THE PRESERVATION OF FRUIT FOR 
SHIPMENT. 
Victoria is rapidly becoming a large fruit-producing country, 
and from the variety of soils and climate within her territory, 
this industry is capable of unlimited expansion, if an export trade 
could be opened up to make it profitable. Efforts have been 
made to send fruit to London, but, with the exception of apples, 
only with a moderate degree of success, and no certainty that even 
these would arrive in good condition. The shipment of grapes, 
apricots, peaches, and oranges so far have resulted in failure. 
Whilst, however, we have been content to make our shipment 
trials only by means of refrigerator chambers, on the other side 
of the Pacific experiments have been made in another direction 
to secure the preservation of fruit during transportation. These 
efforts have been crowned with success, and by utilizing a simple 
law in nature, a further stage in the progress of development of 
our so-called civilization appears to have been arrived at. 
When in San Francisco in September of last year, the secre- 
tary of the State Board of Horticulture, Mr. Lelong, mentioned 
to me that a discovery had been made of a new method of fruit 
preservation by means of sterilized air, by Dr. Perkins, of Ala- 
meda. He informed me that he had taken the deepest interest 
in the experiments which had been carried out by Dr, Perkins 
(who is a member of the State Board of Horticulture, and also a 
fruit-grower), and was satisfied that they were a success. He 
also stated that two scientific gentlemen—Professor Hilgard, of 
the California University, and Professor Smith, of the Standford 
University—had been appointed from the Board toinvestigate the 
process, and had reported on it in the most favorable terms. 
From what Mr. Lelong stated, and knowing the value to Victoria 
of any discovery which would enable us to ship fruit to Europe, 
I went and saw Dr. Perkins, and had three lengthy interviews 
with him respecting his method. 
Dr. Perkins is at present an Episcopalian minister at Alameda. 
I found him to be a gentleman of high scientific attainments. 
As a proof of which he has been honoured by the Academy of 
Science in Paris creating him a member, and sending him also a 
gold medal in recognition of his merit as an inventor. He 
informed me that in early life he was a civil engineer in New 
York. He had also been consulting engineer to one of the largest 
bridge-building companies in the United States. 
For over seven years he had been engaged in conducting experi- 
ments for the purpose of discovering a method of preserving fruit. 
When he described his investigations and experiments in 
endeavouring to solve the question, and afterwards minutely 
detailed the principles on which the process is based, one could 
not but feel satisfied that the solution of the problem had been 
undertaken by a gentleman eminently qualified for it. 
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