STORAGE OF CALIFORNIA TABLE GRAPES. 



and to some extent during the spring months, although the heaviest 

 demand is naturally during the holidays. The late varieties of Cali- 

 fornia table grapes now compete principally with the first shipments 

 of Almeria grapes, and any extension of their marketing season will 

 necessarily mean increased competition with the imported fruit. 



With the exception of small shipments sent to Boston, Baltimore, 

 and one or two other places, all of the Spanish grapes are unloaded 

 at New York and from there distributed throughout the country. 

 The fruit is packed with a filler of ground cork and is shipped in 

 barrels containing about 47 pounds net. Most of it arrives in cargo 



Fig. 1. — Imported Almeria grapes on the dock at New York. This shows the major por- 

 tion of two cargoes aggregating 110,000 barrels. 



lots of 20,000 to 60,000 barrels, which are sold at auction a few 

 days after arrival, being held in common storage until disposed of. 

 Figure 1 shows the major portion of two cargoes of Spanish grapes 

 stacked on a pier in New York. The fruit is bought by speculators, 

 by fruit companies, and by agents representing retail dealers and 

 fruiterers in various parts of the country. The cargoes are listed 

 on auction sheets which give information regarding the brands and 

 the quality and number of barrels of each brand offered. Certain 

 brands which have a reputation for fine quality are in demand and 

 generally realize high prices at auction. The quality of fruit in each 

 lot is judged by the inspection of samples which are displayed during 

 the sale, the number of barrels opened for inspection depending on 

 the total number of barrels in each lot. These grapes are emptied 

 on a table or platform elevator and are raised to the auction room, 

 where the inspection and bidding usually consume only a few sec- 

 onds. This fruit is later repacked and sold at a discount as " sample 

 barrels," 



