NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



349 



as put up by another packer, say No. 48, 

 were not wanted. This difference in the 

 quality of th efruit may have been due to 

 inferior packing, or to the fact that the 

 second packer was working in an inferior 

 district, but in any case the advantage to the 

 exporter of having a check on the work of 

 his packers is quite apparent. 



FRUIT MEETINGS IN BRITISH COLUMBIA. 



FRUIT growers in Eastern Canada will 

 be interested in knowing that their 

 brethren in British Columbia are fully 

 awake to the importance of up-to-date 

 methods in connection with their business, 

 and that they ever hope to capture the whole 

 of the trade with Manitoba and the Terri- 

 tories. During the month of July the ex- 

 ecutive committee of the British Columbia 

 Fruit Growers' Association, accompanied 

 by Mr. Maxwell Smith, Dominion Fruit In- 

 spector, made a tour of the Okanagan coun- 

 try, where several successful public meet- 

 ings were held. Visits were also made to a 

 number of orchards at Vernon, Kelowna 

 and Summerland, and much valuable in- 

 struction was given and information ob- 

 tained re the planting and marketing of 

 fruit. 



At the meetings Mr. J. C. Metcalfe, of 

 Hammond, president of the association, 

 gave a resume of the work of the associa- 

 tion, describing its aims and objects, empha- 

 sizing the necessity of co-operation among 

 the fruit growers of the province, careful 

 selection and honest packing of the fruit, 

 and strict attention to every detail of the 

 business, in order to obtain profitable re- 

 turns. He called attention to the fact that 

 at the present time British Columbia was 

 supplying only 20 per cent, of the fruit ship- 

 ped into the Northwest. 



At Armstrong Mr. R. M. Palmer, who 

 attended the Ontario Fruit Growers' meet- 

 ing at Walkerton last winter, told of the 

 sensation caused by the British Columbia 



fruit shown there. He said that Manitoba 

 and the Northwest Territories were British 

 Columbia's natural markets, and as British 

 Columbia fruit had already made a good 

 impression there they could in time gain 

 control of that field, if only first class fruit 

 were shipped. Oregon and Washington 

 were now shipping apples to Britain at a 

 profit, and the British market would always 

 be open to the British Columbia fruit 

 grower. He claimed that they had suf- 

 fered much from inferior nursery stock, 

 and strongly recommended the growing of 

 their own trees, which could be done for 

 one-third of the present cost. He dis- 

 couraged experimenting with new varieties, 

 and advised planting varietiec that had al- 

 ready earned a reputation- and that were 

 suited to local conditions. 



Inspector Smith at each meeting ex- 

 plained the provisions of the Fruit Marks 

 Act, and pointed out that all that was neces- 

 sary to enable any intelligent person to pack 

 his fruit in accordance with its require- 

 ments was the possession of a copy of the 

 act and the exercise of care, perseverance, 

 honesty of purpose and common sense. He 

 also urged co-operation in marketing in or- 

 der to obtain the best results, and pointed 

 out the possibilities of a large trade being 

 established in Japan in canned fruit and 

 pure fruit jam. 



At Salmon, Ara., Mr. T. W. Stirling, of 

 Kelowna, mentioned that when he had only 

 two tons of fruit he had great difficulty in 

 selling it, when he had two cars it was 

 easier, when he had twenty cars it sold 

 readily, and when he had thirty-five cars he 

 could not supply the demand ; so there was 

 no danger of over-production of Gritish 

 Columbia fruit. 



PROSPECTS OF PLUM GROWERS. 



HE prices ruling at the present time 

 in Ontario for plums is certainly 

 discouraging to the grower. To-day, 



T 



