NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



31 



usual. Mr. J. M. Shuttlevvorth, of Brant- 

 ford, sends us the following- cables of Dec. 

 1 2th : — Messrs. Simons, Shuttleworth & 

 Co., Liverpool, cable : — There is a steady 

 demand for good sound fruit. The market 

 is active and prices have advanced from our 

 last quotations. 



Galling to our Yankee Cousins. — The 

 advancement w^e in Ontario are making in 

 the way of extending our fruit markets, 

 especially since the Provincial Department 

 of Agriculture has moved in the matter, and 

 the fruit is landing in Great Britain in such 

 admirable condition, is a bitter pill for our 

 Yankee cousins, who may never move 

 in such an enterprise except at each man's 

 own private risk and lo^s. The following 

 extract from Cold Storage proves our state- 

 ment : — 



It must be galling to patriotic Americans who 

 gloat over the vast strides we have made for foreign 

 trade to learn' that we are playing second fiddle to 

 Canada in the matter of exports of perishable fruit 

 products. It certainly moves us to wrath. That 

 there is no sense in such a situation is apparent, 

 except that Canadians are be itiiig us in the i;ame 

 of progressiveness. That exception is just doing 

 the trick. If our producers must get along without 

 any goveramental aid thjy ought to be the first 

 ones to interest their fellow partners in the trade, 

 and start a concerted movement for pu -^hing exports 

 of perishable products. Canada now sends more 

 butter, chease and eggs abroad than this vast 

 Republic, and its fruit business is rapidh^ over- 

 hauling ours. 



With less than one-quarter of our territory, and 

 with a vastly larger percentage against that country 

 in the matter of production, Canada has managed 

 by ceaseless energy, to approach and pass us in 

 sending abroad those products which this country 

 is paramount in. Here is something for Americans 

 to ponder over. Refrigeration is doing for Canada 

 what it has done for .Australia and New Zealand, 

 and what it ought to do for this country. We know 

 as much about the science as Canadians, but are 

 not applying it to develop foreign business. We 

 simply seem satisfied to work within our shell. 

 Here is one sort of expan.sion that will meet with 

 approval on all sides. 



The November Fruit Shipment. — On 

 the i8th of November, the "Trader" sailed 

 from Montreal, carrying a shipment of 

 Grapes, Pears, Quinces and Apples, which 

 Ave had forwarded from Grimsby a few 



days previously. A letter has just been 

 received from Mr. Peter Byrne, Govern- 

 ment Agent, at Liverpool, dated Dec. 8th, 

 in which he says : 



The last shipment by the " Manchester Trader," 

 which left Quebec on the ifjth November, was dis- 

 charged on the dock at Manchester on the afternoon 

 of the 5th inst. I inspected it immediately on being 

 landed and found the apples, pears and quinces all 

 sound. But the grapes, though fairly dry and 

 sound were in several instances wet and decayed. 

 Since then I learn that they deteriorated after being 

 landed and I fear a heavy loss on them was incvi- 

 taiile. The cold storage arrangements seemed to 

 have been all right, but the fruit must have been 

 to ) long picked at the time of shipment. The 

 public here are slow to take up with anything new.^. 

 but a good step has been taken in impressing them 

 favorably with our grapes. I have had three ex- 

 hibits at Liverpo 1, and a great manj^ people have 

 tasted them and pronounced them excellent. 



Messrs. Potter & Co. write under the same date : 

 The "Trader" has arrived and we hasten to inform 

 you of the coudition of the fruit sent by her. We 

 understand that while she was loading at Montreal, 

 the temperature was 15° F., and from the engineer's 

 report that it took six days for the chamber to reach 

 39° F., n 1 brine being pumped in the meantim.e, we 

 judge that the fruit had been prett)^ well frozen. 

 The result is that the pears rapidly rotted, almost 

 immediately they were discharged they went off in 

 color, and we fear it will be difficult to dispose of 

 them at anything like a price. Of course you can- 

 not expect them to stand such cold, and we should 

 say it would not be wise to trj^ to ship them so late 

 another time. 



This emphasises what we have all along 

 advocated that in order to have perfect suc- 

 cess, we must have weekly steamers. Last 

 season we had only the space on one steamer 

 engaged, and that after October 5th, it was 

 November 18th before the next sailing, and 

 fruit harvested in October had to be kept all 

 the time waiting. 



Let us have a steamer every week properly 

 fitted as the "Trader" is, and this kind of a 

 difficulty will not again occur. This kind of 

 accommodation ought to be provided for us by 

 the Government, and if our local associations 

 \vould express their wishes either by letter 

 or resolution to the Hon. John Dryden, we 

 have no doubt he will make such provision 

 as shall enable any company of growers 

 willing to make up weekly shipments, with 

 railway and steamship accommodation for 

 the same. 



