RAIN DAMAGES SOFT FRUITS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18046, 5 January 1927, Page 9

RAIN DAMAGES SOFT FRUITS.

RUINS CHERRY CROPS; MARKET NEARLY BARE. Ilad there nut been continued rain at Christmas time, cherries would be selling at about Is a lb. Now they are 2s 6d a lb., and are very scarce on the market. The drizzle softened the fruit, causing it to swell, and with the subsequent warm weather the cherries burst, making a great deal of the crop not worth picking. Fruitgrowers will be heavy losers, as the rain came at the height of the cherry season. Fruit which is ripening now has also suffered through soakage, and will not keep for long. All the late varieties are spoilt. This applies to some extent also to other soift fruits. The full quantity of raspberries is on the market, but the fruit has to be quitted quickly from the shops before it suffers in quality. The berries have lost much of their healthy look and appear water jugged."’ Peaches are fair, but the rain has greatly aided the ravages of brown rot. Though suffering in quality, the quantitv is there; so much so that the price is as low as an average of Gd a 11». Most of the apricots consumed i.i Canterbury come from the south, but reports state that this crop has inhered through early frosts, and that supplies to Canterbury will be very limited.