166 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



June, 1915. 



Better Methods of Marketing Required 



C. W. Baxter, Fruit Division, Ottawa 



Is the retailer's profit on apples exces- 

 sive, and does he control the situation In 

 the matter of Increased consumption? I 

 am convinced that in too many cases the 

 profit on apples is exorbitant and much in 

 excess of many articles which the retailer 

 sells. Under our present system the retail- 

 ers control the situation to a great extent. 



Apple growers have devoted their time to 

 production. Few have studied market con- 

 ditions. They are unorganized, and have 

 done nothing to create a demand or to in- 

 crease consumption. If we can increase the 

 demand and obtain better distribution, we 

 can secure better prices. Although we are 

 convinced of the excessive profit frequently 

 made on apples, we are also convinced that 

 the net profit of the retailer (with special 

 reference to the grocer) is anything but 

 great. In fact, the net profit is less than 

 on most lines of business which requires so 

 much hard work. And the question here 

 presents itself, does the apple grower con- 

 tribute to the cost of selling other pro- 

 ducts? If it costs the retailer, for example, 

 18 per cent, to do business and he is sell- 

 ing other lines which the organized efforts 

 of manufacturers and keen competition com- 

 pel him to sell on a 7 or 10 per cent, ad- 

 vance, the difference must be made up on 

 other goods. All too frequently the profits 

 on apples, I believe, do contribute to this 

 deficiency. It is not the fault of the retailer, 

 but the system, and the remedy is in the 

 hands of the grower. 



Another important feature connected with 

 the retail end of apple selling is the ques- 

 tion of waste. The waste is altogether loo 

 great and the retailer must protect himself 

 against this. Whether the fruit has been 

 sold f. o. b. cars or in the orchard unpack- 

 ed, the distributor must take all chances 

 against waste, and owing to the very care- 

 less methods of handling the fruit in pick- 

 ing and packing, the waste is enormous. 

 The practice of picking and packing a few 

 windfalls, which at the time appear to be 

 undermarked, with hand-picked fruit which 

 in winter varieties is bound to fall down 

 in a short time, is responsible for a portion 

 of this waste. Overpressing is another 

 reason for waste. I am satisfied that over- 

 pressing is responsible for three-quarters 

 of it. In the course of our inspection work 

 we frequently find long keeping varieties 

 with apples split open, one-third down in 

 the barrel. Just so long as this condition 

 of packing exists. Just so long will the re- 

 tailer provide for this waste. 



We have mentioned some of the evils of 

 the industry from the point of production 

 to the consumer and can only conclude that 

 the fault does not lie with the producer, nor 

 yet with the distributor, but with the sys- 

 tem. The remedy for most of these evils 

 is in the hands of the growers. 



Just as a number of the evils of the mar- 

 keting and distribution of the fruit of 

 growers in Nova Scotia and the Pacific 

 Coast states have been overcome by the 

 organization of a central body, the same 

 business methods applied to the industry 

 in Ontario and Quebec would bring about 

 similar results. In order to obtain this, 

 growers must first organize into local as- 

 sociations. A central selling organization 

 of the fruit growers of the province of Que- 

 bec may seem to be impracticable, but local 

 conditions are excellent for local organiza- 

 tions, and if this were done a central body 

 would surely follow. 



In British Columbia there are certain 



varieties of apples which grow better there 

 than anywhere else. It is the same in On- 

 tario and the Maritime Piovinces. Nowhere 

 can the famous Mcintosh Red and Fameuse 

 apples be grown as well as in the province 

 of Quebec and eastern Ontario. These two 

 varieties, admittedly the best of all des- 

 sert varieties, are of the highest commer- 

 cial value. Has the grower of these varie- 

 ties received a fair share of the price paid 

 for them by the consumer? Compare the 

 price the consumer is paying to-day for 

 these varieties, with the price the grower 

 received. Some may say that the difference 

 is due to the unsettled condition of the mar- 



ket, but 80 far as these varieties are con- 

 cerned, this year does not differ from any 

 other, for the reason that the supply has 

 not been equal to the demand at the pre 

 vailing prices of other good varieties, and 

 the consumer is prepared to pay a higher 

 price. 



Organization has not yet overcome all the 

 evils connected with the marketing and 

 distribution of fruit. We have, however, 

 excellent examples of the great advantages 

 it has over individual efforts. The solvinji 

 of these problems is too great a task to b(- 

 accomplished by the individual grower. The 

 only remedy is through systematic co-opera- 

 tion, and the adoption of twentieth cen- 

 tury business methods, which will give tin 

 grower control of his fruit from orchard to 

 market and a more equitable division of 

 the profits. 



Fruit Refrigeration Investigation at Grimsby J 



By Edwin Smith, B.Sc, in Cold Storage Experimental Plant, Grimsby, Ont. " 



IT has for a long time been believed that 

 refrigeration facilities located in country 

 points for the use of fruit-growers and 

 shippers in the pre-cooling, assembling or 

 cold storing of tender fruits, offered great 

 possibilities for the improvement of the 

 fruit trade. Many of these possibilities were 

 demonstrated and their value realized in 

 practical use last season in connection with 

 the experimental pre-cooling and fruit stor- 

 age warehouse at Grimsby, Ontario. 



The total failure of the peach crop in this 

 part of Ontario greatly cut down the fresh 

 fruit shipments, but even with cherries, 

 plums, tomatoes and pears the plant operated 

 at about one quarter full capacity. Thirty- 

 nine cars of pre-cooled fruit were handled, 

 many of which were assembled over three 

 or four days. Many growers held medium 

 or small lots of tender fruits for a few days 

 for better markets. Blockades in transpor- 

 tation and marketing that often cause 

 heavy losses in tender fruits were met by 

 holding fruit a few days in cold storage. 

 During the winter the warehouse was used 

 for the cold btorage of apples, pears and 

 cabbage. 



The project is having its greatest effect 

 in a demonstrative way. In many instances 

 from $50 to $200 per car was gained by tak- 

 ing advantage of this plant. In the case of 

 the raspberry crop, which is not important 



in this district, $3,000 was saved the vicinity 

 in a single week. 



During the winter and spring the Grimsby 

 equipment has been put into shape to oper- 

 ate at full capacity during the coming 

 season, in view of the present prospects for 

 a heavy fruit crop. The services of Mr. J. 

 M. Creelman of Guelph, have been secured 

 as scientific assistant. Mr. Creelman has 

 had a wide experience in handling fruit in 

 Ontario, British Columbia and California. 



The work during 1915 will be carried on 

 in three divisions: (1) Commercial Service; 

 (2) Experiments and Demonstrations in 

 Shipping; (3) Scientific Records on Fruits 

 under different Cold Storage Conditions. 

 The first division will cover the pre-cooling 

 and shipping of fruit for shippers and grow- 

 ers in a strict commercial manner, charging 

 fixed rates for the service. The second will 

 take up the handling of fruit as well as its 

 refrigeration; experimental shipments in 

 carload lots will be carried out, using pack- 

 ages and methods that are not now in vogue 

 in the Niagara district, but which are satis- 

 factory in other fruit districts and markets; 

 a study of the costs and returns from these 

 methods and packages; the effect of careful 

 handling upon long distance shipments; 

 methods of loading and icing refrigerator 

 cars; the rate of pre-cooling and its effect 

 on fruit, etc. 



Government Pre-cooling .'ind Cold Storage Plant at Grimsby, Ont. 



The refrigerator capacity i.s 50,000 cubic feet. The space on the ground floor is divided into 



four rooms, each large enough to handle two carloads of fruit at the same time. 



