313 
CANADIAN COOPERATIVE FRUIT ASSOCIATIONS. 
(From Consul Felix S. S. Johnson, Kingston.) 
There are thirty-six so-called cooperative fruit associations in 
Ontario. These may be divided, roughly, into three classes: 
apple associations, shipping mainly to distant markets ; general 
fruit associations, concerned with shipping apples, pears, plums, 
peaches, cherries, berries, etc., to home and distant markets ; and 
small-fruit associations, engaged mainly in shipping berries to 
home markets. 
Nearly all the small-fruit and some of the general fruit so- 
cieties are rather loosely organized, but truly cooperating. The 
others have all organized with cooperative intent, but in some 
instances have fallen short of their ideal through lack of knowl- 
edge. 
APPLE-SHIPPING SOCIETIES. 
The Forest Fruit Growers' Association is one of the best ex- 
amples of a simple form of organization. It is truly cooperative. 
There is no share capital, and the deposits of buyers are depend- 
ed upon for working capital. It rents a shed and packs most of 
the apples in this shed. Sales are made f. o. b., and each buyer 
is required to pay into the bank a certain percentage of the price 
before the fruit is shipped and the remainder within a certain 
number of days. The society then pays to each member a cer- 
tain price per barrel, reserving a little more than sufhcient to 
pay expenses. At the annual meeting all remaining moneys are 
paid back to the growers according to the business done with the 
society. The only person who is paid — besides necessary em- 
ployees — is the secretary-manager, who receives a commission 
of five cents per barrel on the total pack. The average annual 
pack is about 7000 barrels. There are about forty-five members, 
and the society is steadily growing. 
The Oshawa Fruit Growers' Association is described by the 
manager as being a ''double-barreled" affair. A joint stock 
company, composed of the members of the society, owns a cen- 
tral packing house and charges so much per barrel for handling 
through the packing house. All fruit is packed at this house. 
Revenue from charges for the use of the packing house is used 
to provide a fund out of which expenses are paid, and also a 
fixed dividend of 6 per cent, on the stock. The society proper is 
cooperative and does not differ essentially in its workings from 
the Forest Association, except that sales are made largely by 
consignment. The value of the plant is about $5,000, the ca- 
pacity of the frost-proof storage is about 8,000 barrels, the mem- 
