lo Aug., 1909.] Storage ILxpcriruoit :citJi Mildiira Grapes. 511 



Taking into consideration the poor quality of the cork dust obtainable 

 and the fact that rain fell only a short time before the packing of the 

 fruit, which was all groivn on irrigated land, the result? of the experiment 

 are not wholly unsatisfactory. The following conclusion? m^y be drawn 

 from it : — 



(i) Of the varieties tested, the Gordo Blanco was the least satis- 

 factory. As grown at Mildura (irrigated), there is little hope 

 of this grape being profitably shipped in the fresh state. 



(2) Taking into consideration the very fair order in which a few of 



the varieties were found after three months' storage and in 

 spite of the adverse conditions above referred to, the pos- 

 sibility of shipping fresh grapes on a large scale receives 

 further confirmation. 



(3) That the variety of grape is the most important factor in the 



problem. With the right sort of grape, properly grown 

 and packed, there should be a great future for the export 

 of grapes from Victoria in the fresh state. 

 * # * * -x- -x- * 



The above is the substance of a report submitted to the Mildur^ Shire 

 Council. The following additional notes on the experimental importation 

 -of fresh grapes from Spain will also be of interest to growers : — 



The preponderating influence of the variety of grape on carrying power 

 was very evident from the excellent order in which several lots of Spanish 

 ^riapes of the Ohanez variety, imported from Almeria, Spain, by this 

 Department, reached Melbourne last season.* 



It v\as, in fact, the success of this experiment which led Mildura 

 growers to hope that something might be done in the shipping of Gordo 

 Blancos in the fresh state, and prompted the request of the Mildura Shire 

 Council. Some particulars concerning the Spanish importations may there- 

 fore be here placed on record. 



The experiment was made in order to test the question in a different 

 manner than by making experimental shipments from this end — several of 

 these had in the past only met with very qualified success. If, however, 

 Spanish grapes could be landed in Melbourne in marketable condition it 

 would logically follow that Australian grown grapes could be satisfactorily 

 sent to Europe, provided conditions were the same as regards variety, 

 cultivation, and packing. 



Two lots of Spanish grapes (2 barrels each) were imported by the 

 Department. These reached Melbourne respectively by tb.e P. & O. s.s. 

 Morea (early in January, 1909) and Mooltan (at the end of the same 

 month). One barrel of each shipment was conveyed in cool storage and the 

 •other as ordinary cargo. These barrels were all purchased in London at 

 Covent Garden Market at a price of 15s. 6d. each. They had therefore 

 been picked for over a week before being transhipped at London. In 

 addition to these, a barrel of the same grapes was shipjied per R.M.S. 

 Mongolia at the end of October, reaching Melbourne at the end of No- 

 \ember, 1908. This barrel was forwarded by the Agent-General at the 

 suggestion of a Melbourne correspondent. The grapes ex Mongolia and 

 ex Morea were opened in the presence of a number of gentlemen interested 

 in viticulture and in the fruit trade, at the Government Cool Stores on 

 8th December, 1908, and 21st January, 1909, respectively. 



The condition of the fruit in each case was most satisfactory. A few 

 berries in some of the bunches had deteriorated, Ijut faulty berries were 



* For particulars concerning the Almeria fresii grape industry, see JournalioT September, IfO.?, p. 545. 



