EDITORIAL. 



?nA'i ^ 



489 



BOTH ADVERTISER AND BUYER PLEASED. 



For several months The Horticulturist has 

 offered to give ten dollars to the reader buying 

 goods to the greatest value from advertisers in 

 each issue provided it was stated the advertise- 

 ment was seen in The Horticulturist. The 

 prize for .September has been won by Charles 

 Mackey, of Thornbury, who purchased goods to 

 the value of one hundred and seventy-five dol- 

 lars and eighty-four cents from the Waggoner 

 Ladder Co. While other readers may have 

 bought goods of greater value from advertisers 

 in the same issue, Mr. Mackey wins the ten dol- 

 lars, as no other reader, whose purchases ex- 

 ceed his, has applied for the prize. One other 

 reader purchased goods to the value of eighty- 

 seven dollars from the Canadian Portable Fence 

 Co. as a result of that firm's advertisement in 

 The Horticulturist. And so it goes. 



The result of Mr. Mackey's having informed 

 the Waggoner Ladder Co. that he saw their ad- 

 vertisement in The Horticulturist is that he re- 

 ceived the prize of ten dollars and is pleased; 

 the Waggoner Ladder Co. have found that it 

 pays to advertise in The Horticulturist and is 

 pleased, while The Horticulturist is pleased be- 

 caus.e The Waggoi?er Ladder Co., has renewed 

 its advertisement in this issue for the back, out- 

 side cover page, and intends shortly to sign for 

 a time contract. It will thus be seen that 

 there is no " fly in the honey," because we are 

 all pleased. Remember, any reader purchasing 

 goods from our advertisers is entitled to a 

 handsome calendar whether they win the 

 special ten dollar prize or not. 



When the Agricultural and Arts Act is 

 changed and horticultural societies are placed 

 on a footing of their own, as distinct from agri- 

 cultural societies, several matters of vital im- 

 portance will call for careful consideration. 

 One of, if not the most important, will be the 

 basis on which horticultural societies shall re- 

 ceive their grants. Shall the grants be made 

 on a membership plan; according to the amounts 

 societies give for horticultural purposes, or a 

 combination of these principles ? Should so- 

 cieties be required to ihold a certain number of 

 meetings yearly, distribute seeds, etc ? These 

 are subjects that will have to be considered at 

 the horticultural convention this month in con- 

 nection with the fruit, flower and honey show. 

 Delegates should prepare themselves to discuss 

 these matters intelligently and be in a position 

 to make suggestions. 



Field mice are reported to be unusually nu- 

 merous in different parts of Ontario this season. 

 They are already very noticeable in cover crops 

 and along grassy fences. Orchardists should 

 be on their guard and use every precaution to 

 prevent the destruction of fruit and shade trees 

 by this pest, which did so muoh damage last 

 winter. There are various methods of protec- 

 tion, such as banding the tree trunks, using 

 specially prepared paints, etc., which should 

 be given due consideration by readers of The 

 Horticulturist. 



Canadians who are proud of Canada's horti- 

 cultural resources should read the description 

 in this issue of the nurseries of Messrs. Morris 

 & Wellington, of Fonthill. There are few firms 

 of any kind in the Dominion which do a larger 

 business; none that demand a greater mastery 

 of infinite detail. The steady and marked 

 growth of this immense business has not been 

 of the hothouse variety. This speaks well for 

 its operations in the past and its prospects for 

 further development. Such an established busi- 

 ness adds to the stability of the horticultural 

 interests of the country. 



What can be done with such a man as the 

 one mentioned in this issue, by Mr. E. Morris, 

 of Fonthill, who, when his farm was under- 

 drained at no expense to him, thought so little 

 of the improvement as to not even take the 

 trouble to keep the outlets clear ? Such a man 

 is probably anxious for an opportunity to talk 

 your head off about hard times. 



How Export Fruit Should Be Packed 



JAMES LINDSAY & SON, Ei'INBUROH. SCOTIAND. 



Our opinion is that if Canadian shippers con- 

 tinue to pack -in a straightforward manner there 

 will be an increased demand for the article they 

 put up. With regard to improvements, it 

 ought to be seriously impressed on them that 

 they must use strong packages. Some Cana- 

 dian shippers hold the opinion that any sort of 

 package will do, but such is not the case. Bar- 

 rels ought to have eight hoops, and the staves 

 ought to be of thoroughly dried wood and the 

 liners better driven home than they usually are. 



We find that at one of the ends the liners are 

 fixed by the coopers, and that fixing is very in- 

 adequate for what is required. Many times 

 they are nailed to the covers, not to the staves 

 at all, and of course the consequences are, on 

 arrival here, the heads or bottoms are out. 

 Shippers should not send inferior grades of fruit, 

 as the packages of such grading incur the same 

 expense as fine quality to handle, and it is dis- 

 couraging to the business all over. 



The Department of Agriculture's inspector in 

 Glasgow writes to W. W. Moore, head of the ex- 

 tension of markets division, condemning the 

 shipments of Canadian apples to Glasgow via 

 New York as less satisfactory than from Mont- 

 real. The distance from the fruit centres to 

 New York is much greater than to Montreal, 

 and the steamships sailing from the former port 

 are not well ventilated. 



The freight from New York to Glasgow is 12 

 cents cheaper than from Montreal . to Glasgow, 

 which sum shippers by New York think they 

 save. Actually, however, there is a net loss 

 of 36 cents on every barrel going by the New 

 York route. Owing to the state in which the 

 fruit arrives from New York, some British im- 

 porters have cabled Canadian shippers not to 

 ship that way, but to send by the Donaldson- or 

 Allan lines from Montreal. (Note — Advertise- 

 ments giving sailings by these lines are pub- 

 lished in this issue.) 



