the North- West, where fi-uit culture is yet in its infancy, or not yet undertaken, the 

 reason for this is to some extent obvious, l^ot so, however, with Prince Edward 

 Island and New Brunswick, both of which are important fruit districts. It undoubt- 

 edly falls within the province of this convention, and perhaps may be considered one 

 of our most important duties, to inquire into the causes of such a state of affairs and, 

 if possible, suggest and encourage some improvement. British Columbia, although 

 not as yet a large fruit-producing country, is yet fully alive to future possibilities, 

 and the necessity of giving the industry the most careful nursing while it is in the 

 stage of extreme infancy. There has been established there, within the last two 

 years, a society which has at its head one of the most active and highly respected 

 members of the Montreal Horticultural Society, Mr. J. M. Browning. Under his 

 guidance, we may confidently look forward to the future of the society, with the 

 feeling that it is destined to accomplish a great and important work in developing 

 the latent possibilites of fruit culture in the far west. 



If we now turn to the other extreme of this widely-extending Dominion, we 

 find in Nova Scotia — the paradise of apples — a most active organization, known as 

 the Nova Scotia Fruit Growers' Association and International Show Societj^. The 

 name at once suggests the broad basis on which the work of this society is conducted, 

 and our inspection of its annual reports shows that it has accomplished a vast 

 amount of good work. 



This society was established by Act of Legislature on the 10th of May, 1864, 

 and the constitution was amended on 12th January, 18*76. Its membership is not 

 largo, being only 31 in 1886, but all take a most active part in the proceedings, and 

 feel that their personal interests and those of the society are one. 



The association had its origin in the great London Exhibition of 1860, at which 

 Nova Scotia apples were exhibited and attracted marked attention. In 1862 speci- 

 mens of fruit were sent to the exhibition of the London Horticultural Society, where 

 they took one silver and some bronze medals. As a result, the society was organ- 

 ized in 1863 by men whose names are most intimately connected with the fruit 

 interests of that Province. 



"We find it recorded in the transactions of the society that : " It had been abund- 

 antly proved from the very origin of the society that the best of apples could be 

 raised in Nova Scotia ; the difficulty all along had been in placing them in good con- 

 dition in the British market. At first it had been found necessaiy even to preserve 

 them, that they might appear at least of their proper size and form. Various exper- 

 iments had been tried to overcome the formidable obstacles presented by the broad 

 and stormy ocean and a land transit scarcely less destructive ; but the problem 

 was not yet satisfactorily solved. At the annual meeting of 1870 the matter was 

 again brought to the notice of the association, a statement being made by Amos 

 Black, Esq., one of its members, that he had in the preceding December sent two 

 barrels of apples— Hutching's and Black Eed— to Liverpool, England, and that they 

 had arrived in perfect order. Each apple was wrapped separately in paper. 



"In 1871 the association determined to petition the Dominion Parliament to 

 place a specific duty on all foreign apples, green fruits and vegetables, as well as 

 upon all fruit trees imported into the Province. In its work, since the date of its 

 formation, the society has advised a wide and intelligent interest in the domain in- 

 trusted to its care and management. The subjects which have occupied its attention 

 have been very numerous and varied ; they have also been among the most impor- 

 tant that can engage the consideration of an agricultural and horticultural region. 

 Through its instrumentality information has been widely diffused ; the fruits and 

 other agricultural produce of the Province have been brought to the notice of even 

 distant countries, and have created a most favourable impression as to the capabilities 

 and resources of the colony; it has been made apparent, by the knowledge diffused, 

 that the apples of Nova Scotia are unsurpassed, perhaps unrivalled, by those of any 

 other part of the world ; the operations of the Fruit Growers' Association have done 

 much towards opening up and securing a permanent market for our fruit, and thus 

 to render its cultivation a source of prosperity and wealth. Experiments have been 



