STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. II3 



SHIPPING FRUIT TO FOREIGN MARKETS. 

 By W. P. Atherton, Hallowell. 



In 1892, I shipped two car-lots of apples to a reliable firm in 

 Liverpool and they netted me $235.00 better than if sold to buy- 

 ers on this side; that was because they happened to arrive there 

 during- two of the best weeks of the season. The next year I 

 shipped one car-lot and waited returns before sending another, 

 and it was well I did, for I lost $175.00 on that one venture. I 

 sold afterwards to a Boston firm what I had left of that season's 

 crop. The next year I shipped two or three car-lots of Bald- 

 wins and one car-lot of Spies. The former netted me $1.40 per 

 barrel and the latter $1.70 per barrel, and all I was offered on this 

 side was $1.25 per barrel for both varieties. 



Last year, 1895, my crop was so small and fruit rather inferior, 

 I sold to buyers in this State in preference to shipping. This 

 year I had more than I could put into my cellar and concluded 

 to test the markets before shipping largely, so I sent forty barrels 

 of choice early winter fruit and thirteen cases of choice fall fruit 

 wrapped as you would oranges. They were Gravensteins — 

 first-class in every respect — apples that would have brought me 

 $2.50 to $3.00 per barrel in Boston, and they netted me back just 

 $2.19. within three cents of enough to pay for the cases; the 

 forty barrels of choice early winter fruit — consisting of Kings, 

 Hubbardstons, Mother, Nodheads, &c.. — netted me $12.05, 

 enough to pay for the barrels and the packing — a most deplor- 

 able result, so Mr. Geo. A. Cochrane said. I therefore con- 

 cluded that experience was sufficient for one season, and sold the 

 bulk of my crop to Boston parties at what were cbnsidered fairly 

 good prices. There was no fault found with the fruit, either in 

 the cases or barrels, that was first-class in every respect and sold 

 quite well, but at that time freights were very high and the mar- 

 kets thoroughly demoralized by extremely heavy shipments. 

 Much of the shipments, too, was of a character to depress rather 

 than help a market; it consisted of soft and inferior fruit, for 

 people imagined that because England was short on her apple 

 crop she would buy anything arid everything and pay big prices, 



