SURPLUS OF MELONS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20874, 14 November 1929, Page 5

SURPLUS OF MELONS.

HUxVGARY’S GREAT HARVEST. The recent season has yielded a melon harvest in Hungary such a* has not been equalled for years. In two days over two million kilos of melons- were taken to Budapest in 200 wagons, a quantity which taxed the consuming capacity of the capital to the uttermdst, and. statistically, entailed the absorption of three to four kilos of melon a day by every inhabitant, including infants in arms. In all probability a slump in the fruit would cause it to* be used as pig’s food before August was ended, for Hungary’s melon export is limited to five or six wagons sent to Vienna daily, and a decreasing quantity to Berlin and Munich, as Germany was flooded with Italian melons', which were slightly cheaper, though not finer than the Hungarian fruit The melons grown in Hungary are of various species, the finest being the Turkestan. the Finnpple, and tbe Cantaloupe. The Togo—bright green and as small as an orange—is the favourite fare of the poorer classes, and the Greek melon, a tomato-pink fruit which may grow to the size of a pumpkin, costs the equivalent of one halfpenny the pound, . The tomato harvest in Hungary this year w-as the best that has been gathered for 15 years, and in August tomatoes could be bought for approximately six pounds for one penny.