A GROWING DEMAND 73 
Almost everywhere throughout the province there is a 
good local demand for fruit, a demand which even now 
has to be met to some extent by importations from the 
outside, chiefly from the United States. The prices which 
rule in these local markets are for the most part higher 
than the prices which British Columbia growers could 
obtain by exporting their fruit. The principal exception 
to this is the very choicest apples, which make con- 
siderably higher prices in the markets of the Old Country. 
Inquiries for British Columbia apples have also been 
made during the last season or two by importers in 
Germany (Hamburg), South Africa, (Johannesburg), Hol- 
land, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, China, and Japan. 
With a growing and widespread network of markets 
like this there is no fear of over-production for many 
years to come. In the United States, where the popula- 
tion has grown fast, the total production of apples 
decreased from 69,000,000 barrels (3 bushels in each) 
in 1896 to less than 24,000,000 in 1910. The Americans 
eat per head more apples in the year than any other 
nation. If the British Columbia fruit-grower will con- 
tinue to be worthy of the expectations that the world 
has of him at the present time, and will aim to pro- 
duce fruit of real sterling excellence, competition, even 
though it grow fast, will not hurt him. It will only serve 
to enhance and set forth in stronger relief the super- 
lative merit of the commodity which his peculiarly happy 
climate enables him to produce. 
EXPRESS AND FrReicHt.—By freight rates the rail- 
ways in Canada mean the same thing as the English 
railways do when they talk about goods rates. Larger 
10 
