September  li,  1902.  JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
243 
there  are  many  others  of  more  or  less  account.  Considering 
the  area,  however,  and  the  attention  paid  to  other  fruits, 
Pears,  particularly  the  high  class  varieties,  do  not  figure  so 
conspicuously  in  the  country  as  one  would  naturally  expect, 
though  in  some  parts  their  value  is  appreciated. 
But  I  am  afraid  my  impressions  have  occupied  too  much 
space  already,  so  they  shall  be  closed  here.  In  their  make-up 
they  are  both  retrospective  and  prospective,  and  on  the 
completion  of  the  fruit  harvest  let  us  hope  that  the  successes 
will  outweigh  the  failures  and  show  a  substantial  balance 
on  the  profit  side  of  market  growers’  ledgers. — G.  H.  H. 
A  Nurseryman’s  Visit  to  Canada. 
Mr.  Joseph  Cheal,  of  Crawley,  has  had  a  trip  to  the  United 
States  of  America  and  Canada.  Of  his  visit,  a  report  appears  in 
the  “Sussex  and  Surrey  Courier,”  from  which  we  learn  that  he 
saw  some  of  the  larger  American  parks  in  New  York  City  and 
Brooklyn;  he  also  visited  Philadelphia.  At  Madison,  New 
Jersey,  he  found  one  of  his  late  pupils  in  command  of  an  exten¬ 
sive  private  garden  there,  and  other  English  gardeners  super¬ 
intend  numerous  gardens  throughout  the  States.  “From 
Madison,”  he  says,  “  I  then  went  on  by  boat  up  the  Hudson 
River  as  far  as  Albany,  a  most  lovelyn  sail  over  picturesque  and 
historical  country.  Passing  on  by  rail  from  there  to  the  Falls,  the 
journey  was  continued  by  steamer  across  Lake  Ontario  to 
Toronto.  Here  I  stayed  for  a  week,  and  after  this  several  days 
were  spent  in  going  up  toi  the  backwoods  to  see  a  young  man 
who  went  out  to  settle  there  about  two  years  since.  This  was 
nearly  300  miles  north  of  Toronto;  part  of  the  distance  was 
covered  by  rail  to  Huntsville,  then  a  series  of  lakes  had  to  be 
traversed  by  small  boats,  with  necks  of  land  between,  and  the 
first  night  had  to  be  spent  at  a  little  wooden  hotel  at  the  head 
of  the  Lake  of  Bays,  a  picturesque  lake  about  twenty  miles  long, 
a  perfect  network  of  promontories,  bays,  and  islands,  every  piece 
of  land,  and  even  rocks,  being  covered  with  Pines  and  trees. 
The  journey  was  pursued  in  the  morning  for  several  miles  by 
lumber  waggon  through  a  forest  which  had  recently  been  swept 
by  fire,  the  dead  and  decaying  trees  presenting  a  most  weird 
appearance,  the  last  four  miles  being  accomplished  on  foot,  fol¬ 
lowing  a  track  through  the  primaeval  forest  until  a  log  hut  was 
reached  at  one  end  of  Oxtongue  Lake.  The  settler  was  at  home 
and  kindly  rowed  me  in  his  little  boat  to  the  other  end  of  the 
lake  to  the  hut  and  clearing  of  my  friend.  Here  I  had  a  little 
experience  of  real  backwoods  life,  and  a  rough  and  lonely  life  it 
must  be.  This  is  a  most  lovely  spot,  but  I  formed  a  very  poor 
opinion  of  the  land  for  cultivation.  There  are  millions  of  acres 
of  rich  prairie  land  yet  unappropriated,  but  I  should  look  upon 
this  district  as  only  a  sporting  country.  Deer  of  different  kinds 
abound  in  the  forest,  as  also  wolves  and  bears,  and  the  lakes  are 
full  of  fish.  I  succeeded  in  taking  some  interesting  photos  of  the 
district. 
“Afterwards  I  returned  to  Toronto,  and  several  days  were  spent 
in  visiting  the  principal  fruit  districts  of  Ontario.  This  is  a  strip  of 
land  about  a  mile  wide  and  extending  for  over  twenty  miles 
round  the  shores  of  the  lake,  backed  up  and  sheltered  by  a  high 
cliff  behind.  I  was  surprised  to'  see  the  thousands  of  acres  of 
flourishing  orchards  and  vineyards  of  this  district,  Peaches  grow¬ 
ing  in  the  same  way  as  our  Apple  orchards,  and  Grapes  trained 
on  wires,  and  these  orchards  are  most  carefully  cultivated  and 
kept  remarkably  clear  from  weeds  and  blights.  A  Government 
inspector  of  fruit  accompanied  me  through  these  farms,  and  from 
him  I  gained  much  information.  I  then  passed  on  to  Ottawa,  a 
beautiful  and  flourishing  city.  An  introduction  to  Professor 
Robertson,  the  Commissioner  for  Agriculture,  led  to  an  interest¬ 
ing  conversation  about  their  experimental  work,  and  I  spent  a 
most  profitable  day  with  Dr.  Saunders,  the  able  director  of  the 
experimental  farms  and  gardens  of  the  Dominion.  I  was  much 
interested  in  their  different  systems  of  packing,  storing  and 
freightage  of  fruit,  and  an  introduction  to  one  of  the  directors 
of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  Sir  Sanford  Flemming,  led  to 
an  interesting  conversation  with  him  in  travelling  together  from 
Ottawa  to  Montreal.  I  gained  from  him  much  information  as  to 
the  progress  and  prospects  of  the  Dominion.  He  said  that 
immigration  has  been  larger  this  season  than  any  year  pre¬ 
viously,  and  that  from  the  States  they  had  had  an  influx  of 
24,000,  and  that  their  company  had  sold  one  million  acres  of 
land  this  year,  and  on  asking  him  how  much  they  had  left,  he 
said  another  twenty-seven  million  acres.  And  now  as  they  push  ‘ 
their  branch  lines  right  and  left  of  the  trunk,  purchasers  are 
found  for  the  land  adjoining.  On  all  hands  there  are  evidences 
of  prosperity  and  progress.  I  had  thought  the  long,  cold  winters 
almost  an  insuperable  barrier,  but  the  Canadians  assure  me  it  is 
not  so  bad  as  we  imagine,  and  that  the  snow  on  land  and  ice  on 
the  lakes  and  rivers  open  up  roads  for  hauling  which  are  im¬ 
passable  in  summer,  and  though  the  frosts  are,  very  severe,  the 
wood  of  the  fruit  trees  is  so  well  ripened  that  it  escapes  un¬ 
injured;  and  the  air  is  so  dry  that  it  is  not  unpleasant  to  human 
beings.  The  return  journey  was  made  from  Montreal  by  the 
Allan  line,  and  the  steam  down  the  St.  Lawrence  past  Quebec  is 
a  very  pleasant  one,  and  a  bit  exciting  in  shooting  the  Lachene 
rapids  above  Montreal.  We  could  not  take  the  northern  route, 
as  the  straits  were  blocked  with  icebergs,  and  in  passing  out  to 
the  south  of  Newfoundland  we  saw  floe  ice  breaking  up  on  the 
rocky  coast.” 
• - »  —  «  »■  « - 
Rambles  in  Switzerland. 
(Concluded  from  par/e  216. 
One  of  the  peculiarities  of  alpine  districts  is  the  inability 
of  the  human  eye  to  appreciate  the  vastness  of  the  eleva¬ 
tions.  I  was  at  the  foot  of  the  Jungfrau,  which  rises  to  the 
height  of  12,852ft,  yet  it  certainly  did  not  seem  to  me  so  much 
higher  than  Snowdon,  which  is  only  3,567ft.  One  of  the 
most  striking  evidences  of  great  elevation  is  noted  by  Mr. 
Macmillan,  who  observes  that  on  Mont  St.  Bernard,  at  an 
elevation  of  8,000ft,  “  water  boils  at  about  187deg  Fahr.,  or 
25deg  sooner  than  the  normal  point  ;  and  in  consequence  of 
this  it  takes  five  hours  to  cook  a  piece  of  meat  which  would 
have  taken  only  three  hours  to  get  ready  down  in  the  valleys.” 
Though  the  total  of  the  elevation  is  so  difficult  to  appreciate, 
the  steepness  of  their  sides  is  not  at  all  doubtful,  especially 
to  pedestrians.  Yet  on  these  slopes,  which  no  Englishman 
could  mow,  hay  is  made  ;  but  as  no  vehicle  could  rest  upon 
them,  the  hay  is  carried  home  in  bundles,  enclosed  in  nets 
on  the  backs  of  men  and  women.  It  is  stored  under  cover, 
for,  in  this  land  of  universal  pasturage,  such  winter  fodder 
is  more  valuable  than  the  scanty  grain  crop.  Pursuing  any, 
occupation  under  difficulties,  invariably  leads  to  assistant 
inventions  which  would  never  be  suggested  were  the  occupa¬ 
tion  untrammelled  by  obstacles.  One  instance  I  observed 
where  watering  was  needed  on  a  hill  slope,  and  the  crops 
were  in  drills.  A  narrow  four-wheeled  dray  had  to  be  em¬ 
ployed  for  conveying  the  water.  One  large  vessel  for  hold¬ 
ing  the  water  ■would  have  been  unmanageable,  so  there  were 
in  the  waggon  three  casks  connected  by  leather  pipes,  and 
the  water  was  delivered  to  the  crop  through  a  tap  and  hose 
attached  to  the  end  head  of  the  last  cask. 
Wood  is  the  universal  fuel,  and  it  is  chiefly  of  the  Beech’, 
which  usually  clothes  the  base  of  each  mountain,  as  the  Abies 
excelsa,  or  Norway  Spruce  Fir,  exclusively  occupies  its 
higher  portions. 
The  cottage  gardens  are  small,  but  well  stocked  -with  the 
vegetables  most  common  in  England.  The  only  crop  un¬ 
usual  -with  us,  but  almost  universal  in  the  Swiss  gardens, 
is  the  White  Beet.  It  also  is  peculiar  to  see  large  patches 
of  Dandelion  cultivated  in  corners  of  fields.  It  is  used  for 
salading. 
Honey  is  a  perennial  occupant  of  the  breakfast  table,  and 
is  of  excellent  quality'  and  flavour.  The  bee  hives,  all  on 
the  old  pit-and-brimstone  system,  are  ranged  on  a  shelf 
against  the  side  of  the  house,  about  6ft  from  the  ground.  I 
saw  none  otherwise  placed. 
The  employment  of  the  dwarf  Palms  as  room  plants  has 
often  been  recommended  in  your  pages.  In  Switzerland 
and  other  parts  of  continental  Europe  no  such  recommenda¬ 
tion  is  needed,  for  they  are  so  employed  very  generally. 
Even  on  the  table  d'hote  of  every  respectable  hotel  they 
are  common.  The  Corypha  australis  is  the  species  usually 
employed. 
I  have  now  turned  over  the  last  page  of  my  note-book, 
and  its  first  line  is  inscribed  “Lausanne  —  Vevay.”  In¬ 
different  though  they  are,  yet  here  are  produced  some  of  the 
best  of  the  bad  Swiss  wines.  Yevay  is  the  vineyard  district 
of  the  cantons.  Here  is  “  L’Abbaye  de  Yignerons,”  or  Guild 
of  Vine-cultivators  ;  and  its  motto,  “  Pray  and  Labour,”  is 
an  admonition  applicable  to  all  the  affairs  of  life.  This  guild 
bestows  medals  and  other  marks  of  honour  upon  the  most 
skilful  Vine-cultivators.  At  intervals  of  about  fifteen  years, 
also,  a  public  festival  is  held,  in  which  the  most  successful 
of  the  vineyard  keepers  is  crowned,  and  borne  in  a  proces¬ 
sion,  accompanied  by  various  characters  associated  with  the 
history  of  the  Vine — such  as  Bacchus,  Noah,  Silenus, 
Pomona,  the  spies  who  returned  from  Canaan  bearing 
Grapes,  and  many  others.  On  this  occasion,  too,  the 
prettiest  and  most  worthy  maiden  of  the  district  is  dowered 
and  married  to  her  accepted  lover. — W.  J. 
