NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



The Citizen (Ottawa) quotes Mr. 

 Robertson as saying : — I was able to ar- 

 range for the sale in Great Britain for 

 the trial shipments of peaches, pears and 

 grapes, which are to be sent from the 

 Niagara district. For the first year these 

 trial shipments will be sent only, or 

 mainly, to Covent Gardens, in London, 

 and to the fruit bazaar, in Glasgow. 



I saw pears from California arrive in a 

 very good condition at Covent Garden. 

 They were sold at excellent prices, and 

 I am sure that the Canadian pears, of 

 higher flavor and rather finer quality, 

 can be delivered in equally good condi- 

 tion. 



Since I returned I visited Grimsby, 

 Ont., inspected the cold storage ware- 

 house, and had a conference with the 

 fruit growers who have agreed to fur- 

 nish fruit for these trial shipments. 

 There is an excellent crop of Crawford 

 peaches on the trees, a fine and un- 

 usually heavy crop of Bartlett pears, 

 and the promise of a very good crop of 

 grapes. The fruit growers at Grimsby 

 have procured a quantity of suitable 

 packages, and a first trial shipment will 

 be sent from there next week. Each 

 fruit will be wrapped in tissue paper. 

 They will be packed in comparatively 

 small trays, holding from three to five 

 pounds each, and these will be put in 

 crates holding about twelve trays each. 



The outside cases or crates, are con- 

 structed to permit of thorough ventila- 

 tion. The fruit will be cooled in the 

 cold storage building before it is put in 

 the refrigerator cars ; a special chamber 

 will be provided on the steamships, and 

 eve.'y reasonable precaution will be taken 

 to see that the fruit is landed in good 

 condition in London and Glasgow. Full 

 information of the prices obtained, etc., 

 will be published for the benefit of the 

 fruit growers in Canada, and I am con- 

 fident that a large and profitable trade 

 can be developed in the shipment of 

 these fruits to Great Britian. 



The U. S. apple exporters say that, 

 from the reports so far received, the 

 crop in New England is below an aver- 

 age, especially winter fruit ; that in New 

 York there is less than an average crop 

 along the lakes and a fair crop in the 

 Hudson River Valley. In Virginia a fair 

 crop, but very light in the Ohio River 

 Valley. Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas 

 and Iowa promise an average crop. 

 Michigan and Nova Scotia are below 

 the average. Baldwins are reported 

 light in all sections of the United States, 

 and the larger part of the crop consists 

 of russets and green varieties. This is 

 bad for the exporter, for the red varities 

 take best in Great Britain. 



PROPER HANDLING OF GRAPES. 



Grapes, like other fruits, need to be 

 carefully handled to bring the best prices. 

 The vines need to be gone over fre- 

 quently during the ripening season, 

 gathering only those with full color, be- 

 cause grapes do not, like other fruits, 

 co'or after being gathered. The bunches 

 should be cut off with a pair of scissors, 

 and so handled as not to disturb the 

 bloom. Ordinary varieties may be at 



once packed from the vines into the 

 basket that is intended for sale. Choice 

 varieties should be gathered into shallow 

 trays or baskets, in which they should 

 stand a day or two on shelves in the 

 fruit house, and then repacked By this 

 treatment the stems will wilt, and the 

 bunches will then keep without molding 

 and pack more closely than when green. 



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