6i2 Journal of Agriculture. [8 Oct., 1907. 



PROBLEMS AFFECTING FRUIT TRANSPORTATION 

 AND MARKETING. 



Ernest Meeking, Inspector under Commerce Act. 



The mail reports on shipments of fruit from Australia to the United 

 Kingdom and Europe sometimes contain such information as : — "The 



fruit shipped per S.S arrived on the market in an 



unsaleable condition owing to waste caused by decay, bitter pit, &c. Such 

 of the shipment as was sound realized good prices.'" Similar reports are 

 received each season, especially in connexion with the earlier shipments, 

 and they are now looked upon b\ some as inevitable and are read by them 

 with little more than passing interest ; but in the case of those who are 

 in the unfortunate position of having a financial interest at stake, or who 

 are jealous of the reputation of our country's products, feelings of chagrin 

 and wonder are engendered — chagrin at loss of money, labour and repu- 

 tation, and wonder at the apparent indifference which permits the causes 

 adversely affecting the quality and prices of our products to work 

 unchecked without steps being taken to prevent their recurrence. That 

 it is possible to prevent this has been amply demonstrated in recent years 

 in the United States, the countrv which stands pre-eminent as the largest 

 fruit producing and exporting countrv in the world. 



The problem of successfully transporting fruits over long distances 

 is far from simple and is hedged with manv difficulties, owing to the 

 delicate nature of the product, and because the work of trans{)ortation 

 from the orchard to the consumer includes manv factors sucli as picking, 

 packing, fluctuations of temperature, &c. , which promote decav and 

 adversely affect the quality of the fruit. In addition to these there are 

 other causes deeper and less apparent Ijut none the less powerful which 

 must be taken into consideration. These are the chemical and phvsio- 

 logical changes taking place in the fruit both whilst growing and after 

 severance from the tree. These changes are influenced by the heredity 

 of the fruit as well as by its environment. All the.se factors and many 

 others, are now, and have been for the past few years, receiving careful 

 study, aided by elaborate experimentation, l)oth in the' United States and 

 Canada. 



Sonie six years ago owing to a glut in the local market, the result of 

 a combination of circumstances, the fruit growing industry in the United 

 States received a severe check. The people interested ^ aided bv the 

 Government, set to work to devise means whereby a recurrence of such 

 a calamity could be averted, and it was decided to send a series of 

 experimental shipments to the European markets. These were picked, 

 packed, graded, and shipped under Government supervision. Every 

 influence affecting the condition of fruits, both whilst growing and during 

 transit, was studied. Agents were sent abroad to find suitable markets 

 for different kinds and varieties of fruits, and in fart the whole question 

 in all its aspects, both scientific and commercial, was closely studied and 

 so far the following facts ha\e l)een determined: — 



Harvesting and Packing. 

 A great deal of the deterioration and waste occurring amongst fruits 

 consigned to distant destinations whose transportation must of necessity 



