THE COMMERCIAL SIDE OF FRUIT GROWING. 



407 



Matters That Should Be Settled 



G. H. HUTTON, EASPON's CORNERS, ONT. 



The outlook for the export trade in. apples, 

 judging from past records, seems promising. 

 There are, however, some conditions that need 

 to be changed before it will be possible to 

 reckon on probalble returns. 



Last yiear it was impossible, in many cases, 

 to secure barrels, and when boxes were used the 

 extra cost of packing and packages consumed 

 the profit. Under ordinary circumstances, the 

 northwest offers a good opening for much of our 

 fruit, but the freight charges are too high to 

 warrant much eifort to secure this trade. For 

 the smaller fruits I believe that the removal of 

 the duty on sugar, so that canning factories 

 might be estaoushed on a profitable basis, would 

 be a great inducement for a larger production/ 

 of these fruits. 



Judging from what I have seen of the Mcin- 

 tosh Red throughout the Ottawa valley, to- 

 gether with my own experience and that of such 

 large growers as Mr. Harold Jones, of Maitland, 

 I believe there is no better apple for this dis- 

 trict. It is true that the Mcintosh and its kin- 

 dred is liable to spot, but by careful application 

 of Bordeaux this ^isease may be prevented 

 from causing injury in excess of 5 per cent, dur- 

 ing the most unfavorable seasons. The yield 

 and the price realized for perfect apples will 

 amply repay for the oare and treatment. 



One of the greatest mistakes that has been 

 ma^e in this section in regard to planting or- 

 chards ha® been in planting too closely. In 

 eight to ten years the branches of the trees in 

 many orchards will interlace. If the trees have 

 room to grow ana attain full size the fruit will 

 have a Tjetter exposure to the sun and thus have 

 a better flavor and color, and command the 

 highest market price. 



Huron County as a Fruit Section 



WM. WARNOCK, GODERICH, ONT. 



For apples, i)ears, plums and cherries there 

 is no better district in the province than Huron 

 county, and my experience with grapes and 

 peaches has been very favoraJble. I have 4^' 

 varieties of the best hardy grapes under culti- 

 vation, and they have given very satisfactory 

 crops for the past 14 years. I have grown 32- 

 ounce bunches on my Wilder and Eaton varie- 

 ties, and 26-ounce bunches on my Campbell's 

 Early and Agawam. I have never seen better 

 grapes than can be grown here. The cause of 

 our fruit coming to such great perfection is in 

 our very suitable soil and splendid climate, as 

 grapewood and all new growth of fruit trees 

 have a longer time to ripen and mature at the 

 end of the growing season, from the effect of 

 Lake Huron's deep waters, which keep away 

 severe early frost in the fall for at least a dis- 

 tance of three miles inland. 



Aside from the peculiar natural adaptability 

 of this section for fruit growing we in Goderich 

 expect to he favored, above all other parts of 

 the province, in supplying the great northwest 

 provinces with fruit. The largest grain boats 



from Port Arthur come into Goderich harbor 

 and unload at our elevators, and they will 

 always make the most direct as well as the 

 cheapest' means of transportation as far as Port 

 Arthur. These large boats will be strong com- 

 petitors for freight up the lakes. This will give 

 the fruit growers of this vicinity a considerable 

 advantage over other parts of the province in 

 competing for the trade of the northwest, which 

 is certain to be of very great importance to the 

 fruit growers of Ontario in a few years. 



The Best System of Cold Storage 



G. W. HUNT, OTTAWA. ONT. 



The best system of cold storage is a matter 

 to which I have given a good deal of considera- 

 tion and experiment during the last four years. 

 Until that time I was seriously opposed to the 

 transportation of our Ontario fruits under ice, 

 and did not change my views until I had it 

 demonstrated to my own satisfaction that our 

 fruits could be transported under ice and not 

 destroy the keeping quality to any tangible de- 

 gree. 



Having made these tests I am firmly of the 

 opinion that the Hanrahan car is without an 

 equal. To my mind it is the only refrigerator 

 car running that is of any use to the growers 

 for transporting perishable fruit long distances. 

 I believe the universal use of the Hanrahan car 

 on Canadian roads would mean at least one to 

 two million dollars a year to the fruit growers 

 of Ontario. 



The fact that the goods in this car are de- 

 livered dry and' in good conditions means a 

 great deal to the grower, not to take into con- 

 sideration the fact that with the universal use 

 of this car glutted markets would be unknown, 

 as one or two days does not make any material 

 difference in the quality of the fruit. In order 

 to have this or any other system a success the 

 fruit must necessarily be in good condition 

 when it goes in the car, and the car not loaded 

 to the roof. The minimum load can be put in 

 the Hanrahan car and kept in good condition 

 for two weeks. 



Only The Best Wanted. — ^The Fruit Division 

 at Ottawa has received the following report 

 from Inspector John Brown, of Glasgow: 



The first shipment of American apples ar- 

 rived at Glasgow August 10 in the steamship 

 " Anchoria." of the Anchor Line. There were 

 about 100 barrels in the parcel. These cpn- 

 sisted principally of Duchess, which averaged 

 12s. to 14s. Fruit was small and not of fancy 

 quality. The supplies of home and continental 

 fruit are large, and it will "be advisable for 

 Canada to send only her best to Great Britain 

 this season. 



The FVuit Division, Ottawa, is warning apple 

 shippers that in order to grade as No. 1 or XXX, 

 apples must be fairly mature. Apples that have 

 not taken on their proper color and otherwise 

 show marks of inferiority as the result of being 

 pulled too green cannot be graded anything 

 higher than No. 2. 



