20 



Reaching Middleton, the orchard of Mr. Hardy Hoop is deserving of mention 

 from the attention which has evidently been given it by those in charge of this 

 property. Some 240 trees are in the block, which have been carefully pruned 

 and cultivated and are of a remarkably uniform character, bearing at the time 

 of our visit a magnificent crop of fruit. 



Mr. W. B. Ross also has a very fine property here and is undertakimg the 

 planting of extensive orchards, which are making rapid progress. Mr. Ross 

 considers the opportunities for successful orcharding in Nova Scotia as almost 

 unlimited. 



Rev. Mr. Raymond's Problem. 



At a gathering of fruitgrowers at Lawrencetown, the Rev. Mr. Raymond 

 of Annapolis Royal delivered an address in which he propounded the proposition 

 whether it was possible for a man to borrow the money necessary for the purchas- 

 ing of land, trees and even the labour necessary to care for the property, and 

 still be able to make an ultimate profit from the orchard. Mr. Raymond 

 stated that he was endeavouring to solve it, and is keeping an accurate account 

 both as to expenditure and returns from his own orchard, which is as yet com- 

 paratively young. So far he is very enthusiastic over his venture, and believes 

 he will be able to demonstrate the above proposition in a practical manner. 

 It would not be wise for the average man to undertake fruitgrowing on that 

 basis, for while under favourable circumstances it may be quite possible to 

 'make good', yet it would be much safer to provide some little capital before 

 embarking on an enterprise of this kind. 



The Annapolis Valley can properly be considered perhaps the largest single 

 area in Canada devoted almost entirely to the production of the apple, and 

 while, as already intimated, there are immense areas of excellent fruit land in 

 this district awaiting development, there is no section in Canada where so many 

 fine orchards can be found within a limited area. 



Cherry Growing at Bear River. 



Leaving Middleton, we proceeded by way of Bridgetown and Annapolis 

 Royal to the Bear River district. At Bridgetown are located the orchards of 

 R. J. Messenger and F. H. Johnson, the latter being one of the most practical 

 orchardists in that section of the country. The Bear River section is noted as 

 being particularly favourable for the production of cherries, and here we observed 

 some of the largest cherry trees we have ever seen. Some of them had a spread 

 of over forty feet, and good authorities had estimated that in a favourable 

 season occasional trees would bear a crop of 50 bushels of fruit. This section 

 is also well adapted for the production of small fruits and of apples. In the 

 Model orchard near the town of Bear River, we saw the first peaches in the 

 Eastern provinces, a number of young trees of the Alexander and Triumph 

 varieties bearing a moderate crop of fruit. Mr. Rice, the owner of this orchard, 

 has also a few varieties of plums under cultivation, such as Climax, Abundance, 

 Burbank, Lombard, Yellow Egg and Satsuma. These trees, however, were 

 badly affected with black knot, and it is somewhat uncertain as to whether 

 they will be commercially successful. 



A visit was paid to the orchards and offices of Messrs. W. \V. and W. G. 

 Clarke at Bear River. These gentlemen are enthusiastic and optimistic as 

 to the future of apple growing in this section, and are planting out largely, 

 taking the best of care of their orchards. They also handle a large portion of 

 the output from here, both for the city of St. John and the English market. 

 Mr. W. G. Clarke expressed the opinion that the shipping facilities were not 

 sufficient for the coming crop and feared a considerable congestion on this 

 account. 



