Charles Gibb

Charles Gibb

Charles Gibb, horticulturist (b at Montréal 29 July 1845; d at Cairo, Egypt 8 Mar 1890). Poor health led Gibb to seek an outdoor occupation and in 1872 he established extensive orchards at Abbotsford, Qué, to study fruit culture and arboriculture, and to test plant material from abroad. He was a leading figure in the Montreal Horticultural Society and Fruit Growers' Association, besides being a patron of the Art Association of Montreal and a benefactor of McGill University.

In 1882 he travelled through northern Europe and Russia collecting seeds and plants on his first foreign exploration in search of fruit varieties which could be used in improving Canadian strains. The Russian apple seeds he collected were given to the Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa, and became the foundation of its apple-breeding program. These strains were of great importance in apple-hybridizing programs in Manitoba and Saskatchewan after World War I. In addition to his practical work, Gibb published a number of articles on fruit growing, the introduction of Russian apple strains into our fledgling breeding programs, and the results of his own Abbotsford trials of exotic ornamentals and fruits. He was well-known among North American and European pomologists.