Io 
The Orchard. 
Preservation of Fresh Fruit. 
Tn a recent issue of the ‘ Bulletin de 
VOffice du Gouvernement General de 
VAlgerie’ appears an article on the pre- 
servation of fresh fruit cn long journeys. 
Accounts are given of experiments that 
have recently been conducted, and from 
them it appears that peat or turf has 
been found to be eminently suitable as a 
means of preserving fruit. 
The attention of .hygienists has been 
attracted to this substance by reason of 
its sterilising properties, constituting as 
it does a medium unfavorable to the de- 
velopment of bacteria, The existence of 
such qualities will secure for peat a large 
sphere of usefulness. 
It is, however, in the preservation of 
fresh fruit that this substance will be 
more particularly used. Experience has 
shown, it is said, that it is superior to 
every other substance for the preservation 
of vegetables and fruit which have to 
survive long voyages. 
Among ether experiments, it is men- 
tioned that at the beginning of last year 
eleven packages of about 11 1b,, contain- 
ing oranges, mandarins, and lemons, were 
sent by parcels post from Palermo, in 
Sicily, to Togo, a German colony in 
Africa. Fruit were sent in reed baskets, 
packed in fruit-paper and peat. Envelopes 
of silk paper were used to keep the fruit 
humid. Each contained eight oranges or 
twelve mandarins. There being no direct 
communication by sea between Mediter- 
ranean countries and Togo, the consign- 
ment had to travel via Hamburg. At 
Togo the parcels were kept awhile before 
being forwarded to their final destination 
—a town in the interior of the colony, at 
a distance of over 230 miles from the 
coast. 
The packages that arrived in the 
soundest condition were those which 
were considered most liable to damage, 
and which were only protected by a 
rough covering of interwoven reeds. It 
was observed that the fruit enclosed in 
boxes covered with tinplate as a rule 
showed traces of moisture. 
Out of 45 fully ripe oranges packed at 
Palermo, 41 arrived at their destination 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
May 1, 1908 
——— ane EEE EEE EEE! 
in a perfect state of preservation, after a 
voyage of 55 days. The mandarins, gene 
rally speaking, also kept well. ‘ 
The same method of packing was tried 
in the transport of young -trees. The 
great difficulty was to keep them humid 
whilst protecting them against moisture. 
The attempt had been made several times 
without success to import plants from 
nurseries in Egypt. By using peat, how- 
ever, success was ensured. So satisfactory 
were the results obtained, that it is pro- 
posed to import orange-trees into German 
East Africa from French possessions. 
These experiments, it is observed, have 
shown clearly that peat is an invaluable 
means of preservation in the packing of 
fresh fruit. Exportcrs oi fruit will be 
able, by the use of this substance, to 
purchase when prices are at their lowest, 
and keep their fruit until sufficient quan- 
. tities are obtained to make large consign- 
ments; and the employment of the new 
preservative will permit, in the same 
way, of fruit being gathered and kept for 
consignment in large quantities to local 
markets. 
Some time ago His Excellency Sir 
Harry Rawson called the attention of 
the Department of Agriculture to a table 
delicacy made in Cape Colony called 
‘Mebos, which he thought worth while 
experimenting with here, as apricots are 
grown to perfection in many parts of the 
State. Lately Miss Rawson has obtained 
from the Cape a receipt for the process, 
which she has kindly forwarded to the 
Department. 
The recipe, which is given below, is 
very simple, entailing no more trouble 
than ordinary dried apricots. 
Take soft, ripe apricots, lay them in 
galt water (about 2 ounces of salt to a 
quart bottle) for a few hours. Then lay 
them on a mat to dry in the sun; the 
next day press them between the hands 
to flatten and to let the stone come out. 
The next day 1epeat the process. At the 
Cape it generally dries and becomes 
‘Mebos’ in three or four days in the 
gun, but, if the weather should be damp, 
they might be dried in heated rooms or a 
cool oven. To crystallise the ‘ Mebos, 
lay them in lime-water for five minutes 
till they feel nice and tender, take out, 
wipe dry on a soft cloth, and rub coarse 
crystallised white sugar well into eac’ ; 
take 13 lb, of sugar to 1 lb. of ‘ Mebos,’ 
Pack closely with lots of sugar in between, 
in jars that will cork well. : 
A very nice sweetmeat, and said to be 
remedy for sea-sickness. 
Lime-water.—2 tablespoonsful of fine 
lime to a quart of boiling water. Mix 
well, aud when the lime has drained to 
the bottom, pour the clear water into a 
bottle; cork and keep for use.—Agricul- 
tural Gazette of N.S.W. 
Fruit to the value of nearly £10,000,000, - 
is consumed in England every year 
Preserving Fruit in Nitrogen 
during Shipment. 
At the Paris Exhibition af 1900 there 
was exhibited a case of fish that had been 
preserved in nitrogen for seven years 
withont decaying. Reading of this. Mr. 
Edward Cooper, State Horticultural Com- 
missioner of California, was impressed 
with the idea that if a suitable container 
could be furnished at a low cost the 
nitrogen could be profitably used in pre- 
serving Californian fruits during shipment 
to foreign markets. As a result of con- 
siderable experiments, Mr. Cooper has 
now succeeded in producing such a con- 
tainer. It consists of a paper box treated 
with bitumen to prevent the entrance of 
oxygen from the outside atmosphere. 
After the box has been filled with fruit 
it is closed, except for a small opening. 
A number of these filled boxes are placed 
in a steel cylinder from which the air is 
exhausted. Then the cylinder is filled 
with pure nitrogen gas, and by means of 
an automatic device the boxes are sealed. 
Peas, grapes, cherries, and many other 
fruits so treated were found to be per- 
fectly sound at the end of five months, 
and in the case of some damaged fruit it 
was seen that all decay had been arrested 
by the nitrogen, only the spots affected 
when the fruit was encased remaining 
without spseading to the rest of the 
affected fruit. 
Experiments for the control of peach 
blight in California have shown that the 
disease can be completely controlled by 
the use of standard Bordeaux mixture, or 
the lime and sulphur wash, applied early 
in the autumn, about the time of the first 
rains. ‘The treatment has meant millions 
of dollars to the peach industry oi the 
aboye State. The methods were recom- 
mended by the United States Department 
of Agriculture, they were widely used, 
and have proved a complete success. 
M. L. Tomlinson, 
(LATE J, G. ORAM), 
Manufacturing Jeweller, 
Watchmaker, 
Diamond Setter & Engraver. 
Repairs to Watches, Clocks, and Jewellery 
of every description accurately, artistically 
and promptly executed at moderate prices, 
72 Grenfell’ St., Adelaide. 
