Ontario Fruit Growers Meet in Annual Convention 



THE subject of the over-production of 

 fruit was never before so seriousliy con- 

 ■ sidered as at the annual convention of 

 the Ontario Fruit Growers' Association, held 

 November 19 to 21 in the Eairy Amphi- 

 theatre of the Canadian National Exhibi- 

 tion Rrrounds. President W. H. Dempsey, 

 of Trenton, referred to the menace of over- 

 production im his opening address. 



"The crop in storafre this spring," said 

 Mr. Dempsey, "sold at prices far under cost 

 of production in many cases. This was the 

 result of over-production. While last year's 

 was not a full crop by any means, it was 

 heavy enough to cause a slump in prices. 

 Alt our selling organizations seemed to be 

 helpless in the face of an over-crop, and 

 the prices and profits in which we have so 

 long believed, failed. This year with a crop 

 almost a failure, prices have kept within 

 reason." 



Mr. Dempsey then voiced this caution : 

 "We begin to feel that the apple business 

 may soon be over-done, and caution seems 

 necessary on the part of our fellow-investors 

 and on ourselves who already know the 

 business." 



Mr. Dempsey believes that peach grow- 

 ers are in much the same positioil as the 

 apple growers and should make further 

 plantings with e.xtreme caution. Cherries, 

 too, have ceased to advance in price, which 

 is one of the first indications of over-plant- 

 ing. Berries, he said, were high only be- 

 cause of dry weather, which cut the crop 

 in half. 



SOME VARIETIES OVER PI,.*NTED 



The subject was referred to again and 

 again during the convention. Prof. J. W. 

 Crow, of the Ontario Agricultural College, 

 admitted the truth of Mr. Dempsey's con- 

 tentioji, but with qualifications. Some var- 

 ieties, he said, had been over-planted, and 

 as an instance he mentioned the Baldwin, 

 one of our best commercial varieties, but 

 one now being produced in as great quan- 

 tities as the markets can stand. The low- 

 ering of tariff duties on apples going imto 

 the United States and the lowering of our 

 own tariff walls that may follow consequent 

 upon the demands of Canadian consumers, 

 makes the planting of Baldwins and similar 

 varieties even less advisable, as United 

 States growers are heavy producers in this 

 lime. Prof. Crow, however, was not pessi- 

 mistic. He predicted a great future for 

 the fruit growing industry in Ontario if we 

 will make the production of strictly fancy 

 varieties our specialty. Such varieties are 

 the Snow, Mcintosh, and Spy. These var- 

 ieities are always at the top of the market, 

 and we can produce- them in Canada to 

 better advantage than any other country in 

 the world. We will not only have a large 

 and growing home market for these var- 

 ieties, but an unlimited market as well 

 across the line. 



Mr. Mcintosh, the originator of the Mc- 

 intosh apple, was present when Prof. Crow 

 was speaking, and in endorsing his views, 

 said that this fall he had sold in Montreal 

 well packed Mcintosh Reds at seven dol- 

 lars fifty cents a barrel. Mr. Dempsey 

 himself suggested that a great market for 

 first-class Canadian fruit could be found 

 right in our own cities if our people were 

 educated to appreciate the home-grown 

 article. "Toronto people," said Mr. Demp- 

 sey, "are paying long prices for foreign 

 fruit of inferior quality to that which they 

 can secure at home." 



Mr. Robt. Thompson, of St. Catharines, 

 one of the largest handlers of fruit in Can- 



ada, stated most emphatically that he did 

 not believe that there was any danger of 

 fruit growers outrunning the demand for 

 their products. "There are consumers 

 enough in Canada," said he, "to use all 

 the tender fruits that can be grown from 

 Toronto around the head of the lakes and to 

 the Niagara River if all the suitable soil 

 were planted." Mr. Thompson's remedy 

 for apparent over-production in apples last 

 year and in peaches this year is proper 

 distribution. He said that a splendid mar- 

 ket could be fouind in the smaller towns of 

 Ontario and the Eastern provinces if their 

 needs were intelligently studied and con- 

 sistently supplied. Speaking from a long 

 experience with Western markets, Mr. 

 Thompson refuted the idea that Ontario 

 fruit is not popular in the West. He said 

 that if one-half of what was published 

 about dishonestly packed Ontario fruit in 

 Western markets were true, that we would 

 have lost that market long ago. 



Mr. G. E. Mcintosh, the Association's 

 transportation agent, reviewed the trans- 

 portation situation as it affects the fruit 

 grower. His investigations and conclusions 

 were much the same as those given in his 

 report of last year. Mr. Mcintosh express- 

 ed his belief that both freight and express 

 tariffs were all the traffic would bear, but 

 he did not consider these the essential 

 points. The real grievances of fruit grow- 

 ers he defined as follows : Lack of railway 

 equipment ; inefficient terminal facilities ; 

 uncertainty as to rapidity of transit ; rough 

 handling ; pilfering ; and neglect in icing 

 cars or heating them according to the sea- 

 son. 



In concluding his remarks — a portion of 

 which appears elsewhere in this issue — Mr. 

 Mcintosh made the following recommenda- 

 tions : 



First, that an effort be made to have navi- 

 gation companies handlimg freight and 

 ODerating upon Canadian waterways, placed 

 under the jurisdiction of the Railway Com- 

 mission ; second, that power be given the 

 Railway Commission to adjudicate claims 

 against railways or express companies not 

 settled in 60 davs : third, that the Commis- 

 sion be given jurisdiction in the fixing of 

 nenalties for rough handling and oilfering : 

 fourth, that fruit inspectors be also cargo 

 inspectors ; fifth, that the express mini- 

 mum bf reduced from 20,000 lbs. to 15,000 ; 

 sixth, that the railway companies allow free 

 transportation both ways for men sent in 

 charge of heated cars ; seventh, that the 

 railway companies be asked to provide a 

 special fruit service from central shippimg 

 points in Ontario to Winnipeg during the 

 shipping season. 



These recommendations met with the ap- 

 proval of the members and were incorporat- 

 ed in their resolutions. It was decided to 

 nrint Mr. Mcintosh's address in pamphlet 

 form and distribute it among the members 

 of the association, the members of Parlia- 

 memt, and all others who might be inter- 

 ested . 



PE.VCH DI8E.\8B9 



Two addresses of great educational value 

 were delivered bv Mr. L. Caesar, Provin- 

 cial Entomo'ogist, who is always a popular 

 sneaker at fruit growers' conventions. In 

 discussing "Little Peach and Peach Yel- 

 lows." Mr. Caesar reported a continual and 

 rapid decrease in the number of trees de- 

 "^troved each -"-ear through these diseases. 

 In 1911 sixtv thousand trees were destroved 

 nnd in 1913 the Tiumber had dropped to six 

 thousand. Mr. Caesar appealed to all fruit 



298 



growers to assist him in ridding the pro- 

 vince of these diseases. The speaker at- 

 tached but little importance to the so-called 

 cures for Little Pe-.ich and Peach Yellows, 

 claiming that the only effectual remedy 

 was eradication by digging and burning 

 the diseased trees. 



Mr. Caesar's second address was of wider 

 interest. His subject was ".Apple Scab," 

 and in it he gave a survey of conditions 

 prevailing in reference to the disease in 

 the cmtire province. He called attention 

 to the susceptibility of such varieties as 

 Snow and Mcintosh and the immunity of 

 Blenheim, Duchess, and Golden Russet. 

 A^ a general rule the worst attacks of scab 

 can be warded off by proper spraying. 



These addresses will be given almost in 

 full in future issues of Th<; Canadian 

 Horticulturist. 



DEMONSTRATION 0RCH.\RD8 



Intensely practical and interesting was 

 the review given by R. S. Duncan, B.S.A., 

 of the demonstration orchard work being 

 conducted by him in the counties of North- 

 umberlard and Durham. Mr. Duncan de- 

 scribed in detail the methods adopted for 

 the regeneration of five neglected and ap- 

 parently worn-out orchards, and then com- 

 pared the profits made from these orchards 

 both before and after the trees came into 

 the hands of the department. Mr. Duncan 

 made special reference to a two and one- 

 half acre orchard on light, sandy soil. For 

 three years the receipts from this orchard 

 had been three hundred dollars, two hun- 

 dred dollars, and one hundred dollars re- 

 spectively. In the succeeding three years, 

 with proper attention, receipts from the 

 same orchard were sevem hundred and fifty 

 dollars fifty cents, four hundred and ninety- 

 nine dollars eighty cents, and four hun- 

 dred and ninety-three dollars and fifty-eight 

 cents. By proper methods the percentage 

 of number one apples was increased from 

 thirty to sixty per cent, to eighty to eiglity- 

 seven per cemt. Similar results were noted 

 in the other four orchards. The increased 

 profits the speaker attributed to good prun- 

 ing, cultivation, fertilization, and spraying. 



"The Pre-cooling of Fruit" was the sub- 

 ject of an address for which A. B. Stuben- 

 rauch, of the United States Department of 

 Agriculture, was slated, but he failed to 

 turn up, and his paper was read by Mr. R. 

 R. Graham, of the O.A.C. The writer 

 based his remarks on experimental work 

 conducted by the United States Bureau of 

 Plant Industrj'. He pointed out that pre- 

 cooling, while of itself an important mea- 

 sure for the preservation of fruit in good 

 condition, was of real practical value only 

 when it went hand in hand with care in 

 picking and packing the fruit. In fact, 

 most of the paper did mot discuss pre- 

 cooling at all, all stress being laid on the 

 necessity of careful handling. .As an ex- 

 ample of how carefully fruit may be hand- 

 led, Mr. Stubenrauch made mention of the 

 practice of some far Western growers who 

 wear gloves when handling their apples. 

 (Continued on page 306) 



In British Columbia a systematic effort 

 is now being made to place British Col- 

 umbia canned fruit on the English mar- 

 ket. Little attention as yet has been paid 

 to this phase of fruit marketing by the 

 Emglish fruit brokers and wholesale deal- 

 ers. By the time that the canning indus- 

 try has been well established in that pro- 

 vince, it is hoped that an interest will be 

 awakened in the Old Country. 



