EDINBURGH BUYER WANTS UNIFORM PACKAGES 



JAMES LINDSAY & SOX, LIMITED, KDINBURfiH, SCOTLAND. 



Canadian fruit growers should use a uniform 

 barrel for the shipment of their apples, and we 

 would suggest that it should weigh 168 pounas. 

 Last season barrels of many different sizes 

 and weights were used, a considerable number 

 varying in weight from 140 to 146 pounds. This 

 is a long way below what the standard is ex- 

 pected to be, and when selling it is not easy for 

 us to detect such differences in weight. We 

 notice the barrels are light, but do not at the 

 time realize there is such a uisparity in the 

 weight, as there often is. This leads after- 

 wards to no end of trouble, as allowances have 

 to be made our customers. 



The packing has greatly improved on ac- 

 count of the interest the Dominion Government 

 has taken in regard to it, but there is still room 

 for improvenjent with many, shippers, as some~^ 

 of them do not seem to realize what is required 



of them. Last season in several instances we 

 had XX quality branded XXX, and X branded 

 XX. Such branding was carefully noted on 

 this side by the Canadian inspector when his 

 attention was drawn to it. 



Cases should also be a uniform weight and 

 should contain 50 pounds net. The govern- 

 ment should not allow any other package to be 

 made, as if they do there will be no end of 

 trouble. If attention is given to the weights 

 of packages, such as we suggest, it will cer- 

 tainly tend to stimulate trade. 



Certain varieties of pears can be disposed of 

 in our market to good account, but they require 

 careful nandling. Growers, when packing 

 them, should use more of the wood shavings to 

 soften any pressure that comes against the 

 fruit. The case should be made of wood, 

 heavy enough to protect the fruit. 



A Warning to Fruit Growers. 



A warning to fruit growers was given to The 

 Horticulturist recently by Mr. W. H. Dempsey, 

 of Trenton, in regard to the shipping of apples 

 to Great Britain before they are properly ma- 

 tured. " Last August and during the first 

 week in September," said Mr. Dempsey, " I saw 

 buyers shipping Baldwins, Greenings, Ben 

 Davis and Wagner apples. In fact, this has 

 been done for several years. Most of these 

 apples were bought in July, the buyers reserv- 

 ing the right to pick them when they wanted. 



"Early in the season, when it looked as if 

 there was going to be a glut of apples on the 

 British markets, the buyers became alarmed and 

 started to pick apples long before they were 

 properly matured, so they could place them in 

 Great Britain before the heavy rush of apples 

 began. Mcintosh Reds, one of the choicest 

 dessert apples, were even sent with the Duch- 

 ess and Astrachans. 



These apples were sure to shrivel up and be 

 perfectly worthless by the time they reached 

 the consumer. Picked at an early date, they 

 woulu not even cook well, as they had not ma- 

 tured. The fruit inspector warned the ship- 

 pers that they were grading their apples too 

 high. In my opinion the inspectors should 

 have stopped these shipments altogether. If 

 much of this fruit is sent from Ontario it will 

 give our apples a baa reputation." 



Canadian Fruit Exhibits. 



The department of agriculture is about to 

 send to the London exhibition, which takes 

 place in September, displays of Canadian fruits 

 and food products generally, to which growers 

 and manufacturers are invited to contribute. 

 Mr. Wm. H. Hay, of the department of agricul- 

 ture, is taking charge of the agricultural and 

 food products display, and Mr. Robt. Hamilton, 

 exhibition branch, department of agriculture, 

 Ottawa, is making the fruit display. Any in- 



formation required may be obtained by writing 

 either of these gentlmen. 



Besides what is being done for the St. Louis 

 exhibition and the exhibits in London, the great 

 Industrial exhibition at Liege, Belgium, which 

 opens in May, 1905, is also being provided for. 

 Growers of fine fruit will do well to keep these 

 exhibitions in mind. 



A Poor Method of Selling. 



" One of the evils of the present system of 

 handling fruit," said P. J. Carey, Dominion 

 Fruit Inspector, to The Horticulturist recently, 

 " is the method of buying practised by many 

 dealers. In the early spring these buyers go 

 around and make contracts with the farmers 

 for their fruit. They give the farmers to 

 understand that the contract has been closed. 

 The statements they sign seem to ibe all right 

 on their face, but when they have been tested 

 later it almost invariably turns out that, as far 

 as any protection to the interests of the grower 

 is concerned, they are absolutely worthless. 



As the season advances, if the buyer finds the 

 crop is likely to turn out a large one, he very 

 carefully picks only the best fruit on the farm 

 and refuses the rest. The poor fruit is left on 

 the farm on various pretexes from week to week 

 until the season becomes so advanced the fruit 

 is entirely worthless. At this time if the 

 farmer tries to take advantage of the contract 

 signeu early in the spring he finds it is all in 

 favor of the buyer. 



The best remedy for this » condition is for 

 farmers to organize and establish a central 

 packing house. If enough of these houses could 

 be started they would do much to redeem the 

 trade, ap the fruit woul<3i then be packed in sea- 

 son and handled by competent packers engaged 

 by the growers. There will be no person to 

 come in and aosorb a large part of their profit 

 before the fruit reaches the consumer." 



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