JOURNAL 
OF THE 
Royal Horticultural Society. 
Vol. XXIII. 1899. 
Part I. 
A YEAK AMONG THE ORCHARDS OF NOVA SCOTIA. 
By Mr. Cecil H. Hooper, M.R.A.C, F.S.I. 
[Read January 31, 1899.] 
The peninsula of Nova Scotia is situated on the eastern side of the 
Dominion of Canada and south of the entrance of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. 
The climate is very pleasant, in spite of a long and rather severe winter ; 
the frost is of great advantage in pulverising the soil. The country is 
remarkably well supplied with water by its countless little springs and 
its numerous lakes, as well as by the heavy falls of snow in winter 
and frequent and heavy showers during the summer months, the 
latter generally falling at night, leaving the days bright, warm, and 
cloudless. The growth of vegetation is very rapid after the snow has 
disappeared. The scenery is beautiful, the abundance of native trees 
rendering it particularly attractive. The most common of these are 
spruce, fir, pine, larch, birch, maple, ash, alder, and oak. The acacia 
tree is often seen, and also in some parts the French willow and 
English elm have been introduced and thrive well. Nova Scotia is said 
to have the largest variety of flowers, mosses, and ferns of any country. 
^Yild eatable berries are also very plentiful ; they include strawberries, 
raspberries, blueberries, huckleberries, blackberries, and cranberries. 
The Cornwallis and Annapolis Valley. 
The Cornwallis and Annapolis Valley is the principal fruit-growing 
district of Nova Scotia. It is one continuous valley of about 100 miles 
in length, and varying in width from six to eleven miles, situated between 
two nearly parallel ranges of hills of about 600 feet in height. The 
North Mountain shelters the valley on the north-west, and from the 
B 
