Edible Products. 



208 



[March 1908. 



be carefully removed. In consideration 

 of the bare-footed workers on a lime 

 estate, all lime-tree primings should be 

 burned, and not, as is usual with prim- 

 ings generally, used for manure. 



Prom the time the young trees are 

 planted, the aim of the planter should 

 be to keep the land in good condition by 

 maintaining and, if possible, increasing 

 the humus in the soil, by the application 

 of pen manure, or by means of frequent 

 bunches of bush and grass from adjoin- 

 ing lands. 



Very little is known as to the effect of 

 artificial manures on lime plantations, 

 but too much stress cannot be laid upon 

 the good results that accrue from appli- 

 cations of pen manures or of mulch. The 

 appearance of lime plantations has in a 

 short time completely changed by look- 

 ing to this operation, and most planters 

 are now alive to the benefits to be derived 

 from attention to the ' humus question.' 



The life of a lime plantation has not 

 yet been determined, but in Dominica 

 well-kept fields of limes, planted over 

 thirty years ago, are still in good con- 

 dition and yield good crops. — Agricul- 

 tural News, Vol. VI, No. 148, 28th 

 December, 1907. 



AVOCADO PEARS: PREPARATION 

 AND SHIPMENT. 



In Bulletin No. Ik of the Hawaii Agri" 

 cultural Experiment Station, a consider" 

 able amount of valuable advice as to the 

 best methods of picking, packing, and 

 shipping avocado pears is given to 

 growers who may be thinking of trying 

 to build up an export trade in this line. 



The fruit sent in an experimental ship- 

 ment from Hawaii to the United States 

 was packed in the refrigerator compart- 

 ments of the vessel, with the exception 

 of a few cases which were carried on the 

 main deck. The packages were on board 

 seven days, this being followed by a two- 

 days' railway journey in hot weather. It 

 will be seen, therefore, that the con- 

 ditions of shipment were not particularly 

 favourable, but the results of the trial 

 were encouraging, and showed that ship- 

 ments on a profitable commercial scale 

 were certainly possible. 



The writer of the article impresses 

 upon the would-be shippers of avocado 

 pears the importance of great care in 

 packing the fruit. Each fruit must be 

 gathered by hand, and the stem should 

 be cut with a pair of shears, as in the 

 ca&e of oranges. Slight bruises, although 

 not evident at the early stage, are very 

 apparent when the fruit is placed on the 

 market. It is advised that picking 



should be done, if possible, only on the 

 day the steamer is to leave ; certainly 

 not earlier than the evening before. 

 Careful grading of the fruit is very im- 

 portant, as the way in which this oper- 

 ation is done has a great deal to do with 

 the price obtained on the market. It' the 

 unusually fine and la rye pears ar e put in 

 the same package A\ith average fruits, 

 they not only lose the special price they 

 would command if presented by them- 

 selves, but also have the result of making 

 average fruit appear inferior by contrast. 

 Good quality fruit, even of second grade, 

 if neatly packed, should always find a 

 ready market, but, if placed with the 

 best specimens, the value of the whole 

 is lowered. 



Avocado pears, it is advised, should 

 not be packed in boxes of too large a size. 

 The size of crate recommended as being 

 likely to give satisfactory results for 

 medium-sized fruits is of the following 

 dimensions : — 13 x 14 x 3f inches inside 

 measurement. Such a crate would hold 

 about one dozen pears. It will be seen 

 that boxes of this depth allow of only a 

 single layer of fruits. For large sized 

 avocados, the depth must be increased to 

 at least 4 inches. In packing, it is recom- 

 mended that, as with oranges intended 

 for export, each fruit should be wrapped 

 in a piece of paper just large enough to 

 make a single cover. Over 160 pears, 

 with nothing but a single paper wrap- 

 ping, arrived at Portland, Oregan, from 

 Hawaii, with a loss of only 2*9 per cent. 

 Fruits packed more elaborately, e.g., in 

 individual compartments, provided by 

 the use of corrugated straw boards, were 

 in no better condition on arriving at their 

 destination. In placing the individual 

 pears in the boxes, jarring is only pre- 

 vented by packing them as close together 

 as possible, although it is not advisable 

 to induce any pressure. 



The provision of holes in the sides of 

 the boxes and the spacing between the 

 boards forming the cover, ensure a 

 suitable ventilation of the fruit. A nar- 

 row piece of wood, too, is nailed along 

 two opposite edges at the top of each box. 

 By this means the passage of a current of 

 air between each box and the one above 

 it, is made possible. The most suitable 

 temperature for storage of avocado pears, 

 it is said, is not yet definitely decided. 

 Prolonged storage in the refrigerator 

 compartment, however, is mentioned as 

 resulting in the blackening of the 

 interior of the avocado. It is recom- 

 mended, as a result of observations made, 

 that the temperature should not be 

 allowed to falllbelow40 °F. The refriger- 

 ator room in the ship should be cooled 

 as rapidly as possible so as to lower the 

 temperature of the fruit, and a uni- 



