BRITISH COLUMBIA FRUIT _ LONG RECORD of prize-winning at exhibitions, A in competition with the best fruit-growing dis- tricts in Canada, the United States and Great Britain, has clearly shown that British Columbia fruit ranks among the best in the world. It is true that some kinds of British Columbia summer and fall fruit do not reach the market as early as those from some other sources, but the delay is more than made up for by the more perfect flavor due to a cooler and later season. : fe The fact, also, that British Columbia is only 36 to 48 hours from the market permits the shipment. of luscious, juicy, properly-ripened fruit, incomparably superior in quality and flavor to much of the fruit from distant foreign districts, which must be picked in a less mature condition in order to withstand the long railroad haul. The British Columbia fruit supplied to the prairies is the pick of the orchards. It is graded, packed and shipped in accordance with Dominion Government stan- dards. All fruit packages from British Columbia bear the name and address of the shipper and the number of the packer. The letters “B.C.” or the words “British Columbia” appear on every box. Another point worthy of consideration is that when Western Canadians give a preference to British Columbia fruit they are helping to build up the purchasing power of one of their most important markets. A considerable portion of every dollar that is spent on British Columbia fruit comes back to pay for prairie agricultural products, of which British Columbia buys more than twelve million dollars’ worth annually, while money paid out for foreign fruit goes right out of Canada. In return the prairie provinces buy a total of only one million six hundred thousand dollars’ worth of fruit and vege- tables combined annually from British Columbia. We eat fruits for their delicious taste, their refresh- ing, thirst-quenching juices, their organic salts and mineral compounds. These last supply sodium, calcium, phosphorus and other elements so essential to pure blood and sound tissues. From. a dietetic standpoint, the most important function of fruits is that of furnishing mineral salts and organic acids to the body. The potash salts are 5