December, 19 t 4 



THE CANADIAN HOETICULTURIST 



297 



Frutt Business from the Retailer's Standpoint' 



D. W. Clark, Retail 



THERE are people under the impression 

 if a grocer buys an article for ninety- 

 nine cents and sells it for a dollar he is 

 making- a profit of one per cent. Such 

 is not at all the case. I have been in the 

 grocery business in Toronto over thirty 

 years, and from my own experience and 

 the experiences of others in the trade, the 

 expenses of a grocer reach from twelve to 

 eighteen per cent, on the turnover. So that 

 if a retailer sells a basket of fruit for one 

 dollar, he must figure that from the time 

 that basket entered his store until it was 

 handed in at the door of the consumer, it 

 cost him anywhere from twelve to eighteen 

 cents. Suppose it cost him the average 

 fifteen cents — you can see that if the first 

 cost of the article was eighty-five cents 

 and he sold it for one dollar, he is actually 

 just breaking even and no net profit what- 

 ever has been made. 



The overhead expenses of a retail grocer 

 include many items. There are wages to 

 be paid the manager or proprietor, and the 

 selling staff ; there is rent, or interest on 

 investment, light, fuel, the upkeep of de- 

 livery horses and waggons, amd drivers' 

 wages ; taxes, insurance, store equipment 

 and fixtures ; depreciation on everything ; 

 stationery, stamps, etc., bad debts which 

 freqtaently necessitate the writing off of 

 considerable money ; and sometimes un- 

 foreseen occurrences, such as the death of 

 a horse or the smashing of a delivery wag- 

 gon in a runaway. Goods which we pur- 

 chase and stock in our stores so as to have 

 them convenient for the consuming public 

 must each and all bear their share of these 

 •A paper read at the recent convention in To- 

 ronto of the Ontario Fruit Growers' Association. 



Grocer, Toronto, Ont. 



inevitable overhead expenses. In the case 

 of fruit and other perishable goods, there 

 is always the additional expense of waste 

 to be added, for no merchant, mo matter 

 how careful he may be, can gauge his 

 purchases and sales correctly at all times. 



RET-\ILER8 PROMOTE CONSUMPTION 



I think you will all agree with me that 

 the consuming public would not buy as 

 much fruit and vegetables if they had to 

 get their supplies direct from the country. 

 The attractive displays of the retailers of 

 Toronto every season are responsible for 

 the great majority of sales, and if there 

 were no displays to tender suggestions to 

 the people, and if the consumers were left 

 upon their own initiative to write or wire 

 to the country for supplies, there would 

 be a large amount of stuff go abegging. 

 I would just like to see the retailers of 

 the country give up the sale of fruit and 

 vegetables for one year, and allow the con- 

 suming public to send to the country for 

 everything they wanted. You can depend 

 upon it, there would be very little fruit 

 comsumed this year. 



If, then, the retail grocer is a necessary 

 link in the chain of fruit and vegetable 

 marketing to secure the maximum turn- 

 over, the next question to decide is the 

 cheapest and best way for fruit and vege- 

 tables to reach his store. You growers, 

 who obtain the maximum benefit from your 

 crops, appreciate the fact that the harvest 

 you produce should all find its way into 

 consumption, and at prices that will bring 

 you a reasonable net profit. If you pro- 

 duce more than a market can be found for, 

 you lose. If the prices you receive do not 



The Fruitland Nurseries 



are now prepared to book spring orders for 

 all kinds of Fruit and Ornamental Trees, 

 Shrubs and Vines at lowest prices. Send for 

 price list. 



G. M. HILL BOX 42 FRUITLAND, Ont. 



Strawberries 



50 varieties 



Raspberries i, varieties 

 10 varieties Seed Potatoes 



FREE CATALOG 



THE LAKEVIEW FRUIT FARM 



H. L. McCONNELL & SON, PORT BURWELL, ONT. 



DISSOLUriON OF PARTNERSHIP 



NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that the 

 partnership heretofore carried on by the 

 "CHAS. E. HOPPEE COMPANY," as deal- 

 ers in beelteepers' supplies, etc., has been 

 this day dissolved by mutual consent. All 

 debts owiner to the said partnership are to 

 be paid to The Boot-Oanadian House, at 

 183 Wright Avenue, Toronto, Ont., and all 

 claims against the said partnership are to 

 be presented to the said Bcot-Canadian 

 House, by whom the same may be settled. 



DATED at Toronto this 20th day of Nov- 

 ember, 1914. 



THE CHAS. B. HOPPER CO. 



JOHN A. PATERSON. 



The business will be continued at 185 

 Wright Ave., Toronto, Ont., by The Root- 

 Canadian House. 



Pruning Saws 



A STYLE FOR EVERY REQUIREMENT 



No. 10 



Socket handle for attaching to pole. Adjustable blade. 

 14 inches centre to centre of holes. 



No. 25 



Flat steel frame, riveted sockets, ewivel stretcher. 

 Beech handle, varnished edges, two nickel-plated screws. 

 Blued steel blade. 14 inches. 



D-24 



Narrow point crucible steel blade, copper handle with 

 beechwood grip. 14 to 24 inches. 



One-Man Cross-Cut 



Made on the same principles as our Disston handsaws. 

 Designed to withstand maximum "thrust" without 

 buckling, and for easy rapid cutting. 



Write lor " Pruning Saw Booklet " 



HENRY DISSTON 81 SONS, LTD 



2 ERASER AVENUE 



TORONTO, ONT. 



One-Man Cross-Cut 



