2l8 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



September, 191 2 



The Canadian Horticulturist 



PublUhad hr The Horticultural 

 PublUhini Companr, Uiiitad 



PKTKRBORO, OI^T^mO 



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EDITORIAL 



The Only Horticultural Meisrazine 



in the Dominion 



OmoiAL Ohoan of thk Ontario, Quibkc, New 



BiinNSWiCK AND Pbincb Edward l8i:AifD 



Fruit Growers' Associations 



, BHOiraON Cowan, Manacing Director 



1. The Oanadion Hortlcnlttirlst la pnbllnhed on 

 the 2Sth day of the month preceding date of 

 iBsne. 



2. Subscription price In Oanada and Great 

 Britain, 60 cents a year; two years,' $1.00. For 

 United Statea and local subscriptions in Peter- 

 bore (not called for at the Poet Office), 25 cents 

 extra, a year, including postage. 



3. Remittances shonid be made by Post Oflioe 

 or Express Money Order, or Registered Letter. 

 Postage Stamps accepted for amounts less than 

 $1.00. 



4. The Law is that subscribers to newspapers 

 are held responsible until all arrearages are 

 oaid and their paper ordered to be discontinued. 



5. Change of Address— When a change of ad- 

 dress is ordered, both the old and the new ad- 

 dresses must be giren. 



6. Adyertising rates One Dollar an Inch. 

 Copy received up to the 18th Address all ad- 

 yertising correspondence and copy to our Ad- 

 yertising Manager, Peterboro, Ont. 



7. Articles and Illustrations for Dublication 

 will be thankfully received by the Editor. 



CIRCULATION STATEMENT 

 The following is a sworn statement of the net 

 paid circulation of The Canadian Horticulturist 

 Jor the year ending with December, 1911. The 

 figures given are exclusive of samples and spoiled 

 copies. Most months, including the sample cop- 

 ies, from 11.000 to 12.000 copies of The Canadian 

 HortlcnlturiBt are mailed to people known to 

 be interested in the growing of fruits, flowers 

 or vegetables. 



January. 1911 8,082 



February, 1911 6,260 



March. 1911 8,523 



April. 1911 9,469 



May, 1911 9.783 



June, 1911 10,178 



July. 1911 10.062 



August, 1911 10,043 



September. 1911 9,973 



October, 1911 9.991 



November. 1911 9.988 



December. 1911 10,137 



Total 1M.499 



Average each iiaue In 1M7, 6,(27 



" " " 1908, 8,«95 



" " " 1909, 8,970 



'• " " " 1910, 9,067 



" " " " 1911, 9,541 



August, 1912 Il,403 



flwom detailed statements will be mailed 

 upon application. 



OUR PROTECTIVE POLICY 



We want the readers of The Canadian Horti- 

 culturist to feel that they oan deal with our 

 advertiserB with our assurance of the advertis- 

 ers' reliability. We try to a/dmit to our columns 

 only the most reliable advertisers. Should any 

 subscriber, therefore, have good cause to be 

 dissatisfied with the treatment he receives from 

 any of our advertisers, we will look into the 

 matter and investigate the circumstances fully. 

 Should we find reason, even in the slightest 

 degree, we will discontinue Immediately the pub- 

 lication of their advertisements in The Horti- 

 culturiflt. Shonid the olrcumstances warrant 

 we will expose them through the columns of 

 the paper. Thus we will not only protect our 

 readers, but our reputable advertisers as well. 

 All that is necessary to entitle you to the bene- 

 fit of this Protective Policy Is that you include 

 in all your letters to aidvertisers the words, 

 "I saw your ad. in The Canadian Horticulturist." 

 Complaints shonid be made to as as soon as 

 possible after reason for dissatisfaction has 

 been found. 



Oommtinicatlons should be addressed 



THE OANADIAN HOETIOTTLTUItlST, 



PiTEBBOBO, oirr. 



A MARKET TRANSFORMATION 



Slowly at first but of late yeans more 

 rapidly the control of the fruit markets of 

 the world has been passing from the hands 

 of the dealers into those of the growers. Ten 

 years ago the grower was at the mercy of 

 the buyer when the time came for him 

 to market his crop. He had little or no 

 authentic information concerning crop con- 

 ditions throughout his own province, not to 

 mention those of the world. Therefore he 

 was compelled, unwillinglj', to accept the 

 statements of the buyers, who naturally al- 

 ways knew of large crops in some portion 

 of the world that were certain to ensure 

 low prices prevailing during the season to 

 follow. In consequence, growers were 

 forced year by year to accept unduly low 

 prices for their products, and the fruit in- 

 dustry in general suffered therefrom. For 

 the most part orchards wore sold tree run, 

 and little or no encouragement was given 

 growers to produce a superior quality of 

 fruit. 



The transformation that has taken place 

 in these conditions during the past ten 

 years has been marvellous. The first sign 

 of the change that was coming developed 

 when the first cooperative apple growers' 

 association was formed. One by one these 

 came into existence in different parts of 

 the country. Some lived for only a season 

 or so, but for the most part they succeeded. 

 Confidence in them increased as the years 

 passed by and the benefits that accom- 

 panied their operations became evident. 



Some six years ago in Ontario a provin- 

 cial association was formed composed of re- 

 presentatives of the various local associa- 

 tions. This association r>-athered authen- 

 tic information in regard to crop condi- 

 tions and prices and posted its members 

 accordingly. Thus they were no longer de- 

 pendent upon the buyers, hut instead were 

 enabled largelv to set their own prices. 



Gradually the reports issued privately 

 among the local associations by the provin- 

 cial association were supplemented by re- 

 ports issued by the various provincial de- 

 partments of agriculture. These reports, 

 nublished broadcast through the press, 

 helped to keep growers posted in regard to 

 crop conditions. Coincident with the pvib- 

 lication of these reports, the Dominion 

 Fruit Division commenced the publication 

 of a national crop report, including a sum- 

 mary of crop conditions in othfer countries, 

 that has helped materially to strengthen the 

 hands of the growers. Acr<«s the border 

 the Grot) Reporter, issued bv the l.'nit'd 

 States Department of Agriculture, has 

 served tx) reveal fruit conditions and pro- 

 spects in that countrv. Still more re- 

 cently the International Institute of Asri- 

 oulture, representing all the leading notions 

 of the world, has commenced the publica- 

 tion of regular international reports deal- 

 ing with world-wide conditions. In conse- 

 quence of these developments there is no 

 reason to-dav for any wide-awake fruit 

 grower who desires to be informed in regard 

 to crop conditions lacking information. In- 

 .stead. it is a simple matter for him to be 

 oomoaratively as well informed in regard to 

 fruit conditions as any buyer. 



Another and almost equally important 

 development is now being effected. For a 

 while after -the opening of the great west- 



ern fruit market local associations were 

 largely dependent for their information 

 concerning it upon reports furnished by 

 such representatives as they might send to 

 the consuming centres of the west. Three 

 years ago the British Cf)lumbia Provincial 

 Government appointed a market commis- 

 sioner to visit these markets and report 

 weekly the conditions there existing for the 

 benefit of the growers of that province. 

 This year the Ontario Government has fol- 

 lowed the example thus set. in tnis way 

 the position of the growers is being still 

 further strengthened. 



As a result of all these changes the prices 

 obtained by fruit growers for their crops 

 have been steadily advancing, especially in 

 the case of those growers who are members 

 of cooperative associations. To-day the old 

 system under which the buyers dealt with 

 the individual growers has almost complete- 

 ly disappeartxl in many portions of Ontario, 

 Nova Scotia and British Columbia. In- 

 stead the buyers deal direct with the asso- 

 ciations, sometimes purchasing from twenty 

 to forty thousand barrels of graded fruit 

 from an individual as.sociation. 



All that has thus been accomplished is but 

 preliminary to further changes still to come. 

 The better returns they are receiving for 

 their fruit are encouraging the growers to 

 produce fruit of a higher quality and to 

 adopt more modern styles of packages. Box 

 packing is becoming more and more general. 

 The pre-cooling of fruit, with all it will 

 mean, is now within sight. A new spirit of 

 optimism and confidence is evident among 

 the growers in all the fruit districts of the 

 Dominion. This new spirit is the most en- 

 couraging augury we have of the further 

 improvements and successes the future holds 

 in store for us. 



A POWER IN PUBLICITY 



Few horticultural societies realize what 

 assistance they might gain for the work 

 they are doing were they to make greater 

 use of the reading columns of their local 

 papers. The two most successful horticul- 

 tural societies in Ontario are those located 

 in St. Catherines and Ottawa. The presi- 

 dent of the former is the editor of one of 

 the local papers. Through his efforts such 

 publicity has been given to the work of the 

 society the whole city has been interested in 

 its accomplishments. In Ottawa all the 

 city papers have, time and again, liberally 

 assisted the local society. In some in- 

 stances full page descriptions of the work 

 it was doing have been published. Thus 

 thousands of people have been interested in 

 the society, who otherwise might never have 

 heard of it. 



The average editor is a busy man. Many 

 are net directly interested in horticulture. 

 Therefore they do not appreciate its im- 

 portance or give to it the attention that 

 they otherwise would. This has led many 

 societies to conclude that their local papers 

 are not interested in this work, and that 

 they will not give the publicity that they 

 should to horticultural affairs. Some so- 

 cieties claim to have sent their local papers 

 reports which have been suppressed or so 

 emasculated as to be of little value. 



In nine cases out of ten the first con- 

 clusion is not well founded, and an explana- 

 tion may be found for the abbreviated re- 

 ports. The officers of societies often do not 

 know how to write their reports in an in- 

 teresting manner. Their reports, therefore, 

 do not appeal to the editor nor to the pub- 

 lic. When, however, a society discovers 

 how to describe its doings in an interesting 

 manner it will be found almost invariably 



