NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



397 



orchard alone, though a tine peach orchard 

 just of bearing age ; nor in the location al- 

 together, although that is one of the plea- 

 santest, but largely in the grand old trees 

 which were left from the primeval forest to 

 shade the borders of the lawn and hide un- 

 sightly views. " It would take a lifetime," 

 said the buyer, " to put such grand old trees 

 about a home, and I would not buy a place 

 bare of trees at any price." Why is it that 

 the grand old oaks, maples and elms, mon- 

 archs of the forest, are so thoughtlessly de- 

 stroyed by the farmers of Ontario ? Is there 

 no way of convincing them that in time 

 these will add thousands of dollars to the 

 selling value of their farms ? 



THE APPLE SITUATION TO-DAY 



IS the heading of several columns in "The 

 Sun," in which the editor says, "Tak- 

 ing the situation as a whole it looks as if 

 good apples, not necessarily grade No. i, 

 should go between $i.oo and $1.50 in the 

 orchard. They may go more, they are not 

 likely to go less, and the probabilities are on 

 the side of the growers." It is really a com- 

 fort to us growers to find one journal taking 

 up our interests. The Official Crop Re- 

 porter, issued by the United States Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, in speaking of the 

 conditions of the apple crop in the United 

 States, says that of the States having four 

 million trees and upwards in apples eleven 

 report an improvement in condition during 

 August, and all but six of the apple-grow- 

 ing States report conditions ranging from 

 7 to 32 points above their ten-year averages. 

 The State Weather Bureau reports that the 

 outlook in New York is for considerably 

 less than an average yield of apples. Buy- 

 ers are snapping up desirable apples 

 throughout the western part of York State. 

 A Kenyon man has sold 2,000 barrels of 

 bulk apples at $2 a barrel ; Albert Wood, 

 Carlton, his orchard of 700 trees for $7,000 ; 

 the Pratt estate, Carlton, gets $2.50 per 



barrel for firsts and seconds ; an East 

 Albion man, $2 for everything barrelable ; 

 I. Cooper of Carlton, $2,500 for a 9-acre 

 orchard ; several other orchards sold at 

 from $2,000 to $3,000. The Illinois Or- 

 chard Co., of Kankakee, 111., has sold the 

 apples in two orchards for $11,500. These 

 orchards total 125 acres, and are situated in 

 Clay and Richland counties. The apples 

 were of the Ben Davis and Jonathan var- 

 ieties. On the other hand we read in 

 the New York Fruit Journal such state- 

 ments as the following: — "The talk that 

 buyers are oflFering $2.50 per barrel is 

 rot. The apple men, with few exceptions 

 are not anxious to part with their money. 

 We were talking with one grower to-day 

 who expects 500 barrels, and he remarked 

 that he ' hoped to get $1.00 for the fruit 

 clear of the barrel.' This is not an excep- 

 tional case. The rank and file of our grow- 

 ers are beginning to wonder if they will be • 

 able to realize the above figure. Of course, 

 the growers are talking short crop, hoping 

 thereby to get the price started high. 



We believe that the situation is one that 

 calls for careful investigation before prices 

 are made." 



APPLES A BICi FAILURE IN ENGLAND. 



ALL our foreign reports agree that the 

 apple crop in Great Britain is an un- 

 usual failure, especially of colored or fancy 

 fruit, so that the prices in England will be 

 high. Already (September 2nd) sales are 

 reported in Liverpool for fall apples at about 

 $6.00 a barrel, and in Glasgow at $2.50 per 

 bushel box ! We have word of a syndicate 

 in England, which is being formed for the 

 purchase in Canada of high grade apples, 

 packed in boxes, under high class brands. 

 This is pointing in the right direction. We 

 are tired of shipping fruit to commission 

 men, who so often sacrifice it, and seem to 

 care little for the intrests of the consignor, 

 so long as they get their percentage. 



