NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



495 



sound stock (every apple perfect), should be 

 f ent in boxes ; the first essential is to estab- 

 lish confidence in the box, which is for Can- 

 adian apples a new packag'e, and then it 

 will be time enough to send various grades, 

 between which the buyers will learn to dis- 

 tinguish. For common stock, use the 

 barrel." 



01 R EARLY APPLE SHIPMENTS ALARM 

 BRITISH FRUIT GROWERS. 



IT is evident that our Astrachan and Duch- 

 ess apples were a surprise to the British 

 people. Such beautiful color so early in the 

 season cannot be had in England, where 

 the sun is so seldom seen, while our clear 

 Canadian skies and the burning rays from 

 old King Sol paint our Astrachans with most 

 beautifully colored cheeks. In this connec- 

 tion the following extract from the journal, 

 Green Grocery, of London, England, will be 

 of interest : 



A feA' week^ ago we reported the first consign- 

 ment of American apples — much earlier than usual. 

 From these early consignments it would appear 

 that American growers iatend to place their pro- 

 duce upon the market to compete with our earlier 

 supplies. Now, if this is the case, home growers 

 must wake up. Granted that we are heavily handi- 

 capped this season, everything being late owing to 

 the weather, it is not always so. Every grower is 

 aware of the fact, or should be, that the early pro- 

 duce fetches the best price, and this applies to fruit 

 as well as vegetables. Intending apple planters 

 must therefore plant early varieties as weU as late 

 ones. 



That home growers can beat all comers at grow- 

 ing applet, pears, peaches, grapes, and most other 

 fruits, can be gleaned by those who care to visit 

 the show of British grown fru't h-ld under the aus- 

 pices of the Royal Horticultural Society at the 

 Crystal Palace, which, by the way, takes place on 

 Sept. 1 8, 19. 20, or by visiting many of the horti- 

 cultural shows held in country districts. How to 

 pack the fruit when it is grown, however, is quite 

 another matter, and one about which growers in 

 this country do not trouble themselves sufficiently. 

 It is the greatest mistake possible for growers to 

 content themselves by packing their fruit in sieves 

 and half-sievcis just because their fathers and grand- 

 fathers did so bifore them, and the sooner they get 

 out of ^his "rut" the better. On account of the 

 excellent grading or evenness of the foreign fruit, 

 the method of packing, and its general appear- 

 ance, the fruit in many cases is purchased in pref- 

 erence to English, not because it is better in 

 quality, for often it is not, but because of the gen- 

 eral appearance which home growers would do 

 well to remember. 



SUCCESS IN EXPORTING TENDER FRUIT. 



THE writer has been forwarding a car 

 load of apples or pears each week 

 since early in August, beginning with the 

 Astrachan and Duchess ; continuing with 

 Bartlett pears in September, and Graven- 

 stein, Kings, Greenings, Baldwins and Spy 

 in October. 



These have all arrived in excellent condi- 

 tion in Liverpool, Manchester and Glasgow, 

 so that the anxiety about their safe carriage 

 seems to be entirely removed, and we may 

 ship with more confidence. 



For Astrachan and Duchess we used the 

 Wilson cases, with fillers, which kept each 

 apple separate from every other apple, and 

 this helped their delivery in a safe and ex- 

 cellent condition. Messrs. Woodall & Co., 

 Liverpool, wrote on receipt of them, say- 

 ing, "These apples arrived in very good 

 condition. The Astrachans were fairly well 

 colored and nicely graded as to size." 



CONFIDENCE IN CANADIAN APPLES. 



""1 II 7ERE you not a little sanguine in 

 V V your statements about the Ontario 

 apple crop published a few months ago?" we 

 asked Inspector McNeill at the St. Catharines 

 meeting. "Notatall," said he, "Granted that 

 in Essex where they ripen a little early, or 

 where scab or bitter rot is prevalent, that 

 buyers are few and a large quantity of such 

 fruit goes begging, there is a keen demand 

 for our prime apples. Why, in many parts 

 of Ontario to-day I know of $1.00 to $1.50 

 being paid for the fruit in the orchards, and 

 in the Georgian Bay District, where apples 

 ripen late and are known to keep well, 

 growers will not accept these prices but have 

 combined to store and ship during the win- 

 ter. I believe there are 500,000 barrels 

 stored in that district alone. 



OUR NO. 1 OR XXX GROWING IN VALUE. 



Does the Fruit Marks Act work in the 

 interest of the apple grower ? 



