306 LAWS AFFECTING ORCHARDING 



the bad packers, who would otherwise continue shipping badly 

 packed fruit to the detriment of the good packers. It has also 

 had its effect in warehouse-packing and checked many frauds. 

 One of these was the marking up of the grade of fruit and another 

 was the branding and shipping of fruit under spurious names and 

 marks. Packers are every year having a more wholesome regard 

 for the Fruit Marks Act, and I look for a steady improvement in 

 the pack. ' ' 



Fruit Standardized. — Turning now to the officials of the 

 Dominion Department of Agriculture we have several opinions : 



Mr. George H. Vroom, Chief Fruit Inspector for the Province 

 of Nova Scotia, says: ''The Fruit Marks Act has standardized 

 the pack to such an extent that Canadian apples average from 

 one to two shillings more per barrel than under the old methods. 

 It has aided very materially in the formation of cooperative asso- 

 ciations, which means first, last and always a better and higher 

 grade article to put on the market. And this improved pack has 

 been the means of opening up new markets to Canadian fruit. In 

 short the Fruit Marks Act has succeeded beyond the most 

 sanguine expectations. ' ' 



Professor W. T. Maeoun, Dominion Horticulturist, says: 

 "While the Fruit Marks Act has not yet made every Canadian 

 apple packer put his apples up in accordance with the require- 

 ments of the Act, yet much has already been accomplished in this 

 direction. It has given fruit growers standards of what No. 1 and 

 No. 2 grades of apples should be. This was not clearly understood 

 before the passage of the Act and there was a great difference of 

 opinion among fruit growers as to what constituted a No. 1 and a 

 No. 2 apple. The Fruit Marks Act has made the branding of 

 barrels much more uniform. Formerly a man could put as many 

 Xs on the barrel as he thought would sell his fruit to the best ad- 

 vantage. Now the grade marks must be confined to No. 1, No. 2 

 and No. 3 and the packer's name and address must be on every 

 closed package. This we consider a great step forward." 



Mr. A. McNeill, Chief of the Fruit Division, says: "In my 

 opinion the Fruit Marks Act has revolutionized the packing of 



