Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1905-07-06
THE NEW JERSEY GAMERS
AND ENGLISH TRADE.

will be complaint made py promoters OF
the canning industry in this State that the
foreign market for their products is quite
as stagnant as Of yore.
The situation. as it stands, is that Eng
land is one Of the greatest of the worlds
consumers Of canned products. The United
States, and particularly New Jersey, is en-
deayoring to find foot hold in that coun-
try, meeting the active competition Of the
French And the French are ontstripping
us, for no other reason than because we
have failed to appreciate national habits
and customs, and have neglected to take
into consideration the problem of acquired
tastes.
Our errors in this matter, and the errors
are made by New Jersey Gamers, have
been recently pointed out by Walter G.
Ham, our counsul at Hull, England. His
suggestions are Of prime Importance, and
being basic may be easily adopted. He
says:
ssOne error made by American exporters
of canned goods is to mistake quantity for
quality All European people have differ
ent ideas on this subject from Americans.
The abundance in food products so preva-
lent in the United States does not rule
there. Europeans have consequently be-
come accustomed to smaller quantities and
to greater care in the use and preparation
Of foods. This is especially true Of the
French. They are famous for the nicety
and attractive character of their table pre-
parations, and carry these traits into the
PREPARATION of canned foods, consequently
often finding sales for them denied to
American products b
Another mistake made by Gamers is to
attempt to force goods which national hab-
It's and taste do not demand. Mr. Ham,
in support Of his statement, cites the in
stance Of canned corn: The American -peo-
pie are accustomed to fresh sweet corn as a
staple article of food every SIMMER, and
with taste acquired in this way canned
sweet corn follows as natural necessity in
the winter and spring. With the English,
however, the situation is radical different
Corn is not raised here, and only an inf
Intestinal minority Of Englishlnen have
eaten fresh sweet eornS- They accordingly
have no acquired taste for it. Under such
conditions to try to force canned sweet corn
as an article Of diet on such a people is a
pure waste Of money and energy
1t is, however, in the manner that the
French prepare their goods for the market
that they excel the Americans. Instead
Of sending to England the big glass jars,
filed with attractive looking vegetables
and fruits, the cans are shipped across the
Atlantic. Deferred by freight charges and
risk Of breakage, the Gamers lose a valuable
advertisement, and stock store windows
with unsable products, simply because the
English people, knowing little or NOTHING
about canned products, have no oppor-
tunity to inspect the stock offered for their
approval It is the penny wise and pond
foolish policy.
Turning his attention to fruits, Mr.
Ham makes some important comments.
He observes, in his communication to the
Federal authorities:
Fruits are nowhere near so abundant ID
England as in the United States. The home
production here is comparatively limited.
Large quantities of fresh fruits are import
ed, and the demand is constantly growing
France sends tons Of grapes in season,
Italy sends oranges, and America and Aus
tralia send apples.
Canned fruits come almost wholly from
l,EIance and the United States. The latter
hNg has the greater abundance and the
15etter class Of fruits, and they need only
TO be placed before the public in the right
way to command the market. But there
mnst be intelligent Discrimination shown
or all efforts to reach the desired end will
fail.
The English climate is damp and the
range Of the thermometer is limited. These
meteorological conditions have produced a
taste for stronger diet than Americans are
accustomed to. Natural conditions cannot
be changed but adaptions can be made in
catering to appetites so produced, and they
must be if a profitable business is to be
built up.
The peach cannot be grown to any ex-
tent on account of the cool, moist climate.
NJ rt4>lt tVSr 1a@4 9C t<OCN 1ct 9 az
are common in America the reason is that
there is not the abundance Of sunlight and
the hot days necessary to dissolve their
acids. The few peaches grown are taste
less and the native tomatoes are acrid.
There is market for both these foods in
this part Of England. It is true they can
not be carried far in fresh state, and the
distance from here to America may make
their sale prohibitlve under present con-
aifions
ID spite Of French enterprise there is no
reason Why the Gamers Of this country, and
particularly Of New Jersey, should moi
force this foreign trade, - having seen
- ERECTED the error naaya, cap.