The Chronicle. PUBLISHED DAILY LEVIN. WEDNESDAY. MAY 7, 1913. APPLES FOR EXPORT.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 7 May 1913, Page 2

The Chronicle. PUBLISHED DAILY LEVIN. WEDNESDAY. MAY 7, 1913. APPLES FOR EXPORT.

Tim day comes nearer and near on which Horowhenua County will havt apples for export. In view of this possibility, orchardists in these parts may take notice, profitably, oi all that concerns apple exportation. I" the course of the last twelve months an extended visit to the Old World has been made hv Mr l- Rabbits, formerly an orchard instructor to the New Zealand Agricultural Department. In a letter on the subject to the Director of Orchards. Gardens, and Apiaries Division of the Department. Air T. AY. Kirk. Mr Rabbits writes-"The vessel by which 1 travelled to London was the C'orinthic, which left Wellington on the 10th May of last year. She carried lo.OO!) cases of Tasinaniian apples, transhipped at AYellington. and a few hundred cases of New Zealand apples from Hawke's Ray. all (lie fruit being for South America. R was carried as ordinary cargo, being distributed in three holds. Two of those were never uncovered for ventilation purposes, and when opened up at Rio de Janeiro the top cases were sodden with moisture, being nearly black with discoloration, iand having a thick coating of mould on them. The after batch, which had been ventilated, opened up in good order. At the South American port the steamer has to lie off a considerable distance, and the cargo is discharged into lighters. The handling by the Natives is anything but satisfactory. T noticed that among the cargo for Rio de Janeiro was seven or eight large cases of fruit Erees (000 trees to a ease) from a nursery man. so that evidently South Americans intend to extend their own fruitgrowing industry. T was also informed that a 'New Zealand nurseryman Is visiting the Argentine in order to establish a connection with growers there for nursery stock. On arrival in England I spent some j time at Coveut Garden, and came I into touch with a number of salesmen there. At their request I furnished them with the names of several leading fruitgrowers in the Nelson district, to whom they intend, they informed me. to communicate, with the object of establishing a business connection. I gathered one or two useful facts at Oovent Garden. The most important is that it is useless shipping New Zealand fruit to the Home market to arrive at a time when the English fruit, is coming in. such as strawberries, cherries, gooseberries, raspberries, etc. Complaint was made hv several brokers of New Zealand apples reaching the market in a shrivelled condition. This suggests the question: Are we shipping the right varieties? Then thero is the question of shipping certain varieties at the wrong time. Tt is useless expecting apples to open up in the pink of condition on the London market if they are shipped before they are properlv matured. For instance. T picked a case of 5 wellmatured Stunners from my fruitgarden, with the intention of using them on the voyage. But, with the object of testing this question, I niado arrangements, after the fruit had been in cabin n fortnight, to have it carried in the vegetableroom of the steamer. It arrived in England in. splendid condition—in fact, appeared a far finer fruit than any of the colonial apples I saw exposed for sale in London. I attribute this solely to the fact that the apples were mature when gathered. Not a single apple out of the case went wrong. Yet I consider that , if I had a shipload of the same fruit I on the London market at this time (the end of June) they would not have brought a top price, owing to the competition they would have had to meet from Home-grown fruit. It is interesting to study the various methods by which fruit is disposed of in England in order to cater to different classes of customers. England is a country of social extremes, and very rich people order their fruit regardless of cost, while the majority of-people hardly ever have the opportunity of tasting fruit at all. Apples as a rule are sold at so-much for each one, the average price being Id for a Stunner Pippin. The most popular-sized apple with the dealers- is 2iin.. and the more uniform the apples the better they like them."