COST OF LIVING.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1496, 19 July 1912, Page 6

COST OF LIVING.

Sir,—As a retailer of fruit in Welling*°n > it is amusing to road the evidence of Mr. AY. A. Handler about the retailor paying; Bs. u case for apples and getting ]ps. "What, a lovely business! How probuiblc! Sir. Boucher'must l:csomewhat short-sighted. If Ivo only took the trouble 10 look at the retail shops in "Wellington. he would sen good ealing and cookin? apples at 2d., 3d., und td. per lb. I might inform him (lint through the lax way the fruit is inserted, T have seen some of the t worst specimens of infccteii i'rutt. during my. twenty years in the trade. The only, time during my five years and n half in t.lio fruit. 1 trade hero that Cd. a lb. for apples can be obtained is when tho tasteless, coloured ones arrive from America, and the retailer is obliged to pay lCs. per case for them. (Jostihg him Gd. per lb., he retails Iheni lo the public at cost pviec, which -state, ment can be verified at nnv retail shop. rii-rougli the lax v&y fruit is inspected here, tho growers in a lot of cases liecoine dishonest—"l ops" the fruit, and marks the lids of . the cases, so the auctioneer will know, which, side of the case to open. Also the standard bushel e,ise has dwindled down to a little oyer half a. bushel in a 'great mntiv orchard*. What is needed is a standard bushel and halfbushel case, letter inspection of fruit in market, also proper grading of fruit, and competition, J am sure, would give the public a fair deal, which I am ccrlain I hey gW 1 0-day, considering iho high rants, the long hours etc.. Ihe sluu)koeper has to contend with. The whole mutter regarding pricfts i s the sunfdv and demand.—l nm, etc., I - C. LEWIS H? Manners Streot« J