154 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



We believe our cus'om in Canada of 

 using cheap baskets, which may be sold 

 with the fruit, to be the one most 

 likely to facilitate trade, and the wide 

 distributions of our fruits into numer- 

 ous and distant markets. 

 The question of 



FRUIT TRANSPORTATION 



will occupy the attention of Canadian 

 fruit growers in the near future. We are 

 pleased to learn that the express com- 

 panies are preparing new and more 

 convenient shelved cars for the more 

 careful carriage of our tender fruits, and 

 so long as they are able to carry our 

 fruit at a low rate, and handle it with 

 care, all right ; but the trouble is that 

 their time for handling it at many points 

 is limited, and the fruit products of our 

 country are so rapidly increasing in 

 quantity, that the agents are over- 

 crowded with work and handle our 

 fruits in a very rough mann r, by no 

 means commensurate with the high 

 rate of their charges. It is a question 

 whether it would not be wise to petition 

 the railway companies and provide 

 special fruit cars for the height of the 

 fruit season, which could be left at 

 diffei'ent points along the line for filling, 

 and Vje gathered up by some special 

 evening freight train, and delivered in 

 the cities to which they are consigned 

 in time for early morning mai'kets at 

 freight rates. 



We highly appreciate the great ser- 

 vice rendered us by the express com- 

 panies for ordinary occasions, but 

 extraordinary occasions require also 

 some extraordinary provisions. 



FRUITS ON COMMISSION. 



With the amateur fruit grower and 

 gardener the question of how to dis- 

 pose of his fruit is not very important. 

 He gi'ows just what he can use or sell 

 in a near town or village. But when 

 one enters upon the business of fruit 



gx'owing on a lai-ge scale, as many are 

 doing, the question of how to sell the 

 crop quickly, safely, and with profit, 

 becomes most important. 



No doubt it is well, as far as possible, 

 to be one's own salesman, and make con- 

 tracts in advance in various towns with 

 reliable men, but many of us find that- 

 our time is too much taken up with 

 gathering and shipping to leave us any 

 time for making sales and collecting 

 payments. We must then engage others, 

 to do this work for us. 



Out of this necessity have arisen 

 many commission houses, notably in 

 Toronto and Montreal, and as several 

 of them are beginning to advertise in 

 our columns, we take this opportunity 

 of referring to them and their work. 

 As very little capital is necessary to 

 the commission agent, many take it up 

 who are not responsible, and frequently 

 the over-confident shipper finds himself 

 minus both fruit and money. We shall 

 endeavour to guacd against such in 

 our advertisement columns. The best 

 houses now make returns each week,. 

 or every fortnight at the longest. 



The usual commission charged for 

 making sales and collecting the money 

 is 10 per cent, on small fruits, and .5 

 per cent on larger fruits when shipped 

 by the car load. When the agent 

 secures us good prices we do not grudge 

 the 10 per cent on small lots, but when 

 prices are low the commission and 

 express charges seem to swallow up our 

 ali-eady too small margin of profit. 



The Delaware peach growers have 

 formed a very sensible organization 

 from which possibly Canadian fruit 

 growers might take a hint. It is a 

 fruit growers' 



BUREAU OF INFORMATION 



and distribution, for the disposal of 

 peaches and other fruits, for the pur- 

 pose of avoiding gluts in particular 

 markets. The following, according to 



