142 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



June, 1916: 



The orchard of F. H. Johnson, Bridgetown, N.S., in which clean cultivation is practised. 



those prosecuted for the over-facing of 

 packages were dishont^st, in fact, I be- 

 lieve iliat some packci-s M'ho have had 

 bad training will pack a fraudulent 

 package when their employer would not 

 wish it packed in that way, but he 

 would still be responsible for the vio- 

 lation. 



Where it is fairly evident that a vio- 

 lation has occurred through a lack of 

 knowledge of the work or of the re- 

 quirements of the law the inspectors 

 are instructed to set the packer right 

 and give him another chance, but the 

 Dominion Fruit Commissioner has 

 taken strong grounds on all cases of the 

 over- facing of packages, and has given 

 sharp instructions to stamp out this 

 trouble by prosecuting in every case 

 where the evidence will warrant it. 



There are three grades of violators. 

 The llrst is the slovenly fellow who 

 never does an> thing right, for whom 

 there is but little hope. The inspectors 

 are slow to act harshly with a fellow of 

 this kind, but there is a limit, and he 

 must pick up the requirements if he 

 wants to remain in the fruit business. 

 In the second grade there are manj 

 varieties. There is the "want to he 

 good ' ' sort of a fellow who blames it on 

 the hired man, or, perhaps, on his wife. 

 Some justify a little sliady packing by 

 setting up the excuse ihat the other fel- 

 lows are out to do yoa, anyway, and it, 

 is better to do them first. From this 

 grade or middle class the inspectors 

 make many good converts M-hen they 

 are shown where their actions lead. 



The third grade is the "out-and- 

 outer," who has no iove for the in- 

 spector or the law, av.d who, if he has 

 nothhii? but good fruii to put up, would 

 put it up almost grudgingly. 



There are but few of thie latter class, 

 and, for that matter, the number in all 

 classes of faulty packers is a small per- 

 centage of our growers, and is steadily 

 growing less. 



It is surprising what a large percent- 



age of peach growers have not grasped 

 the best method of placing fruit in bas- 

 kets. We have scores of good basket 

 packers, and we also have many who 

 make a very rough job of it. Some 

 blame the basket, but it would seem 

 that the basket does not cut much 

 figure now that so many are follow- 

 ing the practice of using the heaped 

 basket. 



The grading of peaches and other 

 basket fruits is a very advanced step 

 in proper packing. It insured honesty 

 of packing by removing the cause. It 

 gives to the man to whom money is no 

 object just what he wants, and he is 

 ready to pay well for it. It gives to 

 the men less fortunate a grade, the 

 price of which is within his reach. It 

 does away with the necessity of putting 

 fruit of different sizes within the same 

 basket, and enables the packer to do 

 better work. The inspector never finds 

 much trouble in graded basljet fruit. 



Pleasing the Consumer. 



If there is one thing more than an- 

 other with which the growers can be 

 blamed it is their lack of effort to 

 please the consvimer. Perhaps less than 

 fifty per cent, of those engaged in fruit 

 growing as a business have any thought 

 for the future standing of their ship- 

 ments on the market or make any at- 

 tempt to build up a reputation by mak- 

 ing a special effort of pleasing the con- 

 sumer. 



Pleasing the customer after all is a 

 key to the whole situation. It is the 

 impression the consumer has of the last 

 package of fruit used that does the rul- 

 ing as to whether he wants another 

 package. The difference between a 

 good and a bad impression may mean 

 the difference between success and fail- 

 ure to the grower. 



The strength of a chain is shown in 

 its weakest link. In the face of the 

 present situation there should be no 

 broken link if fruit growing is to have 



any more than a fighting chance as a 

 business. 



Much has been said of commission 

 ' men, transportation companies and 

 faulty marketing, but the strongest link 

 in the chain of marketing fruit i» 

 forged at the orchard or packing house 

 when the grower puts up properly ma- 

 tured fruit honestly packed in strong 

 packages, and starts it on its journey 

 under the best conditions possible. The 

 man who instead has no thought but to 

 get the best of the deal by placing at- 

 tractive fruit on top covering culls be- 

 low, or the slovenly packer who may be 

 honest enough but packs his fruit in a 

 careless and unattractive manner have 

 in my judgment broken a link in the 

 marketing chain that cannot be re- 

 paired. 



If a stronger feeling of responsibil- 

 ity, more public spirit and an aim at 

 higher ideals was worked up among the 

 growers it would be productive of much 

 good. Successful growers will tell you 

 that the effort is not a difficult one, 

 and if one were to ask them what was 

 the greatest pleasure they felt in their 

 season's work, the answer would be in 

 the knowledge of the fact that they had 

 pleased the consumer. 



Another substantial way to please the 

 consumer is by lengthening the period 

 of the life of the fruit. Too large a per- 

 centage of the basket fruit reaches the 

 consumer in a wasted condition, caused 

 by heating in transit. Peaches with 

 discolored spots are not desirable 

 either from the hand or to be used for 

 canning. In many cases fruit other- 

 wise of good quality has to be cut half 

 away before it is fit for use. Some 

 method of pre-cooling or at least of 

 using refrigerator cars would meet the 

 requirement and go a long way in help- 

 ing the sale of more fruit. Freshly 

 picked fruit put into box cars where 

 the temperature is often eighty to 

 ninety degrees, perhaps to remain in 

 the cars over night, is sure to give poor 

 satisfaction and often is in the first or 

 second stage of decay before it reaches 

 the consumer. It would be argued by 

 some that these precautions mean ad- 

 ditional expense, but the sooner the 

 growers wake up to the fact that with- 

 out the consuming public they Avould 

 have to shut up shop, the better for the 

 success of their labors. It paj^s to sat- 

 isfy the consumer. 



Fair to good success has attended the 

 shipping of small fruits to the north- 

 west markets with the exception of 

 peaches and strawberries. I am afraid 

 our peaches are too tender for long dis- 

 tance markets except under special 

 treatment. For export market our 

 peach shipments are likely to remain in 

 the experimental stage for some time. 

 The same can be said of the north-west 

 markets as far as shipping in a general 

 way is concerned. 



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