566 Journal of Agriciilinrc, Victoria. [10 Sept., 1912. 



last year many thousands of cases of fruits were sold at extravagantly 

 low prices through the necessity which existed amongst growers to rush these 

 on the market within a limited pmod. This would have been avoided in 

 a large measure had sufficient cold storage been available in which to hold 

 the fruits 



The Relative Importance of Cold Storage. 

 Cold storage accommodation in the various fruitgrowing centres, how- 

 ever, is only a link in a series of arrangements which must be entered upon, 

 and the carrying out of which must be carefully observed, both wholly and 

 in detail, if we wish to extend the industry on profitable and businesslike 

 lines. Although our local markets could, if our fruits were brought into 

 more direct touch with the consumer, at present almost absorb our total 

 supply, vet these markets cannot be expected to keep pace with our in- 

 creasing production. Even were there sufficient cold storage available to 

 hold all our early apples and pears each se'^.son, it may be doubted whether 

 prices, all round, would be much enhance(.i without the aid of a regular 

 oversea export trade. In any case, these j^ricc^s would certainly be much 

 below the average which would he obtained were the whole of our available 

 surplus crop exported each sea.son. This argument applied with particular 

 force in the case of our fruit crop last year, and was proved by the results 

 of the " Somerset " shipment of pears. The prices realized for this ship- 

 ment ranged from 13s. to 19s. per bushel. At the time these prices were 

 being obtained on the London markets, pears of equal qualitv. and belong- 

 ing to the same varieties, and. in manv instances, picked, no doubt, from 

 the same trees, were being disposed of locally for prices ranging from 

 6d. to IS. 6d., per bushel. The removal of .some 6,000 cases from this 

 market contributed very little towards easing the local over-supply ; but 

 had this shipment been followed by further consignments during the weeks 

 when the local markets were glutted, and pears here were practically value- 

 less, the markets would have been eased, and the losses occasioned by the 

 glut would have been avoided. The cabled reports of the prices realized 

 for the Somerset shipment, arriving as they did at a time when similar 

 pears were locally being sold as low as 6d. per bu.shel, furnished a forcible 

 commentary upon the necessity on the part of our growers and exporters 

 to open up a profitable trade in the regular oversea export of pears. The 

 results of the Somerset shipment show what may be achieved, and help to 

 confirm the belief expressed during the past four years through the Journal 

 of Agriculture that not only pears, but soft fruits, such as peaches and 

 nectarines, may, if proper conditions in picking, packing, and transporta- 

 tion are observed, be safelv and profitably exported to oversea markets. 



The Example of Other Countries. 

 For years past, certain oversea countries have been showing our growers 

 that thousands of cases of oranges, lemons, apples, and even soft fruits, 

 .such as peaches, plums, and the softer varieties of pears, may be success- 

 fully shipped over long distances, and that uniformly good prices may be 

 realized by carrving out specialized methods of picking, packing, handling, 

 tran.sportation. and marketing ; the application of low temperatures tO' fruits 

 as soon as possible after their severance from the tree; the uniform main- 

 tenance of these low temperatures until the arrival of fruits at their final 

 destination ; and, lastly, organized methods of disposal to the consumer. 

 It is the intention of this article to show that this is possible, and that, 

 at the same time, the status of the industry generally may be raised, and 

 that the huge percentage of waste and deterioration which annually occurs 

 may, in large measure, be avoided. 



