Department of Agriculture. Up to and includ- 

 ing 1920, the Dominion Government had 

 subsidized 34 cold storage plants, with a refri- 

 gerated space of 4,928,304 cubic feet, to the 

 extent of $684,856. 



A census of subsidized and non-subsidized 

 cold storage plants in Canada in 1920 by the 

 Federal Bureau of Statistics, disclosed the fact 

 that there were 322 plants in operation with a 

 refrigerated space of 33,247,774 cubic feet. 

 Ontario led all other provinces, accounting for 

 99 plants with a space of 11,100,757 cubic feet. 

 Quebec was second with 56 warehouses and a 

 space of 6,298,104; followed by British Columbia 

 with 38, 4,129,208; Manitoba 42, 4,006,147; 

 Alberta 20, 3,806,835; Saskatchewan 22, 1,560,- 

 306; Nova Scotia 18, 1,097,976; New Brunswick 

 22, 969,541; Prince Edward Island 4, 234,000; 

 and the Yukon 1, 44,900. 



The Advantages of Cold Storage 



The meat industry is probably the best 

 example of the usefulness of cold storage in 

 Canada. The Prairie Provinces, which are the 

 big producers of meat, are located at a consider- 

 able distance from their main markets, which in 

 the early ranching days was an almost insur- 

 mountable obstacle to the growth of the industry, 

 forcing the ranchers to ship their cattle long 

 distances, resulting in a loss of weight of cattle 

 during shipment. With the establishment of 

 cold storage plants at convenient points through- 

 out the Prairies, this loss was reduced to a 

 minimum, and the packer was able to put up 

 large quantities of meat products without fear of 

 deterioration through lack of immediate sale. 

 In order that these products might reach distant 

 markets in a fresh condition, a special railway 

 car was devised with cold storage accommodation, 

 large numbers of which are in daily use. 



In the fruit districts of British Columbia and 

 the Maritime Provinces, cold storage facilities 

 have been established on a large scale without 

 which the annual loss to the growers would 

 amount to millions of dollars. It is seldom that 

 the market can absorb the total fruit crop at 

 time of marketing, and it is therefore necessary 

 to store the surplus or manufacture it into jam 

 in order to avoid loss. In this way, little if any 

 fruit is lost through spoilage, and the surplus is 

 stored until a more opportune time presents 

 itself for disposing of the crop. 



For Dairy and Poultry Products 



Another manner in which cold storage _ is 

 utilized and which is probably the most familiar 

 to the average citizen, is the storage of poultry 

 and dairy products. During the summer months 

 it is essential that these commodities be kept in 

 a cool place, and doled out as market conditions 

 demand. In that way a well-balanced state 

 of supply between the producer and consumer 

 is established. 



There are now in the course of construction 

 throughout Canada, or have been completed 

 since the last census was taken, several modern 

 and commodious plants, notably that of the 

 Montreal Harbour Commission's warehouse, 

 which is one of the largest on the North American 

 continent. This plant is designed to provide 

 2,000,000 cubic feet of dry storage, 1,500,000 

 feet of cold storage and another million feet of 

 cool storage. The building is estimated to cost 

 in the neighborhood of $2,250,000. 



Investigations are being made at the present 

 time by various organizations interested in the 

 feasibility of slaughtering Canadian cattle in 

 this country and shipping the product across the 

 Atlantic to England in cold storage as market 

 demands warrant. Should this scheme bear 

 fruit, it would mean a tremendous impetus to 

 the cold storage industry and do much towards 

 the rehabilitation of the Canadian Cattle Indus- 

 try. 



The Port of Vancouver 



Having a regard for that vast volume of trade which in 

 the future must come out of the East to the American 

 continent, many men credited with powers of accurate 

 foresight have predicted for Vancouver a status second to 

 none in the Canadian Dominion. Certainly as the port 

 of that great and expanding West, whose sensational 

 growth becomes minute in view of the limitless possibili- 

 ties of expansion, and as securing an ever greater propor- 

 tion of the Oriental trade whose volume grows steadily 

 larger, Vancouver faces a future of greatness and 

 prosperity as a port. It is already beginning to feel this 

 and is impregnated and instigated by a sense of greatness 

 to come. 



This importance was first experienced, in common with 

 the Dominion, as it emerged from the period of the war 

 years, and resulted in a fresh stimulus to port activities. 

 Since then two events have transpired to set Vancouver 

 in a bound, several years ahead in progress judging by its 

 previous rate of advancement. One of these has been 

 the passing of the Emergency Tariff and later the perma- 

 nent tariff by the United States, and the other the proving 

 that Western Canadian grain could pass through the torrid 

 temperature of the Panama Canal zone without suffering 

 any injury in transit. 



The new tariff has sent the bulk of Canadian grain to 

 Canadian ports instead of across the border, and the possi- 

 bility of shipping grain to Europe via the Panama Canal 

 has permitted Vancouver to share with the Atlantic ports 

 in shipping the annual harvest of the western prairies. In 

 the future a greater proportion of the annual crop of 

 Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta must pass out by 

 the Pacific coast, at the one time relieving the congestion 

 on the Atlantic whilst reacting to the benefit of the Pacific 

 coast port. The rising favor of Canadian hard wheat in 

 the Orient over the softer varieties of the United States has 

 also been a factor in increasing Vancouver's grain export 

 trade. 



First Grain Shipment via Panama 



The first shipment of Western Canadian wheat was 

 sent to England via the Panama Canal, much as an experi- 

 ment, in the season 1919-20. When the news was received 

 that wheat had never been received in better condition a 

 new era commenced for the port, and other shipments 

 followed, up to the end of the season totalling in all sixteen 

 thousand tons. The crop of 1921 began to leave from 

 Vancouver practically as soon as threshed, and shipments 

 are still continuing to leave for the Orient and, by way of 



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