224 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



September, 1907 



The Canadian Horticullurisl 



Published by The Horticultural 

 Publishing Company^^ Limited 



The Only Horticultural Magazine 

 in the Dominion 



OMcial Orcan of British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec 

 and Prince Edward Island Fruit Growers' 

 Associations and of the Ontario Veg- 

 etable Growers' Association 



H. Bronson Cowan, 



Managing Editor and Business Manager 



A. B. Cdttinc, B.S.A., Horticultural Editor 



W G. Rook, Advertising Manager 



Garrett Wall, Circulation Manager 



1. The Canadian Horticulturist is published on 

 the 25th day of the month preceding date of issue. 



2. Subscription Price in Canada and Great Britain 50 

 cents a year, three years $1.20. For United States and 

 l«cal subscriptions in Toronto, 25c. extra a year is charged 

 for postage Foreign subscriptions, $1.00 a year, in- 

 cluding postage. 



3. Remittances should be made by Post Office or 

 Money Express Order, or Registered Letter. Postage 

 Stamps accepted for amounts less than $1.00. 



4. Change of Address — When a change of address is 

 ordered, both the old and the new addresses must be 

 given, 



5. Advertising Rates quoted on application. Copy 

 received up to the 18th. Responsible representatives 

 wanted in towns and cities. 



6. Articles and Illustrations for publication will be 

 thankfully received by the editor. 



Circulation Statement 

 Since the subscription price of The Canadian Horti- 

 COLTURIST was reduced from $1.00 to 50 cents a 

 year, the circulation has grown rapidly. The following 

 is a sworn statement of the net paid circulation of The 

 Canadian Horticulturist for the year ending with 

 July, 1907. The figures given are exclusive of sample 

 and spoiled copies and of papers sent to advertisers. 

 Some months, including the sample copies, from 8,000 to 

 10,000 copies of The Canadian Horticulturist are 

 mailed to people known to be interested in the growing 

 of fruit, flowers or vegetables. , 



August, 1906 4,220 



September 1906 4,300 



October, 1906 4,330 



November 1906 4,775 



December 1906 4,'8I4 



January 1907 4,947 



February 1907 5^520 



March 1907 6.380 



April 1907 6,460 



May 1907 6,620 



June 1907 6.780 



July 1907... 6,920 



Total for the year 66,066 



Average each issue 5,505 



August, 1907 6,880 



worn detailed statements will be mailed upon ap- 

 cation. 



Our Protective Policy 



We want the readers of The Canadian Horticul- 

 TtnttST to feel that they can deal with our advertisers 

 with our assurance of the advertisers' reliability. We 

 try to admit to our columns only the most reliable ad- 

 vertisers. Should any subscriber, therefore, have good 

 cause to be dissatisfied with the treatment he receives 

 from any of our advertisers, we will look into the matter 

 and investigate the circumstances fully. Should we 

 find reason to believe that any of our advertisers are un- 

 reliable, even in the slightest degree, we will discontinue 

 immediately the publication of their advertisements in 

 The Horticulturist. Should the circumstances war- 

 r«ot we will expose them through the columns of the 

 paper. Thus, we will not only protect our readers, but 

 our reputable advertisers as well. All that is necessary 

 to entitle you to the benefits of this Protective Policy i, 

 that you include in all your letters to advertisers the 

 words "I saw your ad. in The Canadian Horticultur- 

 ist." Complaints should be sent to us as soon as possi- 

 ble after reason for dissatisfaction has been found. 



Communications should be addressed: 

 THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST, 



506-7-8 Manning Chambers, 



TORONTO, CANADA 



THE DOMINION CONFERENCE 



From the number of letters tliat have been 

 received at the oflRce of The Canadian Hor- 

 ticulturist respecting the holding of another 

 Dominion PVuit Conference in 1908, it is evident 

 that our leading and most representative fruit 

 growers are anxious that such should take 

 place. AVhile much was done at the last con- 

 ference, the entire pro.^ramme that was majjped 

 out has not been fulfilled, and besides there 

 were mauy questions that did not receive con- 

 sideration owing partly to the limited time of 

 the convention. Since then, also, new ques- 

 tions of a national character have arisen that 

 should be attended to at once if their solutions 

 are to be of value to the fruit industry of the 

 Dominion. 



It would seem that the Hon. Mr Fisher 

 should sanction the holding of a conference 

 next winter. The cost of same is a mere baga- 

 telle. The last one cost only ?2,000. When 

 the fact is considered that the provincial gov- 

 ernment of Ontario gives a grant of $1,800 

 each year to the Ontario Fruit Growers' Asso- 

 ciation, a local organization, surelv the Domin- 

 ion Governm.ent can give $2,000 every two 

 years to further the interests of fruit growers 

 in all the provinces. It is to be hoped that an 

 early announcement of a conference for 1908 

 will be made. 



SELLING APPLES BY WEIGHT 



Mr. T- B. Jackson, Canadian Commercial 

 Agent, Leeds, reports that the Hull and Dis- 

 trict Fruit Buyers' Association at their June 

 meeting passed the following resolution: 



"That all fruits, nuts and vegetables, gen- 

 erally sold retail by weight, shall also be 

 sold by brokers, merchants, and importers 

 on the Hull market by actual declared net 

 weights only." 



Mr. Jackson says that it is expected that 

 within two years this system of "declared net 

 weights" will become general throughout the 

 kingdom. 



This system of selling by weight appeals to 

 our sense of fairness inasmuch as nine-tenths 

 of the fruit is .sold ultimately by weight. Never- 

 theless, there are many objections to insisting 

 upon the weights being placed unon the bar- 

 rels. As a matter of fact the dealers who buy 

 at auction in Great Britain estimate with very 

 great accuracy the weight of fruit in the bar- 

 rels. This they are able to do because there is 

 no attempt upon the part of Canadian buvers 

 to misrepresent the weight of fruit in the bar- 

 rels. The difficulty arises when they would 

 be asked to state definitely what the exact 

 weight is, and this difTiculty is so great that 

 we need not expect it in the near future. The 

 apple operators who do the larger part of the 

 Canadian apple business could not easily de- 

 vise any scheme for placing the exact weight 

 of the contents in each barrel on the outside. 

 During the early part of the season the pack- 

 ing is done in the open orchard, where exact 

 weighing is out of the question. The difUculty 

 of getting cars and the rush of sending the 

 fruit when the cars are obtained render it 

 almost impossible to weigh the fruit at the 

 station. 



.Mthough the barrels are nearly all uniform 

 in size, there are differences of condition and 

 material that would make it impossible to put 

 an estimated weight upon the barrel at this 

 end of the journey. A barrel that is slightly 

 wet will weigh more in the gross than one 

 that is dry, although the net weight of fruit 

 may be exactly the same. If a barrel is made 

 of elm staves it will weigh somewhat different 

 from what it would if made of spruce staves; 

 and every variety of apple has a different 

 weight per barrel. It frequently happens that 



the rrian who attends to the shipping of the 

 cars is by no means an expert in apples and, 

 therefore, would not be so competent to judge i 

 of the weight as the man who buys. 



It can be readily understood that it would 

 be a difficult matter to get the dealers on this 

 side to mark weights on their barrels "The 

 cooperative associations, from their system 

 of working, could do it more easily. To this 

 mu.st be added the fact that the English buyers 

 have no real grievance. No one is trying to 

 deceive them. 



PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND METHODS 



The fruit growers of Prince Edward Island 

 are making good progress in the production r ' 

 high grade fruit for home consumption aii 

 export. It is evident, however, from the o!j 

 servations of Mr. Alex. Mc.Xeill, Chief, Fruit 

 Division, Ottawa, as recorded in an article on 

 another page, that the Islanders are making 

 some mistakes that are patent to every one 

 acquainted with the best methods of growers 

 in other provinces. 



One of the defects in Island methods is the 

 |)ractice of allowing trees to be choked from 

 the start with grass and weeds; indeed, in this 

 respect, there appears to be but few orchards 

 on the Island that have anything like a fair 

 chance. More trees are ruined every year by 

 want of clean culture than from any other 

 cause. When the Islanders give their trees 

 the same intelligent care that they give their 

 potatoes and their corn, orcharding will fl mrish. 



\ second mistake is the practice of making 

 the heads too high. The strong winds on the 

 Island and the climate generally, make it ab- 

 solutely necessary that every device should be 

 used to protect the fruit as well as the trees 

 themselves. Unfortunately, the idea prevails 

 that a tree cannot be kept free of grass unless 

 the limbs are started at a height of five or 

 six feet. If the growers would keep the trees 

 clean, after making this preparation for it, 

 there would be some excuse for them, but few 

 of them do. Up-to-date orchardists know 

 that a limb can be started at a height of two 

 feet or thirty inches, and yet offer no obstruc- 

 tion to cultivation. When those growers, 

 who do not give proper attention to their orch- 

 ards, observe these defects and others mentioned 

 in Mr. McXeill's article, and remedy them, the 

 fruit industry of Prince Edward Island should 

 develop rapidly. 



AN IMPORTANT ANNUAL EVENT 



When the Ontario Horticultural Exhibitii 

 was first proposed, some five years ago, there 

 were many who predicted that it could not be 

 made a success. It was claimed that the ex- 

 penses would be very heavy and the interest 

 taken in the event but slight. The argument 

 was made, also, that our horticultural indus- 

 tries were of such small importance as com- 

 pared with our other agricultural pursuits, that 

 they did not warrant the making of an effort 

 to hold such an exhibition. 



Three exhibitions have been held. Each 

 has surpassed its predecessors in the total num- 

 ber of entries made, in the general interest 

 rranifest, and in point of attendance. The 

 fourth exhibition will he held in Massey Hall, 

 Toronto, next November. Judging from the 

 interest apparent already, it promises to far 

 surpass the three former exhibitions on all 

 the points mentioned. 



At the first exhibition the fruit packed in 

 boxes and barrels, that was exhibited, was 

 for the most part a disgrace to the province. 

 It showed that most of those fruit growers 

 who were supposed to be experts, knew but 

 little in regard to the packing of fruit. The 

 exhibit was so disappointing, Hon. John Dry- 

 den, the then Minister of .Agriculture, pro- 

 posed publicly that his department should 

 import experts from Califoniia to give the 

 Ontario growers lessons in packing. 



What is the situation now? At the last 



?re" 



