THE WINNIPEG FRUIT MARKET 



During the recent shipping season a number 

 «)f leading Ontario fruit growers were at a loss 

 to know whether or not to ship fruit to Winni- 

 jjeg. Commission firms, which have been es- 

 tablished in Winnipeg for many years, would 

 write, discouraging shipments, while in the 

 ■same mail letters would be received from other 

 firms asking for consignments. 



The disturbing factor on the market ap- 

 peared to be the branch of the Ottawa Fruit & 

 Produce Exchange, recently established in Win- 

 nipeg. This concern was apparently fighting 

 for the field against the old firms. 



Desiring to locate the trouble, if possible. 

 The Horticulturist wrote to a number of lead- 

 ing Winnipeg commission dealers for informa- 

 tion concerning that market. The following re- 

 ply has been received from one of the best 

 known firms in that city with a request that 

 the name of the firm should not be published. 



SELLS FRUIT BY AUCTION. 



The Ottawa Fruit & Produce Exchange is a 

 competitor of ours only in a different way. The 

 Exchange puts the goods up by auction and 

 sells them, regardless of cost and value, to the 

 higfiest bidder. They have men throughout the 

 country soliciting orders and no doubt get a 

 ^ood many fresh shippers, but it is very doubt 

 ful if any of the shippers will be satisfied, or, if 

 they are satisfied, they are easy to please. 



The Exchange is run under the direction of 

 ■G. W. Hunt, of Ottawa. I will give you a few 

 of the prices that it realized here for fruit. 

 When we were paying shippers $1.75 for Duch- 

 -ess apples in Ontario (the freight all rail is 

 practically $1 per barrel) Mr. Hunt sold his XX 

 for $1.55 to $1.75 per barrel and XXX for $2.25 

 to $2.65. Tomatoes in baskets were sold for 

 30c to 50c per basket and pears for 40c to 75c. 

 They came by express. We were not handling 

 any of those goods, but we understood from the 

 representative of Griffith & Woolverton, of 

 Grimsby, that they were paying in the east 40 

 to 60 cents for tomatoes and the same for pears. 

 Mr. Hunt last spring handled a few cars of 

 ■oranges from California for which the growers 

 ■did not realize more than 30 to 50 cents a box. 



I point out a few of these things just to 

 demonstrate that this city is not ready for auc- 

 tion fruit. If it is ready, we are prepared to 

 go out and solicit fruit, sell it by auction and do 

 the same kind of business as the Ottawa Fruit 

 & Produce Exchange does, if the growers want 

 it in that way, but we think they will soon be- 

 come tired of it because fruit has a cost, and it 

 must cost the growers something. Peaches 

 •and plums from Ontario will not carry here; 

 apples, grapes, tomatoes and basket pears find 

 ti ready market for a limited amount. 



THE OTTAWA FRUIT AND PRODUCE 

 EXCHANGE. 



The following statement was received from 

 IVIr. Wm. Borthwick, manager at Winnipeg for 

 The Ottawa Fruit & Produce Exchange : 



We opened business in Winnipeg, March 1 

 last, with the object of doing a strictly commis- 

 sion business. On account of the large num- 



ber of orders we have had from dealers in other 

 towns outside of Winnipeg, we have been 

 obliged, in order to fill some of these orders, to 

 buy small lots of goods. At least 90 per cent, 

 of the goods we have handled have been on a 

 strictly commission basis. 



Our goods are all sold by auction as soon as, 

 or as quickly as possible after they arrive. Our 

 sales have been well patronized, from the time 

 we commenced business, by the best dealers of 

 this city and the surrounding country, and the 

 attendance has steadily increased until the 

 premises, which seemed large when we first 

 began, are entirely too small. 



Our terms to those who buy our goods are 

 strictly cash, and for those who consign goods 

 to be sold we charge 10 per cent, commission 

 and pay every Monday for goods sold the pre- 

 vious week up to Saturday night. The best 

 evidence I can give that we are getting the best 

 price going for the goods is the fact that nearly 

 every person who has come up here lately with 

 fruit to sell has handed their goods over to tis 

 to dispose of. 



With regard to Ontario fruit I have been sur- 

 prised to find that there has been such a preju- 

 dice worked up against it, but I have no doubt 

 that, with better transportation facilities and a 

 little care on the part of the grower, Ontario 

 will soon control the fruit supply of this mar- 

 ket. There is great need for improvement in 

 the matter of transportation, especially with 

 the express company, for the facilities furnished 

 by them and the manner in which goods are 

 handled here would not be tolerated in the east 

 for one day. 



Packing^ Apples in Boxes. 



J. B. THOMAS, LONDON, ENG. 



There has been a good deal said about pack- 

 ing in boxes, but I cannot advise the use of this 

 style of package, although in seasons of scarcity 

 it might be adopted with some chance of suc- 

 cess. When, some years ago, I suggested the 

 advantage of packing in boxos I had in m'nd 

 the manner and style of packing adopted in the 

 case of Californian Newtons. T have since ob- 

 served the Canadian attempis at packing in 

 boxes and, with very few exceptions, I may say 

 that the less we see of such boxes and such 

 packing the better for those interested in ship- 

 ping apples from Canada. At present I inust 

 urge packing in barrels only, as this style of 

 package is best known here and best understood 

 in Canada. 



Has Been Disappointing. — Taking everything 

 into consideration the quality of the Canadian 

 fruit this year has been very secondary. This 

 has occasioned much disappointment to im- 

 porters, who from early reports expected to see 

 a crop of fine fruit. — (Clark & Sinclair. Dun- 

 dee, Scotland. 



Success to your excellent Horticulturist.- 

 S. Hood, Gait, Ont. 



-(R. 



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