exceeded what has been accomplished with 

 seed from other quarters that it is now preferred 

 throughout the whole province. 



What the Maritimes have attained in popu- 

 larity in this respect may be said to be the 

 accomplishment of merely three years, and in 

 view of this there should be a bright future 

 ahead of this area in supplying the American 

 continent with the seed for its potato crop. In 

 a realization of its possibilities the area devoted 

 to potatoes is being increased, New Brunswick 

 being estimated to have planted 74,000 acres 

 this year and Prince Edward Island 38,400 

 acres. The yield of potatoes doubled in New 

 Brunswick between 1910 and 1921, whilst that of 

 the Island also showed a substantial increase. 

 An indication, if any were needed, of the remark- 

 able adaptability of the climate and conditions 

 of these provinces to potato growing, might be 

 seen in the yields of the 1921 crop. New 

 Brunswick topped all the Canadian provinces 

 in average production with a yield of 216J4 

 bushels over all her area, and Prince Edward 

 Island had an average of 162 bushels per acre. 



The significance of this is to be realized in a 

 comparison with the average Dominion pro- 

 duction last year of 158 bushels per acre, or 

 with the average of 1921 of the United States, 

 which was less than 90 bushels to the acre and 

 that of 1920 less than 110 bushels to the acre. 



Apple By-Products in Annapolis Valley. 



By F. G. J. Comeau, Dist. Freight and Passenger Agent, 

 Dominion Atlantic Railway, Halifax. 



It is generally conceded that Nova Scotia possesses 

 advantages, in many respects, for manufacturing such 

 products as jams, jellies and analogous commodities of 

 which the apple industry supplies the basic material, 

 without equal in Canada. 



The Annapolis Valley has on various occasions, in 

 recent years, been visited by several Canadian and 

 American manufacturers, attracted here by the publicity 

 given our apple crops. These people had in mind the 

 development of industries that would utilize the waste 

 apples, the apple cores and peelings from the canning 

 and evaporating factories, and the apple pomace from the 

 cider and vinegar plants. Various sites were even picked 

 out as more desirable than others, and in some instances 

 boards of trade interested themselves to the extent of 

 offering their good offices in obtaining, for the parties 

 interested, tax exemption, free water, etc. 



It is a well-known fact that large quantities of early 

 apples and wind-falls which could very well be utilized in 

 the manufacture of by-products are allowed, every year, 

 to rot on the ground. Practically all these apples could be 

 used in some form or other in the manufacture of some 

 marketable article, and thus would be saved what to-day is 

 looked upon as a worthless product. 



The manufacture of cider and vinegar, from Annapolis 

 Valley apples, has been done for some years past, on a 

 comparatively large scale, at Bridgetown and Canning, 

 and lately a new plant has been erected at Aylesford, in 

 the very heart of the apple district. The brands of both 

 cider and vinegar from these plants have been long known 

 to the trade, and have enjoyed more than a Dominion- 

 wide reputation. A ready sale has always greeted these 

 goods on all markets, and even the British markets have 

 bsorbed a considerable proportion of the output. 



Concentrated cider is another product of recent origin. 

 It was first manufactured in 1920. In 1921 the quantity 

 was largely increased. Where prohibition has compelled 

 the use of milder brands of liquids, concentrated cider has 

 found a ready market, and several of the Canadian 

 provinces have given it a sympathetic reception. It is 

 put up in bulk in wood, and also for convenience in tins 

 in cases. 



Utilization of Apple Waste 



Apple waste, which included cores, peelings, chop and 

 pomace, was, prior to the Great War, shipped from this 

 province to England, France, Holland and Germany, 

 where it was manufactured into various products, subse- 

 quently exported to the world's markets. The war and 

 the adverse rate of exchange, together with the increased 

 cost of transportation, forced our apple growers to seek 

 other markets, which in post-war years have been found 

 in Quebec, Ontario and New York State. 



During the war activities the desiccating of vegetables, 

 such as potatoes, turnips, carrots, etc., became an industry 

 of considerable proportions, even here in Nova Scotia. 

 These goods were needed in a concentrated form to feed 

 the troops overseas. Their reduced bulk and weight made 

 their use a necessity. The cessation of hostilities and 

 withdrawal of forces from actual service seemed to have 

 closed the markets for this class of food supply. There is 

 no doubt, however, that desiccated vegetables prepared 

 by the latest and most up-to-date method will again 

 become an article of daily use, when the cost of production 

 can be reduced to a reasonable figure. 



It may be interesting to know that although the 1921 

 apple crop was the cleanest ever grown in the history of 

 the Annapolis Valley apple industry, and. the percentage 

 of number 1's and 2's was the highest on record, there 

 still were around 200,000 barrels of apples sent to evapor- 

 ating and canning factories, and cider and vinegar mills, 

 which from a market standpoint were considered of an 

 inferior quality. The waste alone from these plants in 

 1921 totalled about 30 carloads, or 1,300 tons. Besides 

 these shipments many tons were permitted to go to waste 

 in various ways or were fed to pigs. Some authorities 

 have made the statement that at least one barrel was 

 wasted for every barrel marketed. 



The total quantity of canned apples put up in the 

 Annapolis Valley of the 1921 crop totalled, in round 

 figures, over 80,000 cases of gallon apples. Cider and 

 vinegar are figured in the hundreds of thousands of gallons, 

 and evaporated apples run over one million pounds. 



If a more extended growth of vegetables were encour- 

 aged in the valley, the plants now in operation during the 

 Fall and early part of the Winter months, in the manu- 

 facture of such apple products as have been enumerated 

 above, could very well be kept working during the balance 

 of the year, and the help kept at work, at the same time 

 decreasing the overhead by the continued operations. 

 This business principle has already suggested itself to some 

 of our manufacturers of apple products. The waste 

 material exported prior to the war, and in recent years 

 shipped to large Canadian and American centers, should, 

 in the opinion of many, be manufactured nearer the 

 source of supply, and dehydrated vegetables added to the 

 list of factory products. 



Jams, Jellies,' Mince Meats, etc. 



It has been suggested that jams, jellies, apple chop, 

 mince-meats and preserves, of which, in most cases, the 

 apple waste forms the base, could be manufactured at 

 some central point in the Annapolis Valley to greater 

 advantage than elsewhere, on account of the raw material 

 being at its doors. Hydro-power now being developed at 

 various points will supply the necessary cheap power which 

 should make the proposition a financial success. 



164 



