I =50 



THE CANADIAN H in U" I' I. T U R I 8T 



June, 1912 



The Standardizing of Apple Barrels 



At th<! recent Dominion Fruit Conference 

 in Ottawa a prolonged discussion was he^d 

 over a proposal to adopt a standard ajjple 

 barrel. The discussion resulted in a resolu- 

 tion being passed urging the government 

 to provide two standards for apple barrels, 

 one the 96-<juart barrel, commonly used in 

 Nova Scotia, and the other the 112-quart 

 barrel, commonly used in Ontario. The 

 Department of Agriculture was requested 

 to provide for the enforcement of the use 

 by all growers of one or the other of these 

 standards, and that the manufacturers 

 should be made responsible for their size. 



Talking privately with the delegates 

 after the discussioUj there seemed to be a 

 general opinion that ultimately only one 

 standard will be recognized and that it will 

 be the larger barrel as used in Ontario. 

 While the Nova Scotia delegates fought 

 hard for the smaller barrel, it was said 

 that a number of them personally were 

 favorable to the larger barrel, but that 

 they had been instructed by their associa- 

 tion to work for the smaller barrel. Many 

 of the larger growers of Nova Scotia are 

 said to favor the large barrel, and to hold 

 the view that within a few years the major- 

 ity of growers will do the same. 



THE DISCTT88ION. 



The discussion was opened by Mr. E. A. 

 Dewar, of Charlottetown, P.E.I. : "In 

 Prince Edward Island," said Mr Dewar, 

 "we get our stock from New Brunswick or 

 Nova Scotia. We ship to Great Britain, 

 where our barrels compete with the Ontario 

 and United States barrels, which are larger. 

 This makes it harder for us to introduce 

 our barrels. It costs no more to head or 



to ship the larger barrel, and time is saved 

 in packing them. The British buyers pay 

 more for the larger barrel, as many of them 

 resell from it by weight. The flat hooped 

 barrel looks and sells better than the round 

 hooped barrel, although the latter has 

 strength in its favor. Nova Scotia stock, I 

 find, is not properly matured, and shrinks 

 considerably. The Ontario barrels are 



better dried, and stand shipping better 

 than the Nova Scotia barrel." 



Dairy Commi.=sioner J. A. Ruddick read 

 the specifications for the legal barrel, which 

 stated that it must not contain less than 96 

 quarts. 



Captain C. 0. Allen, Kentville, N. S. : 

 "Our Nova Scotia barrel complies with all 

 the legal requirements. We are now ac- 

 customed to it, and do not want to be forced 

 to change it. While there is no extra 

 charge for shipping the largo barrel at pre- 

 sent, it is not likely that this condition will 

 continue, as the steamship companies are 

 not going to continue long to carry twenty 

 pounds a barrel free. Had we used the 

 larger barrel last year we would have 

 shipped 66,000 less barrels than we did. 

 Were we to change to the large barrel the 

 steamship companies would soon notice the 

 change and alter their charges accordingly. 

 I admit, however, that the Ontario and 

 Quebec barrels are going forward at a lower 

 rate proportionately than ours. The ap- 

 pearance of the barrels has I'ttle effect on 

 the sale of the apples, as aft<>r the apples 

 reach the Old Country the barrels are 

 opened and the apples are resold in small 

 quantities by weight and not in bulk." 



P. W. Hodgetts, Toronto: "Ontario 



fruit growers do not want to change the 

 barrel they are using, as we believe that 

 we are getting the best of the deal. The 

 British buyers pay us well for the extra 

 weight we give them, and we have a consid- 

 erable saving in shipping charges." 



Capt. Allen : "Wo are testing the Ontario 

 barrels on a comprehensive scale, and aV-e 

 open to conviction in regard to its merits, 

 but for the present would like to see this 

 matter left in abeyance '' 



Prof. W. S. Blair, Macdonald College, 

 Quebec : "It is most important that we 

 should have a recognized .standard through 

 all of Canada, as the different sizes now 

 used result in injustice in some cases." 



R. J. Graham, Belleville, Ontario: 

 "There is a considerable difference in the 

 size of Nova Scotia barrels. The stares 

 vary in length. The onus for the size of 

 the barrel .should be placed on the cooper- 

 age firms. If Nova Scotia and Ontario are 

 to continue to iwe diflferent sized barrels 

 I am satisfied, but the barrels u.sed in each 

 province should be uniform in size. Quite 

 a lot of the Nova Scotia barrels are smaller 

 than the legar size. A few people in On- 

 tario are still u.sing the stingy barrel, but 

 ninety-five per cent, are using the large 

 size. In Nova Scotia the great majority 

 use the stingy size." 



Capt. Allen : "This stingy sized barrel 

 has appeared during only the last two years. 

 In Ontario the barrels are u.sed for flour 

 and apples, and in Nova Scotia they are 

 used for potatoes and apples. It would be 

 a great hardship if we had to use the large 

 barrel for potatoes." 



R. J. Messenger, Bridgetown : "We 

 should be striving for a national .standard 

 for Canada. The Nova Scotja barrel is 



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