248 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



by shipping in boxes. The apples should 

 be sent in refrigerator cars or the cars iced 

 before loading, because, although the rail- 

 roads agree to do this, and you have to pay 

 for it, sometimes the bunkers are not well 

 filled. Your apples become heated, and 

 the car which might have brought you a 

 good profit entails a heavy loss. 



The demand from Montreal and smaller 

 towns for these apples is limited. I sold 

 200 baskets, 12 to the barrel, in Montreal 

 last summer at 40 cents, netting about 30 

 cents, which paid well. The next week, 

 however, prices were down to 25 cents, 

 which did not pay. 



When Duchess trees are overloaded, as 

 they often are, it is a good plan to pick and 

 ship some of the best in baskets about the 

 first of August. Those left on the trees 

 will grow much faster and be reauy to ship 

 in two or three weeks. 



A GOOD VARIETY. 



The Alexander, I consider, one of the 

 best, if not the best money maker we have 

 in Quebec. If I was setting out an orchard 

 I would set a good proportion of Alexan- 

 ders. Ontario apple growers and proba- 

 bly some of the Quebec growers may dis- 

 pute me a little, but the Ontario men must 

 under^iand that the Quebec Alexander is 

 altogether a better apple in many ways than 

 its Ontario brother, especially in its carry- 

 ing qualities. It is also more even in size 

 and of better color. 



The Alexander tree is perfectly hardy, a 

 good bearer, and the fruit is 75 per 



cent, to 90 per cent. No. i. It is never 

 affected by scab, and very little by worms. 

 When picked in time and picked properly 

 these apples always land in the Old Coun- 

 try in good condition. They brought the 

 highest price of any apples sold in the Old 

 Country last fall. One carload of 40- 

 pound boxes, four to the barrel, brought 

 $1.25 net, f. o. b. Montreal. Another car- 

 load, in barrels, made a net of $3.85. All 

 the Alexanders shipped in proper time 

 brought paying prices, even in last year's 

 poor market. 



I would strongly advise shipping all Alex- 

 anders in boxes. It is almost impossible, 

 on account of their large size, to pack them 

 in barrels, ship them any distance, and pre- 

 vent them from becoming slack. Pack 

 them in layers in boxes and tighten with a 

 little excelsior. I would recommend Glas- 

 gow as the best market, although they also 

 do well in Winnipeg and the west when 

 landed in good condition. 



One of the best points of this apple is the 

 large proportion of No. i apples. A farmer 

 in Hemmingford last fall sold his Alexan- 

 ders for 90 cents a barrel on the trees. 

 From eight young trees he had 30 barrels 

 of No. I, two barrels of No. 2, and only one 

 barrel of culls. A neighbor of his had 46 

 barrels of No. i and three barrels of No. 2. 

 I never heard of this being equalled in any 

 season by any other variety of apples. 

 These apples should always be shipped in 

 cold storage and in refrigerator cars. 

 (Continued on page 277 ) 



It is my opinion that if cooperative as- 

 sociations will keep their grades up to the 

 standard, buyers will soon hunt for their 

 brands. Buyers are anxious to obtain good 

 brands and will naturally go to the houses 

 that have the best name for good packing 

 and high-class goods. The box is certainly 

 the fruit package of the future. — (H. W. 

 Dawson, commission merchant. Toronto. 



" There is considerable difference of 

 opinion with reference to the robin in the 

 Eastern States," said Wx. A. N. Brown, of 

 Delaware, to a Horticulturist representative. 

 " An anti-rObin bill was defeated in New 

 Jersey by the women and children of the 

 state, who secured large numbers of signa- 

 tures to petitions against the bill. I expect, 

 however, to see it pass yet." 



