THE FRUIT CROP IN GREAT BRITAIN. 



ten years ago, and the berries are the 

 product of the same bushes. Experi- 

 ence is gained when growing one variety 

 twenty or twenty-five years, as I have 



done in this case. I now send you an- 

 other dozen. Finished marketing this 

 variety yesterday, August 3rd ; the last 

 lot being about four bushels. 



THE FRUIT CROP IN GREAT BRITAIN. 



The time has come in the history of fruit 

 grovping in Canada, that we must open up an 

 export trade in our fruit products, or declare 

 the present no longer profitable, except in a 

 very few lines. Raspberries have been so 

 very cheap this year that many growers have 

 allowed the fruit to waste on the bushes rather 

 than spend money on pickers and crates. 

 Currants liave been very cheap and small. 

 Gooseberries almost unsalable. These two 

 fruits were hitherto exported to the United 

 •States, but now the taritf lias been made 

 almost prohibitive ; we must look elsewhere 

 for a market, and, perhaps they can be ex- 

 ported to Great Britain in cold storage. 



We are glad to note the excellent opening 

 in Europe this season for our fruit. Apples 

 are a great failure, and will be high-priced. 

 Messrs. M. Isaacs & Sons, of London, h,ngland, 

 write : — 



We take the opportunity of giving you some 

 particulars as regards prospects of shipments 

 from your side to our market this season. 

 There is no doubt that the crops on this side 

 will be exceedingly light ; this refers not 

 only to England, but also to the Continental 

 countries whence we are in the habit of getting 

 supplies of this fruit. Apart from this, crops 

 of fruit generally are exceedingly light both 

 here and on the Continent, and this should 

 give far better results for shipments of Ameri- 

 can, Canadian and Nova Scotian apples than 

 last year. 



Of course, it is unnecessary to point out 

 that it is no use shipping very common soft 

 apples to our market, as they will not bear 

 transport, and the expenses of handling and 

 freight are quite as high on this common fruit 

 as on the better class. As regards this, we 

 think the disastrous results obtained for some 

 of the softer kind of apples last year, should 

 be a lesson, although a very expensive lesson 

 to some shippers. 



On the other hand we note the view of the 

 National Shippers' Association, which met at 

 IJufl'alo on the (!th of August. Regarding the 

 apple crop, the following is reported : — 



The most important subject discufsed was 

 the crop report. Delegates from the different 

 States submitted estimates of this year's sup- 

 ply. It was stated that the yield in the West 



would be about 75 per cent, of the average ! 

 in this State 50 per cent. ; and about the 

 same percentage in New England. 



Until the present time the Eastern Section 

 of the United States has grown the greater 

 part of the crop and governed the market. 

 Indications now are that the largest and best 

 crops will be raised in Illinois, Iowa, Mis- 

 souri, Kansas and Arkansas. It seems to be 

 the general impression of the men in attend- 

 ance at the convention that the prices will 

 not he higher this year than last. 



We also (|U0te the following paragraph from 

 the " Fruit Grower of London headed "Scar- 

 city of Fruit." 



Were it not for our foreign supplies we 

 should Iiave one of the shortest ciops of fruit 

 generally that has been known for years ; thus 

 the Jubilee year now turns out to have been 

 a complete failure as far as English fruit is 

 concerned. In the fruit shops there is hardly 

 anything but foreign fruits to be seen, and 

 with the exception of tomatoes and grapes, 

 we have the worst show known in the history 

 of the trade. To make matters worse even, 

 the supplies of really good tomatoes have been 

 exceedingly sliort, and the consumers are to 

 be congratulated upon the fact that even 

 though there is a scarcity of English fruit, 

 fair supplies are available fr< m foreign 

 sources. But even with these supplies the 

 majority of the fruit shops have a half-stocked 

 look about tliem, and as far as (|uality goes, 

 including the foreign supplies, we are really 

 worse off than we have been during the past 

 20 years. Undoibtedly bad seasons have had 

 much to do with tliis state of things. What 

 with frosts at home, and the frosts and storms 

 abroad, the fruit producers have had a bad 

 time all round, but the foreign grower has the 

 best of it at present. In conjunction with 

 this shortage prices in some instances have 

 been up to a phenomenal degree. When we 

 have bushels of cherries, English, making 

 from Kis. to 20s. w'e know there is something 

 specially wrong about the production of a fruit 

 that pays growers well when sold at 8s. and 

 10s. for the same measure. Looking ahead, 

 what prices may be expected to rule for choice 

 Eiigiish apples ? Well, it is possible that 

 fabulous prices will be readily realizeil, and 

 if they go up to 12s., 1.5s., and 20s., a bushel 

 we shall not be surprised in the least. Inde- 

 pendent of the citrous fruits, the world's 

 fruit output will be poor, and possibly we are 

 going to iiave one of the worst all-round fruit 

 season known to the oldest distributors in the 

 trade. 



354 



