RAILWAYS HAVE LOWERED THEIR RATES 



Some material reductions have recently been 

 voluntarily made by the railway companies in 

 their transportation rates on fruit. The new 

 * rates will be of decided value to fruit growers, 

 although it is generally felt other important 

 changes are needed. The changes have been 

 made as a direct result of the evidence given 

 recently before the Railway Commission by re- 

 presentatives of the fruit interests. 



The following statement has been given The 

 Horticulturist by Mr. W. H. Bunting, president 

 of the Ontario Fruit Growers' Association. "After 

 some correspondence with the railway commis- 

 sioners and with the railway companies, the lat- 

 ter have voluntarily ceded a material reduction 

 in the rate on mixed car loads of fruit from the 

 principal shipping districts to the larger cen- 

 tres of distribution, such as Toronto,- Ottawa, 

 Montreal, Quebec and Winnipeg. They have 

 also made a special rate on half car lots, or 

 10,000 pounds or over. These concessions are 

 equal to about $10 per car to Ottawa and Mont- 

 real on full car lots, and about $36 per car lot 

 to the northwest. In addition the flat rate for 

 icing cars destined for Manitoba has been abol- 

 ished, and hereafter shippers will be charged 

 for only the actual amount of ice supplied. 

 Apples, whether in boxes or barrels, will be car- 

 ried at the same rate, and it is expected that 

 pears in boxes or barrels will be in the same 

 class as apples in future. These concessions, 

 while by no means all that the committee repre- 

 senting the fruit industry aslced for and con- 

 sidered reasonable, are, however, a measure of 

 relief to a very serious situation, and will no 

 doubt be received as an earnest of the desire of 



the railroad companies to meet the wishes of 

 the fruit men as far as seems to them practi- 

 cable. 



With the view of ascertaining what other 

 leading fruit men think of the new rates The 

 Horticulturist has secured the opinions on the 

 subject of Messrs. E. D. Smith, M. P., and H. 

 W. Dawson, both of whom gave strong evidence 

 before the Railway Commission. 



REDUCTION TOO LIMITED. 



Writing to The Horticulturist, Mr. E. D. 

 Smith, M. P., of Winona, gives his views as fol- 

 lows : ^ 



" I don't think anything of what has been ac- 

 complished. The reduction on fruit rates to 

 four principal cities only is more in the inter- 

 ests of the commission houses in those four 

 places than the fruit growers and shippers who 

 are shipping very largely to all the towns and 

 cities in Ontario, Quebec and the Northwest. 

 The reduction is too limited to be of general 

 benefit to the majority of fruit shippers." 

 BETTER SERVICE WANTED. 



The Dawson Commission Co., of Toronto, 

 has written The Horticulturist as follows : 



" The railways have done no more than they 

 should do in regard to the reduction on rates 

 and shipping charges, but we are satisfied that 

 after a little time the Railway Commission will 

 be able to adjust rates and charges so as to be 

 advantageous. What we should irnpress upon 

 the railway compenies and the Railway Com- 

 mission is the need for better service than they 

 are giving us. While there is some little im- 

 provement this year, it is a long way from be- 

 ing what it ought to be. 



RESULTS OF THE TRIAL SHIPMENTS TO IRELAND 



The following letters have been received by 

 Mr. W. T. Macoun, horticulturist of the Central 

 Experimental Farm, Ottawa, in regard to the 

 two trial shipments of apples he recently made 

 to Belfast, Ireland. 



THE FIRST SHIPMENT. 

 I have received the 100 boxes of Duchess 

 apples this week, and the quality of the apples 

 is rather disappointing, as it is not good 

 enough for eating, and for cooking buyers pre- 

 fer our own Irish apples, which are an excep- 

 tionally good crop this year and very cheap. 

 Had they been a nice good keeping eating apple 

 and a good color I could have sold them, T 

 think,- very well. They are certainly very well 

 put up, and the packing is very good; in fact, 

 one of the largest buyers told me he would take 

 the whole of the apples if they had been suit- 

 able, but he would not take a box when he saw 

 them. He said he was quite prepared to pay 

 me 4d. for as many of the empty boxes as I 

 could get him, but the apples to him were use- 

 less, as they would not suit his customers at all. 

 What he wants is a nice dessert apple; we have 

 plenty of the cooking grades here. There was 

 only one buyer that would make me an offer at 

 all, and the best he would make me was 2s. per 

 box, ex quay. (Signed) HUGH GORDON. 



THE SECOND SHIPMENT. 



The second consignment of apples have ar- 

 rived, and as requested I have examined the 

 boxes and notice the way you have them packed. 

 They are certainly very well put up, but some 

 of the largest fruit merchants here state that 

 they are the wrong kind of apples you are ship- 

 ping, as they will keep no time, and would have 

 to be disposed of immediately they arrive, and 

 as there is considerable risk to the buyer he 

 will not be willing to give a very big price for 

 them. The Pointed Pipka apples are very well 

 put up indeed, and they have arrived here in 

 splendid condition, but I will not be able to get 

 a very big price for them as the Irish apples 

 are so plentiful and are being sold at very low 

 prices. One of the largest fruit merchants in 

 Belfast informed me that if you could get him 

 any barrels of Alexander apples he would have 

 a ready sale for them, in fact, he said that the 

 demand was entirely on barreled apples, as the 

 boxes were difficult to place, as there is so very 

 little bulk, and of course the prices must be 

 higher in consequence of the expense of packing. 

 (Signed) HUGH GORDON. 



P. S. — ^Have only been able to get 3s. 6d. for 

 Pipkas and 2s. for Duchess, ex quay, Belfast. 



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