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224 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



October, 1908 



the hundreds of buyers who couie three 

 days ca week from all part of Great Britain. 



The charges are actual and open and 

 sales are printed on catalogues which are 

 issued broadcast so that no mistakes can 

 bo made, nor can varied commissions be 

 charged which is not the case under pri- 

 vate sale methods. In the one case, goods 

 are offered publicly and practically the 

 whole of Great Britain competes for them, 

 and in the other, corhpetition is limited to 

 the customers of one small receiver; and 

 those croakings remind one of the flea tell- 

 ing the elephant not to push. 



The Liverpool brokers have really been 

 the best friends of the Canadian apple 

 growers. The competition among them- 

 selves to get business has caused their 

 agents to scramble over each other making 

 advances in many cases to questionable 

 men to get business and, at least, has been 

 the rrteans of handling thousands of barrels 

 that would otherwise not have been handled 

 had the banks been depended on to furnish 

 the money or the trade been left to the few 

 independent dealers who, of course, would 

 have bought at much lower prices. This 

 evil the brokers have seen the necessity of 

 reinedying, however, and hereafter only 

 reliable men will receive any assistance 

 from them. 



A WORD ABOUT CO-OPERATION 



Frcim the brokers' standpoint, it is imma- 

 terial by whom apples are shipped or pack- 



ed. They are there to sell the fruit, like 

 brokers in any other business and, where 

 a man of ability and integrity an<l with 

 the necessary experience is manager of the 

 co-operative association everything runs 

 well. There are managers, however, who 

 insist upon such large side commissions 

 that there would be nothing in it for a 

 broker to handle the stuff and there are 

 other managers without the experience of 

 many years; in both the latter cases, the 

 results are the same. Also there are many 

 districts not adapted for co-operation, the 

 growers being interested in mixed farming 

 and when they should be picking their ap- 

 ples they have so many things to attend to 

 that they prefer selling out and out to deal- 

 ers. If a broker were to receive per barrel 

 what some managers get, they would not be 

 long in getting rich. This does not apply, 

 however, to a few genuine men who are 

 making a success of managing co-operative 

 associations. I know of many cases where 

 individual dealers have shipped to the Auc- 

 tion and obtained higher prices than the 

 associations who consigned or sold f.o.b. 

 for practically the same fruit. 



Growers sometimes ask "why cannot we 

 sell our apples as we sell our cheese".' 

 I reply. "Because cheese and apples are en- 

 tirely different products." The former, af- 

 ter its arrival in Great Britain, can be held 

 with safety indefinitely, while the latter 

 must be sold and got into consumption after 

 an ocean trip. 



When the market goes wrong, many peo- 

 ple who contract purchases here are unable 

 to pay for the fruit and the stuff has to bf 

 sold at the Auction in a poor market, al- 

 though possibly the contractor has hail 

 many previous shipments which have co.st 

 him much less than he would have paid 

 at auction. 



Naturally the millenium in the tradi 

 would dawn could everything be sold hen' 

 at satisfactory prices but the growing di.s- 

 tricts are so extensive and there is sucli 

 variation in quantity and quality and in 

 condition after landing that an occasional 

 slump is unavoidable, and the biggest shiri- 

 pers have found that the Auction averagi;< 

 the best prices and is the safest and cheap- 

 est method of getting highest prices. — Eben 

 James, Toronto. 



National Apple Show 



Great preparations are being made fi^r 

 tlie National Apple Show to be held at 

 Spokane, Wash., U. S. A., on Dec. 7 to J2. 

 It is expected that premiums will be offer- 

 ed amounting to over $35,000, consisting of 

 cash, irrigated tracts of land, farm implr- 

 ments and articles especially adapted h, 

 orohardists' use. While called the "Na- 

 tional Apple Show," the exhibition is fast 

 assuming an international character. Tlir 

 management is encouraging, with good re- 

 sults, exhibits from all over the world. 



Special premiums are being offered for 

 exhibits from the provinces of Ca,nada and 

 all general classes are open for them also. 

 The following prizes are offered for the ex- 

 clusive benefit of all foreign countries that 

 compete, including Canada: For the best 

 two barrels or six boxes of apples, one ": 

 more varieties (may be exhibited in box. 

 barrel, plate or staged). — First prize, $10o: 

 second prize, $50; and third prize, $25. 



Our provinces should make both individ- 

 ual and collective displays. Exhibits an- 

 expected from Kelowna, Nelson, Eevelstokf 

 and other places in British Columbia. ^ It 

 is hoped that Ontario and Nova Scotia and 

 other provinces also will be represented. 

 Individual growers, fruit growers' associa- 

 tions and all others interested can obtain 

 copies of the premium list by writing to 

 the secretary, Mr. H. J. Neely," 223-224 Hut- 

 ton Place, Spokane, Wash. 



Scotchmen Visit in Canada 



The Scottish agriculturists, who toured 

 Canada during the latter part of August and 

 early in September, visited the famous Nia- 

 gara fruit district. At St. Catharines, the.\ 

 visited the farm of Mr. W. C. McCalla an^l 

 were accompanied by leading fruit growers 

 of the district and prominent men of th( 

 city. They visited also the St. Catharine^ 

 Cold Storage and Forwarding Co. and tli<' 

 grapery and wine cellars of Mr. George 

 Barns. 



From St. Catharines, the party journeyed 

 to Beamsville, Grimsby, Winona and on to 

 Hamilton. Among the places visited were 

 the Beamsville Canning Factory and tin 

 farms of Messrs. Hamilton Flemming, 

 Beamsville; A. G. Pettit and H. L. Roberts, 

 Grimsby; Murray Pettit, E. D. Smith and 

 J. W. Smith of Winona. The day was a 

 most enjoyable one, the visitors expressing 

 many complimentary remarks in reference 

 to the growers and the scenery of the dis- 

 trict. 



A few days previous, the Scotchmen vis- 

 ited the famous melon patches of the Mon- 

 treal district, under the guidance of Mr. E. 

 Brodie, of Westmount. Their surprise and 

 pleasu;^ at seeing such large, luscious 

 melons growing in Canada was great. 



