THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
829 
apple-growing, has been the staple industry of Abbotsford 
for half a century; but while this is the case, the type of 
orcharding which prevails is not that which can be generally 
commended. Apples of the Fameuse type grow abundant¬ 
ly and of excellent quality and handsome appearance; but 
in accordance with the law governing natural produce, 
whenever a given variety is grown in large quantity, enemies 
of that variety are likely to arise, there have arisen in 
Abbotsford serious troubles affecting apple production. 
Those who have exerted themselves to counteract these 
difficulties are succeeding, while those who are accepting 
the conditions which Providence sends are not highly 
successful. 
A very superficial examination shows that a radical 
reformation is needed in the method of handling the 
orchards. Many of the trees have grown to a state and 
condition demanding more room. In other words, orchards 
need thinning, and this demand is not peculiar to Abbots¬ 
ford, but to most of the apple-growing sections of the St. 
Lawrence Valley. We were glad to note that in the newer 
plantings the trees were being set out at more generous 
distances. The original settings were often as close as 
24 feet, which means that the trees will begin to crowd in 
less than as many years. The thinning of the trees is the 
crying need of many of the orchards in the locality at the 
present moment. 
NEW ENTERPRISE. 
I referred casually above to the introduction of new 
forms of horticultural enterprise. I was specially interested 
in the operations of the Byers Brothers, who have somewhat 
recently purchased one of the old estates, and are rapidly 
transforming it into a productive farm. These gentlemen 
are extending their apple plantings, but are at the same 
time caring for their established trees. They are branch¬ 
ing out also in the field of market gardening, which, in 
consideration of the proximity of Abbotsford to Montreal, 
and the excellent markets and reasonable transportation 
facilities, should afford a desirable opening. In the line of 
market gardening, asparagus is one of the crops which has 
already been established. These men have given a suc¬ 
cessful demonstration of the possibility of potato culture 
on the Yamaska slope, by growing something over 1,000 
bushels the present season, downing bugs and blight by the 
employment of suitable sprays. A carload of potatoes, 
which is probably the first complete carload of early 
potatoes ever produced by one grower, and shipped from 
Abbotsford, went out a short time since. Small fruits, 
strawberries and raspberries, are being planted, and these 
men expect in the near future to have a thoroughly es¬ 
tablished, well organized fruit and vegetable farm. They 
are students of theory as well as practice, and are bound 
to succeed. An example of this kind will be of large im¬ 
port to the community. 
NOTED FARMS. 
Among the places in Abbotsford which have tended to 
crystallize horticultural interest for the past quarter of a 
century or more, is Gibbland Farm. This farm is named 
in honor of a former owner and enthusiastic horticulturist, 
the late Charles Gibb. It has recently been reoccupi’ed by 
William Ciaig and family, who for five years past have 
resided in Maine in the interests of the education of the 
rising generation. Gibbland Farm is by all odds one of the 
most interesting horticulturally in the eastern townships 
section of the Province of Quebec. Charles Gibb was an 
experimenter and an ardent tree lover. He planted or¬ 
chards commercially and experimentally, and, in addition, 
gathered in a large collection of ornamental and fruit¬ 
bearing trees, for the purpose of testing their values in the 
landscape, as well as their economic use. It was the irony 
of fate which removed him from the scene of his labor at a 
time when the works of his hands were approaching the 
most interesting period of their development. 
SOUTHERN TREE TYPES. 
Among the trees on the place at the present time which 
are rare in the Province of Quebec, and probably not to be 
found outside of the better gardens in the City of Montreal 
and Mount Royal Park, are varieties of the European linden, 
the European Norway maple, many of the rarer conifers, 
as blue spruce, Douglas fir, and Japanese cypress. One 
also finds well grown specimens of Kentucky coffee tree and 
American sweet chestnut. The latter has borne nuts 
quite freely for the past five years, and it would seem that it 
was entirely worth while to attempt the cultivation of this 
tree normally native to regions considerably farther south. 
Another interesting arboreal feature is a grove of black 
walnuts (Juglans nigra) planted by Mr. Craig in 1891. At 
twenty years of age, these trees are from twenty to thirty 
feet high, and many of them have been bearing nuts for 
some years. It is to be remembered in this connection that 
Sir Henry Joly de Lotbiniere of Quebec established a grove 
of black walnuts in that northern latitude many years ago, 
which has since become quite famous. 
Orchard planting, which commenced on the Gibbland 
Farm in 1873, an d was rapidly extended during the eighties, 
until it comprised some forty acres of Fameuse and other 
hardy varieties, has lately been extended by the present 
owner, who now contemplates setting the greater portion of 
his land to varieties adapted to this region, and famous 
for their high quality and handsome appearance. 
Other planters in this vicinity are also extending their 
areas, and there seems no reason to expect that the fame of 
Abbotsford as a fruit-growing section will be dimmed in the 
future by lack of interest on the part of the incoming 
residents. What is true of this little English settlement in 
French Quebec is in large measure true of "many other 
localities in eastern United States. Leaders are needed in 
the country. Their example is more potent than reams of 
writing or years of preaching. 
ANNUAL* REPORT OF THE OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT 
STATIONS FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 1909 
This report, a volume of nearly 4 o 0 pages, has been received at 
the editorial office. Besides a comprehensive review of the work 
of the different stations in all lines of investigation, it contains 
numerous illustrations ofTexperiments, and of new buildings in 
connection with agricultural colleges and experiment stations, 
