OUR FRUIT MARKETS. 



409 



There is very little difficulty m making 

 up car lots at any time, for each man need 

 only furnish one-eighth of the lot, and if 

 there is anything to be made, we get it. 



And now regarding the outlook for our 

 apples this fall. We have numerous circu- 

 lars from apple receivers. For example, 

 Jas. Lindsay & Son write as follows : 



As the apple season is now about to begin, we 

 beg to advise you that the prospects with us are 

 as follows : Green fruit, for cooking purposes, 

 is very abundant, especially the English crop, 

 also the continental crops are advised to be very 

 heavy, and as the shipments from this quarter 

 mostly consist of cooking apples of a green 

 nature, then we advise you that in the early part 

 of the season green fruit will not do to ship from 

 your district, as it would have to contend with a 

 market that was heavily supplied of the kinds 

 mentioned above, shipped from England and the 

 Continent. The rates from these places being 

 much lower than the rates from yours to ours it 

 would only cause a loss to you to send fruit of 

 this g^ade. The only kinds that will pay to ship 

 in the early season are the colored varieties, such 

 as Kings, Spitz, Spys, Baldwins, Vandeveers, 

 Wagners, Blush, good clear sound Snow's, and 

 any other good colored variety of a good carry- 

 ing quality It is also our opinion that it will not 

 do to ship common qualities this jear. The 

 expenses are too heavy, and before that such 

 could be cleared there will be nothing left for the 

 goods, should they even manage to clear expense, 

 which would be doubtful. 



No doubt this gives us a good idea ot the 

 condition of things in Great Britain ; but as 

 regards the crop of this Continent we think 

 it is an over-estimate to say that it will ex- 

 ceed that of 1896. Possibly the gross re- 

 sults may equal 1896. but the quantity of 

 No. I stock will be much less than ^ gen- 

 eral sur\'ey of the orchards would indicate. 



In the first place, from one-third to one- 

 half of our fruit will be unfit for export from 

 the ravages of codling moth and apple 

 worm These insects g^ow more trouble- 

 some every year, and no fruit infested with 

 them should be sent forward. 



In the second place, a large percentage of 

 the clean, perfect fruit will be too small to 

 export. No apple of such kinds as King, 

 Greening, Baldwin, etc., which is below 2*-^ 

 inches in diameter should ever be put up 

 for this purpose ; and if this rule be applied, 



as indeed it should be, there will be plenty 

 of room in the old world for all our fruit. It 

 would be a good law which would compel 

 every packer or shipper to stamp on the 

 outside of each package the minimum diam- 

 eter of the fruit inside, for this would help 

 buyers to buy with confidence. 



Another outcome of the low prices and 

 consequent dissatisfaction on the part of the 

 grower is the Packing Company, a business 

 conducted after the model of the Packing 

 Companies of California. \'an Duze & 

 Griffith, Grimsby, and E. D. Smith, Wino- 

 na, are examples of this method. Fruit is 

 purchased by grades, to facilitate which 

 orange graders have been imported from 

 Ohio. The price oflfered varies according 

 to the grade, which is soon settled when 

 the fruit has passed through the machine. 

 Suppose, for example, ten baskets of 

 peaches are brought in by John Smith, who 

 is to receive 60c. for Ai, 40c. for No. i, and 

 20C. for No. 2 ; the grader turns out — 



3 Ai at 60c. .$1.80 



4 No. I at 40c. 1.60 

 3 No. 2 at 20c. 60 



Or a total of. .$4.00 for the ten baskets. 



John Smith is perfectly satisfied with the 

 result, but goes home inwardly resolved 

 that in future he will take care to grow no 

 more No. 2 peaches, and if possible to grow 

 all Ai ; a lesson he would never learn if he 

 had sold the whole in bulk at perhaps 30c. 

 a basket. 



This means that John Smith in future will 

 cut out or top graft over all poor varieties 

 of fruit in his orchard, give better cultiva- 

 tion and manure, prune and thin, until he 

 reaches an ideal product, which will com- 

 mand the highest price in any market in the 

 world. 



Already our efforts in the direction of im- 

 proved packing are being appreciated 

 abroad An English trade paper says: 



We are particularly pleased to testify to the 

 quality of the Canadian fruits. They are far 



