STRAWBERRIES IN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14809, 12 October 1911, Page 8

STRAWBERRIES IN.

THE FIRST OF THE SEASON.

POOR SUPPLY EXPECTED.

Tire strawberry season has just opened. Small first consignments of the fruit cam© into Auckland lon Monday, followed ,by further lots on Tuesday and yesterday, and were eagerly snapped up by the city shops. Although very limited in amount, the prices realised for these lots were only from Is lid to 2s 6d per lb, which is scarcely comparable with the prices obtained by similar early consignments in Southern towns, where the popular berry reaches as high a price as 4s. Nor are the local prices as high as might be expected at this time of the year. . f"

The season so far has been an unfavourable one. Strawberries demand, among other special conditions, a plentiful supply of water, and flourish all the better for a daily rainfall. So far the rainfall has been unusually scanty Tor this season, and the plants are consequently considerably behind-hand. The whole season is thus likely to be late, at, all events as far as large berries are concerned, and the production is almost certain to. be smaller than the normal. The fact that the area under the fruit is considerably greater than that put down last year is not sufficient to make up the deficiency due to' the unfavourableness of the season.

The growers of berries in the Auckland district are keenly interested in the Wellington market', which greedily absorbs as much of the fruit as can be sent south in good condition. „Last year the best service available on the railway enabled two lots to go south each week. This was fairly satisfactory, but the Waitemata Fruitgrowers' Association, anxious to. improve matters in this direction, have been endeavouring for some time to have the strawberries r carried on the Main Trunk expresses, so that a daily service would be available. The secretary of the association has received a telegram from the Minister for Railways expressing regret that it is ,not practicable for the Department to undertake the conveyance of fruit by the Auckland-Wellington expresses, The arrangement , made last year, which it was understood wag satisfactory to the society, he said, was the best that could be done. Nevertheless, it is hoped by those interested in the business that arrangements will bo made to fend four, lots of strawberries south each week, as, according to a statement made by the secretary of the association yesterday, the present arrangement is not as satisfactory as could bo wished. Doubling the service would enable the growers "to keep their beds in better condition and avoid the. trouble now caused by quantities of fruit for which there is no immediate channel of disposal becoming over-ripe owing to the delays. There will probably be a good deal of difficulty in obtaining workers to deal with the harvest. The temporary nature of; the demand, its suddenness of onset, and its magnitude, always make it very hard for* the growers to obtain enough people to pick their fruit.