'pfe (anadian tjorticolrorist 



AUGUST, 1904 



Volume XXVII 



Number 8 



THE WESTERN FRUIT MARKET 



PROF. J. B. REYNOLDS, ONT. AGRI. COLLEGE, GUELPH. 



IT is highly desirable to establish a mar- 

 ket for southern Ontario fruit in the 

 north artd west. From North Bay north- 

 ward and westward, through the newly- 

 opened and opening districts of northern 

 Ontario, through Manitoba, and on to the 

 western territories, is a great expanse of 

 country that is being rapidly settled, that in 

 a few years will be populated by millions 

 where now are thousands, and that in all 

 probability will never produce in sufficient 

 quantities the standard fruits of southern 

 Ontario. There the market is, and, so far 

 as it is supplied at present, it is principally 

 supplied by western fruit from British Co- 

 lumbia, Oregon and Washington Territory. 

 To the opening of that market for On- 

 tario fruit there are two main obstacles ; the 

 character of our fruit, and transportation. 

 The summer fruits produced on the west- 

 ern coast differ materially in their shipping 

 qualities from the fruits of Ontario. The 

 extreme dryness of the summer climate on 

 the Pacific coast produces fruit much less 

 juicy than are the fruits of Ontario. Then, 

 western fruits can always be picked in dry 

 \\"eather and packed and shipped dry. On- 

 tario fruits, on the contrary, being on ac- 

 count of the great humidity of our climate 

 more juicy internally and more liable to be 

 moist externally, are much more subject to 

 injury in shipment and to various diseases. 

 This is, of course, more especially true of 



the earlier and softer fruits. The writer 

 saw a carload of California fruit unloaded 

 and sold at Ottawa on July 6. There were 

 peaches, plums, cherries and tomatoes. The 

 fruit had come by freight in an Armour re- 

 frigerator car, and from the time o'f pick- 

 ing to that of unloading ii days had 

 elapsed. All the fruit that could be seen, 

 and presumably the whole carload, was per- 

 fect in condition, without bruise or decay of 

 any kind being visible. 



This highly gratifying result is due in 

 large part to the dryness of the fruit exter- 

 nally and internally. But intelligent and 

 skilful picking and packing had done their 

 share. It was evident that the fruit had 

 been picked at exactly the right stage of 

 ripeness, for upon arrival it was neither 

 green nor soft nor over ripe ; each box of 

 fruit was of uniform ripeness, and therefore 

 must have been selected ; all the fruit was 

 carefully packed in the famous California 

 box packages, and the peaches were indi- 

 vidually wrapped in paper. 



The experience of California fruit grow- 

 ers and shippers has demonstrated the 

 necessity for all this care in selecting and 

 packing such fruits. With our juicier 

 fruits we can reasonably do no less if we 

 are to capture our share of the northwest 

 market. 



As to transportation ; express rates, while 

 not prohibitive, are exorbitantly high and 



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