TENDER FEUITS AND TBANSPOETATION 



FRUIT Inspector Scriver, who was 

 stationed at Winnipeg for some 

 time, has returned to Montreal 

 greatly impressed with the prosperity of the 

 west and its possibilities as a market for 

 choice fruit. After a careful study of the 

 trade in Winnipeg, he has come to the con- 

 clusion that the fruit growers of Eastern 

 Canada will be able to capture and retain a 

 good share of the western business, if they 

 can only lay down their goods in as good 

 condition as the fruit from California, Ore- 

 gon, Washington and British Columbia. 

 The western fruit is larger and higher col- 

 ored, but has not the juiciness and flavor of 

 the eastern article, and as the greater num- 

 ber of residents of Winnipeg came original- 

 ly from Eastern Canada, they naturally pre- 

 fer the fruit to which they have bee naccus- 

 tomed. 



The Winnipeg dealers are practically un- 

 animous in demanding that all fruit, par- 

 ticularly the tender varieties, shall be packed 

 in boxes similar to those used by CaUfornian 

 shippers. Hitherto Ontario peaches, pears, 

 plums, grapes, etc., have almost invariably 

 gone forward in baskets, which are always 

 objected to in Winnipeg. None of the ten- 

 der fruits except grapes have given results 

 at all satisfactory when shipped in baskets. 

 In every car of eastern fruit examined by 

 Mr. Scriver he found from 40 to 100 bas- 

 kets broken and the contents ruined. This 

 in itself would go a long way toward wiping 

 out the profit on a shipment. On the con- 

 trary, not a single box was found in any car- 

 load of western fruit. In those cars every 

 tier of boxes is braced as soon as completed 

 with stout uprights, and there is practically 

 no injury to the fruit from pressure or jar- 

 ring. This fruit is, of course, picked be- 

 fore fully ripe, and carefully wrapped in 

 paper so as to stand a long trip. Even in 



the case of apples the Winnipeg merchants 

 want tender fall varieties, such as Alexan- 

 ders, Snows and Mcintosh Reds, and even 

 fancy winter apples, like Spys and Baldwins, 

 put up in the forty pound boxes. 

 The matter of packages can be easily reme- 

 died, but the transportation problem is a far 

 more serious one. Mr. Bunting, president 

 of the Ontario Fruit Growers' Association, 

 pointed out a couple of weeks ago that the 

 freight on a carload of fruit from Hamilton 

 to Winnipeg is nearly $200, and the express 

 rate $400. An illustration of how these 

 rates work out was given by Mr. Scriver. 

 A consignment of pears, on which the ex- 

 press charges amounted to 60 cents per bas- 

 ket was being sold in Winnipeg while he 

 was there for 75 cents per basket. In other 

 w^ords, the express company got four-fifths 

 of the selling price of the fruit. It may be 

 remarked that these pears would have 

 brought at least 25 cents per basket in Ham- 

 ilton or Toronto. The lake and rail route, 

 say via Sarnia and Fort William, is about 

 18 cents per basket cheaper than all rail, *but 

 this involves handling the fruit four times 

 oftener, and the number of baskets broken 

 owing to rough usage is so great that the 

 cheaper route is really no advantage. 



These transportation rates would not be 

 considered so extortionate by eastern ship- 

 pers if the cars were rushed forward with 

 all possible despatch. But they are not only 

 delayed on the road, frequently owing to the 

 congestion of freight at Winnipeg, cars t 

 tender fruit are left standing for days in the 

 yards before they are run up to the city. 

 Nearly all the large wholesale establish- 

 ments have switches right up to the rear of 

 their buildings, still they each find it neces- 

 sary to keep a man who does nothing else 

 except hunt up missing cars and try to get 

 them switched into position to unload. Mr. 



