u 



riage to Toronto and tranship again to the company's car at Toronto. 

 This involved handling four times instead of twice, and loading twice by 

 the company's agents. Success in shipping to the West requires as little 

 handling as possible and careful loading, hence the alternative as well as 

 the original offer, was dismissed as impracticable- 



A comparison of express rates per ordinary car, namely $2.10 a hun- 

 dred, with freight rates, 74 cents, gives the following figures, for tender 

 fruits : 



Express. Freight. 



Peaches, per box of 20 pounds 42. cents. 14.8 cents. 



Pears, per bos of 25 pounds 52.5 cents. 18.5 cents. 



Plums, per box of 25 pounds 52.5 cents. 18.5 cents. 



Grapes, per basket (6—100 pounds) 35 cents. 12.3 cents. 



An express car loaded at Grimsby could be' placed and sold at Winni- 

 peg three days after. But tender fruits well-selected, well-packed, and 

 well-loaded would be safer in a refrigerator car for six days or eight days 

 than in a hot, unventilated express car for three days. Our experimeni 

 has proved that tender fruits can be carried by freight with safety ; and 

 as to rates, the total freight charges are a little more than one-third of thi 

 exprefss rates. 



IV. OBSERVATIONS ON THE MARKET IN WINNIPEG. 



(1) The Prices Obtained, and Condition of Fruit. The follow- 

 ing tables present in concise form information respecting the grade, qual- 

 ity and condition of the fruit, and the prices obtained. The column under 

 "Net Proceeds" gives the returns to the grower after deducting charges 

 for freight, commission, and cost of package, but not for pairing and 

 wrapping. 



Peaches: The package used contains, in peaches wrapped in manila 

 paper and tightly packed, slightly more than the 11-quart basket of bare 

 peaches, about 13 quarts- Crawford peaches, XXX, realized from 85 to 

 90 cents net; Crawford XX, TO to 80; Elbertas, 62^ to 80. 



These prices compare very favorably with those obtained locally in 

 Ontario this year, and Ontario prices this year are unusually high, while 

 at Winnipe'g prices are no higher than usual. • 



The peaches sold entirely on their appearance and quality, with no 

 reputation to help them. It is very gratifying to note that the prices were 

 fully equal to those for the best California peaches on the same dates. 

 The greater size of the California fruit was quite counterbalanced by the 

 superior brightness and color of our fruit. , 



With respect to competition of Ontario peaches with the Western 

 product, it should be borne in mind that the latter suffers a serious handi- 

 cap in the matter of charges- Against a freight charge of 15 cents on a 

 box of peaches from Southern Ontario to Winnipeg, there is a freight 

 charge of 36 cents from California, and in addition a duty of 19 cents» 

 making a total of 55 cents — a handicap of 40 cents a box- In a letter 

 addressed to a Winnipeg commission firm, the writer saw quoted 50 cents 



