SHIPMENT OF FRUIT. 



and rail shipment, which constituted a great 

 difficulty. 



I-RUIT MfCN's NEEDS. 



Mr. A. McNeill, of Ottawa, outlined the 

 fruit men's needs. They wanted a change 

 in classification of several kinds of fruit. 

 Apples should be in class 8 instead of class 

 5. They wanted different arrangements 

 about mixed cars. They wanted better lo- 

 cal rates and lower rates on cull apples. 

 One of their greatest wants was better ac- 

 commodation at stations, and for tracing 

 cars en route. 



Mr. W. L. Smith, editor of The Farmer's 

 Sun, dwelt upon the necessity for co-opera- 

 tion among all the farmers so as to present 

 their claims upon transportation companies 

 before the railway commission. Mr. H. 

 W. Dawson, of Dawson Bros., Toronto, 

 said that there was no class of freight pay- 

 ing higher and more disproportionate 

 ■charges than fruit. 



- Mr. E. D. Smith, M. P., of Winona, said 

 that the railway commission should have 

 two men representing the producers of 

 Canada and one should be a practical farm- 

 er. If two members should represent the 

 railways, the producers would be in no bet- 

 ter position than before. 



The following committee was appointed 

 to attend to the question of transportation : 

 Messrs. W. H. Bunting, St. Catharines ; R. 

 J. Graham, Belleville ; H. W. Dawson, To- 

 ronto; D. D. Wilson, S ea forth ; W. L. 

 Smith, Toronto; D. J- MacKinnon, Grims- 

 by, and J. M. Shuttleworth, Brantford. 



OCEAN RATES. 



Mr. L. Woolverton, Grimsby, introduced 

 the question of ocean rates. He had ship- 

 ped Bartlett pears last summer, and much 

 of the fruit had been seriously injured by 

 the temperature in the fruit compartments 

 on the vessels being too high. If a cer- 

 tnin.ty of temperature could be obtained on 



the ocean vessels a good trade could be done 

 in l{ngland. 



Mr. W. W. Moore, of Ottawa, chief of 

 the market division of the Department of 

 Agriculture, explained that the difficulty 

 complained of by Mr. Woolverton was that 

 the steamers' cold storage compartments 

 were too closely packed, and the chamber 

 could not be properly cooled in the centre. 

 In another case, on the steamer Cicilian, the 

 fruits sent by Mr. Woolverton and Mr. E. 

 D. Smith were over-ripe before leaving 

 Montreal. A quantity of California fruit 

 sent in the same chambers turned out splen- 

 didly at Glasgow. 



Mr. E. D. Smith, replying, said that some 

 of the blame was due to the railway for de- 

 lay in delivering at Montreal. 



In keeping with the suggestion for the ap- 

 pointment of a committee on organization, 

 with reference to co-operative work, the 

 following were appointed : Messrs. G. W'. 

 Cody, Leamington; Robert Thompson, St. 

 Catharines ; A. W. Peart, Burlington ; A. E. 

 Sherrington, Walkerton, and Wm. Rickard, 

 M. P. P. 



A resolution was passed urging the Gov- 

 ernment to remit the duties on raw sugar 

 for canning, and on fruit packages, and ask- 

 ing for legislation to compel canners to label 

 canned preserves to show the actual con- 

 tents, and that such goods be labelled "Ma<ie 

 in Canada." 



Mr. A. C. McNeill read a brief address 

 ui>on fruit packages. Uniformity of pack- 

 ages was a great essential. He recom- 

 mended the use of a standard apple box 10 

 by II by 20 inches. The matter was refer- 

 red to a committee. 



BENEFIT OP CO-OPERATION. 



In the afternoon Mr. W. H. Owen, of 

 Catawba Island, Ohio, spoke of co-operative 

 fruit packing and marketing. He dwelt 

 most strongly upon the value of a central 

 packing house system, where the fruit is 

 collected and graded, and the commission 



