KINGSTON DISTRICT Consul Felix S. S. Johnson, Kingston, June 6 and 11, 1923 ICE-MAKING PLANTS In the Kingston (Ontario) district there is only one ice-making plant, owned and operated by a Canadian company, located at 422 Montreal Street, Kingston. The output of this concern and the natural ice stored meet all requirements of this section, as ice usually is needed only three months of the year. The plant has a 150-can distilled-water system and also uses raw water with air agitation of American equipment. Blocks measure 48 by 24 by 12 inches and weigh 300 pounds. The ice-making equipment was manufactured by the Linde Canadian Refrigeration Co. (Ltd.), Montreal. The company has a capacity of 25 tons per 24 hours, but only 18 tons are produced at present. No new plants are contemplated. COLD-STORAGE ESTABLISHMENTS Dairy and agricultural products in the Kingston district are purchased by representatives of Toronto or Montreal firms and forwarded to their storage establishments in those cities. The population, moreover, is comparatively small, and there is no interest in cold storage. LONDON DISTRICT Consul G. R. Taggart, London, July 19 and August 1, 1923 ICE-MAKING PLANTS The three ice-making plants of the London (Ontario) district are described in the following summary: London Pure Ice Co. (Ltd.), 86 Bathurst Street, London: Raw-water can system with air agitation and compression; ammonia for freezing from Canadian Ammonia Co. (Ltd.), Toronto; blocks 55 by 22 by 11 inches, weight 400 pounds; equipment practically all American made, including a deep pump for artesian well water; capacity, 60 tons per 24 hours. Silverwoods (Ltd.), London: Manufactures ice in connection with its extensive dairy-products business. Raw-water can system with air agitation and compression; blocks 45 by 22 by 11 inches, weight 300 pounds; no extensions contemplated by Silverwoods, London; American equipment; capacity, 13 tons per 24 hours. St. Thomas Packing Co. (Ltd.), St. Thomas: Raw-water can system. with air agitation and compression; blocks 55 by 22 by 11 inches, weight 400 pounds; no extensions contemplated; American equipment; capacity, 15 tons per 24 hours. COLD-STORAGE ESTABLISHMENTS London, Ontario, a city of 61,369 inhabitants, is surrounded by a large producing district, and is not an important consuming center. The tendency is for producers of perishable products near London to send them in Government cars to Toronto and Montreal, where they can be sold quickly. This Government refrigerator-car service was inaugurated by the Canadian Department of Agriculture. The construction of cold-storage warehouses at near-by St. Thomas and St. Marys has also diverted business from London. No additional facilities are contemplated, unless, possibly, a small extension for the plant at St. Marys, Ontario. 41905-252 Cold Stores Listed. Details follow for the six important cold-storage plants of the London district, all Canadian concerns: London Cold Storage & Warehousing Co. (Ltd.), London: Principal products handled are butter, cheese, eggs, meats, poultry, fish, and fruits (dried, citrous, and tropical). The dried and citrous fruits are imported from the United States; the tropical (figs, dates, etc.) from Asia Minor and Italy. Direct connection by location or switching privileges with four railroads, hence, no cartage. Ammonia for cold rooms comes from the Canadian Ammonia Co. (Ltd.), Toronto; Canadian equipment. Capacity between 32 and 40° F.. 250,000 cubic feet; 29 and 32° F., 50,000; 0 (the lowest temperature) and 10° F., 100,000; total, 400,000. Silverwoods (Ltd.), London: Butter, milk, ice cream, cheese, eggs, poultry, and fresh and dried fruits chiefly handled. Direct railroad connections, hence, no cartage; no extensions planned; American equipment. Capacity 40° F. or above, 10,000 cubic feet; between 32 and 40° F., 25,000; 10 and 32° F., 85,000: 0 and 10° F., 10,000; lower than 0° F., 15,000; lowest temperature obtainable. 10° F, 15,000. Ingersoll Packing Co. (Ltd.), Ingersoll: Only public products handled; no public storage; no cartage for carload lots; for less than carloads, cartage by truck and team from railway sheds about half-mile distant; facilities for additional business and no extension planned; Canadian machinery. Capacity, about 150,000 cubic feet; temperature between 32 and 40° F. J. D. Moore Co. (Ltd.), St. Marys: Eggs and butter handled; can care for 20,000 cases of eggs (30 dozen to a case), and 80,000 pounds of butter; no cartage; hydroelectric power used; water supplied by town of St. Marys; for additional business an extension would be necessary, but the present refrigerating machine would be sufficient for this extension; Canadian equipment. Capacity, 105,000 cubic feet; temperature, 10 to 29 or 30° F. St. Thomas Packing Co. (Ltd.), St. Thomas: Pork, butter, eggs, cheese, fish. and citrous fruits handled; all domestic, except citrous fruits from the United States; direct railroad connection, no cartage; facilities for additional business and no extensions contemplated; Canadian machinery. Capacity, 175.000 cubic feet, about half between 0 and 26° F. and half between 32 and 40° F. Whyte Packing Co. (Ltd.). Stratford: Stores own products exclusivelypork, butter, and cheese; direct railroad connection, no cartage; additional business could be handled without extensions. Capacity, approximately 300,000 cubic feet; temperature, 20 to 40° F. In the Canadian Government's List of Cold Storage Warehouses in Canada, compiled by the Canadian Department of Agriculture. are also included the following comparatively unimportant cold stores, all equipped with mechanical refrigeration: Morgan Cold Storage, Delhi; Exeter Creamery Co., Exeter: Salford Heights Creamery, Goderich; Wellington Produce Co., Harriston; H. Coleman, Kincardine: City Creamery, London; St. Thomas Packing Co... London: Palm Creamery, Palmerston; Stillman's Creamery, Stratford; Strathroy Creamery, Strathroy; and Walkerton Egg and Dairy Co., Walkerton. All of the concerns reported for this district, with the exception of Silverwoods (Ltd.), London, secured their cold-storage equipment from Canadian concerns, principally the Linde Canadian Refrigeration Co. (Ltd.), Montreal. MONCTON DISTRICT Consul B. M. Rasmusen, Moncton, June 12, 1923 ICE-MAKING PLANTS The demand for ice-making machinery in the Moncton (New Brunswick) district is limited, owing to the abundant natural supply of ice, and up to the present time no plant has been manufacturing ice for public distribution. The three small ice-making concerns in the district were all built for private use. Two are in the city of Moncton-Biden Bros. and the Moncton Cooperative Creamery, and the other, also Biden Bros., is located in Amherst, Nova Scotia. Raw-water can system, compression, and absorption are used. The present facilities are considered adequate for present needs, and there is no prospect for any new construction in the near future. Sooner or later, however, existing conditions will change. There are few people who do not prefer the clear, crystal, artificial ice to the natural of doubtful source. The Moncton plants manufacture 100-pound blocks, size 8 by 16 by 32 inches. Biden Bros., Moncton, has a capacity of 15 tons; the Moncton Cooperative Creamery, 18 tons; and the Amherst establishment, built by the Ice Machine Co., Toronto, 12 tons. COLD-STORAGE ESTABLISHMENTS No cold-storage establishments are located in the Moncton district. There are few sections where such falicities are lacking that have greater need for cold stores. Moncton is the center of the important dairying industry, and also has large annual exports of fish and poultry. Within the district also are approximately 150 fox ranches requiring hundreds of tons of food, consisting of rabbits, horse meat, scraps from meat markets, and the fox biscuit, which could be purchased advantageously at certain seasons of the year if cold storage were available. It is proposed to organize a cold-storage warehouse in the city of Moncton, with capital stock of $100,000 for the purpose of leasing space to meat markets, merchants, producers, and exporters within a certain radius, as well as for the buying and selling of produce. Moncton, the principal railroad center in the maritime Provinces, would make an ideal distributing point. MONTREAL DISTRICT Consul H. Merle Cochran, Montreal, June 20 and July 17 ICE-MAKING PLANTS The Montreal district offers only a limited market to American manufacturers of ice-making equipment. Climatic conditions-long and severe winters and short summers-lessen the requirement for ice, particularly for domestic purposes. The Province of Quebec is well watered with many lakes and streams, including the St. Lawrence, which divides it into two parts. For approximately five months of the year these are frozen over with a thick layer of ice-an abundant supply. Mechanical apparatus is used to cut the ice in the river near Montreal, and conveyers or heavy sleighs carry it to the storage houses. Montreal is the only city of considerable size in this district; and as its demands are practically all supplied by natural ice, it is apparent that few artificial plants would be required in the smaller cities and towns. There appears to be no prejudice against the use of natural ice, particularly among the French Canadians, who would not be disposed to pay more for the artificial product. It is doubtful, therefore, if there will be an improvement in the market for ice-making machinery for large-scale production. There is a constant demand for small refrigerating and ice-making plants for hotels, clubs, modern apartment buildings, and hospitals, some of which have small machines for their own requirements. An ice-making machine was also included in the equipment of the Montreal Harbor Commissioners' Warehouse, completed in 1922. Its entire equipment was built and installed by the Linde Canadian Refrigeration Co. (Ltd.), Montreal. The only ice-making concern of any size in the Montreal district is the Ice Manufacturing Co. (Ltd.), Frontenac St., Montreal, which operates two plants in the city, Raw-water can system is used, with high pressure and agitation; 600 cans in the smaller plant and 1,000 in the larger. Blocks measure 22 by 11 by 52 inches and 22 by 11 by 42. Equipment was supplied by American firms. One plant has a daily capacity of 50 tons and the other of 75 tons. The Ice Manufacturing Co., Montreal, supplied artificial ice to an adjoining arena used for ice skating until its destruction by fire. Later the Mount Royal Arena was erected in a different section of the city, which may be equipped with artificial ice. COLD-STORAGE ESTABLISHMENTS The long, cold winters in the Montreal district obviate the necessity of cold storage for many purposes. The city, moreover, is equipped with cold-storage warehouses sufficient to meet the demands for several years to come. Montreal, however, might present opportunities as a distributing center for refrigerating equipment, as there are occasional demands for machinery from different parts of the Province of Quebec. The principal commodities passing through the cold-storage plants in the Port of Montreal are meats, cheese, butter, eggs, fruit, fish, poultry, and vegetables. The meat and poultry are partly of Canadian origin and partly shipped from the United States for export from the Port of Montreal. The dairy produce is almost entirely Canadian. Eggs have been received from the United States as well as Canada. Besides domestic fruit, foreign is obtained from the United States, the British West Indies, and certain European countries, principally Spain and Italy. Fresh vegetables also come from the United States. The Harbor Commissioners Cold Storage Warehouse was completed in April, 1922. The building is approximately 440 feet long, 110 feet wide, and 10 stories high. It is situated on the harbor belt line, connecting with every railroad doing business in Canada, is within one-quarter mile of the principal market in the city, and adjoins a dock where any ocean liner reaching Montreal may berth. As many as 10 refrigerator cars may be switched into the house adjoining the trucking platform, while 10 others may be unloaded or loaded from a track just outside of the warehouse. Motor trucks or teams to the number of 30, all under cover within the walls of the building, may handle goods directly at the trucking platform. One passenger and four large freight elevators are provided, and, in addition, four mechanical platform conveyors with gravity or belt con nection to or from the ship. The machinery was manufactured and installed by the Linde Canadian Refrigeration Co. (Ltd.), Montreal. Any or all of the available space of the Harbor Commissioners' Warehouse can be lowered to a temperature of -15° F. It is possible, therefore, to use a room during one season for a certain commodity and to alter its temperature to accommodate a different commodity at another season. The installation of such a system has been very expense, but the warehouse is now one of the most modern in existence. The division of its space is as follows: Natural cool storage... Dry storage Railway cars and vehicles_. Distribution, offices, and stores-- Total Cubic feet 450,000 1, 500, 000 350,000 388,000 375,000 1,565, 000 4, 628, 000 In addition to the plant operated by the harbor commissioners there are several other cold-storage establishments, all Canadian, some of which accept customs business. Among these the principal companies are Canada Cold Storage Co. (Ltd.), Gould Cold Storage Co., and Lovell and Christmas of Canada (Ltd.). Their warehouses are chiefly used for the dairying trade. The Swift Canadian Co. (Ltd.) and other packing concerns have their individual coldstorage plants to meet their own demands. NIAGARA FALLS DISTRICT Consul James B. Milner, Niagara Falls, July 19, 1923 ICE-MAKING PLANTS In the Niagara Falls (Ontario) district there are three cities-St. Cathrines, Welland, and Niagara Falls. St. Cathrines, the largest, is located on the old Welland Canal and has extraordinary facilities in securing natural ice from the basins of water about it. The St. Cathrines Ice & Fuel Co. is the only ice-making plant in the city and is Canadian owned. An effort to organize a skating rink, and thus to provide ice, failed to materialize. Welland has five ice-making concerns. The St. Thomas Packing Co. (Ltd.) and the Welland Packing Co. (Ltd.)-in course of construction are the most important. The Welland Packing Co. is owned by an American firm, while the St. Thomas Packing Co. is controlled from its headquarters at St. Thomas, Ontario. It is expected that their output will meet community needs. Heretofore the smaller plants have been obliged to get part of their supplies from Buffalo, N. Y., 22 miles distant. The Martin Milk Products Co. (Ltd.) and the Royal Dairy (Ltd.) manufacture only sufficient ice for their own consumption. The fifth concern is the Welland Ice & Coal Co., 52 Main Street East. The Pure Ice & Cold Storage Co. (Ltd.), corner McRae and Stanley Streets, is the only Niagara Falls ice-making establishment. It has a capacity of 25 tons per day with storage of 50 tons, but plans to double this upon the addition of new machinery. The |