7f 



THE CAJSADIAN^QRJICIJ^TURIST. 



bje; profitable ; it is such a good shipper and, 

 evaporates so easily." 



Why don't you top graft your General Hcmd 

 and Washington to some other variety P 



' ' Well, they don't do well in my exper- 

 ience. I have a lot of Lombard trees which 

 I top grafted to Reine Claude and Bradshaw, • 

 but after a few years the grafts died off, and 

 we have still an orchard of Lombards. I 

 think I will dig those trees out and plant the 

 orchard all over again." 



What is your prospect for this season ? 



" Oh, too good, I am afraid, for the price. 

 I expect there will be a heavy crop all 

 through the plum sections. Still, even at 

 thfe low prices of the past two years, they 

 pay very well ; and perhaps the Canadian 

 Northwest will soon open up excellent plurri 

 markets for us." 



The Transportation of fruit at reasonable 

 rates is a burning topic with fruit growers 

 and fruit shippers everywhere. The time 

 was when this business of fruit growing was 

 too insignificant to command either special 

 cars or special rates, and it is no wonder the 

 rates were exorbitant. But now all is chang- 

 ed, and the fruit products are becoming more 

 important in Southern Ontario than the grain 

 products. Why then should not as reason- 

 able rates be made for the carriage of fruit 

 as for grain ? 



At our meeting at Cobourg, a rep )rt was 

 brought in by Mr. W. H. Bunting, chairman 

 of the Transportation Committee, which was 

 very much to the point, and although the 

 report was superseded by a resolution look- 

 ing toward the appointment of a railway 

 commission, the report of the committee 

 should not be lost sight of as expressing 

 some of the points of grievance which we 

 fruit growers have against the carrying com- 

 panies. The following is the resolution : — 



Local and Provincial Distribution.— Resolved 



— I. That a revised schedule of reductions in rates 

 and improvements in service be laid before the 

 railway officials for their consideration, with a 



stroi^g request for their acceptanqe, , in order that 

 at least to some extent' justice may be done to the 

 fruit industrj'. , ,. : .' : - 



2. That, inasmuch as improved systems of re- 

 frigeration aiid vfentilation, in connection with the' 

 carriage of fruits, have been favorably .repprtedon 

 from the tests already made, and since the car ser- 

 vice in this respect has not been satisfactory in the 

 pa,st, the railway company be requested to arrange 

 for a more extensive equipment in this respect on 

 s6me plan that may show reasonable prospect of 

 success. , ' ; 



3. That matters of local grievances or hardships 

 in connection with the transportation of fruits be 

 promptly reported to the secretary of this, associa- 

 tion, with full details, in order that complete in-, 

 formation on this point may be obtained and efforts 

 put forth to relieve the same if possible. 



4. That some comprehensive plan be adopted 

 whereby the local conditions of Over supply or 

 scarcity of fruit in any particular district may be 

 promptly made known, so that a more even and 

 satisfactory distribution of the more perishable 

 fruits may be obtained. 



Export Trade. — Your committee note with satis- 

 faction that improvements in the service are being 

 made by the steamship companies, and, while they 

 regret to learn that the financial results from ex- 

 port shipments have not yet been of such a nature 

 as to inspire confidence in the shipper, they trust 

 that the time may not be far distant when it will 

 be possible to land our apples and pears in the 

 English market in uniformly good order and with 

 a reasonable assurance of a safe and careful hand- 

 ling throughout the entire journey. To this end it 

 is hoped that the Dominion and Provincial Gov- 

 ernments will continue to supplement the valuable 

 assistance already rendered in this respect, which 

 has been productive of good results. 



We solicit the co-operation of local and provin- 

 cial Fruit Growers Associations in securing for 

 fruit grower^ fair play in the matter of freight 

 rates on fruits, so that we may be agreed upon de- 

 tails when we again seek for a better classification 

 of freights on fruits. 



Civic Improvement is certainly one of the 

 most important fields of work for our local 

 Horticultural Societies, and the noble ex- 

 ample of the Cayuga Society might well be 

 followed by every other such society in On- 

 tario. The plan of work laid out by the 

 American League of Civic Improvement in- 

 cludes the following suggestive sections, — 

 public recreation, a gymnasia, playgrounds, 

 etc ; parks ; municipal art ; village improve- 

 ment ; rural improvement, including good 

 roads, country schools, etc. ; sanitation ; 

 libraries and museums ; social settlements ; 

 public nuisances, as smoke, advertising, etc. ; 

 preservation of nature ; arts and crafts, etc. 



