196 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



June 25, 1910. 



FRUITS AND FRUIT TREES. 



FRUIT EXPORTATION FROM NATAL. 



A report on the export of citrus and other fruits from 

 Xatal to England, for 1909, has been submitted recently to 

 the Government by the Commercial Agent for Xatal in 

 London. This appears in the Xatal Agricultural Journal 

 for March 1910, and deals chiefly with the market for the 

 Xaartje or Xatal mandarin, in England. It shows that, dur- 

 ing the ^eason which is reviewed, the amount of lliis fruit 

 arriving in London was too great for the demand, and in 

 connexion with this there was pointed out the fallacy of 

 believing that because a fruit comes from the colonies, a quick 

 demand in England will necessarily arise. If .such fruit arrives 

 in small quantities and there is a want for it, high prices 

 will result from the keen competition. If it is imported in 

 large quantities and in a sound state, it will enter the compet- 

 ition as a fruit with other varieties that are already on the 

 market. 



The season about which information is given was by no 

 means favourable, Imt it is pointed out that this experience 

 of losse.s is a usual concomitant of the development of an over- 

 sea fruit trade, by almost any country. Attention is drawn 

 to the example of Australia, where many years of effort were 

 recjuired before the fruit export industry wa.-* placed un its 

 present successful ba.^is. It is stated that, before this occur- 

 red, whole cargoes of wasted fruit were destroyed, but the ship- 

 pers persevered, and by correcting their errors as they became 

 cognisant of them, gave the country a flourishing industry. 

 The moral is that, where a fruit-growing industry is being 

 developed, the producers should not bo discouraired, but 

 should continue their efforts, with the exercise of [latience, 

 a proper regard to the requirements of the home markets and 

 the scrupulous following of the information they are given in 

 connexion with the cultivation, picking, packing and market- 

 ing of the fruit. 



PACKING FRUIT. It IS recommended that packing for 

 export be performed on the farm, subject to the control of 

 Government inspector.s, especially over tho.se packers who do 

 not belong to growers' or fruit associations. 



The best fruits, only, .should be exported. The trays 

 employed for the purpose .-hould not be loo large; those used 

 in Spain are of one connt. namely 2.58, the size of the fruit 

 being denoted in millimetres, on the packages. For tlie Xatal 

 fruit, it is suggested that a tray 12 inches by 12 inches by 

 2i inches, and a lesser one 9 inches by 9 inches by 2j inches 

 (outside measurements), containing eighteen or twenty fruits, 



would be most suitable to the trade, and this is con- 

 firmed by the buyers at Covent Garden. The suggestion is 

 ottered that trials might be made with double-layer trays, 

 measuring about -4 or 4i inches in depth. The smaller trays 

 are the most suitable for extending the provincial and subur- 

 ban demand. Small trays containing eighteen fruits were 

 quite popular, and the small 'glove' box (punnet\ containing 

 ten and twelve fruits also obtaioed a ready sale, chiefiy on 

 account of the fact that it contained just the amount of "fruit 

 that is required hy a person when shopping. 



It was found that, under the conditions of cold chamber 

 storage, those fruits travelled best which were contained in 

 closed travF and boxes. Such packages possess the additional 

 advantage that, if the fruits in them burst, the juice does not 

 run down into the other trays and detract from their value 

 by spoiling the appearance. Whatever the kind of package 

 that is used, it should be always uniform in size, and the 

 particularly superior fruits .should be wrapped in a special 

 way, .so as to distinguish them from the ordinary ones. A 

 useful suggestion has been made, by the editor of the Londc>n 

 Fruit Grower, that a few of the fruits in the middle of the 

 tray should be partly unwrapped, in order to show their 

 quality. 



As material for binding the trays and boxes, iron hoop- 

 ing has shown itself to be not very satisfactory, chietiy on 

 account of the difficulty of removing it, and the dama.^e 

 that is done to the packages in effecting the removal. 

 Strong wire is suggested, as a substitute, for binding the 

 smaller trays together; or this may be done in the Spanish 

 A\ay, by placing battens around a large number, and firmly 

 securing them by a flat straw rope. It is pointed out that 

 some .lamaici fruit growers employ narrow strips of hide for 

 the purpose. 



It is the conviction of the writer that conveyance in 

 cool chambers is the only satisfactory method, at any rate for 

 delicate citrus fruits like the Xatal mandarin. During the 

 season, the temperatures in the cool chamber averaged 3G° to 

 3S" r. The variation in the hold was from .55" minimum 

 to S.^" maximum. It was [tinted out that the temperature 

 at which citrus iruit from the West Indies and Florida is 

 carried, in special chamber.s, is between 45* and 50°F. and 

 it was suggested that if similar provision could" be made for 

 A'Vican fruits, much of the handicap in building up the 

 bu.siness would be removed. The opinion is expressed that 

 the highest cool chamber freight that can be borne by citrus 

 fruits from Xatal is 50s. per ton, and a ventilated hold 



