THE TRIAL SHIPMENTS OF FRUIT TO WINNIPEG 



PROF. J. B. REYNOLDS, ONTARIO 



''I'^HE object of these experimental ship- 

 X ments of fruit to Winnipeg was to 

 find out whether or not tender fruits from 

 Ontario could be placed in good condition 

 on the Winnipeg market by freight carriage. 

 Incidentally it was the intention to inquire 

 into the whole matter of transportation, 

 prices, and selection and packing of fruit, as 

 well as the best construction of car for re- 

 frigeration. 



In each car were carried apples, Bartlett 

 pears, grapes, plums, peaches and tomatoes. 

 The idea seemed to prevail among most of 

 the fruit growers that in order to carry these 

 fruits to Winnipeg safely they must be 

 picked green and hard. The result does 

 not justify this belief. A considerable pro- 

 portion of the peaches were packed hard, 

 green and undersized. A fair quantity of 

 them, however, were, when packed, well 



An 80 Year Old Apple Packer at Work. 



A frait grower of many years standing, is Mr. R. D. Veale, of Mount Brydges, Middlesex County, who may 

 be seen in this illustration standing with two baskets in hh hands. Although over 80 years of age, Mr. Veale still 

 attends to the packing and shipping of not less than t,oo^ and 1,500 ban els of apples each year. The apples from 

 Mr. Veale's orchard are shipped to London, England, by the Thompson of steamers. The Baldwin apples have 

 given Mr. Veale the best satisfaction with the Golden Russet next. There are 40 barrels of Baldwins grown in 

 this section of Ontario to any other variety. 



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AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE, GUELPH. 



sized, well colored, and firm, in such a con- 

 dition as No. I Crawford peaches are packed 

 for use within a few days. These last 

 were by far the most desirable when opened 

 up at Winnipeg. In fact, after seven days 

 had elapsed between loading and unloading, 

 after a journey of 1,500 miles, and various 

 shuntings at Allandale, North Bay, Fort 

 William and Winnipeg, Crawford peaches 

 were placed on the market from our ship- 

 ment in better condition than any I have 

 seen displaved in the shops in Guelph. 



This is true not only of a chance few of 

 the peaches shipped, but of all that had not 

 been picked too green. A box of the prim- 

 est of these peaches found its way into the 

 hands of an acquaintance of mine, and on 

 Monday, three days after the sale and 11 

 days after picking, I inquired as to the con- 

 dition of the fruit. The reply was that a 



few only of the 

 peaches were 

 then mellow 

 enough for 

 i m m e d i a te 

 use, and that 

 the greater 

 part of the 

 box could be 

 kept until the 

 end of that 

 week, that is, 

 until 15 or 16 

 days after 

 picking. 

 Grapes ship- 

 p e d well, 

 some of the 

 Moore's Ear- 

 ly only being 

 off the stem. 

 The varieties 

 of plums 

 were Reine 

 Claude, Yel- 

 low Egg, Co- 

 lumbia, and 



