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number of districts in which Government ownership exists. In Victoria, 

 in the island of Australia, there are 2,975 miles of Government railroad; 

 in New South Wales, 2,351 miles; in South Australia, 1,664; in Queens- 

 land, 2,377; in the little island of New Zealand, 1,948 miles. These are 

 very considerable distances. Compare these distances with the mileage 

 in California and you will find they are very important distances. 

 And we find that everywhere those roads are run in the interests of the 

 people and that they develop the country. I am heartily in favor of 

 this resolution. Government ownership will remove the roads from 

 political control and from the corruption which now characterizes their 

 management. 



Mr. B. N. Rowley moved to refer the resolutions to 'the next Leg- 

 islature. Lost. 



A vote being had on Mr. Sprague's motion to adopt, it was carried. 



Mr. Motheral moved the appointment of a committee of three to 

 present the matter to the attention of the next Legislature. Carried. 



The committee as nominated consisted of Messrs. Fowler, Sprague, 

 and Berwick. 



The Secretary read a communication from the Carbonic Acid Gas 

 Company, as follows: 



FRUIT SHIPMENTS IN CARBONIC ACID GAS. 



We wish to call attention to the process of preservation of fruit for 

 shipping purposes by the use of natural carbonic acid gas. For the last 

 two years we have been experimenting in San Jose with this process, 

 and every experiment has been successful. We have taken Black Tar- 

 tarian cherries from the tree fully ripe, and under this system of preser- 

 vation kept them twenty-one days, at the end of which time they were 

 in as perfect condition as the day they were picked from the tree. After 

 this they were exposed in a warm room, with the thermometer standing 

 at 80° to 90°, for several days before they showed the least signs of fungus 

 or decay, and at this time only a few were affected. The bulk of them 

 were taken to San Francisco and parties there. The Traffic Manager of 

 the Southern Pacific Company, and the Secretary of the State Board of 

 Trade, and others, were surprised that these cherries had been picked 

 twenty-eight days. 



Ripe apricots and plums were kept under this system for fourteen days, 

 then put in cold storage for one week more, and were still in perfect con- 

 dition. Ripe apricots were subjected to the same treatment, and at the 

 expiration of eleven days were taken out and exposed to the air for thirty- 

 six hours and then canned by the San Jose Fruit Packing Company. 



All of these experiments were made in the cooking-room of said com- 

 pany under the high temperature ranging from 80° to 90°, caused by the 

 furnaces. Sample cans of this fruit have been forwarded to be on 

 exhibition before your convention. The reason for submitting these 

 samples is because of the delicacy of the apricot. 



After these repeated experiments and trials we feel justified in the 

 more extensive demonstration of the process by the shipment of a 

 carload of fruit East, and through the kindness of the Santa Fe and 

 Southern Pacific Companies, who furnished transportation, we fitted up 



