20 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



Jaxuaey 2:H, 1909. 



WEST INDIAN FRUIT. 



SHIPMENT OF IMMATURE CITRUS 

 FRUIT. 



To no agriculturist docs the tem|itation to occasion- 

 ally ship green or immature produce present itself ' 

 more strongly than to the grower of citrus fruit. This 

 is on account of the varying rate of market prices, the 

 perishable nature of the produce, and the natural 

 anxiety of the grower to dispose of as much of his crop 

 return as possible when the supply is lowest, and prices 

 are at a tavourabJe figure. The unwise and short- 

 sighted nature of such a policy, from the point of view 

 of Jamaica orange growers, was lately referred to in 

 the West India Committee CirviUar, and in the Forta 

 Rico Horticultural News (November 1908) the same 

 ■question is briefly but forcibly discussed. 



New York fruit .sale.snien have frequently had occasion 

 to complain ni the receipt of inferior and unripe oranges and 

 grapefruit from Cuba, and now, it is asserted, a considerable 

 quantity of immature fruit is also being sent forward frrmi 

 J'orto Iiico. 



The bad cft'ect.s that result on the industry at large, and 

 more particularly on the deniand for produce from the 

 particular district, are clearly set forth in the article to which 

 reference has been made. 



When green and immature oranges are placed on tlie 

 market, they have to be ripened with artificial heat, or in 

 many cases artticially coloured before a sale can be effected. 

 ■Such produce is not likely to be of first-rate flavour, and 

 instead of tending to increase consumption and extend the 

 market of that fruit, is more likely to result in tran.sferring 

 the demand to some other kind of fruit. 



It is obvious, too, that the .shi{)per who .sends [loor fruit 

 is sacrificing a long future for a short present. Good prices 

 are obtained at first, because the .small supply — assuming, as 

 is generally the case, that the poor fruit is sent in early in the 

 season, in order to get first place on the market — leaves the 

 buyer no choice. With increased supplies, however, the 

 ■shipper of inferior fruit is deserted. Furthermore, it has been 

 noticed that even when he .sends good ]>roduce he has troulile 

 in obtaining adequate prices, since buyers are cliary of him, 

 and judge his fruit by past experience. 



The result of personal ex|ierieuce is bmnglit forward as 

 •evidence of ihe injury in reputation done to the fruit of 

 a [larticular locality in con.scqucnce of one or two shipments 

 (if poor <piality, and the need for properly grading the fruit, 

 and jiacking it in an attractive manner. The writer mentions 

 that being in New York last year, at a time when Porto Hico 

 •oranges were ship[)ed in large i|nantity to that market, he 



visited retail fruit shops to a.scertain tlie prices obtained for 

 produce from the island, in which he was interested. In 

 numbers of shops, however, Porto Rico fruit was not on 

 sale ; and when enquiry was made as to the reason for this, 

 one of the following replies was always forthcoming : ' The 

 fruit was not up to the standard ; ' 'It was poorlygraded: * 

 ' 'I'he grades were not uniform or reliable:' ' It was not 

 attractively or Avell packed:' or 'It did not keep well.' 



RIPENING OF TROPICAL FRUITS. 



Some interesting investigations, bi ilr. H. C. 

 Prinsen Geerligs, dealing with the chemical changes 

 that take place during the ripening of some tropical 

 fruits of Java, are reported upon in a paper lately 

 ])ubiished in the International Sugar Journal. The 

 fruits dealt with included the banana, mango, tamarind, 

 and sapodilla. 



Bunches of bananas, as is well known, are generally cut 

 from the tree in an innnature state, and when the fruit 

 is hard, tasteless, and unfit for food. After a few days the 

 edible matter becomes tender, sweet, and well-flavoured, but 

 again a few days later the fruit is unpalatable, owing to over- 

 ripeness and decay. Some of the changes that go on in 

 these stages were investigated by Mr. Geerligs. 



A notable feature was the loss of weight that takes place 

 during ripening. Twenty green bananas, kept in a cool place, 

 were found to have lost an average weight of 8 granunes each 

 at the end of seven days. In anotlier case, ten green bananas of 

 a smaller variety, weighing originally 502 '.S granunes, lost 

 \'yi) grammes in four days, and by suitable means it was 

 sliown that of this loss, 2'3 granunes were given off as carbon 

 dio.xide. 



From a bunch of V)anana.s, cut in the innnature state, 

 a single fruit was analysed daily for a week, so tliat the 

 <-hanges in progress might be observed. At the end of the 

 Meek the remaining banahas W'ere in a stage of over-ripeness. 

 The m<ist prominent feature of the ripening process in 

 the case of the banana was the raj)id transformation of 

 starch into sucrose or cane-sugar. At the first analysis of 

 the unripe fruit, the percentage of .starch in the banana pulp 

 was .'iO'.tS, and of sucrose 0'86.pcr cent. Two days later, 

 the starch had decreased to 24'9S per cent, while the sucro.se 

 jiresent was A'Vi per cent. On the fifth day from the first 

 analysis, the banana (almost ripe) contained 13'.S9 per cent, 

 of .starch, and lO'.") of sucro.se, while on the following day there 

 were present in the fully ripe fruit only 959 jier cent, of starch, 

 but 13-68 per cent, of .sucrose. The percentages of glucose and 

 fructose also increase during ripening, and in the fully ripe fruit 



