lSl> JvH RXAl OF THK KOYAL NOKrUTlTl K>L S\X JKTY 



found to to suffering front woolly aphis or other injurious pest they had 

 K«ww to <wft*r a thorough course of spraying, ml in especially t\ad case* 

 to have the trees cut down and bum*! as it was found that mm of the 

 earlier orchards, to wh\*h I have already referred, were in a had state 

 and would prove to be toeediug-grouuds whence these dangerous diseases 

 erf ijr^Kxs would be spread all over the* country. 



These regulations caused a good eleal erf trouble at first, and many 

 complaints made to the Government of the hardships they caused. 

 Mid soute relief was asked for ; but the* danger to the* business was so 

 imminent thai the* rules were insisted on. and as a result to day the 

 whole erf that great province is practically tree (rem the trouble, IVfore 

 lxritish Columbia began to grow fruit iter mercantile purposes, wry large 

 quantities erf Annies wore imported from Oregon and Washington, and 

 inspectors soon found that tuueh erf the fruit wis infested with what is 

 known on that coast as Codlio Moth. Hundreds erf acres of orchards in 

 those States had to be destroyed in consequence erf this— the worst form erf 

 fruit pest. Very strict precautions were therefore taken to prevent its 

 tutrevdeietion to the province. Many thousands erf boxes of Apples were 

 refused admission, and. as a result, that great destroyer erf fruit l*as been 

 kept out erf British Columbia. 



The proelneeerf the enormous acreage under orchards in the Tuned 

 S;a:< > created in some* vvars a glut erf Apples. and the growers resorted 

 to the system adopted by Aute*riean manufacturers elsewhere wish respeet 

 to the Me>ther Country — namely, dumping the surplus en>p into British 

 Columbia and selling at almost any price there, so as to keep up the price 

 in their eovn market* This* however, was befewe the British Columbia 

 growers had advanced far enough to supply their own home require- 

 ments* or before they were so organised as to make it j»ossible for 

 them to put their prodnet re^eilarly krfore the public Thi^ dumping 

 MA MMMiii fvxr the foreign grower* and \mles$ steps had (ven taken to 

 eounteraet it the industry in British Columbia would never have made 

 w^y. But here the Pominion Go\wnment stepped in and by means erf 

 a duty on the imported fruit jiave the home growers eneoura^ement and 

 assistanee* and at ouee put heart into our hewtieulturists s*> suexvssfully 

 that in a Nig Ira |«un British Columbia had so far advanced as to 

 prxHluee freiit mueh better than shat fnuu foreign en*un tries* and was able 

 not ©nly to sup|*ly much erf its own home demand but also to export into 

 ihe uei^htanriu^ provinces erf tho l\\n:;r.ion those j;rt>a5 wheat ^rv>win^ 

 districts where frexit is not cultivator conrs** the American growers 

 highly approved tht* erfd system of an open market. They publicly 

 praised it ami on^ratulated the Br : shers v\n their liberal methods, but 

 iu their homes they laughed at the folly of a country encouraging 

 foreigners and neglecting its own inte*rests* 



An an indicatiem erf the growth of the fruit industry iu British 

 Columbia I may mention that in 19tM some 1.936 tons of fruit were 

 exported, principally to the North West t erritories and Manitoba : iu 

 UMS the c\ivrt had .r.creas*\l to i.tk^ tons, and tu likM :t wvnt up to 

 over &000 urns, all sold at good remunerative prices. It is very question- 

 able whether there would have been at any rate for many vears a ijreat 

 development erf this important industry but for the encouragement $ivon 



