DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 16339, 23 March 1915, Page 3

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

TWO IMPORTANT INQUIRIES. RAPE SEED FROM JAPAN. ARGENTINE AND NEW ZEALAND APPLES. (Pkb Uniteij Pjiess Association.) WELLINGTON, March 22. The Agricultural Department forwards the following for general information :— Japanese rape seed having recently been offered for sale in New Zealand, and as considerable doubt existed as to whether this seed was of a variety suitable for fattening live stock, the secretary of the Department of Agriculture cabled to the British Consul at Tokio as follows :—" Is Japanese rape seed a forage variety or the annual oil-producing kind? If both are produced, cable trade description of the former.'' A reply has just received from the British Ambassador as under : ''Referring to yottr telegram of March 16, Japanese rape seed is mostly the annual oil-producing variety. Hokaido grows a foreign variety called Hamburg. The Parbory Nenty Company, a British fcm at Kobe, has been exporting to Australia considerable quantities of the Hokaido seed under the name of Essex rape." This information should assist New Zealand importers to secure the proper variety and should •minimise the risk of their getting the comparatively useless birdseed rape..

Air G. L. Tacon, who was sent by the New Zealand Government to South America' to inquire into the prospects for the sale of our fruit there, has sent a lengthy report to the Department of Agriculture from Buenos Aires, during the course of which he says : " Buenos Aires can be relied upon to take all the suitable apples and pears that. New Zealand can send here for at least some years to come. One buyer, if certain that we can supply the class of apples he requires in good condition, , would take about 12,C00' cases, or about 2000 cases. by each fortnightly steamer, and pay -.gold, equal to 14s per case, cif., for them. New Zealand shippers would be wise to consign to one agent here and give him discretionary power to dispose of the fruit, but I most empha- ■ sise that everything depends upon quality. Carelessness this season will ruin the New Zealand export trade in apples with the Argentine. Only the best fruit is wanted. Grading and packing most be honest and careful, and the sizes as nearly as possible 2f in to 3£in. Highly-cokmred apples are the most favoured, but others, such as ' Munro's Favourite' and ' Stunners,' when matured, will probably fetch good prices. The softer varieties should not be shipped, as they do not stand the journey and cause much trouble. Some would be taken, but not too many, and nulling below full 2jin is saleable. If possible to do so, these buyers would fike the frnit carried from New Zealand in cold storage. It would carry better so, but I informed them that that would probably be impossible. There are extensive cold stoves associated with one of the largest markets at Buenos Aires. I have inspected these, and ample space is available, if needed, to hold our fruit. The price is about one farthing per case per diem. The 'capital involved in these stores and markets is some £400,000 sterling. The management is very enterprising, and has for some time been considering the advisabilrty of inaugurating auctions of imported fruit. Mr J. Fxaacis B. Neild is one of the directors of the company, representing the British shareholders. If the comes off, then probably our growers, as -well as those of North America, wfll be.able to obtain a fairer proportion of the price charged here for apples than has hifberto been possible, but Nothing should be done to antagonise the •wholesaler, who belongs to' a close corporation, and'whose strength is very great, or at least any change from the. recognised system of doing business with this country should he made only out ©f long experience and an impregnable position. : . A false move might bring about a boycott ,ond rirmv all •'the future prospects of the business." ,' J : . :