OF INTEREST TO FRUIT GROWERS. 



277 



E. M. Bmifh, of Winona, who purchased goods 

 to the amount of $726.95 from the Spramotor 

 Company, of London, Ont. The Spi-amotor 

 Company has informed The Horticulturist that 

 Ml'. Smith, when ordering these goods, notified 

 them that he saw their advertisement in The 

 Horticulturist. How is this for proof of the 

 value of The Horticulturist as an advertising 

 medium ? 



Even the war and other troubles of Russia 

 did not prevent Eurene Joseph Roebuck, 47 

 Pokroosky street. City of Rostaff on the Don, 

 Russia, from renewing his subscription in Janu- 

 ary to The Horticulturist. Truly the circle of 

 .influence of this magazine is a wide one. 



How to Pack Early Apples 



(Continued from page 248.) 



The St. Lawrence, last year, was particularly 

 fine in Quebec, but a great many of them were 

 handled at a loss, simply because shippers did 

 not know the best place to market them. Never 

 ship St. Lawrence to the Old Country markets, 

 as for some reason British buyers do not want 

 them and they always realize a poor price. 

 One reason for this is they are often allowed 

 to become overripe before packing and land in 

 poor condition. Another reason is that the 

 people over there seem to want an apple to 

 please the eye rather than to tickle the palate; 

 else why should they prefer the Alexander to 

 the St. Lawrence, or the Ben Davis to the Spy. 



The best and in fact the only market for the 

 St. Lawrence is Winnipeg and the west. West- 

 ern buyers will handle all we can send them. 

 One of the buyers in our district shipped a car 

 of St. Lawrence to Liverpool, at the same time 

 shipping one to Winnipeg. The stock was 

 equally good in each, and was put up by the 

 same gang of packers. While the one shipped 

 to Winnipeg realized $2.25 net, the one sent to 

 Liverpool only netted 55 cents. 



For the Winnipeg market the barrel is the 

 best package, although if the No. 1 were put 

 up in boxes the returns should justify the extra 

 trouble. Pick your St. Lawrence as soon as 

 well colored; do not allow them to become too 

 ripe ; grade them carefully, and keep out the 

 •culls. 



The best paying apple in the province of 

 Quebec is the Fameuse. Although it is not 

 really an early variety, I think you will agree 

 with me that the Fameuse is the best apple we 

 can raise in this province when properly han- 

 dled. There is no apple raised on the conti- 

 nent in which there is so much money lost 

 every year by poor handling. Being tender 

 and easily bruised it shows rough treatment 

 more than any other variety. This is another 

 apple which I contend should always be packed 

 in boxes when No. 1. You cannot pack them in 

 barrels to ship any distance and have them 

 tight when they arrive at their destination 

 without practically ruining about one-third of 

 the apples in the barrel. Few shippers would 

 recognize their apples one week after packing if 



they were to see them. No apple looks as 

 badly as a bruised barrel of Fameuse two weeks 

 after packing. 



The loss will be lessened considerably if the 

 apples are properly packed, but how many of 

 our farmers can we get to pack their Fameuse 

 and have them tight without bruising them? I 

 inspected two cars of Fameuse last fall just as 

 they were going on board the steamer for Glas- 

 gow. One car had been packed by Mr. G. D. 

 Edwards, of Covery Hill, the other by another 

 shipper near Montreal. That packed by Mr. 

 Edwards, notwithstanding the fact that they 

 had been drawn ten miles over one of the 

 roughest roads in our county, were practically 

 all tight, without being overpressed. The other 

 lot were 75 per cent slack, and 50 per cent 

 badly so. I think the party shipping this lot 

 failed to rack his barrels thoroughly. 



Glasgow is the best foreign market for our 

 Fameuse, but Winnipeg is the best market to 

 ship to. They want our Fameuse there, and 

 last year were unable to obtain all they 

 wanted. About 20 cars were shipped there 

 from Hemmingford, and the shippers 

 made money on them. They always bring 

 about one dollar a barrel more than Ontario 

 Snows and I believe that from this out dealers 

 will be able to handle all surplus stock. 



Our local markets also take quantities of Fa- 

 meuse at good prices. A great many growers 

 make the mistake of selling their Fameuse be- 

 fore November 1. Look at the result last year. 

 On November 1, Fameuse sold in Montreal for 

 $1 to $1.25— later they were worth $3 to $4. It 

 would have cost about 20 cents per barrel to 

 have put the apples in cold storage. Look at 

 the profit there would have been had this been 

 done. Only put in No. 1 stock, as wind falls 

 or scabby apples would be practically worth- 

 less at this season. 



Three or four years ago we thought we had 

 too many early apples. Our local markets 

 were glutted with them every fall, they sold 

 for ruinously low prices, and farmers became 

 discouraged. Some of them even cut down 

 their orchards. This is all changed. Since 

 our western market has become such a good 

 one for our early apples and exporters have 

 found that they can be exported with profit 

 there is no glut in our market. 



If our growers would only attend to their or- 

 chards properly, cultivating, manuring, spray- 

 ing and pruning them, the early apples I have 

 mentioned, with the addition of one or two 

 others, such as Mcintosh Red and Milwaukee, 

 would prove fully as profitable as those in On- 

 tario. With all our experimenting we have 

 failed to find a satisfactory winter apple for 

 Quebec, and until we do let us stick to our 

 early varieties. 



One of the most Important problems before 

 the average small fruit grower is that of the In- 

 troduction of the power sprayer for use either 

 In a cooperative way or by parties who are 

 prepared to undertake the work by contract. 

 The large grower can afford one for his own 

 use— (Joseph Tweedle, Fruitland, Ont. . 



