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THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



SHIPPING APPLES TO ENGLAND. 



REPLY TO MRS. GWYN. 

 To THE Editor Canadian HORTicuLTfRisT. 



Dear Sir, — The enquiry of Mrs. 

 H. C. Gwyn of Dundas, on page 222, 

 October number, requires more than 

 an ordinary reply, as it touches upon 

 a subject of much importance to On- 

 tario apple growers. After an ex- 

 perience of several years in dealing with 

 the markets of the chief cities of 

 Britain, I advise growers to sell as 

 best they can to purchasers at home 

 who are exporting, or dispose of the 

 crop in the nearest market for home 

 consumption. Tf, however, a grower 

 has, say a thousand or more barrels of 

 very choice, it will pay any year to 

 ship to Liverpool and accompany the 

 cargo, disposing of them in that city in 

 bulk or shipping to London or Glas- 

 gow. In this case it is necessary to 

 place them in a storehouse and open 

 the top of a number of barrels of each 

 kind for inspection. 



To ship to a commission firm just 

 means this : That, upon arrival in 

 Livei-pool or Glasgow, the fruit is 

 transferred to a large storeroom, opened 

 and examined, an auctioneer is called 

 in who sells them by the hundred or 

 more barrels to the highest bidder who 

 happens to be quick enough to get in a 

 bid, for these auctioneers do not dwell 

 a moment to get a higher purcha.ser, 

 and hence the result may be either loss 

 or gain to the shipper. Or the com- 

 mission firm may dispose of them by 

 private sale, in lots, if they are not 

 pressed for storeroom for incoming car- 

 goes, in which case the results are 

 likely to average bettei\ It is better, 

 therefore, for the grower to take the 

 best obtainable price at home unless he 

 can go with the cargo. Those who 

 wish to test this matter should be care- 

 ful of the following yjoints : Have all 

 the apples hand-picked and laid upon 

 the ground under the trees for a week 



or ten days to sweat and toughen the 

 skin. Then sort over these, taking out 

 any spotted or wormy specimens that 

 may have escaped the eyes of the 

 pickers, and proceed to pack by placing 

 the first layer with stems down and the 

 next with blossom-end down, after 

 which they can be put in with baskets,^ 

 shaking the barrel after (^very two 

 baskets until it is fdled sufficiently to 

 pack and press solid. This has to be 

 judged of according to the variety, as 

 some will press down more than others 

 in order to carry solid. In packing it 

 will pay to have apples sorted accord- 

 ing to size and color, and the barrel 

 branded accordingly. When the barrel 

 is pi'essed and closed securely turn it 

 end for end and brand it, so that when 

 opened the fruit will be seen to advan- 

 tage with stems up. And he sure and 

 have them named correctly. If you 

 have a hundred bai-rels of King of 

 Tompkins County named '^Jayuga Red 

 Streak, as I have seen often, you will 

 only get the pi'ice of the latter variety 

 or the cull price, whei-eas, if they are 

 correctly named, you get the price of 

 that variety according to your sample. 

 It will not pay to send inferior fruit in 

 quality to Britain now even although 

 hiffh colored, as Britishers are beginning 

 to know a little something about qual- 

 ity in an apple ! As a rule they prefer 

 high-colored fruit, but that, so far as it 

 is or has been a prejudice, will soon 

 give place entirely to intrinsic value in 

 quality, and hence the R. I. Greening, 

 which has been down low in that mar- 

 ket, is coming to the front. Give me 

 a cargo of choice apples, leading vai-ie- 

 ties, such as Russets, Baldwins, Spies, 

 King Tompkins County, R. I. Green- 

 ing, Ribston Pippin, Blenheim Pippin, 

 Wagner, Ontario. Mann, &c., all well 

 selected and packed, and I care not how 

 the British market may be flooded with 

 apples from other countries lean sell at a 

 paying figure, and am sui'e of a higher 



