A FRUIT BUYER QUIETLY GOES FOR THE HORTICULTURIST 



The following letter has been received by The 

 Horticulturist and speaks for itself: 



Warksworth, Oct. 10, 1904. 



I am a grower as well as shipper, and agree 

 with your report in The Horticulturist that 

 growers should receive more than offered for 

 their fruit. They also should have better re- 

 turns for their cheese. Would you, Mr. Editor, 

 undertake to go on the cheese boards and pay 

 more than the buyers are offering? No, for the 

 simple reason that the consumptive markets for 

 the above products are not in a prosperous con- 

 dition. 



I am paying 50 cents for fall apples and 75 

 cents for winters. I have returns for one car of 

 Colverts which sold in Montreal for $1.15 per 

 barrel. They cost me: barrels 43c., packing 

 25c., freight 45c., fruit 50c., selling 15c., or a 

 total of $1.78 a barrel. Do you see any profit, 

 or can you point out unnecessary expense in the 

 cost. Twenty-five cents looks high for packing, 

 but you must remember we can only get 10 to 

 15 barrels in each orchard, with perhaps three 

 trees of the above fruit located all over the or- 

 chard. 



Our winters will cost nearly as much to pack, 

 as the weather has been very bad thus far for 

 packing. I see very little encouragement for 

 profits on winter stock. Farmers should receive 

 more, but financial conditions will not warrant 

 more. Just look at the cost: barrels 45c., pack- 

 ing for export 25c., export freight $1.25, buying 

 and expense of shipping, nails 10c. , cost of 

 freight 75c., total $2.80. 



Come now, Mr. Horticulturist, kindly give us 

 a market, through your paper, that will give us 

 cost. Your article has done immense injury, be- 

 cause it was misunderstood. 

 Yours truly, 



W. J. BAKER. 



In answer to the above letter The Horticul- 

 turist would like to draw attention to a num- 

 ber of the points made by Mr. Baker. The 

 price he has paid for fall apples, viz., 50 cents 

 per barrel, is reasonable in view of the excess 

 this year of fall fruit, which is perishable and 

 needs to be shipped immediately. The price 

 paid for winter apples, viz., 75 cents per bar- 

 rel for XXX stock, while better than is being 

 paid in some sections, is not as high as grow- 

 ers have a right to expect. Good winter stock 



that will keep sound for shipment in January 

 or February will meet a market practically as 

 bare of fruit as last year, there being no sur- 

 plus of winter stock reported this season. It 

 is therefore fair to conclude that the demand 

 will be about what it was last year, and prices 

 the same. The usual price last year was $1 

 per barrel for XXX stock, and it would seem 

 as if the same should be paid this fall. 



The prices realized by Mr. Baker for soft fall 

 stock like the Colvert on a local Canadian mar- 

 ket, such as Montreal, should not be. used when 

 making a reference to the prices of winter 

 stock. The estimate of cost to the dealer, given 

 by Mr. Baker, is not excessive, but such cost 

 should not be based on anything but the best 

 winter stock. It is quite possible that $1 per 

 barrel for winter stock would be a better bar- 

 gain for the buyer than fall stock at 25 cents 

 per barrel. The statement that 25 cents is al- 

 lowed for packing, owing to the small number 

 of barrels that can be secured in the average 

 orchard, is undoubtedly well founded, and em- 

 phasizes what has often been stated in The 

 Horticulturist that small growers should unite in 

 cooperative associations to save this expense 

 by delivering their apples in central packing 

 houses. 



Most of. the items of expense given in con- 

 nection with the shipment of fruit to Great 

 Britain are somewhat higher than many care- 

 ful buyers have been paying this year. Thou- 

 sands of barrels have been bought for 40 cents. 

 Packing for export at 25 cents per barrel is the 

 outside figure, as the larger proportion of the 

 packing is done for 5 to 10 cents per barrel less. 

 Concerning this estimate, careful buyers are 

 doing the work for 25 cents per barrel less on 

 the total, so that for apples bringing 12 to 15 

 shillings for XXX stock, and an occasional lot 

 of choice apples selling at 20 shillings, it does 

 not seem out of the way to claim that the dealer 

 should have a fair and even liberal return, were 

 he to pay the outside price of $1 per barrel to 

 the grower, for his best stock, which is all most 

 of the buyers take. 



"^e have no markets to encourage fruit grow- 

 ers to take an interest in fruit growing. Or- 

 chards are neglected. — (Jas. Brethour, Ontario 

 Co., Ont. 



FLOWERING BULBS 



FOR FALL PLANTING .K|FOR THE HOUSE AND GARDEN. 



Crocus — Choice, Mixed, All Colors loc. doz., 50c. per 100 



Hyacinths " " " 60c. " $4.00 " 



Tulips " " " 25c. " $1.25 " 



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