NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



399 



"The total imports from the United 

 States and Canada in the United Kingdom, 

 during the past season, 1901-1902, are 781,- 

 000 barrels, as against 1,300,000 in the pre- 

 ceding one, and as shewn below are the 

 smallest for the last five years. The re- 

 ceipts from New York were insignificant, 

 Canada being- the chief source of supply. It 

 is to be feared that results cannot have been 

 satisfactory to shippers, as, consequent on the 

 scarcity, a high range of prices were paid not 

 warranted in the quality of the fruit, which 

 often landed here in doubtful and poor condi- 

 tion, which is so often the experience in sea- 

 sons of small crops, and has again demon- 

 strated that the atmospheric conditions which 

 caused the failure, generally prejudicially af- 

 fects the condition and keeping quality of the 

 fruit, to which the late shipments this year 

 have been no exception. California has 

 again, through the high range of prices, 

 been able to place greatly increased ship- 

 ments on to this market, the receipts being 

 1 17,843 as against 70,303 boxes in 1901- 

 1902, which for purposes of statistics are 

 estimated as at three to a barrel. The 

 quality was not very satisfactory, but buy- 

 ers had confidence in them, as the condition 

 was generally reliable and also being the 

 the nearest approach to the Hudson New- 

 town Pippin, which were almost an entire 

 failure. 



"The prospect of a small English crop 

 gives promise of an early demand for for- 

 eign imports, and it is to be hoped that the 

 reports of good crops in the United States 

 and Canada will be realized, as there is 

 every prospect of a large demand in this 

 country. This, of course, it must be re- 

 peated, is for good sound quality and con- 

 dition, as no amount of scarcity will pro- 

 duce high prices for inferior stock, and it is 

 no use paying the heavy freights and ex- 

 penses with this expectation. 



" Reports from the chief Continental 

 growing districts are generally unfavor- 

 able." 



APPLE CROP NOT EXTRAORDINARY IN 

 ONTARIO. 



FROM all parts of the Province comes 

 the same report, viz., that the apples 

 are badly spotted and blemished, so tha^ 

 the yield of No. i apples will be compara- 

 tively small. Our Ribston Pippins, for ex- 

 ample, looked well on the trees, but when 

 we gathered them probably not three per 

 cent, were No. i, so many were blemished 

 and misshapen ; our Fall Pippin*-, which 

 looked fine on the trees, when picked showed 

 numerous minute scabs which made them 

 nearly all third class ; Kings and Graven- 

 steins were much better, and grade largely 

 No. I, but Spys look very disappointing, 

 and more than one-half will be third class". 

 Besides this, many trees are quite barren, 

 and the orchards will not yield so much 

 above the average as has been supposed. 

 Mr. Race, of Mitchell, evidently agrees with 

 us, he says : " Just made a tour of some of 

 the best apple orchards in this district, and 

 find the prospects much less promising than 

 they were three weeks ago. The average 

 yield of fruit fit for export will be far below 

 that of 1900. There are very few Col verts 

 fit for shipment, though this variety prom- 

 ised well in the early summer. Snow apples 

 are gnarled, spotted and useless ; so are St. 

 Lawrence and other fall varieties. Ben 

 Davis and Russett, though numerous, are 

 very small and irregular in shape. Duchess 

 is very fine and will grade well in the pick- 

 ing ; so also will the Blenheim and Ribston 

 Pippins. Baldwins promise fairly well, but 

 are as yet much under size. Spys are light 

 and only a small proportion of them will 

 grade up No. i. One buyer was through 

 the section a few days ago and expressed 

 himself as much disappointed. He said the 

 quantity of saleable fruit would be consider- 

 ably below an average crop, and did not 

 think thaf grade one would take many of 

 the Ben Davis, Spys or Baldwins." 



Mr. A. E. Sherrington, of Walkerton, 

 says : " The prospects in our section are 



