;o6 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



CANADIAN APPLES AT THE EXHIBITION. 



FOR GLASGOW. 



A NEW SUPPLY 



Gattonside House, 

 Melrose, Oct. 6, 1901. 

 i^wi IR, — One of the advantages conferred 

 ^''- upon the public by your Interna- 

 .\\^v> tional Exhibition is that it has 

 shown us what other countries 

 might send us if only proper communications 

 with them were opened. Thus, whilst strol- 

 ling- round the Canadian Section last July, 

 I came upon tables containing the most 

 magnificent display of apples I ever witness- 

 ed. Entering into conversation with the 

 gentleman in charge, he kindly explained to 

 me the different varieties, and also allowed 

 me to taste several, which I found to be 

 excellent. The varieties he particularly re- 

 commended as first-rate eating apples were 

 Alexander, Gloria Mundi, Holland pippin. 

 Wealthy, Fameuse, Ben Davis, Mann, Spit- 

 zenburgh and Blenheim- Orange. I was 

 surprised to find that out of 50 varieties 

 exhibited by Canada at your Exhibition, only 

 three are as yet known in Britain. I was 

 also struck by the fact that these apples 

 were in excellent condition for eating in July, 

 whilst Scottish fruiterers' supplies of Ameri- 

 can and Canadian apples finished in May. 



Having a very influential friend in Toronto 

 I wrote to him of my visit to your Exhibi- 

 tion, and of my discovering there 47 splen- 

 did varieties of Canadian apples as yet 

 unimported into Britain. I gently chid him 

 for keeping all the best Canadian apples to 

 himself, and summoned him, as a loyal son 

 of the empire, to give us at least, fair trade 

 in apples, and to induce Canada to send us 

 every variety of apple grown in the Domin- 

 ion. I also pointed out that our supply of 

 Canadian and American apples closed in 

 May, whereas I was eating capital Canadian 

 apples in Glasgow Exhibition in July. 



My friend took my criticism so much to 

 heart, and has so great a love both for his 

 Scotland and for Canada, that he placed 

 himself, without delay, in communication 

 with one of the leading officials connected 

 with the apple-growing industry in Canada: 

 and I have now the pleasure of transcribing 

 pro bono publico the letter which that official 

 wrote to my friend in Toronto: — 



"Ontario, September 20, 1901. — Dear 

 Sir, — I have your letter of the i8th inst., 

 inquiring why those magnificent Canadian 

 apples are not placed for sale in Glasgow. 

 I think I may reply that the probability is 

 that these apples will in a short time be reg- 

 ularly shipped from here to Glasgow. Last 

 year was the first season when our cold 

 storage accommodation on shipboard was 

 of such satisfactory character that we were 

 able to send forward our best fruits in safety 

 to the old country. By the ordinary 

 methods of carriage, our fruits were fre- 

 quently ruined before they arrived in the old 

 country, and of course, could not be held 

 any time afterwards. Last year I took ad- 

 vantage of the improved arrangements, and 

 put up for the Dominion Government nearly 

 200 cases of apples for Glasgow Exhibition. 

 These were held in Montreal in cold storage 

 until the month of May, after which they 

 were forwarded in cold storage compart- 

 ments to Glasgow, and brought upon the 

 tables from time to time as they were re- 

 quired. I am informed by the commissioner 

 in charge that he could have sold large quan- 

 tities of these apples in July and August at 

 high prices to the Glasgow people. I have 

 no doubt that an excellent trade will soon be 

 developed in this direction." — I am, &c. — 

 Ralph Richardson^ in Glasgoiv Herald. 



