December, 1908 THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



269 



warrants it,— and it does, — a national con- 

 ference should be held every two years. 

 Three years are passing since the last one. 

 It is time for another. Fruit growers indiv- 

 idually and fruit grower? in conventions 

 should agitate the matter more strenuously. 

 It is regrettable that, through an oversight 

 or carelessness, no concerted expression of 

 opinion was recorded, either by resolution 

 or otherwise, at the recent convention of 

 the Ontario Fruit Growers* Association. 

 Most of the members of the organization are 

 looking forward to another conference. An 

 opportunity was lost to impress the author- 

 ities at Ottawa with this fact. Associations 

 in other parts of Canada should not neglect 

 the matter. Our growers are entitled to a 

 national conference this winter. If our 

 growers do not recognize the importance of 

 their industry and press, in a concerted 

 manner, for its proper recognition, the Dom- 

 inion Government cannot be blamed for not 

 giving the attention to these matters that 

 their importance deserves. 



Export Apple Trade 



Ed., The Canadian Horticulturist :— I 

 read with interest the letter of Mr. Eben 

 James in your magazine for October and 

 must join issue with him on several points 

 therein mentioned. First, it is quite true 

 that there are several undesirable receivers 

 in Great Britain, but at the same time there 

 are plenty of good firms outside the six who 

 form the Liverpool Fruit Auction and there 

 are also a number of firms who do their 

 business quite as above-board as the afore- 

 mentioned. I presume that Mr. James' 

 letter is more or less aimed at the firms who 

 do not sell in the Liverpool rooms. 



As regards the bona-fldes or otherwise of 

 these firms I do not know, but I would like 

 to point out that in selling by private 

 treaty one is able to get quite as good and 

 in many instances better, prices and also to 

 give buyers greater satisfaction. As an in- 

 stance, my firm has only been in the apple 

 business for the past two years, but last 

 year we received and sold purely on com- 

 mission between 30,000 and 40,000 barrels 

 and so far we have not made a dissatisfied 

 sender neither have we received a letter of 

 complaint. 



I do not want to argue about the merits 

 of the closed room, but any man of common 

 sense will agree that prices are likply to 

 be better when competition is open to the 

 whole of the customers in a market rather 

 than when it ia confined to a selected few. 

 We sell the whole of our apples by private 

 treaty, and I maintain that a buyer ia more 

 likely to get satisfaction by purchasing in 

 that way than he is by auction and at the 

 same time the apples, being open to thor- 

 ough inspection, the growers are bound to 

 get the highest prices aa everything is sold 

 absolutely on its merits; whereas, when 

 stuff is put up for auction, in numbers of 

 instances, buyers have not the time or op- 

 portunity of examining before hand, conse- 

 quently they are always more or less buying 

 in the dark. Therefore, the man who has 

 sent the best stuff is not at all unlikely to 

 get the worst price.— T. J. Poupart, Covent 

 Parden Market, London. 



Are you wondering what you cm give 

 some of your friends for Christmas? The 

 Canadian Horticulturist would mnko a 

 nice gift. 



The Ontario Horticultural Exhibition 



THE horticultural products of Ontario 

 were shown to great advantage at the 

 fifth annual Ontario Horticultural 

 Exhibition held in Toronto in Nov- 

 ember. The display of fruit, flowers and 

 vegetables was a credit to the province. 

 The total number of entries in all depart- 

 ments exceeded that of last and previous 

 years. The manner in which the St. Law- 

 rence Arena was decorated and the arrange- 

 ments of the various exhibits received much 

 praise. The show was of great educational 

 value. It impressed the public with a 

 keener appreciation of the horticultural 

 possibilities of the province and it showed 

 the growers themselves what others can 

 do in the way of producing fruits, flowers 

 and vegetables of superior quality. 



In the fruit department, the exhibits of 

 some co-operative fruit growers' associa- 

 tions were the objects of mucti comment 

 and attention. These associations seemed 



be a revelation to those unacquainted witli 

 the rapid progress that has been made in 

 fruit growing and in fruit operations during 

 the intervening time. While the character 

 of the packing shown at the recent exhibi- 

 tion was almost ideal, room for improve- 

 ment was noticeable in a few cases. In 

 boxes, some exhibitors failed to pack with 

 due regard for the proper bilge. Because 

 of defects in fruit, packing or package, the 

 judges were compelled, in some instances, 

 to award prizes to exhilaits that appeared 

 inferior to the uninformed. In the barrel 

 sections, the packing, with two or three 

 exceptions, was all that could be desired. 

 One of the exceptions had superior fruit 

 on top and small, wormy specimens in the 

 bottom. It was noticeable iinat most pack- 

 ers are becoming more expert and have 

 learned how to handle and prepare a barrel 

 for market properly. In a few cases it was 

 noticed^ however, that where four or five 



[A Part of the Vegetable Ditplay at'the Ontario Horticultural Exhibition 



I have received a great deal of useful in- 

 formation through The Canadian Horti- 

 culturist.— J. Carlson, Gardener, Maakin- 

 onge Co., Que. 



to have a better idea of the requirements 

 of the Fruit Marks Act and of proper pack- 

 ing and packages than did many of the in- 

 dividual exhibitors. The exhibit that re- 

 ceived most praise was that put up by Mr. 

 Jas. E. Johnson, of Simcoe, for the Norfolk 

 Fruit Growers' Association. Sixty varieties 

 were shown in this display. They were not 

 exhibited in competition but were there to 

 demonstrate the capabilities of Norfolk 

 county in the production of high grade 

 fruit. The St, Catharines, Oshawa, Tren- 

 ton, and Chatham associations also showed 

 fine fruit and their methods of packing were 

 excellent. 



The quality of the apples was almost per- 

 fection. The color and size of the specimens 

 would compare favorably with those grown 

 anywhere in the world. The. apples in bixes 

 and barrels were a superior lot. A com- 

 parison between this display and the pack- 

 age exhibit at the first Ontario Horticul- 

 tural Exhibition held lour years ago would 



nails in a head liner would have been suf- 

 ficient, some 15 or 20 were used. There 

 were a few minor defects similar .'-p this, 

 but, on the whole the display was the best 

 ever seen in this country. 



While the apple was most in evidence, 

 the more tender fruits were equally deceiv- 

 ing of praise in respect to quality, if not in 

 number of exhibits. Some fine pears and 

 grapes were exhibited on plates and in 

 commercial packages. 



The educational value of the fruit depart- 

 ment was shown in many ways. The 

 methods of packing were object lessons. The 

 fruit itself showed what can be done by 

 good cultivation, pruning, spraying, and so 

 forth. The intermingling of exhibitors and 

 visitors gave opportunity for learning the 

 views of others and for disseminating prac- 

 tical pointers, and not the least for promot- 

 ing a feelintr of good fellowship between 

 growers in all parts of the province. 



The Central Experimental Farm at 0*t-- 



