OPEN LETTERS. 



notice, is opportunely eiupliasiued in the 

 letter by your \eneral)le anil revereil father, 

 Mr. C- "E. Woolverton, which appeared in the 

 last issue of your Journal. I refer to the 

 desirability (especially in all sections new to 

 fruit culture) of planting seeds of the hardiest 

 and best varieties of fruits, in the hope of 

 producing something desirable from the stand- 

 point of quality or of adaptability, to the 

 climate and soil of the particular locality in 

 which they are grown. Thus, for Manitoba, 

 where fruits are so diflScult to procure and 

 produce, this kind of culture is a work that 

 should engage the close and earnest attention 

 of the pioneer fruit growers of the country. 

 Seeds of the hardiest apples and crabs and 

 small fruits should be sown profusely, their 

 resultant product examined and the best 

 selected therefrom. When we consider the 

 large number of valuable varieties which have 

 come to us and to fruit growers in all lands, 

 by chance, we are impressed with the neces- 

 sity of giving nature every possible oppor 

 tunity of improving herself. 



John Ckaig, 



HorticiitlHfist. 



How to Export Apples to Aus- 

 tralia. 



Sir, — Yours of 30th of October came to 

 hand last month, but as my son advised you, I 

 was just leaving for the north and could not 

 then reply. He sent you a statement of a 

 small lot of apples sent to Winter and a refer- 

 ence to a second lot. The first transaction 

 was profitable, the second a loss. A third 

 arrived on the 5th of January. It will be 

 financially worse than the second. What 

 made the difference? The first lot were well 

 picked, packed, handled here according to 

 the suggestions in mj' report of last year. 

 The others violated these conditious. To get 

 a profit out of this market the following con- 

 ditions must be met : 



(1) The fruit must be carefully picked. 



(2) Carefully selected as to kinds and sizes. 

 It cost too much to send defective fruit here 

 and an Act may be in efJect next year that 

 reqviires all codlin moth aft'ectod fruit to be 

 destroyed. Medium sixed apples are worth 

 two shillings per bushel case more than large 

 ones. 



(3) Carefully packed according to diiections 

 previously sent. 



(4) Carefully shipped. 



It is as important that the railway ship- 

 ment should be as sharply looked after as the 

 steamship carriage. If they arrive in Van- 

 couver in a poor condition stop them there, 

 it ia useless to send them on. Hence it would 

 be well to have the cases looked at there. 

 Generally the outside will indicate the con- 

 dition of the contents. They should be ship- 

 ped in sufficient quantity to take up a cold 

 storage chamber and cool air at 40 to 50 

 degrees pumped in. The Frisno steamers 

 carry fruit on deck but the Vancouver steam- 



eis will not do this. Hence the necessity for 

 the cool storage. 



(5) They should be properly handled here. 

 Let me illustrate what I mean No. 1 lot of 

 apples came to Mr. Winter, who sold your 

 shipment last year. He had his fruit on the 

 market twenty-four hours after the arrival of 

 the ship. The second lot came to a res))ect- 

 able commission fruit dealer who handled them 

 in the ordinary way and as a consequence they 

 were not on the market until seventy-two 

 hours after arrival. Every hour is essential in 

 this climate, and a delay of twentj'-four hours 

 makes a great difference In the appearance of 

 the fruit. 



(6) Shipments should be confined to fruit to 

 land heie early in November and December. 

 Later than this the chances of a good market 

 are very poor. Colonial fruit comes in and 

 prices are low. 



(7) Notice should be given of intention to 

 ship, say in July or August in order to stop 

 California fruit being sent here. Otherwise 

 the market will be overstocked and prices be 

 unprofitable. 



(8) 'J'oo many must not rush into the trade 

 nor too much fruit be sent. High prices are 

 required to meet the cost, and more than a 

 couple of thousand cases at once would ruin 

 the market. Even that number would have 

 to be put into cool storage and handled judi- 

 ciousl}'. 



What is to be aimed at is to get two or 

 three shipments of fruit landed here in good 

 condition and marketed profitably. The Aus- 

 tralian buyers would then go Into the Cana- 

 dian market from' different cities here and the 

 trade would take care of itself. 



J. Sharke. 



Sidney, N. S. W., Jan. 7(h, 1S'J7. 



Gooseberry Cuttings. 



Sir, — Will you please allow me to give the 

 Horticulturist my exjierience. I have read 

 the dispute in the Horticulturist, also in 

 Green's Fruit (Jrower. Even nursery-men 

 say gooseberries cannot be propagated from 

 cuttings. Many years ago I trin.med Hough- 

 ton gooseberry bushes, not because the bushes 

 wanted trimming, but I wanted to enlarge 

 my gooseberry garden. I put the spade in 

 the ground, then drew out the spade and put 

 in tlifi slip. 1 put in I might say a hundred, 

 aiul they all grew. Some of them were long. 

 I doubled them, put the double in the ground, 

 top and but end out, both ends grew. 1 

 tried the same thing with Downing, but not 

 a bit woulil grow. Now this land is not 

 moist land, but dry gravel. I have not tried 

 other gooseberries,.! have very few of them. 



Is the Grimes' Golden apple and the New- 

 town I'ii)pin apple the self same apple? 



Georol Marshall, 



Stiiiintj, On 



[No, they are eutirely distinct.]— Kd. 



