June  19,  1S02. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
537 
ance  with  the  well-understood  successful  principles  of  fruit 
culture,  profiting  by  the  lessons  gained  by  experienee  and 
avoiding  the  mistakes  which  are  generally  made  by  beginners. 
Although  the  area  under  Prunes  is  quite  extensive,  the  orchards 
are  quite  young,  and  since  a  ready  sale  has  been  found  for  the 
green  fruit,  none  has,  so  far,  been  cured.  The  production  of 
Wheat  in  a  country  where  the  area  of  cultivated  land  is  com¬ 
paratively  limited,  and  where  it  can  be  put  to  much  more  pro¬ 
fitable  use,  is,  as  a  matter  of  course,  not  prosecuted  to  anj' 
great  extent ;  still,  large  quantities  are  produced  in  what  is  known 
as  the  Upper  Country  or  Dry  Belt,  and  a  considerable  quantity 
of  the  flour  used  in  the  province  is  manufactured  from  Wheat 
grown  in  the  Okanagan  country.  Irrigation  is  practised  in  the 
Upper  Country,  and  available  water  is  fairly  abundant  for  the 
purpose  except  in  certain  localities;  in  the  other  portions  of 
the  Province  irrigation  is  not  necessary,  the  rainfall  being  suffi¬ 
cient.  It  is  needless  to  say  that,  under  the  conditions  named. 
and  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that  intending  orchardists 
should  bear  this  in  mind,  and  before,  planting  out  an  orchard  they 
should  ascertain  from  the  Department  of  Agriculture  what  par¬ 
ticular  kinds  of  fruit  suit  the  locality  in  which  they  propose  to 
establish  themselves.  All  the  best  known  and  favourite  EnglLsh 
and  American  varieties  of  Apples,  and  some  of  the  hardy  Rus.sian 
varieties,  do  well  in  one  section  or  another  of  the  Provinee ;  and 
this  is  true  of  the  other  fruits,  and  it  is  only  by  experience  tliat 
the  knowledge  has  been  attained  as  to  the  best  varieties  for  the 
different  parts.  Peaches,  Apricots,  Nectarines,  Grapes,  and  such 
fruits,  although  succeeding  well  where  their  cultivation  has  been 
attempted,  have  not  so  far  been  produced  in  quantities  suflicient 
for  commercial  purposes.  Agricultural  labourers,  Whites, 
Indians,  Chinese,  and  Japanese  are  to  be  had  at  rates  ranging 
from  2  dol  per  day,  and  even  higher  for  the  best  skilled  labour, 
to  1  dol  and  board  for  the  lowest. 
The  foregoing  facts  are  extracted  from  the  descriptive 
Vicinity  of  Victoria,  Vancouver  Island,  Olympian  Range  in  distance. 
'all  the  other  grains,  roots,  and  vegetables  ordinarily  grown  in  | 
these  latitudes  attain  the  greatest  perfection,  and  the  production 
is  in  many  cases  above  the  average. 
Such  fruits  as  Apples,  Pears,  Plums,  Prunes,  and  Cherries 
are  all  grown  in  abundance,  but  still  not  in  sufficient  quantities 
as  yet  to  supply  the  demands  of  the  markets  which  particularly  | 
belong  to  the  Province,  viz.,  Manitoba,  the  North-West  Terri- 
tories,  and  the  northern  mines.  The  young  orchards  which  arc 
coming  into  bearing,  however,  will  in  a  few  years  considerably 
.alter  the  complexion  of  affairs  as  regards  production ;  never¬ 
theless,  as  the  demand  is  steadily  increasing  in  the  markets  j 
named,  and  as  the  markets  of  China  and  Japan  are  opened  up 
for  such  products,  there  need  be  no  fear  of  over-production,  and 
so  long  as  the  fruit  is  of  good  quality  and  it  is  packed  as  it  should 
he  for  the  market,  so  long  will  the  production  of  fruits  be  a  profit¬ 
able  industry  in  the  jirovince. 
Owing  to  the  topography  and  climatic  conditions  of  a  country 
like  British  Columbia,  it  is* but  reasonable  to  expect  that  all  the 
varieties  of  fruit  named  do  not  succeed  equally  well  in  every  part. 
pamphlet  entitled  “  British  Columbia  and  its  Agricultural 
Capabilities,”  issued  by  the  Department  of  Agriculture  of  that 
great  Province  in  the  Dominion  of  Canada.  Our  illustrations 
of  Victoria,  the  capital,  which  is  situated  at  the  .southern 
extremity  of  Vancouver  Island,  and  dominates  the  Juan  de  Fuca 
Strait  and  Puget’s  Sound,  and  of  an  Apple  orchard  at  Cold¬ 
stream,  B.C.,  are  from  the  .same  source.  The  spirit  of 
Imperialism  finds  a  generating  centre  in  tlie  heart  and  mind 
even  of  an  horticultural  editor,  and  while  the  sample  of  a 
Columbian  Apple  orchard  (p.  539)  is  peculiarly  appropriate  after 
the  prolonged  discussion  in  our  coluiuns  on  the  question  of 
the  home  supply  of  fruit,  the  other  (p.  537)  is  no  less  opportune 
at  the  moment  when  the  eyes  of  Great  Britain  are  scanning 
with  a  quickened  interest  the  English  colonies  of  fruitful  pro¬ 
mise  in  all  regions  over  the  seas.  There  are  still  many  of 
England’s  sons  and  daughters  desirous  and  ready  to  venture 
to  new  homes  abroad,  and  to  the  agricultural  and  horticul¬ 
tural  communities  especially  our  notes  on  the  colony  of  British 
Columbia  may  prove  of  service  and  accelerate  action. 
