56 



Orange boxes should be made of clear, white pine-wood, for 

 preference, but when export is resumed it is extremely unlikely that 

 any such wood will be obtainable. There are certain woods in the 

 Union which may be used and some of them make a box which is 

 by no means unpresentable. The question of box-making for fruit 

 export has, in fact, been taken up by two or three firms who are giving 

 the matter a good deal of attention, and it should be possible to obtain 

 a box which would be suitable for the purpose even if it is not exactly 

 as we would like to have it. 



'In order to make the package as attractive as possible, a prettily 

 coloured label should be pasted on the end of each box bearing the 

 "brand" or mark of the shipper, and also the number, variety, and 

 kind of fruit contained therein. The shipping mark of the agent to 

 whom the boxes are consigned oversea should appear in letters not less, 

 than one inch in depth on the top and other end of the box ; these are 

 easily and quickly put on by means of a stencil plate and may take 

 the form of a triangle, square, or circle, thus: — 



The labels referred to may be purchased from most prominent 

 printing firms ia the country; some of them already in use are most 

 artistic, and tend by their presence to greatly improve the general 

 appearance of the boxes. 



We have an inexhaustible field on which to draw for subjects fit 

 for illustration, what with animals, birds, and natural features of the- 

 country, and use has already been made of some of these. One sees 

 the " Silver Leaf," "Star/' "Ostrich," "Dragon," and numerous 

 other brands. 



Practically all the Californian, Floridan, and Jamaican gTowers 

 have adopted some pretty or striking label of this kind. They have 

 in fact set the fashion, and it is up to the growers and exporters of 

 this country to go one better and place South African oranges on 

 the markets of the world in packages as well made, solid, and attraetive- 

 as those from any other country — all this decorative work, of couTse, 

 costs money, but it is repaid over and over again in the enhanced 

 prices obtained for good fruit in a good package. 



Export Season. 



This starts at the end of April from Natal and has, so far, finished 

 in October, fruit from the Eastern Province of the Cape beir.^ the 

 latest we have hitherto had. 



Early consignments frequently have brought good prices, second 

 early not quite as good on account of competition with locally grown 

 berry fruits. As a rule, regular weekly shipments arriving in England 

 from July onwards have paid best. A good deal depends on the 

 weather ; if a very hot September is experienced the demand for citrus, 

 fruits is good and prices correspondingly so, and this remark applies, 

 to any other month. There appears to be every reason why the export 



