MEETING OF NOVA SCOTIA FRUIT GROWERS. 



tion, it being- sugg^ested that, in the opinion 

 of this association, apples should be placed 

 at least on an equal footing- with flour." 

 The second matter of transportation which 

 received attention was in reference to the 

 character of the steamers which are allowed 

 to carry freig^ht upon the subsidized lines 

 runnings between London and points in Nova 

 Scotia. It was shown beyond any question, 

 that the vessels which have this year been 

 carryingf apples from Halifax and Annapolis 

 have, in some cases, been unfit for such a 

 purpose, and have furthermore been allowed 

 so free a hand in the matter of when they 

 should leave port, how the fruit consigned 

 to them should be handled, and how other 

 freig-ht, such as deals, should be stowed in 

 connection with the app«les, that g^reat dam- 

 ag-e has been done to the fruit. Secretary 

 S. C. Parker said he had personally examin- 

 ed the account ot sales of more than one 

 thousand barrels of Gravensteins, and they 

 would not average loc per barrel net. It 

 was felt by all that some action should be 

 taken which would remedy this state of 

 affairs in future ; that steamers which are 

 subsidized by the Government should be 

 rigidly inspected, and so supervised as to 

 insure the proper handling of the fruit, and 

 such a system of ventilation as should give 

 the greatest possible assurance of the apples 

 carrying satisfactorily ; and, furthermore, 

 that the failure of the steamship companies to 

 meet the above requirements should be 

 deemed sufficient reason for the withholding 

 of the subsidy. Prof. Robertson said that 

 this plan had already been adopted by the 

 government to a certain extent, but that our 

 difficulty had been, the present season, that 

 freight rates were so high and suitable ves- 

 sels so scarce that steamship owners were 

 not as amenable to this form of moral sua- 

 sion as in ordinary years. Some of those 

 present favored the abolition of all subsidies 



to steamship companies, while others 

 thought that poor and dishonest packing 

 was the great cause of the difficulty ; but 

 the great majority, while admitting that 

 some of the first was not packed as it should 

 have been, considered the steamships as 

 largely responsible, and favored the appoint- 

 ment of an inspector for each port from 

 which apples are being exported, who should 

 have power to see that fruit was properly 

 handled, properly stowed in the vessels, and 

 to examine fruit which he had reason to sus- 

 pect was fraudulently packed and condenvn 

 it if necessary. 



The subject of spraying was given an en- 

 tire session for discussion, and even then 

 the interest was not exhausted. No par- 

 ticularly new features were brought out, but 

 it was evident that in many cases spraying 

 had not given as satisfactory results in 1900 

 as could be desired. Yet every one who 

 took part in the discussion expressed him- 

 self as determined to continue the practice ; 

 one man saying, in reply to the question 

 whether he intended to persevere, "Yes, or 

 go out of the fruit business." But it was 

 very evident that during such a season as 

 last year, when there is so much rainy wea- 

 ther during the early part of the season, the 

 early spraying is all-important. An exam- 

 ple illustrating this fact was given. Two 

 men sprayed their orchards ; one twice, the 

 other three times. The first man sprayed 

 once before the blossoms opened, the other 

 not till they had fallen. The result was 

 that the man who began early and only 

 sprayed twice had better fruit than the man 

 who sprayed three times, but didn't begin 

 till after the blossoms fell. Doubtless dif- 

 ferent weather would have modified this re- 

 sult, but it seems probable that the early 

 spraj' is always of great importance. — 

 Farmers' Advocate. 



