The Canadian Horticulturi^ 



Vol. XXIX 



NOVEMBER, 1906 



No. 11 



Ho^v Canadian Fruit is Sold in Great Britain 



i A MAN should be placed in London, 

 ZA during the fruit season, to represent 

 the fruit interests of the Dominion. 

 This should be done by the Dominion 

 Fruit Division or the various cooperative 

 fruit growers' associations could place 

 a man there on their own behalf. 

 Such a move would benefit the fruit 

 industry in two ways; first, by making 

 it possible to hold ^nd dispose of fruit 

 when the market is most favorable, 

 and second, by lessening the chance of 

 false reports being returned to the 

 growers. By examining the fruit on 

 arrival, the representative could de- 

 termine the exact condition and re- 

 port same to the person who made the 

 consignment. The unsatisfactory man- 

 ner in which Canadian apples are hand- 

 led and disposed of by the majority 

 of firms in Great Britain would war- 

 rant this move. It would be an im- 

 portant step in the placing of the Cana- 

 dian fruit trade on a satisfactory basis. 

 This was made evident to the staff rep- 

 resentative of The Canadian Hor- 

 ticulturist this summer while visit- 

 ing the Old Country on a tour of in- 

 vestigation along these lines. 



The way in which Canadian apples 

 are sold in the cities of Great Britain, 

 where the fruit is landed, is as varied 

 as one could imagine. Only a small 

 percentage of our export apples are 

 sold direct from the grower to British 

 retailers. The larger portion is sold 

 by auctioneers or brokers; the balance 

 is sold by wholesale houses to the smaller 

 dealers. The only claim one class of 

 brokers can make to prove that they 

 are fruit merchants is the business they 

 conduct in importing fruit on con- 

 signment from small growers and deal- 

 ers in Canada and other countries. 

 Later, they turn it over to larger firms 

 to dispose of, but not until they have 

 deducted a Hberal commission. In this 

 transaction, it will he seen, the grower 

 has to pay a double commission as well 

 as run the chance that both of the 

 dealers may make false returns. 



All fruit merchants are not honest. 

 The green fruit trade seems to ofTer 

 splendid opportunities for dishonest 

 individuals. tVhen sending fruit to 

 Great Britain on consignment, ex- 

 porters should exercise great care to' 

 ascertain the financial standing of the 

 Consignees. 



The formation of cooperative asso- 

 ciations in Canada is approved by the 

 majority of British fruit merchants. 

 It is believed that these associations 

 will help solve the dishonest packing 

 problem, and lead to a reduction in 

 the number of brands. 



Owing to the dishonest manner in 

 which some Canadian apples have been 

 packed, a feeling of distrust exists 

 among the retailers. While anxious to 

 deal direct with the Canadian grower, 

 the retailer will not take the risk. He 

 prefers to buy from the auctioneers 

 or brokers, so that he may examine the 

 fruit before the purchase is made. 



Small growers should not attempt 

 to export fruit. A better plan is the 



Leads THem A.11 



I like The Canadian Horticul- 

 turist very much. It gives the 

 best value of any horticultural 

 paper in the world. There is no 

 horticultural paper in England 

 or Canada that can touch it. I 

 know this because I have taken, 

 at one time or another, all such 

 papers in both countries. — Francis 

 P. English, Niagara Falls South, 

 Ont. 



formation of cooperative associations 

 so that large shipments can be made 

 under one brand. Then send only the 

 best, and that properly packed. Fruit 

 of uncertain quality finds a poor re- 

 ception on the British market. It 

 affords an excuse, which is quickly 

 taken advantage of, to cut the quoted 

 price. Many cases of fruit that left 

 the orchard in Canada, apparently in 

 good condition, were found, when opened 

 in the auction room, to be slack. A 

 small fault, perhaps, but sufficient to 

 place the consignment among second- 

 class fruit, and thereby reduce the 

 price. 



In a previous article it was stated 

 that business arrangements did not 

 permit of our representative being in 

 Great Britain during the fruit season. 

 He got a good idea of the way our 

 fruit is cared for, however, by visiting 

 the various warehouses, and observing 

 the manner in which fruit from other 



countries was handled. At the time 

 he was in London, the Tasmanian fruit 

 season was nearing an end ; the last 

 cases in the different warehouses were 

 being sold. 



The larger portion of the fniit sold 

 in London is disposed of by auctioneers 

 or brokers in the vicinity of Covent 

 Garden. There they have a large build- 

 ing erected for use as a fruit market. 

 Each of the many firms represented 

 there announce on blackboards, placed 

 in front of their booths, the quantity 

 and variety of the fruit they have for 

 sale and the hour of the sale. The 

 booths are arranged around the walls 

 inside the hall. Above the booths are 

 the offices, and in front is the auction- 

 eers' stand. Sometimes rival firms con- 

 duct sales at the same hour, which has 

 a depreciating effect on the prices real- 

 ized for the fruit. 



When the sales commence, the stand 

 is usually surrounded by representa- 

 tives of wholesale houses, large retail 

 firms and small fruit dealers. These 

 buyers are ready to purchase any- 

 where from one to 100 cases of fruit, 

 according to the size of the business 

 they represent. Unknown or unreli- 

 able parties must pay cash when the 

 fruit is knocked down, others are 

 given 30 days' time. Samples of the 

 fruit are placed on the stand for in- 

 spection. In many instances, the en- 

 tire lot is within a short distance of 

 the auctioneer, and may be inspected 

 bv prospective purchasers before the 

 sale .starts. Immediately after the sale 

 the fruit is removed to the purchasers' 

 warehouses or stores. The whole trans- 

 action often is completed within 48 

 hours after the arrival of the ship. 



The commission charged by auction- 

 eers varies from 2^% to 10%. It is 

 safer to trust the man who charges 

 10% than the man who is content to 

 deduct the smaller figure. Experi- 

 ence has shown that 2}4% is not 

 enough commission to enable a broker 

 to make an honest living, and as he 

 has to live, the extra amount generally 

 is made up by means of false returns 

 to the grower. Instances are known 

 where brokers have realized a hand- 

 some price for the fruit, and when the 

 returns were made to the grower, they 

 reported the fruit as being in bad 

 shape on arrival. The grower, not be- 



