The Taranaki Herald. PUBLISHED DAILY. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20,' 1892.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 9293, 20 January 1892, Page 2

The Taranaki Herald. PUBLISHED DAILY. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20,' 1892.

The e v port of frait to Great Britain is ,now engaging the attention of growers in Mew South Wales, owing to the success the Tasmanian orchardists have \niet with in that market. It was stated at a meeting of the New South Wales Frnitgrowors' Union the other day that? action was being taken by leading representative of the London fruit trado with a view to opening up business relations with the Colonies. We also find that New Zealand is likely to participate in the large trade which will result from the present movement. There is at the present timo in Christchurch a representative of tho firm of Messrs E. Jacobs & Son, fruiterers, of Covent Garden, London, who is on a visit to this colony for the purpose. of examining into the possibility of opening an export trade in apples from New Zealand. In an interview with one of the representatives of the Press', Mr Walker — which is tho. gentleman's name — explains the class of | fruit his firm would require. He said I it was only large or medium-sixed fruit that suited the London market. , The fruit shipped should measure not less than 2in. in diameter, and that above, i say 2£in., should be marked " selected," whilst any exceeding. Sin. should be marked " extra," and this should be mentioned specially in the letter of advice. These grades would not apply, of course, to the large vurieties of apples, such as Prince Alfred, Alexander, &c. Secondly, the packing of tho fruit in many instances had been far from satis-

factory, the apples being so loosely put j into the cases that when they had been shaken down in transit, enough room was left at the top of the case for at least another layer. The result was that the apples arrived in a very bruised and, consequently, musty condition. - All fruit should be carefully wrapped in • paper, and packed as tightly as possible, absolutely unavoidable spaces being filledup with paper to* prevent shaking. The braising of the fruit may also be'attributed to thepraflifce of putting- it into the cool chamber by means of shoots instead of slings, thxis entailing two or three severe jarrings upon the contents of each case. Thirdly, in . regard to the casesj Mr Walker considers the 8 by 12 by 29 shape preferable to the 7 by 14 by 28 for general use, but the ordinary shape might be used with advantage where apples of special size would not easily fit into the case. A narrow space should be left between the boards of the case to admit of ventilation and . the escape of any mxsisture* which might be formed within. The material U3ed for the cases should be either pwn boards or split I palings smoothed at any rate on the inner side. In branding, all that is required is the name of the grower, with the initials of the kind of the fruit underneath on both ends ot the case, and the' name of the district where the fruit w<w grown on the top or side to be opened, j This should begone on one of the narrow sides, as the- cases' are usually opened; thus. Mr Walker came from London to Tasmania to see the fruit grown and picked and shipped. He also went through all the fruit growing districts of that colony holding meetings and giving information to the growers. When the fruit was shipped, he went in the ship as supercargo, and saw the fruit sold in the London market. As to the time when ! the fruit should arrive in England, Mr Walker says the middle of June is the' latest time. ■ -If it gets earlier so much the better, as a higher price can be got for it. When Mr Walker was in Hobart he says he advocated the provision in tlie ships carryingthe fruit of a ventilated chamber having a fan working in it something similar to that used in steam laundries. 'That, he considers, would be far better than shutting the apple 3up in the hermetioajly sealed cool chamber, as the apples give off gas, which condenses and forms moisture which deteriorates tho apples. -To land, them in perfect order apples* should have a change of air, whiGh they reqnireiiko human beings.. When he went Homo with the si ipment the temperature was kept -equally all throughthe voyage at 44 to 46deg., and yet when they opened the cases in' London there was a quantity of moisture, caused by the want of ventilation in the cool chamber. Tho-agents. of the vessels which trade to Hobart promised Mr Walker that the ventilating fan should be put in their boats. If it proves successful it will mean a reduction in the cost of freight, which is a serious matter now. In Taranaki lar^e quantities of apples are being grown, and the plantations are yearly boing increased ; but whether the orchards ai'e 'stocked with the right kinds of fruit for export is yet- to be learned; -As a gentleman is iri New Zealand who i 3 an expert in such matter!, he should be communicated with by our local Society ; for we can see no reason why Taranaki fruit should not.be sold in Covent Garden Market, as well -as that -which is grown in other places.