AUSTRALIAN FRUIT.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1201, 9 August 1911, Page 8

AUSTRALIAN FRUIT.

THE PROPOSED REGULATIONS. Tho proposals of the Sydney Fruitgrowers' Union, as cabled yesterday, to approach the JN'ew Zealamkauthciritios in regard to the relaxation of the proposed new regulations' which is to provide for Iβ per cent, of 'the fruit being tapped out and thoroughly examined before, export In New Zealand," also in reference to the quarter-mile radius from infected' orchards, are not likely to recei-vo a very favourable rec«ptk>ii at this end. so far as can bo gathered from investigations. •It is probable that in tho effort to bring a number of dishonest Australian shippers to a. Sense oi .thoir responsibility in the matter of handling fruit, the growers who ship direct from their orchards to New Zealand will be penalised to a certain extent, but these men,..it is stated, have o'iex\ds MiiUrcd .(hirotiafh. unscrupulous , shippers trading- off inferior infected fruit under the brands of growers who' were known, to have,clean orchards.. It appears that the evil has' grown to such an extent that, many of. the declarations made, in New South Wales arc absolutely unreliable and ,tho certificates given in Sydney arc on. the same fooling. .•. So unreliable have the 'Australian papers proved that.over forty orchards, most of ivhich wore 'really clean,' have been placed .on the black list in New Zealand because infected- fruit has got in which was marked as having come from these orchard* and had been actually certified to' as-such both -hy'the shipper and the Government officers. . The .olio idea of the regulations is to force .honesty and strict inspection, and ju view of the assurance of a c-ireful inspection the prohibition of fruit from within' a mile of fin infected orchard. Ins been reduced to a quarter of a mile. The alteration will mean that a large number cf orchards which could not previously export (o New Zealand will now l>6 able to do so. It is urged that if the straightforward shippers work in' with the proposed .regulations, and 'no fore? the hands..of the dishonest shippers, the.former will not experience difficulty with the regulations, and. the trade generally will benefit. . " r -'\