iThe Canadian Horticulturi^ 



Vol. XXXIII 



NOVEMBER, 1910 



No. 



II 



California versus Ontario Fruit in Montreal 



T. G. Bunting, Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa 



I 



IN the September issue of The Cana- 

 dian Horticulturist the following 

 lines appeared in a brief article entit- 

 led, "Peaches for England": "Our cus- 

 tomers in Great Britain who ordered 

 peaches from us last year were delighted 

 with the fruit we sent and with its con- 

 dition on arrival." Recently a brief press 

 notice appeared in an Ottawa paper with 

 the heading, "5,000 Baskets Canadian 

 Peaches for England." 



It seems that the Ontario fruit grower 

 is becoming ambitious to extend his mar- 

 ket for fruit abroad, while the California 

 grower is quietly yet surely extending his 

 markets in Canadian cities. In proof of 

 this statement, let me give the prices re- 

 ceived and quantities of both California 

 and Ontario deciduous fruits sold in 

 Montreal on September 19th, igio, 

 which were furnished to me by one of 

 Montreal's leading wholesale dealers: 

 Californian prices — Peaches, $1.00 to 

 1.25 per 19 lb. box; grapes, $2.00 to 



$2.25 per 25 lb. box ; plums, 90c to $1.00 

 per 20 lb. box; pears, $4.50 per 50 lb. 

 Ontario prices — Peaches, fancy, 40c to 

 60c per n qt. basket; medium, 30c to 

 40c; grapes, 22j^c to 25c per 6 qt. bas- 

 ket; reds, 30c to 40c; plums, fancy, 50c 

 to 60C ; medium, 40c to 50c per 11 qt. 

 basket ; pears, Bartlett, 60c to 75c for 

 fancy, and 40c to 6oc for mediums. Oth- 

 er pears, 30c to 50c per 1 1 qt. basket. 



i These prices were remarkable in them- 

 selves, but when we look into the quanti- 

 ties sold, it is ev..n more remarkable, for 

 on that day there were five carloads of de- 

 ciduous fruits and only three carloads of 

 Ontario fruits sold, plus smaller quanti- 

 ties that had come in locally, ->r apples 

 that had come Tn by boat. Further, the 

 price received for an average carload of 

 mixed Canadian fruits would not any 

 more than pay the freight and duty on a 

 carload of California fruit. A reliable es- 

 timate of the amount of deciduous fruits 

 coming from California is 200 carloads 

 for the season, extending from June to 

 October, and being at its height in Aug- 

 ust and Scptemljer. This is exclusive of 

 all citrus fruits and bananas, which are 

 sold in large quantities. 



FANCY PRICES EXPLAINED 



The fancy retail fruit stores in Montre- 

 al handle the bulk of the California 

 ruits. It is here that the fancy prices are 

 ealized, the fruit being sold by the doz- 

 n, pound or box. The fruit is all of the 



highest grade, »'. e., No. i, or fancy. No 

 No. 2 fruit is found. Small quantities of 

 Ontario fruits find their way to these 

 stores, but it is usually No. i apples or a 

 few grapes. 



These stores have the California fruits 

 displayed in a very attractive manner. 

 The boxes, and it all comes in boxes, have 

 the tops removed. Consequently, a large 

 surface of high grade, properly packed 

 and attractive fruit is d'splayed in the 

 window. This fruit not only attracts the 



preserving or table use. This fruit is oc- 

 casionally packed, generally "put," in the 

 six quart or eleven quart basket, and has 

 the ordinary flat cover fastened on. The 

 baskets are generally piled ten or twelve 

 in a pile and very little attempt is made 

 to display it in an attractive manner for 

 the principal reason that it is not as at- 

 tractive or in as attractive a package as 

 the California fruit. 



The chief disadvantage of the basket 

 is that it does not allow of the fruit 



The'Packing Home of the Lawrencetowo, Nora Scotia, Cooperative Fruit Growtrt' Aiinciation 



Cooperation is spreading among the fruit growers of Nova Scotia. The structure here shown 

 is a frobl-proof frame building upon a spacious brick collar. It has a capacity of 10,000 barrels. 

 The t^rop this year in Nova Scotia has been lightest in many years. 



eye of the consuming public, but appeals 

 to its purse, hence the big consumption 

 of it. It all has a fine appearance, and 

 long keeping quality, but does not com- 

 pare with the Ontario fruit in its eating 

 quality, except in the case of grapes, 

 which are very different from our own. 



THE ONTARIO FRUIT 



The Canadian fruit, and by this I mean 

 the Ontario fruit, finds its way into the 

 grocery stores and .second rate fruit 

 stores. The display is hardly ever invit- 

 ing or attractive. It seldom brings fancy 

 or even good prices, as the Ontario grow- 

 er too well knows, but it fills a demand 

 for a moderate or low priced fruit for 



251 



being displayed to as good advantage as 

 I he fruit put in the box package, even 'f 

 the cover is taken off, which is too seldom 

 the case. The cover of the basket ob- 

 it is only a partially closed package this 

 structs the view of the contents, and as 

 cover is left on whereas in the case of the 

 box, which is an entirely closed package, 

 it is absolutely necessary to remove the 

 top or cover in order to display the fruit. 

 The basket, also, is too often found bad- 

 ly damaged, broken or dirty, and the 

 fruit likewise in a damaged condition on 

 account of careless handling. A good 

 price could not be expected for the fruit 

 in many of these packages. 



