STORAGE OF CALIFORNIA TABLE GRAPES. 23 



notes on the different brands offered, and at the sales, which are held 

 later, bids are made from these notes. The different lots are kept 

 separate at the auction, so that each brand establishes a reputation 

 of its own, and in time the reputation of a brand, based on the 

 holding quality of the fruit and its behavior on the market, will 

 largely influence the price which buyers are willing to pay. 



The handling of grapes packed in drums will necessitate some 

 changes in the manner of selling the California product in eastern 

 markets. In general, the methods which have been adopted at the 

 auction sales are the same as those used in selling the imported 

 Almeria grapes. In the case of the latter, however, the different 

 lots are emptied on an elevator platform, which is run up to the center 

 of the auction room where the grapes are inspected and sold. The 

 bidding on the different lots is generally very rapid, and the business 

 consumes only a minute or two. In this way large numbers of barrels 

 are q'uickly sold, frequently 10,000 to 20,000 being disposed of at a 

 single sale. 



REFRIGERATION OR VENTILATION IN TRANSIT. 



A test of the possibility of shipping sawdust-packed grapes 

 without refrigeration was made during the past season. One car- 

 load of grapes in drums, composed of shipments from the F, G, 

 D, and B vineyards, was forwarded from Las Palmas on November 

 5, the car being handled under ventilation while en route. The 

 fruit arrived in Jersey City on November 17 and went into cold 

 storage on November 21, the condition on arrival being generally 

 good. The drums were placed on end in the storehouse and an 

 average temperature of 32° F. maintained. An examination made 

 of the stock showed the fruit from shipper B to be of good quality, 

 well bunched, and in good condition. The D-vineyard fruit had fair- 

 sized bunches, with medium-sized berries, but the barrels were rather 

 light as to weight of fruit. The Emperors from shipper G showed 

 irregular quality, some berries being small and others large ; and the 

 F- vineyard fruit was of irregular size, some of it being very small 

 and straggling. Examination of the fruit after it had been held 

 in cold storage for 10 days showed that it was deteriorating very 

 rapidly, and for this reason it was disposed of as quickly as pos- 

 sible. Most of the shipper-B fruit was sold at private sale, but 

 the bulk of the carload was sold at auction in small lots on Decem- 

 ber 10, 12, 17, and 19. The average prices realized on this fruit 

 ranged from $1.17 per drum for the G-vineyard fruit, one lot of 

 70 drums of this brand selling for 95 cents a drum, to $2.81 per 

 drum for the shipper-B fruit, the average carload price being $2.13 

 per drum. These returns were considerably below those received 



