Handling and SKipping Fruit via Montreal 



The Second of a Series of Articles by the Staff Representative of the Canadian Horticxilturist, ^«rho this S\»n»mer 

 Visited Great Britain in the Interests of Canadian Fruit Gro-wers and of this Paper 



THE conditions under which Canadian 

 fruit is handled by the steamship com- 

 panies while in transit are, on the whole, 

 very satisfactory. It is gratifying to 

 find that this is the case, as the proper transport - 



Unloading on Wharf from Teams 



ation of fruit from the orchard in Canada to the 

 salesrooms of Great Britain, is an important 

 factor in the development of our export trade. 

 On the manner of transportation largely rests 

 the ultimate profit or loss of the venture. It 

 should be such that the same care is taken as 

 in the production of the fruit, but, until coin- 

 paratively recent years the reverse has been in 

 evidence. 



One of the chief objects we had in view in 

 visiting Great Britain was to ascertain the con- 

 ditions under which perishable products are 

 handled by the steamship companies. It was 

 unfortunate that business arrangements neces- 

 sitated the trip being taken at a .season when 

 fruit was not being exported. On the other 

 hand large quantities of cheese and butter were 

 being handled in the cold storage compartments 

 of the vessel. The care given these articles 

 gave us a good idea of the manner in which our 

 fruit exports would be handled later in the 

 season. 



We all know, as has been shown repeatedly 

 in The Canadian Horticulturist, that on this 

 side of the Atlantic much of our fruit is not 

 picked at the proper stage of maturity, that 

 often it is left in piles in the orchard at the 

 mercy of the weather, and that frequently it 

 reaches the steamer in a condition unfit for safe 

 carriage. The Markets Division of the Dominion 

 Department of Agriculture, established by Prof. 

 Jas. W. Robertson, and now ably managed by 

 Mr. W. W. Moore, has done and is doing ex- 

 cellent work towards bringing about an improve- 

 ment in everything connected with the shipping 

 of fruit. Naturally, however, when we have not 

 reached perfection in our methods on this side, 

 we cannot say much if we find some points to 

 criticize in the handling of our products by the 

 steamship companies, and by those who are 

 responsible for its care after it reaches the 

 wharves in Great Britain. 



In anything we may say on this subject, how- 

 ever, we are perfectly well aware that "one 

 swallow does not make a summer," and that it 

 would not be safe to draw any sweeping con- 

 clusions after accompanying and watching the 

 handling of only one steamship load of produce. 

 On the other hand we feel that what we saw 

 during our trip was sufficient to give a general 

 idea of the manner in which much of our fruit is 

 handled, and to enable us to draw some con- 

 clusions therefrom. On the whole we were very 



favorably impressed with the manner in which 

 the steamship company cared for its load and 

 with the treatment accorded to the perishable 

 products of which it consisted after it reached 

 London. There is room, however, for great 

 improvement in the care given our 

 produce at other ports, such as Liver- 

 pool, Manchester and Glasgow. 



An important factor in successful 

 transportation is to keep the fruit 

 at a uniform temperature from the 

 time it is picked until it is sold. 

 This has been demonstrated to the 

 sorrow of some of our growers in 

 western Ontario, in shipping fruit 

 via New York. At that port the 

 fruit is transferred from the freight 

 sheds to the steamer on the decks of 

 small boats. On these it is exposed 

 to the sun and weather and then 

 placed in the hold at a temperature 

 often of 75 degrees. Having been 

 picked and shipped at a temperature 

 much lower, the rise and subsequent 

 fall in temperature on board has a 

 very damaging effect. Although a 

 lower freight rate may have been 

 secured, it seldom compensated for 

 the loss occasioned in marketing by 

 the inferior condition of the fruit; it did not net 

 the shipper as much as had it been shipped by 

 the all Canadian route. Apples shipped via 



Lowering Apples into Hold 



Montreal are delivered in the cars direct to 

 the wharf, and can be unloaded, under cover 

 of the steamship company's shed, immediately 

 into. the hold of the vessel. They 

 thus experience but slight change 

 in temperature and are spared all 

 unnecessary handling. That as ac- 

 curate an idea as possible might be 

 obtained of the care given perishable 

 products by the steamship compan- 

 ies, arrangements were made to sail 

 on one of the large freight boats of 

 the Thomson Line, of which the 

 Robt. Reford Co., of Montreal, are 

 the agents in Canada. It thus was 

 possible to watch the loading of the 

 vessel, to check the temperatures 

 maintained in the hold during the 

 voyage, and to observe the unload- 

 ing and handling on the wharves in 

 Great Britain. In this connection 

 mention might be drawn to the 

 careful supervision that is given to 

 these matters by the officials of the 

 Markets Division of the Department of 

 Agriculture. Not only do they obtain 



the temperatures of much of the produce before 

 it is loaded on the vessels and note the condition 

 of the packages and produce, but this year they 

 are placing thermographs in the holds of every 

 steamer leaving Montreal for Great Britain. 

 These thermographs keep an accurate, automatic 

 record of the temperatures maintained each 

 day of the voyage. In Great Britain, inspectors 

 of the department again inspect the cargoes as 

 they are unloaded, test the temperature of the 

 produce and record the percentage of broken 

 boxes and damaged fruit. This work has had a 

 far-reaching effect, as shown by the great im- 

 provements that have been made in recent years 

 in the methods of handling and shipping perish- 

 able products. .j,jjg THOMSON LINE 



Not being an expert in cold storage matters, 

 some points may have escaped our attention 

 that an expert would have caught, but we feel 

 free to say that we were most favorably im- 

 pressed by the careful manner in' which the 

 officials of the Thomson Line handled and looked 

 after the cargo of the vessel on which we sailed. 

 This care was given, not only to the products 

 while being loaded, but during the course of the 

 voyage and throughout the process of unloading 

 on the other side. This line, in fact, appears to 

 have brought these matters very near to the 

 point of perfection. 



From information gained, not only from 

 officials of the company, but from exporters in 

 Canada and importers in Great Bri- 

 tain, the Thomson Steamship Co. are 

 said to have been the pioneers in every 

 forward movement made to enable the 

 Canadian shippers to land their pro- 

 duce in Great Britain in satisfactory 

 condition. They are said to carry more 

 fruit from Canada than any other com- 

 pany, and have the name of being the 

 most careful, the quickest and most 

 obliging company in the Canadian 

 trade to London. The company has 

 the exclusive right to discharge the 

 cargoes of its vessels into the new Can- 

 adian Produce Warehouses (West) at 

 Surrey Commercial docks. These ware- 

 houses are the liest equipped in Great 

 Britain. 



The accompanying illustrations, se- 

 cured last year, give a good idea of 

 the manner in which the fruit is un- 

 loaded from the drays to the wharf, 

 and the barrels lowered into the hold. 

 It will be seen that large mattresses 

 are used on which to land the barrels, 

 so that the fruit will not be bruised or injured 

 in any way when loading or unloading. 



The vessel is divided into compartments in 



Apple Storage Room Aboard Ship 



