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The Canadian Horticultunst 



Vol. XXIX 



NEW YEAR'S DAY, 1906 



No. 1 



Co-operation as Practised by Fruit Growers 



Prof. J. B. Reynolds. O.A.C., Guelph, Ont. 



THE inevitable conclusion from last 

 year's experimental shipment of 

 fruit from Ontario to Winnipeg, pointed 

 to the urgent need for co-operation among 

 fruit growers in practically all the 

 branches of their business that are con- 

 cerned in the handhng of the fruit. 

 This led me this year to make some in- 

 quiries respecting packing houses and 

 co-operation. In this inquiry I have 

 visited a number of places in Ontario 

 where co-operation has been tried and a 

 few points in the States. Some of my 

 observations and conclusions on this 

 subject will likely be of interest to the 

 readers of The Canadian Horticul- 

 turist. I shall deal with the matter 

 under two heads: (1) organization ; (2) 

 equipment. 



Organization : Where co-operation has 

 been established I found either a co-op- 

 erative association, properly so-called, 

 or a joint stock company. The co-op- 

 erative association is organized under a 

 special provincial act, and is empowered 

 to own necessary property in connection 

 with the business forwhich it isorganized. 

 The joint stock company may have all 

 the features of the co-operative associa- 

 tion and has in addition all the powers 

 and privileges granted to the joint stock 

 company under the provincial charter. 

 The latter form of organization is rather 

 more ambitious than the simple co-op- 

 erative association. While it may not 

 suit most localities, it seems to be a 

 pronounced success in one locality that 

 I visited, namely Thornbury. The 

 banker who does the business for the 

 company expressed his approval of the 

 principle of the joint stock company for 

 the purpose of the fruit growers. The 

 powers of the company are such as will 

 enable them to meet all demands of the 

 business as they arise, since the amount 

 of stock subscribed may be made suf- 

 ficient to build or purchase various parts 

 of the equipment necessary in the busi- 

 ness, so that under progressive and 

 careful management there is greater 

 chance of success in handling, in pack- 

 ing, in storing, and in marketing. Mr. 

 J. G. Mitchell, the enterprising manager 

 of the Thornbury Association, is con- 

 vinced that he has solved the problem 

 of co-operation among fruit growers. 

 Ordinary co-operation had been attempt- 



ed time and again in that district with- 

 out success, but now, he claims, the in- 

 vestment of a. small sum of money in 

 the business interests each individual 



NEW YEAR THOUGHTS 



How the returning days, one after one. 

 Come ever in their rhythmic round, un- 

 changed. 

 Yet from each looped robe for every man 

 Some new thing falls. Happy is he 

 Who fronts them without fear, and like 



the gods 

 Looks out unanxiously on each day's gift 

 With calmly curious eye. 



■ — Archibald Lampman. 



shareholder to a degree that is not to 

 be expected under ordinar)' co-operation. 



One rather difficult problem in or- 

 ganization is that of holding members 

 together, so that they act co-operatively, 

 and not singly, in all branches of the 

 business. It is needless to say here 

 that farmers do not sufficiently recog- 

 nize the necessity for co-operative action. 

 Perhaps they are too much imbued with 

 the spirit of independence and self-reli- 

 ance. However that may be, it is ad- 

 mitted as a great difficulty, wherever I 

 have been, to secure complete co-opera- 

 tion. F'or instance, at Fennville, Mich- 

 igan, members of the co-operative asso- 

 ciation there had been approached by 

 fruit buyers and offered prices in ad- 

 vance of those they were securing 

 through the association. The ostensi- 

 ble object of this offer is to break the 

 association and subsequently to have the 

 farmers at the mercy of the buyers, as 

 they were before co-o])eration was estab- 

 lished. vSome of the members of the 

 association at Fennville had succumbed 

 to the temptation, and I found no busi- 

 ness being done at the packing house, 

 partly on this account. 



Various devices are invented here and 

 there for the purpose of keeping the 

 members together and inducing them to 

 pack and sell only through the associa- 

 tion. The difficulty of securing co-op- 

 eration among a large membership has 

 induced most of the associations to limit 

 their membership, .^t Forest the mem- 

 bership has been reduced to a compar- 

 atively small number this year by the 

 establishing of a new clause in the by- 

 laws, that requires members of the as- 



sociation to spray their fruit at least 

 four times during the season. At Thom- 

 burv, however, the joint stock company 

 is found to be a sufficient bond among 

 the members. The financial interest in 

 the concern, however small the invest- 

 ment may be, and the prospect of a 

 dividend, creates a lively interest in the 

 prosperity of the company. In addi- 

 tion, a b3'-law providing that members 

 of the company who sell their fruit pri- 

 vately shall be entitled to no dividend, 

 serves as a deterrent upon independent 

 action. As a consequence the member- 

 ship at Thornbury is increasing, while 

 the tendency at other points is to dim- 

 inish the membership and reduce it to 

 a comparatively small number of inter- 

 ested and enthusiastic growers. 



EQUIPMENT 



When I commenced this year's in- 

 quiries I was of the opinion that a pack- 

 ing house of special design would be 

 advisable for the purpose. Having seen 

 a number of houses where packing is 

 being done, I have come to the con- 

 clusion that no special form of building 

 is required. Plenty of floor space of 

 suitable, shape, conveniently situated, 

 seems to be the principal requisite. 

 Two floors are advisable, the lower one 

 for receiving, packing, and shipping the 

 fruit, and the upper one for storage of 

 packages. 



Besides the packing house, a storage 

 house is advisable. In districts where 

 summer fruit is grown extensively, an 

 ice storage is an important feature in 

 the business. If the fruits are shipped 

 daily, that is, received and packed and 

 shipped the same day, there is perhaps 

 little need for cold storage. At Gyp- 

 sum, Ohio, where I found the best 

 equipped and best managed packing 

 house of all those that I visited, there is 

 no cold storage, although tender fruits, 

 such as peaches, plums and pears, are the 

 principal output. The fruit is packed 

 immediately on delivery and is stored 

 in the refrigerator car without delay. 

 In this instance, as in many other in- 

 stances, the refrigerator car takes the 

 place of the refrigerator chamber. 



For winter fruits, also, a storage house 

 is advisable. It is the opinion of the 

 managers of the associations that the 



