The Rural Voice, 2002-10, Page 29Two more, the Leicester, and Oxford
are now considered as vulnerable.
From the long list of poultry
classes listed in 1962, I quickly
matched Brown Leghorns, Barred
Plymouth Rocks, Rhode Island Reds,
Rouen ducks, and bronze turkeys to
today's endangered list. Similarly,
Berkshire hogs and shorthorn cattle
have gone from the area townships.
Even the familiar Guernsey is now
on the Rare Breeds Canada watch
list as it too is quickly declining in
numbers. Any of these breeds have
or could become as unfamiliar to
most of us as, say, the Poland China
hog has, a breed class listed in the
Raleigh Exhibits of the 1870s. The
Poland China has reached a critical
point with less than 100 breeding,
females surviving.
But a similar history lesson is also
found in the gardens and fruit cellars.
While 1 can still taste my mother's
wonderful quince jelly, I also find
myself today explaining to some
people just what a quince looks like.
Similarly, I've described my
Grandma's pickling pear tree and its
small fruit that were packed into her
one -gallon canning jars which lined
her cellar. In fact, along with quinces
and pears you could find more
varieties of apples at our fall fair than
you can in most any grocery store
today. Heck, an old catalogue and
price list of fruit and berry stock that
my grandpare•As would have used to
plan their orchard lists no less than
MERLIN F.\IR PRIZE LIST _7
Sheep
.Ind C' — I8.1.
CLASS 11 — LEICESTER
CLASS 12 — OXFORD
CLASS 13 — SOUTHDOWNS
CLASS 14 — CHEVIOT
CLASS IS — SHROPSHIRE
CLASS 16 — COTSWOLD
CLASS 17 — SUFFOLK
CLASS 18 — DORSET
AVS IIFH4.It BREED
I)
A prize list from the 1962 Merlin
Fall Fair shows six sheep breeds
now termed endangered.
39 plum varieties alone — many of
which are now heirloom varieties
listed by Seeds of Diversity Canada,
an organization working to keep alive
and growing our precious heritage
fruits. vegetables, grains and flowers
before this diversity is lost.
For sure, there's a lot of heritage
to be found at fall fairs. Today. 1
have a new appreciation for the
widest possible variety of classes that
can be showcased at these events. In
addition, I hope we can continue to
preserve the appreciation and
excitement that the fall fair season
brings to our families.0
Making contact:
The Ontario Association of Agricultural Societies website provides dates.
location and general information on agricultural fairs and exhibits run by over
230 Agricultural Societies in Ontario. Visit www.ontariofairs.
Rare Breeds Canada
C/O Trent University
1600 West Bank Drive
Peterborough, ON, K9J 7B8
RBC is dedicated to the preservation and promotion of livestock and poultry
breeds. You can also find breed information and link to the various breed
associations at their website: www.trentu.ca/rarebreedscanada
Seeds of Diversity Canada
P.O. Box 36, Station Q
Toronto, ON, M4T 2L7
1-905-623-0353
Their website has information on heritage varieties, seed exchanges, and
related publications and links.
www.seeds.ca.
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OCTOBER 2002 25