COMMERCIAL FRUIT GROWIXG. 



85 



The day is coming when the markets will re- 

 quire that the best apples be laid down without 

 bruising, and new appliances and methods will 

 be adopted that will make it possible to do so. 



The box seems to be the best package for that 

 purpose. I am in favor of the cential packing 

 house system, which can only be secured by co- 

 operation. 



Unpleasant Truth From a Friend 



A Canadian in Paris, France, writing to the 

 Orillia Packet makes the following remarks 

 about the Canadian fruit sold in that city : 



All the hawkers' barrows lately have been 

 filled with " pommes de Canada " — Canadian 

 apples, which are loudly cried as such. In fact 

 for a day or so last week one heard " Canada " 

 on all hands. Some Canadians I know said 

 they were ashamed to have it announced such 

 horrid looking stuff came from the Dominion. 

 The apples were octagonal, not rounded. 



When will Canadian packers learn to put up 

 their stuff properly ? Where the apples touch 

 each other there is a flattened space which at 

 once starts rot. The consequence is the apples 

 have been selling at 10 and 20 cents a pound, 

 while the French hand-picked and properly 

 cared for apples fetch more than that each. If 

 oranges are wrapped in paper why can't apples 

 be ? Properly delivered here the best Canadian 

 apples would fetch six to eight cents each, 

 ju'Hging by what the local fruit realizes. 



Gardeners and Fruit Growers Unite 



The Gardeners' and Fruit Growers' Associa- 

 tion of the Hamilton district held a general 

 meeting in Hamilton January 21. This is a 

 live association, and the first gardeners' organi- 

 zation in conjunction with fruit growers in On- 

 tario. The members would like to see a ue- 

 partment in The Horticulturist on vegetable 

 growing. This organization expects to take a 

 prominent place among other conventions in the 

 near future. 



The proposal to place the Dominion Fruit 

 Division under the Dairy Division was strongly 

 opposed, and the following resolution was unani- 

 mously endorsed by the association : " Re- 

 solved, that this, the Gardeners' and Fruit 

 Growers' Association of the Hamilton District 

 disapproves of the proposed plan of the Domin- 

 ion Government to place the fruit and dairying 

 divisions under one head. We are of the opin- 

 ion that such an act would materially cripple 

 the fruit growing industry, and that the fruit 

 division is of sufficient importance to have a 

 head controlling that department ; that this in- 

 dustry is occupying such a prominent place in 

 the commercial trade of the country and should 

 not be made subordinate to any other depart- 

 ment. We strongly urge on the Hon. Sydney 

 Fisher to exercise his influence in favor of the 

 fruit growers of this country and to prevent the 

 proposed union of these two divisions." — (W. C. 

 Webster. 



English Fruit Market Depressed 



W. A. CLEMONS, OTTAWA. 

 The Extension of Markets Division, Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, Ottawa, is in receipt of a 

 letter from Geo. R. Meeker & Co., receivers of 

 Canadian and American fruits, Covent Garden, 

 London, in which the following paragraphs 

 occur : " The great thing is to get apples over 

 here packed as tightly as possible, and, above 

 all, the fruit should not be in any way damaged^ 

 by frost. Our market is in a state of collapse, 

 owing, in the main, to badness of trade, and 

 also to the fact that there are very large quan- 

 tities of apples that have been placed in cold 

 storage in Southampton. This experiment is 

 not panning out well, and the prices are so low 

 that we cannot imagine that they can be other- 

 wise than ruinous. Who is the loser in the 

 transaction we cannot say. Somebody must be 

 getting hard hit, and we believe that will be the 

 first and last attempt at cold storage in this 

 country, unless exceptional opportunities pre- 

 sent themselves in the way of short crops on 

 this side." 



The Liverpool market is also very demoral- 

 ized, our agent there telegraphing us as follows: 

 "Market very demoralized, but anticipate re- 

 vival shortly; great danger in shipping frosted 

 fruit, which prejudices trade generally." 



Edward Jacobs & Sons, fruit brokers, Ham- 

 burg, Germany, write under date of January 12: 

 " The prospects are very favorable for good 

 apples; satisfactory prices may be realized, and 

 we hope that some Canadian shippers will give 

 us a trial." 



A Valuable Publication. — The Horticultural 

 Directory for 1905, recently published by the 

 Journal of Horticulture, of London, England, is 

 full of useful and well arranged information for 

 all interested in horticuture in connection with 

 trade in Great Britain. The directory contains 

 complete lists of London seedsmen and florists, 

 as well as in all the larger cities in Great 

 Britain, lists of nurserymen, gardeners, and 

 horticultural builders, engineers, implement 

 makers, etc., making a most valuable reference 

 for horticulturists. Horticultural societies of 

 any prominence, with their officers names and 

 addresses, are given, not only for Great Britain, 

 but all over the continent, and America as well, 

 including Canada. The value of the work can 

 be somewhat guaged when it is known that the 

 directory shows an increase of upwards of 4,00a 

 new names and addresses since 1894. 



We have advertised in The Canadian Horti- 

 culturist for several years and find it a very 

 good medium for reaching fruit growers. — (The 

 W. A. Freeman Co., Hamilton, Ont. 



Allow me to congratulate you on the excel- 

 lence of the report furnished in the December 

 issue of The Horticulturist, of the annual con- 

 vention of the Ontario Fruit Growers' Associa- 

 tion. — (R. M. Palmer, Victoria, B. C. 



