466 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
EDITORIAL WANDERINGS 
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Vancouver Island and its English Capital. 
These lines are written as the train sweeps around the 
undulating shore line of Shushwap Lake near Sicamous 
Junction where the traveler for the Okanagon region of 
British Columbia transfers to a branch line. The last letter 
of this series was written in the early days of August as the 
writer was heading westward through the scene of late min¬ 
ing excitement in Northwestern Ontario. The intervening 
period has carried him across the great plains between 
Winnipeg and the Rocky Mountains, through the interest¬ 
ing Crows nest pass, the lowest in the Rockies, among the 
fruit growers of the Kootenay, the Thompson and the 
Fraser River regions, in addition to a flying trip through 
the Puyallup and 
Hood River Valleys 
of Oregon and the 
Island of Vancouver, 
on the western bound¬ 
ary of British Colum¬ 
bia. 
VICTORIA AXD SUR¬ 
ROUNDINGS 
The traveller from 
the East reaches Vic¬ 
toria by taking steam¬ 
er at the C. P. Railway 
terminus at Vancouv¬ 
er. An att r a c t i v e 
cruise of five hours 
through the Archi¬ 
pelago, past many 
beautiful islands all 
clothed with the characteristic woods of the Pacific coast 
brings him to Victoria, the capital of the Province. In 
the early days Victoria and New Westminster were the 
important towns of the north coast but they have both 
been obliged to acknowledge the oommercial supremacy of 
Vancouver which, backed by the powerful Canadian 
Pacific and Hudson Bay Company interests, has grown 
with great rapidity in recent years. In fact, the growth of 
Vancouver, now a city approaching the 100,000 mark, 
founded in 1886, is one of the most striking examples 
of phenomenal development on the whole Pacific Coast 
region. 
But it is of Victoria and vicinity that we would speak at 
present. It is essentially an English city having at the* 
present time a population of about 40,000. The two strik¬ 
ing features which attract the eye of the incoming traveler 
are the magnificent pile, including government and parlia¬ 
ment buildings and the handsome Empress Hotel owned 
and operated by the C. P. R. The Parliament buildings, 
architecturally, are among the finest legislative structures 
in America and are a great credit to the Province. The 
Hotel is also an example of a luxurious and well managed 
hostelry. 
Victoria is an English City. Its people are largely 
English or Canadian, and much of the business is conducted 
after English methods. Its clubs are English in manage¬ 
ment and membership. The union club is one of the most 
noted institutions of its .kind in the West. 
THE ENVIRONS 
There are few cities on the continent that can show such 
a pleasant and easy 
gradation from city to 
country. Many of the 
city people own at¬ 
tractive farms or sum¬ 
mer homes in the sub¬ 
urbs. There is no 
sudden transition 
from city to country 
conditions. 
In the immediate 
vicinity are hand¬ 
some country houses 
and well kept farms 
and fr.uit lands. No¬ 
where have we admir¬ 
ed the architecture of 
country homes more 
than in the suburbs of 
this western city. 
Fruit growing is an important branch. The city and 
local markets, on account of the large tourist travel are ex¬ 
cellent for early fruits and summer vegetables. The rain¬ 
fall is comparatively heavy for the twelve months but rather 
light during summer, so that intensive tillage must be prac¬ 
ticed. We saw productive Olivet and May Duke cherry 
orchards and fine strawberry fields, the latter frequently 
used as secondary crops in the apple orchard. This country 
is happy in the fact that it has thus far been able to keep out 
codling moth . One or two small infestations have occurred 
but the drastic measures adopted by the Department of 
Agriculture have been thoroughly successful in controlling 
it. 
While the annual rainfall in the vicinity of Victoria 
amounts to forty or more inches, the precipitation is often 
very light during the summer, months so that thorough, clean 
cultivation is not only desirable but absolutely essential to 
success. 
-•! 
A British Columbia Orchard in the non-irrigated Section. 
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