17 



Evening Session. 



A joint meeting of the Dominion Dairy Association and the Dominion Fruit 

 Growers' Association was held at the City Hall, Ottawa, on the evening of Wednesday, 

 19th February, Prof. Penhallow occupying the chair. The Council Chamber was well 

 filled with members of the associations and visitors. 



The Chairman. — The meeting which we hold this evening is to be regarded as 

 a joint convention of fruit growers and dairymen. We have amalgamated this 

 evening to discuss those questions of common interest to us, and those questions 

 relate to export especially, so far as concerns the handling of fruit and dairy pro- 

 ducts and shipment in cold storage in steamships. As this matter concerns the 

 transportation companies quite as much as it does ourselves, we have made special 

 arrangements for the representation here of the various companies concerned. I 

 have pleasui-e in stating that the Allan Line is represented by Mr. Watt, the Beaver 

 Line by Mr. Shaw, the various London lines by Mi'. Gedd, and the Dominion Line is 

 to be represented by Mr. Torrance. The Canadian Pacific Eailway is represented 

 by their local representative in Ottawa, and the Grand Trunk Eailway has also a 

 representative here, but unfoi'tunately I have not the name of this gentleman at 

 present. The Canadian Express Company is also represented by a letter which I 

 have from the President, stating such features of the transportation as concern his 

 Gori-panj, and which will be read in proper course. The proceedings I think we 

 will open by the presentation of two papers which have been prepared specially for 

 this subject, and on the basis of these papers we hope thatthe representatives of the 

 various companies and those particularly interested in the question of exportation 

 will enter upon a free discussion. I would therefore call upon Mr. A. McD. Allan, 

 of Goderich, to read his paper about the transportation of fruits. 



Mr. a. McD. Allan. — ^Mr. President and gentlemen: I have no paper on the 

 transportation of fruit. There was some misapprehension regarding this subject, if 

 it was understood that I would read a paper or lead off with a discussion of this 

 subject. I did not understand it in that way until this morning. Under the cir- 

 cumstances, I am taken at a disadvantage. However, I am willing to do what I can 

 towards introducing the subject in as faic and square a way as I possibly can, and I 

 have no doubt there are parties here quite competent to correct me in any mis- 

 statements I may possibly make. I look upon the question as one of the most 

 important questions afl'ecting the fruit interests of this countiy, and looking at it in 

 that way I am willing to allow the agents or representatives of the transportation 

 companies who may be present to take the usual method adopted by some of them 

 of avoiding this question, and I will begin by admitting the points that they usually 

 advance in order to avoid the main points at issue — that is, 1 am willing that we 

 shall take a certain proportion of the blame on ourselves. Indeed, I am willing 

 possibly to go further than a good many will admit. I know I find parties not 

 willing to go as far as I am willing to go in this respect. I believe that there are 

 points connected with this subject that we ourselves as growers and as packers and 

 as shippers can remedy to a very large extent, so that I am unwilling to place the 

 entire blame upon the transportation companies by any means. There is blame 

 enough resting there, as we shall see probably before this discussion has ended, and 

 there are a good many points, if they are willing, they can remedy. In the first 

 place, the blame rests away back with the fruit grower himself. The first point of 

 blame is that the fruit grower does not grade the frnit properly to begin with. "We 

 have already discussed those subjects. We have discussed them in every hall and 

 on every corner in every town and village in this country. We have tried our best 

 to drum the different points into the fruit growers and farmers of this country. 

 We have not only then to make a specialty of fi-uit culture, but we must grow fruits 

 as they should be grown for the markets, and it is only in this way that snippers 

 can get fruit of such a kind and quality as can be packed for the European and 

 other markets. So, I say, in the first place the growers themselves are to blame for 

 not growing the fruit properly, and the point I make there is simply this : with that 



2 



