FRUIT INDUSTRY

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLVIII, Issue XLVIII, 22 February 1915, Page 2

FRUIT INDUSTRY

OVBH-SfiA EXPOfiT. Mr Thos. fioss Walker sends a copy *>f a circular letter containing suggestions ■with, reference tci the grading, marking aiid packing of fruit, which lie lias just issued to the fruitgrowers of Australia and Tasmania. We append items of interest therefrom. Branding. —Cases should bear on one end the private brand of the shipper, the name of the variety, and a mark to indicate the grade, on the opposite end the shipping mark of the consignee, and on the lid the branding required by Regulation. It is of the utmost importance, in tlu; interests of the shipper, tliat all fruit should bear the special shipping mark ot Ihe fll-m to .whorti it is consigned. Tilts greatly facilitates rapid identification, prompt delivery, and early sale. Growers are earnestly recommended to brand their cases with marks given below, as applying to the several firms named, and to make use of the specially printed advice notes provided. Ihe use oi these forms tends to materially lighten the work of the shipping agents' clerks at a time when it is exceptionally heavy. A supply will be sent gratis to every shipper at the beginning of the season, and more can be obtained, if required, on application. Siee of Fruit.—Over-large dessert apples are not much, in demand in England. The most popular are the inch and. 24 inch (i.e., fruit that will pass through a 2A inch ring, but not through a 2-} inch, and fruit that will pass through a inch, but not through a2i inch). iO.O.Ps. are saleable down to 2 inches, if uniform in size. This applies especially to Hull, 'where large apples are almost nnsaleftblOi Nothing has contributed more to the reniarkab!i> WHin'-niiy of Western Australian' ap; ''"ills the London buyers than the n •>h;tr uniformity practised in c'r*Kn« the frrui. ;ind marking the casts. 3n tjr'irter inches. The universal adoption of this practice throughout th~ h is strongly recommended. The use of a variety of terms, sticli as "iarge," ''Small," "Medium," "Prime," '':Choico, M "Selected," "Dessert." or of letters or figures, "which in themselves COilvCy no definite infonhat'ion as to the grade, only tends to confuse the buyers, and to cause them to bid with less confidence than .would be the case if they knew just what they were buying. Time of Arrival. : —Cooking apples, such as French Crabs and Stone Pippins, should be shipped to arrive not later than the 20th May. After that date early gooseberries take their place in t/he "public demand. Dessert apples of the late -keeping varieties may be shipped for three weeks longer: but there is never any certainty of a good market after the iOth'June, at the latest. Pears.—lf trays be used, they should be fastened together, in twos or threes: otherwise the same handling expenses (dock dues, etc.) are incurred on a single tray as on a bushel case. Very satisfactory results have been obtained, for some years past, with ordinary bushel cases, made 011 the flat, a thick layer ot wood avool being place above and each layer of pears. - The number of pears, in the case should be' stencilled on the end. Josephine nears packed in the manner indicated have, realised 30s a case, containing only two-thirds of a bushel, in London. The case only cost* about half the price of three trays, and the freight and charges come to icss Wood Wool. —Do not stint the wood ' wool at the top and bottom oi tile cases. Use enough to provide an effectual pad between the fruit'and the case, i.e., not less than 6 ozs. divided between top and bottom. Wood wool is incomparably superior to cardboard as a packing material, either for apples or pears. Prospects of Market. At the present moment the prospects for apples in England in April and May are excellent. All the leading fruit brokers in London are of the opinion that the marKct could take as many cases as last year t i.e.. over 1,300,000 cases) at remunerative prices. But, is now generally known, the total quantity to be sent from the Commonwealth (chiefly owing to lack '>■ vessels) is not likely to exceed 500.000 cases, if it peaches that figure.