NOTES AAD COMMENTS. 



355 



Fourth lot, 60 packages, were sold at $1.23 

 in London, and netted 64.7 cents in 

 Grimsby ; Fifth lot, 1 1 packages, were sold 

 at $1.90 in London, and netted $1.34 in 

 Grimsby ; Sixth lot, 32 packages, were sold 

 at $1.07 in London, and netted 64 cents in 

 Grimsby. 



These differences seem inexplicable, but 

 the correspondence and my reports from 

 Grimsby and from our agent in London, in- 

 dicated that every time when the pears were 

 superior in quality, in size, and just right in 

 condition, they fetched extreme prices and 

 there was a great demand for them; whereas, 

 when the pears were small in size or not in 

 good condition, they struck a poor market. 

 If you read the correspondence you would 

 see the reason for the extreme differences in 

 price in the same markets for fruit from the 

 same shippers. Here are the returns from 

 A. H, Pettit & Son ; First lot 6 packages, 

 were sold at $1.59 in London, and netted 

 $1.14 in Grimsby; second lot 5 packages, 

 were sold at $1.22 in Manchester, and netted 

 83 cents in Grimsby; Third lot, 15 packages, 

 were sold at $1.21 in Bristol, and netted 

 72.6 cents in Grimsby ; Fourth lot, 80 pack- 

 ages, were sold at $1.14 in London, and 

 netted 55.5 cents in Grimsby ; Fifth lot, 242 

 packages, were sold at $1.97 in London, 

 and netted $1.40 in Grimsby ; Sixth lot, 132 

 packages, were sold at $1.60 in London, 

 ahd netted $1.14 in Grimsby. 



The larger the lots the better they sell. 

 If I were to quote you all the large lots only 

 I would give you the best prices in every 

 market. I mean, an appreciable quantity 

 will fetch higher prices in than five or six 

 cases of a sort. All you want at this meet- 

 ing are instances giving general information. 

 I want to read a few letters in that connec- 

 tion. This is from the Consignee in Covent 

 Garden, London, in regard to the size of 

 pears : " We notice that most of your fruit is 

 small. Now a small pear on this market does 

 not sell well. It must be large, bold, clear 



stuff. That is the reason of the success of 

 California Pears." Now, that is the same 

 firm that sold pears of ours later on at good 

 prices when we sent what they wanted. 

 " We think the size of pears you send 

 should be no smaller than 60 or 62 in a case. 

 When you get them up to 100 and 122 in a 

 half bushel case, that is very small." 



PROTECT THE FRIENDLY BIRDS 



THE fruit grower is rightly indignant 

 when at length after many years of 

 careful cultivation and patient waiting he 

 sees his first crop of beautiful cherries de- 

 voured by the Cedar Waxwing ; but when 

 he considers the benefit these birds confer, 

 he should "forgive and forget." As advised 

 on page 312, we should rather plant cherry 

 trees purposely to grow food for them, and 

 thus encourage them as helpers in our in- 

 dustry ; for although they destroy great 

 quantities of cherries, they are chiefly en- 

 gaged in destroying insects, which if allowed 

 to increase would be still more harmful. 

 Forbes, in the report of Michigan State 

 Horticultural Society, says, "This bird eats 

 one hundred canker worms daily," and 

 Beall, reporting for the United States De- 

 partment of Agriculture, says, "The Cedar 

 birds eat a certain amount of insect food at 

 all times, when it can be obtained, and the 

 greatest number of insects in the month of 

 May, with a decrease during the succeeding 

 months until September, when the percent- 

 age again rises, and that the young, while 

 in the nest, are fed to a great extent on 

 insect food." 



OATS AS A COVER CROP 



SINCE the great freeze of 1898, when 

 whole orchards of fruit trees were 

 destroyed and when nearly all the peach 

 orchards in the County of Essex were killed 

 at the root, unless some winter protection 

 was given, the importance of cover crops 

 has become more and more acknowledged 



