69 



buyers men, armed with presses and hatchets set to work to 

 open and fill these loose packages. Very often there was 

 not enough time to do the work properly with the result 

 that thousands of barrels were put on steamers in a very de- 

 fective condition as to packing, and by time the fruit ar- 

 rived in the foreign market, it was badly bruised and shaken 

 up. This state of affairs necessitated the present rule in the 

 foreign markets, for classifying apples as to condition. 



THE MANNEE OP HANDLING FRUITS in European 

 markets is always good when prices realized are satisfac- 

 tory. On the other hand, when the reverse is the case, 

 there are screws loose everywhere. In the Glasgow market 

 the details of handling are about the same as those followed 

 in Liverpool, not only in respect of Commercial auctions, but 

 disposal by private treaty as well. The methods found to 

 be most successful at Liverpool are in the main being fol- 

 lowed by all the other seaport markets in Great Britian, 

 and for the purposes of this article, I shall use these methods 

 lor descriptive purposes. Most of the old established Brit- 

 ish houses have a representative at one, or in some cases, all 

 of the principal North American ports that figure in the ap- 

 ple export trade. These representatives look after shippers' 

 interests at the various ports of export, in a variety of ways, 

 such as rushing forward shipments, preventing delays, secur- 

 ing space, looking after the proper stowage, and promptly 

 advising the principals on the other side of the quantities on 

 board, brands, lists of varieties, etc. As soon as these ad- 

 vices reach Liverpool, and the steamers are reported, 

 freights, dock, town and river dues are paid, customs papers 

 passed, and the releases sent to the dock foreman along with 

 particulars of the marks or brands, and lists of varieties 

 under each brand. His duty is to have space allotted for 

 proper storage of the given number of packages, on the dock, 

 and to have the necessary men ready to receive, select and 

 pile the fruit as fast as it is delivered from the ship's side. 

 At this juncture, it will be readily seen how important it is 

 to have a full description of the brands and list of the varie- 



