 

 cialized industry during its evolution, which covers a 

 period of a century and a quarter. Varieties of Reine 

 Claude and of Orleans plums have originated, and are 

 now peculiar to that district. Reine Claude de Mont- 

 morency is a fine flavored strain of the parent group. 

 All plums grow in stocky form, with widely spreading 

 branches, and are very productive. The trees are 

 grown in sod, with little pruning and fertilizing. 

 The marketing season extends from September 15 to 

 October 15. Hardy forms of Kentish cherries have also 

 been developed. The season is a month later than at 

 Ottawa, Ont. Between Quebec and Montreal, along the 

 St. Lawrence river, plums and apples are grown to a 

 limited extent only. The heavy blue clay of the region 

 between the Richelieu and St. Lawrence rivers is un- 

 suited to the cultivation of fruits. A wild fruit which 

 is being grown by the French habitant of the Richelieu 

 and its tributaries is the choke cherry, Pninus Vir- 

 giniana, Linn. The fruit is eaten 

 raw, but is also made into jellies 

 and conserves. A yellow variety is 

 common to gardens in the vicinity 

 of St. Hyacinth, Que. The Island 

 of Montreal is undoubtedly the 

 cradle of the fruit industry of the 

 province. Here a truly intensive 

 style of fruit-growing prevails. 

 Apples, plums and pears are staples. 

 Strawberries, gooseberries, and 

 other small fruits are largely culti- 

 vated. Convenient market facili- 

 ties, both at-home and abroad, assist 

 the fruit-grower. The hardier types 

 otPrunus domestica, such as Dam- 

 son and Orleans plums, succeed 

 except in seasons of unusual se- 

 verity, when their fruit buds fail. Japan plums have 

 not yet been sufficiently tested on the island, with the ex- 

 ception of Burbank, which fruits uncertainly. So far as 

 can be ascertained, the Island of Montreal is the home 

 of the Fameuse and St. Lawrence, and possibly Pomme 

 Gris. About the foothills of those curious outcrop- 

 pings of the Vermont mountains that we find in the 

 Richelieu valley and in the eastern townships — locali- 

 ties peopled by U. E. Loyalists-fruit- growing is a 

 leading branch of rural labor. Beloeil, Rougemont 

 and Abbotsford are well known to Quebec fruit-growers 



