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 1. LOCAL MARKETS. 



Whenever one is so situated that his fruit can be disposed of locally, and 

 the area under crop is not too great to prevent this method of sale, it is almost 

 certain to prove profitable and satisfactory, since the question of packing, 

 packages, transportation and middlemen, are largely eliminated, and the producer 

 gets close to the ultimate consumer, generally to their mutual satisfaction. 

 The question is frequently asked, can a man with a family and with moderate 

 means make a respectable living from a small holding in this country by growing 

 fruit ? This question may be answered emphatically in the affirmative, provided 

 he is willing to carry out the task he has undertaken with energy and deter- 

 mination. Numerous instances may be cited where men are doing far better 

 on small holdings under systematic intensive fruit culture, than their more 

 pretentious neighbours, who may be the nominal owners of broad acres often 

 cultivated in a desultory or indifferent manner. Many sections of Canada 

 at the present time furnish ideal conditions for entering upon the culture of fruits, 

 particularly the various small fruits, on moderate holdings, with first class 

 markets right at hand where ready sales may be made for all the fruit that may 

 be offered for years to come. Such sections offer very attractive prospects to 

 the man of small means who has a desire to be his own landlord. 



2. CITIES AND LARGE TOWNS. 



While Canada is by no means densely populated and our large centres of 

 population not very numerous as yet, an important market has been found 

 in the large towns and cities of Ontario and the Eastern Provinces for Canadian 

 grown fruit. The habit of eating fruit has taken a firm hold, not only with 

 the wealthier classes of the people, but also with the larger number of those 

 in the humbler walks of life. It is well that such is the case, for the medicinal 

 qualities of fruit as a portion of the regular diet are well recognized and should 

 be encouraged in every way. The fact that large quantities of fruit have been 

 available at reasonable prices has been a great factor in fostering this habit 

 amongst the people. Occasional periods when, from some cause or another, 

 there has been a temporary glut causing low prices, and for the moment, unprofit- 

 able returns to the grower, have not proved an unmixed evil, inasmuch as at 

 such times, a demand is created which continues, and reacts beneficially on 

 those who are called upon to sustain temporary loss. With better facilities 

 for receiving and handling at terminal points, and with more intelligent distribu- 

 tion, it is becoming yearly more easily possible to supply our larger centres 

 with regular and continuous supplies of fruits in their season. This trade is 

 capable, under the careful co-operation of the grower, the transportation com- 

 panies, and the dealers, of very great expansion, and provides a most important 

 outlet for the products of many who are engaging in fruit culture in a more 

 extensive way than those mentioned in a previous paragraph. 



Mention must be made here of an important feature of consumptive demand 

 that has arisen during the last few years and has attained such proportions 

 that Canada claims to have the largest organization of the kind in the British 

 Empire, if not in the world. This consists of the preservation of fruits and 

 vegetable? in glass or tin cans, an industry that has grown and developed in 

 Canada with remarkable rapidity, and one that furnishes a ready market right 

 at hand for large quantities of fruits and vegetables of all kinds. 



3. THE PRAIRIE MARKETS. 



While the cities and large towns of the East have for many years consumed 

 the major portion of the surplus fruit produced in Canada, with the possible 

 exception of apples; a market has been opened up in the last decade which 

 seems likely to absorb for a good many years to come and at fair prices, an 



