APPENDIX 215 



In addition is the 5 per cent commission on sales. Suppose, 

 for example, a parcel of roo barrels Baldwin, well packed, 

 sells at 16 shillings per barrel, equal to about $3.85; 5 per cent 

 commission on this would be 19 cents, to which may be added 

 the 15 cents, total about 34 cents, this representing charges 

 for selling a barrel of apples after reaching Liverpool. As a 

 rule, apples landing at English markets are sold at auction, 

 and quick disposition is made of the entire shipload, the fruit 

 going in lots of 20 barrels and upward. Great Britain always 

 has a small to moderate crop of apples; also imports fair 

 quantities from northern Europe during the autumn, and in 

 early spring Australia sends some apples to the mother coun- 

 try. But in the main, the chief dependence is on the United 

 States and Canada, which ship freely during the winter 

 season, or from October to March inclusive. Ocean freights 

 on apples, Boston or New York to Hamburg, the leading 

 German market, are usually 70 cents to 75 cents per barrel, 

 occasionally as low as 60 cents. The ocean freight on evap- 

 orated apples has declined recently to the level of 15 cents to 

 20 cents per 100 pounds to both Hamburg and Bremen. 



"Enormous quantities of dried apples, largely in the 

 evaporated form, are each year shipped to foreign countries, 

 doing much to relieve the home markets. This class of busi- 

 ness has never been on a firmer footing than now, those en- 

 gaged in the trade catering in an intelligent manner to foreign 

 requirements. Last year's exports were unprecedented at 

 nearly 31,000.000 pounds. This was made possible by the 

 low prices of fresh fruit from which the product was made, 

 and the excellent reputation the goods enjoyed. The magni- 

 tude of the business is governed largely, but not wholly, by 

 domestic prices, and when these are low exports are greatly 

 stimulated. A large part of the goods shipped are dried on 

 wood rather than zinc frames, this being a requisite in secur- 

 ing recognition in some of the European markets, notably 

 that of Germany. After the empire just named, the Nether 

 lands, France, Belgium, and the United Kingdom are our 

 best customers, with, of course, more or less fruit going from 

 Pacific coast ports to the Orient and southern hemisphere." 



