EARLY VEGETABLE MARKET GROWING IN IMPORTANCE 



4 < '' I ■> HE growers in Essex county who 



A this year forced vegetables for the 

 early markets obtained the best prices they 

 ever realized. This was the case in spite of 

 the fact that' many more raised vegetables 

 in this way this year than ever before. The 

 indications are that there will be a great de- 

 velopment in this line in the near future." 



These remarks were made to The Horti- 

 culturist recently by Mr. W. W. Hillborn, 

 of Leamington, who while in Toronto a few 

 days ago called on Hon. John Dryden to 

 suggest that some experimental work of 

 value might be undertaken in coniiection 

 with the forcing of early vegetables. " Had 

 it not been for the returns they received 

 from their vegetables," said Mr. Hillborn, 

 " a number of the fruit growers in Essex 

 county, whose orchards were ruined by last 

 winter's severe weather, would have been 

 in a very critical position financially, if As it 

 is, a number of them have done so well with 

 their vegetables they are now on their feet 

 again. 



" The demand for these vegetables, which 

 are started in the greenhouses along in 

 February or March, and set out under cot- 

 ton as soon as the weather moderates, has 

 been greater this year than ever before. 

 They have been shipped to points extending 

 irom Montreal to Winnipeg, and the de- 

 mand has not been nearly supplied. Ship- 

 ments started about the last of May with 

 cucumbers and early cabbage, which were 

 followed by tomatoes and will end with 

 musk melons. By the time the season is 

 over, fully two cars a day will have been 

 shipped from the vicinity of Leamington 

 for some two months. 



" The satisfactory prices realized were 

 probably due to the scarcity of frufts. A 

 number of the growers have not succeeded 

 as w^ll as they might have had they owned 

 their own greenhouses. Some of them who 

 undertook this work did not fully under- 

 stand all the requirements and they had to 



learn by experience. Those who did not 

 have greenhouses had to depend on others 

 for their plants, with the result that many 

 of them received poor plants, and conse- 

 quently were unable to obtain thoroughly 

 satisfactory results. The success of the 

 growers, on the whole, however, has been 

 sufficient to leave little doubt that • many 

 more will undertake the growing of vege- 

 tables in this way next year. 



TRADE IS GROWING. 



" The trade in Canada seems to have 

 reached the point when a large quantity of 

 early vegetables can be consumed. To fill 

 this demand in the past considerable quanti- 

 ties of vegetables have been imported from 

 the southern states. People are now find- 

 ing out that our Canadian stock is better 

 than the southern vegetables, and as soon as 

 it is ready for the market it crowds the im- 

 ported vegetables out. There is no reason 

 apparently why Canadian growers should 

 not supply the greater part of this demand. 



" For two years I have shipped vegetables 

 from Leamington to Detroit, and generally 

 secured sufficiently good prices to enable me 

 to obtain a satisfactory profit even after 

 paying a duty of 25 per cent. A Detroit 

 commission merchant who handles my 

 vegetables informed me that our Canadian 

 vegetables were better than those he was se- 

 curing from the south, and that they real- 

 ized higher prices. A Montreal dealer has 

 also written me to the same effect. Grow- 

 ers when sending vegetables to the Detroit 

 market have to exercise considerable care to 

 ascertain whether or not the market is glut- 

 ted, for if so, prices drop materially, no mat- 

 ter how good the quality of the goods. 



" Before this trade can attain its full 

 development it will be necessary for 

 the growers to obtain better rates 

 from the railways. This year I made 

 two shipments of tomatoes to Winni- 

 peg by express, there being 327 baskets all 

 told. The charges amounted to vi50, 



