270 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



November, 191 4. 



Fruit Conditions in Winnipeg and the West* 



Prol. F. W, Broderick, Agricultural College, Winnipeg, Man. 



SHIPPERS of fruit, and more particu- table luxury are now coming to regaixl it 

 larly Cainadian fruit, are looking more as an article of necessity, 

 intently to the Canadian west as an There are several factors which will do 

 ovulct for their products. The Can- much to widen the sale of fruit. Amcmg 

 adian west must continue to be a customer the more important of these are: (1) Plac- 

 for the fruits of British Columbia, Ontario, ing the goods on the market ioi prime con- 

 Quebec, and Nova Scotia, and a customer dition ; (2) using an attractive and con- 

 whose wants will go on increasing with venient package; (3) getting the goods in 

 the growth of population im Manitoba, Sas- the hands of the consumer as quickJy as 

 katchewan, and Alberta. possible after arrival ; (4) regulating the 

 There is a large trade of fruit to these supply so that goods may be obtained by 

 western provinces. To a considerable ex- the consumer at a reasonable price, 

 tent it will depend upon the shippers them- The comdition of the fruit on its arrival 

 selves as to how this trade is retained and ivill depend to a large extent on the way 

 increased. Fruit is every year becoming a vht fruit goes into the car and the way it 

 commodity of greater necessity in the diet- is handled during transhipment. Pre-cool- 

 ary of western households. The many uses ing of fruits, particularly of tender fruits, 

 to which fruit, cooked amd uncooked, may judging from the results which have been 

 be put IS causing it to be regarded as an obtained from experimental shipments, will 

 article of necessity rather than a luxury. do a great deal to improve the quality of 

 To give an idea of the immense amount these fruits on arrival. By removing' the 

 of fruit received into Winnipeg, I might natural heat from the fruit before it goes 

 quote from the figures of the Chief Fruit into the car it will carry much better dur- 

 Inspector for Winnipeg. According to his ing shipment and stand up for a much 

 figures there were received into Winnipeg greater length of time after it is removed 

 the following quantities of fruit during the from the car on arrival. Pre-cooling with 

 years 1913 and 1914: long distance shipments of tender fruits 

 ONTARIO will do a great deal to bring the goods on 



540 care apples W,2«)Tbs. the market in prinie condition. 



30 cars apples 18,000 boxes Another point attecting the condition of 



107 cajs grapes 267,500 bekts. the fruit on arrival is the character of the 



139 cars grapes, peaches, plums, package in which the fruit is shipped The 



tomatoes, app^ 347,500 bskta. ^^^ ^hing in this connection is that the 



32 oars applet .™ .^ ™.'^ 19 200 boxes ^^^f^^^^ ^^ ^'"^K ""^^^ i« °rder that goods 



12 cars crab apples •• 7,200 boxes "^^'"^ ^°^ oe crushed during transhipment, 



NOVA SCOTIA ^tid probably the most important of all that 



2 cars apples 400 bbs. the package be of moderate size to limit 



IMPORTED the amount of fruit in each package. 



116 cars Am. apples 20,880 bbs. nvfnT«ini>if. 



146 cars Am. apples tf?,000 boxes overlo.vding 



24 cars loaches, plums, cherries. Many carloads of fruit coming into the 



locaTrears-:::;::;;..;:;:;:.::;.:; li^SS;. '^''' '°-^^y ^'^ overloaded, tms, of course. 



26 cars strawberries 12,845 crs. qt . '/ .°°"e to get advantage of the lower 



10 oars strawberries 8,154 crs. pts. freight rates. If the same rate could be 



7 freezers and 15 ca^es do 740 qts. obtained from eastern and western points 



MS^t^mares^.^:::::::::;:::::: '^.T^. f-/ i^««« p°-d car that is being paid 



ON HAND DECEMBER 318T. 1913 '"-^^^^ ^°' f f.'^^ "^.,^'*^ 5°"°'^ 'PP^'^- 



3,152 barrels. 15,686 boxes apples. car, a great shift vvx,uld be made to ensure 



Fruit receiTod in Winnipes to August 10, 1914. tne sate arrival ot tender fruits. Cars fre- 



EXPRESS UNITED STATES quently come into our western markets over- 



3,000 pints strawberries. ' loaded, and if there has been any defect in 



BRITISH COLUMBIA ^^^^S en route there is considerable waste 



500 packages oherries-Expreae ^^n? ^^sriilt 



1 car apples. Much ot the success of shipment depends 



IMPORTED upon the way the goods are placed in the 



57 oars strawberries— pints. ^^'■- . The placing in of false floors, proper 



15 cars strawberries— quarta. spacing in the case of box packages, leav- 



30 oars tomatoes-crates. ing an open space in the centre of the car, 



35 cars Washington ap5)les— boxee.. a„j r^rr^no-r h,--,^;,,,^ .,,„ • . i,- I u 



5 cars Am. aj)pie8-bbls. J"^ proper bracing, are points which have 



65 cars Oal. and Wa^h. small fruits. °?en introduced to good advantage in long 



25 cars raspberries and loganberries— pints. distance shipments into Winnipeg. The 



10 cars blackberries. main factor in long distance shipments, of 



ONTARIO course, is free circulation of air about the 



25 care barrel apples. fruit. To ensure this the false floor should 



18 cars basket fruits and tomatoes. u,p _4. io„<,» f«,,_ ;„„i,„„ (, ^\. a ■• 



2000 packages tomatoes, etc., by express. "L^ ^^ ^^^/^ ^"""^ ',"ches from the floor, and 



A large proportion of these goods was '^'tCt H.f?^" "' "''"'^- \ shipments 



.consumed in Winnipeg, and the balance ,honld ^.^^.1,^ j^™" T""'^^' ^^'"^"^^'l 



was shipped to points farther west. Win- '>"^^ \f^rt\f^t■7^ precaution of 



nipeg is very largely the distributing point the /,;'^' ?" '""^ "?'' '^""^ '^""l 



for fruits coming from the east and south. 't^. ^e,JZlZl l""""^'!- °P'"''' ^"'^ 



In addition to the quantities mentioned. For winter .h^n^ . f '^"'T• 



considerable quantities are shipped to other of false^iH.. .=^1^ °/,^PPJ^^' *^« "?5 



points in the prairie provinces from British "A f^ltfT'^L '^ ^ ' ^"^""n 



Columbia and the Pacific Coast states. come hrn.f^h t nZ^ ^^v" ^°°1' ""'" 



Fruit to^av is in great demand in the 'dditional Srer.^,.>. • ^°"'1'*^°\. "'^^ ^" 



Canadian west, and shippers will find a 'hfnne "^o^H ^ ^l /" '''\ shipments, 



ready sale if their goods are put on the '^^f'!/" w,^ ^ V°.»,''' 'l!^' *^ '^"'" 



market in attractive form. The users of „ ,t "n o^ fnn^oTfv "^ ^ '^' P'"^' "^ 



r .,. ■ „• J put in on top ot the car. 

 fruit are every year increasing, and many 



who a few vears ago regarded fruit as a , '''^^ p.^ck.\ge 



— In connection with the second point, that 



*A paper read at the Dominion Fruit Confer- is an attractive and convenient package, a 



ence held in Grimsby, Ont., 8?pt. 2 4, 1914. great deal could be said. We hear a great 



deal to-day about the box as the most suit- 

 able package, and from the returns of ship- 

 ments into Winnipeg of goods from British 

 Columbia and the Pacific Coast states, it 

 is growing in popularity there. From many 

 standpoints the box is an ideal package — 

 neat, compact, uniform, and a desirable 

 package for loading cars Its uniformity 

 makes it a desirable package for the dealer 

 to handle and tends to encourage its popu- 

 larity. It is an ideal package for certain 

 conditions, but it cannot be said that there 

 is not a strong demand for certain classes 

 of goods in baskets and barrels. 



From return of shipments during recent 

 years to the west from the eastern provinces 

 the barrel and basket seem still to be popu- 

 lar packages. Western markets will con- 

 tinue to use large quantities of basket fruit 

 providing it is well assorted and attractively 

 put up. The six-quart basket, from the 

 standpoint of carriage during shipment and 

 suitability for market purposes, seems to 

 be the most desirable package. Cars of 

 properly loaded basket fruit arrive on our 

 markets in excellent condition, showing tha,t 

 the basket is a good package from the 

 standpoint of carriage. 



As a market package it is popular for the 

 reason that it is convenient to handle and 

 holds a suitable amount of fruit to be 

 readily saleable. Eastern shippers have an 

 exclusive market in basket fruit and should 

 make a specialty of it. 



THE USE OF THE B.\RREL 



The barrel has come in for some criti- 

 cism as a package for the shipment of the 

 hardier late fruits on account of its size 

 and the difficulty with which it is handled. 

 There is a demand in the west for barrel 

 apples. As figures will indicate the larger 

 shipments of apples from the eastern pro- 

 vinces are in barrels. Many people living 

 in the west are accustomed to buying their 

 apples in barrels, and will continue to de- 

 mand them put up in this way. In order 

 that this barrel-apple trade be retained and 

 enlarged, shippers will have to keep a uni- 

 formly high standard of packing, having 

 their goods well graded and carefully 

 marked. 



Probably the greatest problem before the 

 shipper and dealer to-day is the question 

 of distribution. Irregularity in shipments, 

 with the gluts which follow, results in a 

 period of low prices, with a subsequent 

 loss to the shipper. If the question of 

 effective distribution is ever to be settled, 

 there must be a getting together of ship- 

 pers and a scheme marked out whereby a 

 central distributing agency will be estab- 

 lished and goods will be distributed to 

 different points as the market demands. 



Western markets will handle considerable 

 amounts of fruit during the entire season, 

 providing it is put on the markets with 

 regularity. This is particularly true of the 

 apple trade. Nova Scotia, Quebec, On- 

 tario, and British Columbia are now be- 

 coming heavy producers of apples, and a 

 great many of these apples are finding their 

 way into our western markets. If these 

 apples which are handled during a short 

 season could be properly distributed, the 

 producer would receive a relatively higher 

 price for his goods, and the range of con- 

 sumption would be considerably extended. 



In summing up the situation from a west- 

 em standpoint, it could be said that the 

 success of the Cainadian fruit trade will 

 depend largely on good shipping facilities 

 and a careful handling of a perishable pro- 

 duct ; neat, attractive, saleable packages ; 

 uniform and systematic grading, and a re- 

 gular and consistent distribution. 



