CARRIAGE AND PRESERVATION OF FRUIT.

Waikato Times, Volume XLIII, Issue 3485, 30 October 1894, Page 4

CARRIAGE AND PRESERVATION OF FRUIT.

Last November Mr Benson, fruit expert of the Department of Agriculture, gave Captain Carvasso, of the sailing ship lllawarra, two cases •of lemons to take home to London, in order to test the value of a sailing vessel for carrying fruit. Captain ■ 'Carvasso examine.'! the lemons occasionally in transit, and found on his .arrival in London that less than 5 per cent had been lost by decay. He distributed srnne of the lemons ••amongst his friends, and used them himself whilst in London and also ,on the way back to Sydney,- where he arrived last week with one lemon "Still in his possession. Captain OarT.isso has returned this nuicb-tra* veiled specimen to the Agricultural Department, where it is on view. It is now 10 months since the lemon ' "was shipped, but it is still perfectly ..sound, and though somewhat shrivelled and mummified in appearance it is quite good enough for a lemonsquash. , The Agricultural Department has arranged to send a trial shipment of three cases of passion'fruit to London, consigned to Mr Valentine, the New South Wales produce commissioner in London,, •One of theso cases is being subjected io a special course of treatment by Mr A. Morris, the official assignee, by means of a new preservative prosoess which he has discovered. It -consists in dipping the fruit into a fluid which forms a waterproof film over the surface of the fruit. Borne oranges, received from Mildura have been treated in this way, and the department is storing them to see how long they will keep. In regard to the passion fruit the opinion has ten expressed, by Mr Valentine that there will eventually be a very large demand for it in London, provided it .-can be shipped home fresh, At present this useful and delicious fruit is practically unknown in London.— ■ Sydney Mail. : :