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THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



The Canadian norlicullurisl 



Publiahed by The Horticultural 

 Publiahiriff Company^, Limited 



The Only" Horticultural Magazine 

 in the Dominion 



Omcial Organ of British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec 



and Prince Edward Island Fruit Growera* 



Associations and of the Ontario Vec- 



etable Growers' Association 



H. Bronson Cowan, Editor and Business Manager 



A. B. CUTTINO. B.S.A., Associate Editor 



W. G. Rook. Advertising Manager 



ORKAT BRITAIN 



Frank Fletchkr. 135 Henrietta Street. Old Trafford. 



Manchester. I^ng.. Advertising and Circulation Manager. 



1. The Canadian Horticulturist is published the first 

 of every month. 



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7. oArticles and Illustrations for publication will be 

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THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



507 and 508 Manning Chambers 



TORONTO. CANADA 



OUR EXPORT COMMERCE IN FRUIT 



Many fruit men do not u])prociate the in- 

 creasing significance of our export commerce in 

 fruits. The exportation of fruit and the re- 

 ceipt of profitable returns in exchange involves 

 one of the delicate features of our international 

 trade. The fruit grower, the dealer and the 

 shipper at home, and the conmiission man and 

 the retail dealer abroad — every person con- 

 cerned in the business — are subject to consid- 

 erable speculative risk. The uncertainty of 

 abundant crops in Canada, the probability of 

 good crops in other fruit -producing countries 

 (which has a material influence on the value 

 and the extent of our exportations"), the prob- 

 lems of packing and transportation, and many 

 other difficulties, tend to make our export 

 fruit business a commercial problem of more 

 than ordinary importance. 



Canadian producers and shippers of fruit may 

 be proud of the increase in our export trade 

 since the Fruit Marks Act became law. Dur- 

 ing the past five years the value of our export 

 apple trade has increased nearly 100 per cent. 

 This increase is due, not only to our natural 

 resources and the natural trend of trade 

 development, but also to the fact that the in- 

 dividual grower is slowly but surely finding out, 

 by the bitter experience perhaps of unprofit- 

 able returns, the value of honest, modernized 

 methods in growing, harvesting and marketing 

 the product of his orchards. 



Safe commerce in fruits depends on the 

 essential quality of the fruit we have to sell, 

 and of the value that we may get for it. High 

 grade fruit is always in demand. It is only 

 inferior grades that go begging for a market. 

 Commercial reports, the world over, show this 

 to be the case. How many fruit growers fully 

 realize the force of this fact ? The few who do, 

 and who produce a class of fruit that is a little 

 better than the other fellows', are the men who 

 succeed. 



What they want in England first of all is 

 .soundness and good keeping qualities, and 

 nearly uniform size throughout the |)ackage. 

 Flavor is an essential feature of prime fruit ; 

 but, in the hst of export varieties, it is a second- 

 ary consideration. Apples when packed for 

 export must have good shape, medium size, high 



color, anil good keeping (|u.iluies. Uniformity 

 in apix-aranct and size means a goodJdeaHCon- 

 stant improvement in this resjject is essential 

 to the general progress of our fruit industry. 

 For the export trade we must have uniformly 

 gcKxl fruit throughout the package; fruit in 

 sound condition with good keeping (jualities 

 for the dealer and consimier; and then suiierior 

 quality for those who are ready to pay extra 

 for it. 



Export fruit should be sent in comparatively 

 large lots of one sort and of one variety. There 

 should not be too many varieties in one con- 

 signment. One reliable variety will give more 

 satisfactory results and better returns than a 

 medley of varieties of unknown, and perhaps, 

 inferior merit. Varieties behave differently 

 in cold storage and in transit ; hence, when ship- 

 ping, one variety in a consignment is Ijetter 

 than a nunil)er. 



The projjer package in which to ship fruit is 

 also an important (lueslion. ()l>servers who 

 have seen Canadian apples handled on the 

 Liver])ool docks emphasize the necessity of 

 ■ strong barrels, well bound with hoops. Ex- 

 perts uniformly advise the use of the eight- 

 iioop barrel. \\'hile the barrel meets the cus- 

 tomary demands of the trade, there is also a 

 market for fancy apples packed in boxes. By 

 packing high grade apples in boxes a direct 

 api)eal is made to the more select retail trade 

 of the kingdom. Wrapping such apples singly 

 with paper adds to the appearance and increases 

 the probable returns. 



Successful commerce in fruits depends, also, 

 upon the nature and efficiency of the means at 

 hand for transportation. ()ccan transporta- 

 tion involves two questions: the ciuestion <jf 

 rates and the question of service. To secure 

 low rates fruit shippers must make regular 

 shipments, and in such quantity that the trans- 

 portation people will be forced to recognize 

 the value to them of the fruit business and 

 treat it accordingly. Efficient service in trans- 

 portation — careful handling, projjer storage 

 apartments, low temperature, and good venti- 

 lation — will insure the safe delivery of fruit. 

 No sort of provision for safe carriage, however, 

 will carry fruit safely that does not start in a 

 condition that will give it a fair chance. Trans- 

 portation companies may jjrovide conveniences 

 and the provisions for safe carriage, but the 

 grower must e.xercise care, skill and honesty in 

 the production, harvesting and packing of his 

 fruit, if he expects it to arrive at its destina- 

 tion in marketable condition, and to command 

 top prices. It behooves the Canadian fruit 

 grower, therefore, to pack his fruit honestly, 

 to deal fairly, to ship packages uniform within 

 and without, and to conform vyillingly to the 

 business methods of the Hritish purchaser. 



THE NIAGARA STATION SOILS 



The report of The Horticui<turist, in the 

 July issue, on the new exi)eriment station soils 

 has been borne out by actual mechanical 

 analyses. An editorial representative of The 

 Horticulturist personally secured ten samples 

 of the surface soil with underlying subsoils, 

 twenty samples in all, and sent them to Guelph 

 for analysis. Six of the samples with accompany- 

 ing subsoils, twelve samples in all, were taken 

 from the original Rittenhouse farm, the first 

 farm presented to the Ontario Government by 

 Mr. M. F. Rittenhouse, of Chicago. Two other 

 samples with subsoils, four in all, were taken 

 from the Harris farm, the second presentation 

 to the r.overnment; and the remaining two 

 samples with subsoils, four in all, were taken 

 from the Culp farm, across the road from the 

 farms already donated, and cm which it is under- 

 stood Mr. Rittenhouse has given the Govern- 

 ment an option. 



A close examination of the analyses, which 

 Mr. W. H. Day, of the Physical Department, 

 has been kind enough to furnish, shows the 

 need for an additional area of sandy soil. The 

 lightest soil on the farm contains only 56% of 

 sand; the subsoil beneath this is variable, one 



sample analyzing 67% sand, and another, only 

 50 yards distant, 25% sand--a clay, and in this 

 case hard |)an at that. The soil in the ravine, 

 according to^the analysis, is comparatively low 

 in organic matter; it is not a rich muck, as 

 supix)scd; it is a fair loam. As stated in our 

 July re|Kirt, the largest part of the original 

 Rittenhouse farm comprises clay loam, incum- 

 l)ent upon a clay subsoil containing only 14% 

 of sand. The Harris farm, also, contains very 

 little light soil. In fact, the analyses show the 

 soils on the two farms to lie even heavier than 

 reported by us from our eye survey. 



Contrasted with the foregoing the srnls on the 

 Culp farm are ideal. While low in organic mat- 

 ter, they are high in (xrrcentage of sand. This 

 is the desirable tyjie for i)eaches, English cherries 

 and small fruits. We would therefore again 

 urge the necessity of the purchase of the whole 

 or a ijortion of the Culp farm, u|X)n which the 

 Government has an option at SlOO an acre. Such 

 an ac(iuisiti(m would provide the soil so neces- 

 sary for ex|)erimental work in many imixjrtant 

 classes of fruits and vegetables. 



TOO MUCH FRAUD 



Those who sell their apples on the trees to 

 dealers should be very careful in making an 

 agreement. Irresponsible buyers, and even 

 some who are not considered so, take advantage 

 of technicalities to the very great loss of the 

 fruit grower. Take a case in point. A fartner 

 in Middlesex county sold his ajiples at a price 

 jjer barrel, the grower agreeing to do the picking. 

 The buyer was to furnish the barrels and do the 

 packing. The price of a|)ples declined, and the 

 price of barrels advanced so rapidly, that the 

 dealer could get no profit out of his bargain, and 

 the ajjples were left in heaps under the trees 

 until they were caught by frost. The grower 

 sued on his contract, proving that he had done 

 his part in delivering the apples picked. The 

 courts held, however, that as they were sold at 

 so much per barrel, the contract was not com- 

 plete until the apjiles were placed in barrels 

 and, consequently, the grower lost his suit. 



The general public are not aware of how large 

 a number of men there are who, practically, 

 make a living by practices which nmst be con- 

 sidered fraudulent in connection with the buy- 

 ing of apples. The true remedy is the formation 

 of cooperative associations and the selling of the 

 fruit, picked and packed ready for market, to 

 thoroughly reliable men who will pay cash at 

 the time of delivery or give security that will 

 f)e recognized at the banks. Nothing else should 

 l)e accepted by the growers. 



One of the active agencies recently organized 

 for the keeping clean of the streets of a busy 

 city, was that of the Clean City Club, started 

 this year in Chicago. This organization be- 

 came very popular* in a short time, and within 

 a few weeks after organization had upwards of 

 1,000 members. The club was divided into two 

 groups, comprised mostly of children, each 

 under the direction of a captain. Among the 

 rules adopted by the club were the following: 

 "Pick up at least one piece of paper from the 

 street every day. Clean your own back yard 

 and porches and try to interest the boys and 

 girls next door to do the same. Keep at least 

 one flower in your window. Be smiling and 

 clean yourself." The interest such work cre- 

 ates in the keeping of the individual homes, as 

 well as the city, neat and attractive, is one 't 

 the best results that follows public effort if 

 this nature. We have societies in some of our 

 cities, notably London and Hamilton, that are 

 doing excellent work along similar lines. More 

 are needed. There are dozens of horticultural 

 societies in Ontario that could branch in tliis 

 direction with advantage to themselves and u> 

 the public. 



Throughout Canada and the United States, 

 the Niagara district of Ontario is noted for the 

 fruits and product of its soil. The Niagara 



