188 
without any appreciable loss for a period of two months, when 
age tem- ` 
perature of 41 degrees to 43 deg grees ; provided that the fruit is 
earefully gathered, handled, an d packed, and that all blemished 
fruit is discarded. Apples will keep equally as well if the tem- 
perature is raised 10 degrees, but the other fruits require the 
lower temperature. Two months allows for the extreme outside - 
time required to place the fruit on the English market. 
. After being removed from the cold storage, the fruit keeps in good 
condition for a sufficient time to enable it to be disposed of and 
MEE with only a small percentage of loss, provided that 
previous to its removal from cold storage the temperature of the 
HS a - gradually raised s ‘that of the outside air, as any con- 
densation of moisture on the fruit, which would tend to create 
pery is thereby jioni: 
3. Soft fruit, such as peaches and nectarines, may be safely stored 
without deterioration from one to two weeks, according to 
variety, thereby preventing to a certain extent the glutting of the 
markets with these fruits during the height of the season 
* 
gh the bad-keeping qualities of the fruit when 
landed, which necessitates the fruit being disposed of and consumed 
as rapidly as possible. l these drawbacks would be, to a great 
extent, prevented if the fruit were carried under similar conditions 
to those maintained during the experiments, and a cheaper and 
better ee would tend to greatly increase our export of fruit 
to England, which, unless such steps are shortly taken, threatens 
to become a thing of the past, as the prices received for our aut 
in London are entirely prohibitive in the majori 
doubt this is not always the fault of the high Eogh and Bad 
system of carriage employed, but is often largely due to the care- 
lessness of the growers or shippers themselves in sending worth- 
less and inferior fruits; and this was shown many times in last 
year's shipments of Tasmanian apples. The English market wants 
one class of fruit only, the best, and that fruit put on the market 
in the best condition and most attractive manner; and if growers 
or shippers try to palm off any inferior grades they will get left 
every time, as the English buyers will not have them, except at — 4f 
very low rates. d 
The value of these experiments to the New South Wales fruit-grower 
is that by this means the Government have practically shown the 
. eonditions that are necessary to maintain in order to successfully kee 
fruit in cold storage, and also what fruits are most suitable, and what 
care is necessary to be taken with the grading, wrapping, and packing of — 
the fruits so as to render them suitable for cold storage, especially as 
adapted to an export trade. It is to an export trade we the fruit- —— 
growers must eventually look. if the industry is to take a prominent 
e in colonial industries; and by showing how the export of fruit 
