FARMING & COMMERCIAL

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2462, 15 May 1915, Page 14

FARMING & COMMERCIAL

OUR-FRUIT AT PANAMA

EXPOSITION

iSN" OFFICIAL REPORT.

. ■ !A' Teoont mail from San Francisco wrought to the Department of Agriculture, Industries, and Commerce a rejport from the New Zealand Commisjgoner at that 'centre on a small shipment of fruit sent, forward from Wellington by the s.s. Maitai on February !4 lastfor display at the Panama-Pacific Exhibition. v Unfortunately the shipment as a Jp/Kolo did. not reach its destination in good condition. The fruit wa» carried in the ship's vegetable chamber, where . a temperature of from 38 to 40 degrees 'tFahr.was maintained during the trip. 'It is admitted that these are' not ideal conditions for. the carriage of fruit, but Ithey were the best obtainable at the , ,4iihe of dispatch. ,'i The Commissioner's report should be jof general interest to fruit-growers and 'exporters throughout the Dominion, : seeing .that the question of, the fruit :foade with the Pacific seaboard has recently been engaging the attention of ■those interested in the progress of the fruit industry in this country. The , following notes have been taken from $ie report: — '' . . Apricots.—Out of seven cases of apricots sent forward, only eleven samples of the fruit opened up at in sound condition, the remainder having uecayed and rotted. Even tho sound , "specimen's were too soft for trade purjposes. . ■ Prunes. —A small quantity of prunes {which had been included arrived in too jgoft a state to be successfully marketed., r. Nectarines.—This class of fruit carfried well, and opened up in very good although ill one instance, .where apricots and nectarines had been ©acted in the same tray, tho apricots Jiad decayed and affected three "of tho nectarines to a certain extent. Tho ■ 'Varieties of nectarines were "Newboy," E'Large Red," and Goldmine." f ; Peaches—One crate of "Paragon" Reaches arrived in a sound condition, 'font' were too soft to be marketed. Six ■other trays were either partly or wholly Becayed, the varieties being "Wright's Seedling," "Bellgard,"- "Carmen," arid MEtoyal Charlotte." ■ ji> 'fears. —The pears represented were jipWilliams Bori Cretion, "Louie Bon fjf 'Jersey," and another, tho name of flvhiioh is not given. All were entirely gecaiyed when opened tip at 'Frisco. ' Apples.—The shipment included four Bases- of apples, the being "'Worcester Pearmain," "Rhodes ©range," "Gravenstein," "Cox's Orange 1 (Pippin," and "Scarlet Pearmain.". All [the apples arrived in sound condition. Some of thein were on the small side jo r the American market,-and lacked WEciont colour to attract buyers in the States. One case of "Cox's Orange Pippin" was badly affected with bitter J)it, as also wero some of the "Gravenfetein" variety. - / Plums—There was one case each of v'October Purple" and "Satsuma' Wums in the shipment. A few of each ) 0 f these had rotted, and th<i balance Were too soft for. trade purposes. ■ . f This report may. not appear very en. ipcraragine. but it has to be remembered IhAt the fruits represented were mainly of the softer class (the firmer ones— hppi'ea and nectarines—having carried fairly satisfactorily), besides which the jsvhote shipment had to be picked rather parly in the season. Further ' shipplants have been mado, and it toE be interesting to hear how they have opened tip, seeing that the fruit was not ,picked* \iptil later in the season.

SEWS AND NOTES.