BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY. 81 



POMOLOGICAL FIELD INVESTIGATIONS. 

 FRUIT AND VEGETABLE MARKETING. 



Under this head a series of investigations and experiments lias 

 been conducted looking toward the development of export trade in 

 American fruits and vegetables, and the improvement of methods of 

 handling and storing these products, both for domestic and foreign 

 use. 



Through experimental shii^ments made in cooperation with fruit 

 growers in New York, Virginia, and West Virginia, certain important 

 facts have been pointed out that are likely to have influence upon the 

 development of export trade. 



Thus, through an experimental shipment of Bartlett pears made 

 from Niagara County, N. Y., to London, in September, 1901, in coopera- 

 tion with seven members of the New York State Fruiti Growers' Asso- 

 ciation residing there, it was demonstrated that with proper care in 

 picking, j)acking, and forwarding, this variety can be laid down in 

 good condition in the London market. With this, as with other earlj^ 

 and perishable fruits, ocean refrigeration is essential, and for locali- 

 ties as distant from the seaboard as the one in question, refrigerator- 

 car service to the steamer side is important. In the experiment 

 referred to, an effort was made to determine what style of package is 

 best adapted to the export shipment of this variety of i3ear, \vhether 

 wrapping of the fruit is either necessarj^ or desirable, and whether 

 the demand for fruit of this character at the season when the fruit 

 must be marketed is likely to be sufficient to warrant commercial 

 shipments. To test these points, a quantitj^ equal to about 50 barrels 

 of Bartlett pears, grown by the seven gentlemen referred to, was care- 

 fully graded and packed in a single packing house, under the super- 

 vision of a representative of the Depai'tment, to insure uniformity in 

 grading and quality. This fruit was packed in three styles of jtack- 

 age, the ordinary barrel commonly used in that section, a 40-pound 

 box, and a 20-pound half box. Part of the fruit in each kind of pack- 

 age was wrai5f)ed with waxed paper, the remainder being forwarded 

 without wrapping, in the ordinary way. The shipment was forwarded 

 to New York in a refrigerator car and was transferred at that point to a 

 refrigerated compartment on the steamer Minnehaha, with instructions 

 to hold the temperature at 36°. It was consigned to a prominent fruit 

 house in London, with instructions to make careful examination of 

 the several lots, and report on their relative condition; then, to sell 

 each upon its merits. The fruit was reported in excellent condition 

 on arrival and was sold at prices that yielded the following net returns 

 at the packing house in western New York for the "standard" grade 

 after all transportation and sales charges were paid : 



Gain due 

 Package. j y^^ (_ to wrap- 



ping. 



Bai-rel_. _.. j $4.23 



40-pound box _ .83 



20-pound, one-lialf box .38^ 



The experiment was not decisive as to the relative merit of the 

 three kinds of package for this fruit, but the receivers favor the box 



AGR 1902 G 



