52 



turn their attention to these crops as well. This place is growing very rapidly, 

 having doubled in population during the past year. 



Salmon Arm. 



Returning north to the Main Line the next stop was at Salmon Arm, situ- 

 ated on the southern arm of Shuswap Lake. This district has an abundant 

 precipitation, irrigation not being necessary. The land is for the most part 

 heavily timbered and it requires considerable labour to clear and prepare it for 

 planting, but once this has been accomplished it is fertile, and fruit trees grow 

 quite freely. A co-operative organization, known as the Farmers' Exchange, is 

 in operation here, and about 25 cars of fruit were shipped out last year in addition 

 to a large number of shipments by express.' Small fruits do well and seem to 

 stand up in transit better than from some other sections, the Company having 

 shipped small fruits in good condition to several points in southern Manitoba. 



Apple growing is rapidly extending, and the land is being planted almost as 

 fast as it can be cleared. A visit was paid to a number of orchards in this vicin- 

 ity, notably those of F. D. Nicholson, Robert Turner, and Messrs. Fortune, 

 Pangman and Stirling. Some bark injury was noted but on the whole the 

 orchards were well taken care of and in a thrifty condition. 



The favourite varieties here are Jonathan, Grimes Golden, Wealthy, Wag- 

 ener, Mcintosh Red and Northern Spy. 



Mr. Sharp, late Superintendent of the Experimental Farm at Agassiz, who 

 has a wide knowledge of the fruit situation in many sections of this Province, 

 considers this point one of the best for the production of fruit of high quality 

 and good colour. 



Few Standard Varieties Best. 



Mr. James Evans has an orchard of some 1,600 trees, and is endeavouring 

 to produce fancy fruit by careful spraying and thinning. He has confined him- 

 self to three varieties, namely, Wealthy, Jonathan and Northern Spy, in equal 

 proportions. His Wealthy trees at four years of age averaged him one and one- 

 half boxes to the tree, and this year at six years old 225 trees produced six hundred 

 boxes which netted $1.65 per box f.o.b. Salmon Arm. 



As an evidence of the great productiveness of the soil at this place we were 

 told on good authority that 427 boxes of apples of the Wolf River variety were 

 harvested from 14 trees in the orchard of Mrs. McGuire in a single season. 



Kamloops. 



On November 7 an interview was had with Mr. John Smith, Secretary of 

 the Kamloops Board of Trade. He stated that in this vicintiy there were some 

 orchards planted 35 or 40 years ago which were still doing well, and are an 

 example of what may be accomplished here. The quality and colour of the fruit 

 are very good and considerable extension in fruitgrowing is now in progress. 



Irrigation is necessary and some six thousand acres are at the present time 

 being brought under a water system and being prepared for planting bv the 

 British Columbia Fruitlands Company, under the management of Mr. R. M. 

 Palmer, late Deputy Minister of Agriculture for the Province. The varieties 

 that the Company is proposing to plant are Jonathan, Mcintosh Red, Wealthy, 

 Wagener, Grimes' Golden and Northern Spy, as well as some crab-apples. The 

 latter do well here and have proved very profitable. It is desired to place on 

 this land only men who have had some experience and are likely to make a suc- 

 cess of the undertaking. The land- is -well suited for truck gardening, such 

 vegetables as melons, tomatoes, and potatoes succeeding very well. 



