14 



comfort and to the health of his family, and give him some of the enjoyments which 

 we are so favoured with in the older districts in which we live. Besides the tests 

 which have been referred to of apples, similar work is being done with pears, plums 

 and cherries. With regard to cherries, I think they are the most promising, next to 

 apples, of all the hardy fruits with which we have to do. They grow very vigorously, 

 and judging from the few samples of fruit we have had on the trees I think they 

 are likely to be very acceptable indeed, and especially in those districts where fruit 

 is scarce. The orchards occupy a considerable area. The standard varieties of 

 apples are planted thirty feet apart, and all the other trees twenty feet. There are 

 at least twelve or thirteen hundred in all, consisting' of about three hundred and 

 fifty varieties. Careful notes will be taken of these as they fruit, and information 

 that is needed or thought of sufficient importance will be given to the public from 

 time to time in the form of bulletins, which every one who desires can have on 

 application. In smalL fruits also very much is being done. We have one hundred 

 and fifty varieties of grapes of the named sorts, besides a great many new seedings 

 which have been originated on the farm. In currants, gooseberries, raspberries and 

 strawberries the varieties will count probably two or three hundred more, that is, 

 the named varieties. These are being carefully tested and compared from year to 

 j'ear, and as the results are noted and opinions formed the infbi-mation is given to 

 the public. In addition to this, we are endeavouring to originate Canadian varieties 

 (seedlings produced) on the Experimental Farms. We had fruit in Ottawa last year; 

 we fruited quite a number of seedling strawberries and raspberries, some of which 

 are very promising. Samples of some of the best of these will be found in the 

 exhibit when the fruit is arranged. I think I may safely say that we have among 

 the new seedling raspberries some red varieties of remarkably good quality, which 

 will do credit to the Experimental Farms. Several hundred of these new varieties 

 have already been produced, and each year will see large additions to their number. 

 After their merits have been fully investigated the best of them will be sent first to 

 the Experimental Farms, and after that to other points, to be tested by practical fruit 

 growers, as soon as the material for that purpose is available, and I think in this way 

 we shall be able to produce in t'je course of time, not only varieties that will do us 

 credit, but varieties that will be particularly well adapted for the colder districts, 

 for the reason that they have originated here, and are acclimatized to their sur- 

 roundings. 



The continuance of such work will make Experimental Farms exceedingly in- 

 teresting places for fruit growers to visit, and the interest will be increased from 

 year to year. The Central Experimental Farm is intended to serve the purposes 

 especially of Ontario and Quebec; the Maritime Province Farm, situated at Nappan, 

 near the point of junction between the Province of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, 

 and very near the centre of Prince Edward Island opposite, will serve for these three 

 provinces. Nova Scotia fruit has acquired a good reputation in the markets of the 

 world, and it has gained that name from the superior quality of the productions of 

 the famed Annapolis Valley. That is a valley which extends for about 100 miles, 

 and varies in width from two to six miles. The idea h prevalent in Nova Scotia 

 that if you want apples you must goto the Annapolis Valley; but recent experience 

 has shown that this is not' the only district in Nova Scotia where good fruit can be 

 grown. In New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island there are promising orchards, 

 and there are good grounds for the opinion that many useful and good varieties of 

 fruit may be grown in these Provinces in sufficient quantities to supply the home 

 demand and leave a surplus for foreign shipment. The idea that good fruit can only 

 be grown in the Annapolis Valley is being gradually eradicated. Very good fruit is 

 grown there, no doubt ; but there are other localities in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick 

 and Prince Edward Island where fruit can also be grown to good advantage, and 

 this extension in the area over which fruit is grown will lead to a larger and more 

 general consumption of fruits of every sort throughout those Provinces. When the 

 site for the Experimental Farm was chosen at Nappan I was told there would be no 

 use in trying to grow fruit there; but from the way the trees are thriving 1 am 



