March, 1922. 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



59 



NIAGARA PENINSULA GROWERS, Ltd 



t «. PI 



I 



WITH a total turnover of about $1,500,- 

 000 at an operating expense of 8 % per 

 cent, of sales, or 12 per cent, of mem- 

 bers' credits, the Niagara >Penlnsula Grow- 

 ers, Ltd., completed its first fiscal year 

 (of only nine months) with a statement 

 which surpassed the expectation of even the 

 most optimistic. At the annual meeting of 

 the shareholders held at Grimsby, Feb. 20, 

 at which more than 400 were present, satis- 

 faction was expressed, and the growers 

 most Interested financially declared them- 

 selves exceptionally well pleased with the 

 management in every respect. The annual 

 statement, which had been forwarded in 

 pamphlet form to the shareholders the pre- 

 ceding week, was read and explained in de- 

 tail. Complete figures were presented and 

 everything of interest was laid before the 

 meeting. All the statements were adopted. 

 In the absence of Lieut.-Col. H. L. Rob- 

 erts, Grimsby, president of the organiza- 

 tion, who was seriously ill, the chair was 

 taken by Vice-President A. A. Craise, of 

 .St. Catharines. Regret was expressed by 

 the officials and by several members, as well 

 as by resolution, over the illness of the 

 president, and many expressions were 

 ^ voiced of appreciation of Col. Roberts' 

 |;great work and constant interest in the 

 affairs of the association since its organiza- 

 tion. 



After the adoption of the minutes of the 

 preceding general meeting, read by Secre- 

 tary-Treasurer G. G. Bourne, the following 

 directors for the ensuing year, as nominated 

 by the districts?, were announced: H. T. 

 Foster, Burlington; T. J. Mahony, Stoney 

 Creek; F. W. DeWitt, Fruitland; J. P. 

 ^Bridgeman, Winona; Col. H. L,. Roberts, 

 fOrimsby; H. K. Griffith, Grimsby Beach; 

 ' James Taylor, Beamsville; Arthur W. 

 Smith, Vineland; H. "W. Hunsberry, Jordan; 

 Arthur A. Craise, Peachland; W. C. Nicker- 

 son, St. Catharines; J. M. Crysler, Queen- 

 ston; Robert G. Lawson, Niagara-on-the- 

 Lake; M. A. Ware, Fonthlll and Fenwick. 



General Manager's Report 



An interesting account of the year's work 

 was given by General Manager T. J. Ma- 

 hony. From 469 members at the inception 

 of the organization last May, the enrolment 

 now was 656, with 934 shares subscribed. 

 Thfe growers had wanted to get away from 

 the old system of selling through dealers, 

 commission houses, brokers, etc., and had 

 made a good start in a hard year. When 

 the organization started it was looked upon 

 as a combine to boost prices, with nothing 

 offered in return. Honest effort to improve 

 "Trades, eliminate waste and arrange for a 

 letter system of marketing, had resulted 

 In the disappearance of this hostile attitude. 

 Considering many difficulties encountered 

 throughout the season, Mr. Mahony thought 

 that progress had been satisfactory. Among 

 the difficulties encountered were excep- 

 tional earllnesa of season, abnormal heat in 

 summer, decreased buying power on the 

 part of the public, and so forth. The lack 

 of adequate facilities for handling the crop 

 was deplored. Pre-cooling and cold-storage 

 .systems were missing, central packing 

 houses were practically non-existent and 

 fruit was being packed In containers which 

 did not meet with favor on western mar- 

 kets. 



Speaking of the British riiarkets, Mr 

 Mahony stated that the apples and pears 

 Shipped there by the company had brought 

 "trices as good or better than those ob- 



tained In Canada. Instead of only 18 cars 

 of pears being exported, however, 50 cars 

 or more would have gone forward had cen- 

 tral packing and cold-storage facilities been 

 available. For the United States markets 

 there must also be a change in methods and 

 packages. The business done there with 

 Niagara District grapes had been success- 

 ful. Other fruits could be handled to the 

 same advantage were our grading and pack- 

 ing and packages suitable to the require- 

 ments across the line. As the Niagara Dis- 

 trict had a market of 40,000,000 people 

 within a radius of 500 miles, our growers 

 should adopt jBvery possible means of taking 

 advantage of same, and that meant, for one 

 thing, the changing of our package stan- 

 dards to conform to United States demands. 

 Comprehensive fruit surveys were an- 

 other need of the industry. Mr. Mahony 

 advocated the preparation of charts of the 

 whole district, which system was adopted 

 in other large fruit-growing sections. 

 Acreages would be determined, the num- 

 ber of trees and their ages could be known, 

 the company would have on intelligent fore- 

 cast of the probable crop and, in any one 

 season, an estimate of the amount of any 

 one kind of fruit or other product to be 

 handled, some time before the crop was 

 harvested. To emphasize the importance of 

 wise marketing, Mr. Mahony said that in 

 1920, when a large part of the Niagara fruit 

 crop rotted on the ground $32,000,000 worth 

 of American fruit came into Canada. 



Financial Statement 



The financial statement was then read, as 

 given on page 61 of this Issue. The state- 

 ment was the same, with slight adjust- 

 ments, Mr. Mahony explained, as given 

 out at the district meetings. While In some 

 particulars it might not be as "rosy" as 

 some of the members would like, It was 

 much better than the company's competi- 

 tors and others outside the organization had 

 expected. 



A number of questions were asked re- 

 specting the salaries of the leading officials. 

 "What does the president receive per year?" 

 asked a shareholder. Chairman Craise re- 

 plied that the president had received the 

 magnificent sum of about $6.00 a month 

 for expenses attending directors' meetings, 

 and no salary, but that the organization 

 must expect to pay henceforth a president's 

 salary that would be adequate. Probably 

 no other man was In the same position as 

 Col. Roberts, financially and enthusiasti- 

 cally, to devote so much time and personal 

 expense to the interests of the company. 

 Col. Roberts had been on the job constantly 

 since the beginning early last year, and de- 

 served the highest words of praise and ap- 

 preciation for what he had done, not only 

 for this company, but also for the fruit In- 

 dustry of the district throughout a period 

 of many years' service. 



Salaries of Officials 



In reply to the same member's guery re 

 the salaries of the sales manager and assist- 

 ant sales manager, it was pointed out by 

 H. C. Cox, Winona, and others that the Car- 

 penter Brothers had given up a business of 

 $600,000 a year, the major part of which 

 had been absorbed by this company — a 

 business from which they had acquired a 

 larger personal Income than the salaries 

 they now received. It was pointed out, fur- 

 ther, that the record of their achievements 

 this past year was sufficient In Itself to show 

 that the salaries were not too high. No 



objection was voiced respecting the amount 

 of salary paid to the general manager. In- 

 cidentally, to show the salaries paid by 

 similar organizations elsewhere. Chairman 

 Craise stated that the manager of the Nor- 

 folk Fruit Growers' Association received 

 $10,000, and Hon. Manning Doherty, who 

 was present and expressed himself well 

 pleased with the reports, stated that the 

 manager of the California Fruit Exchange 

 was paid $40,000. 



Sales Manager's Report 



Sales Manager C. D. Carpenter presented 

 an exceedingly clear and complete report 

 on the operations of his department. This 

 report appears in full on page 60. He 

 referred to the difficulties of the season and 

 mentioned, in addition to the handicaps re- 

 ferred to by the general manager, the lack 

 of advertising through newspapers and 

 other mediums. He thought that an ad- 

 vertising campaign to reach the public must 

 • sooner or later be started and afterwards 

 conducted annually. 



In answer to a question respecting the 

 shipment of tomatoes, Mr. Carpenter said 

 that basket-packed tomatoes should be 

 abandoned. There was no use in sending 

 tomatoes in 11 -quart baskets to Winnipeg 

 and expect them to stand up for reship- 



Recommendations From Old 



Directors to New Board, 



N.P.G., Ltd. 



WITH a view to bigger business this 

 coming season and to greater effi- 

 ciency in all departments and activi- 

 ties of the company, the old board of 

 directors of the N. P. G., Ltd., passed to 

 the new board the following recommenda- 

 tions, which the annual meeting approved 

 by unanimous vote: 



That so far as It Is consistent with 

 the best interests of the company, as 

 much Information as possible be given 

 to members with regard to sales, prices, 

 movement of crops and other matters of 

 general interest. 



That growers be given the privilege of 

 securing advance cheques against their 

 accounts at head office on making appli- 

 cation through their divisional managers. 



That the rules and regulations be so 

 amended that the general manager shall 

 have complete authority over all depart- 

 ments. 



That all members holding half-shares 

 of stock, be entitled to vote and that 

 every effort be made to Increase the 

 membership of the company, by encour. 

 aging small, as well as large, growers 

 to Join. 



That the necessary rearrangement be 

 made \r\ the sales department with a 

 view to making more use of the ability 

 and experience of our divisional mana- 

 gers. 



That the salaries and appointments 

 and duties of officials and employees of 

 the company be considered, with a view 

 to curtailed expenditure and Increased 

 efficiency. In order that the overhead 

 expense be reduced as much as possible. 



That, having In view the Importance 

 of the local markets as an outlet for 

 our products, every effort be made to 

 use them to the fullest extent. 



That every effort be made to Induce 

 the Dominion Department of Agriculture 

 to supply a sufficient number of Inspec- 

 tors In the district to Inspect all carload 

 shipments: and we further recommend 

 that company Inspectors be appointed 

 whose duty It shall be to see that the 

 company grades are properly maintained, 

 and to co-operate with the growers In 

 Improving the quality of their pack. 



That some change be made In regard 

 to commission sales on the Toronto mar- 

 ket, so that members whose produce is 

 shipped there will not be subjected to a 

 double commission. 



That wherever practicable, steps be 

 taken to secure sites and arrange tor 

 the financing of central packing houses, 

 the establishment of which will contrl. 

 bute very materially to the successful 

 marketing of our crops. 



