The Sun.
London, England, 1862-01-13 00:00:00

THE TR ei DE IN ORANGES.

Oranges are imported in boxes containing from 250 and
more, and in chests holding 500 to 1,000. The quantity
of this fruit imported has been steadily increasing for
some years past. In the three years ending with 1842 the
average imports were 334,070 boxes; in thefive yearsending
with 18b0 they had increased to 380,000 boxes. Since then the
quantity has been computed in bushels. The average annual
imports in the five years ending with 1860 were 977,440
bushels. The quantity taken for consumption has now
reached upwards of 1,000,000 bushels, and, assuming each
bushel to contain 650, this would give 650 millions of
oranges, or about 22 for each soul of the population in the
kingdom. The appended figures indicate the source of
supply of this fruit to Great Britain in bushels :

1855. 1869.
Portugal
Azores 369,060 .... 627,709
Spain
Sicily
Other quarters

806,153 1,154,410
The Azores or Western Islands, from whence the finest,
St. Michael oranges come, it will be seen furnish us with
the largest supply. The imports from thence have doubled
in the last five years. The expense of walling and planting
an acre of orange garden is stated to be £l5 for the wall, £S
for 65 trees, and £2 for labour. It yields half a crop of beans.
or Indian corn during seven years, but no oranges ; from
eight to eleven years half a crop of oranges is obtained.
Then a full crop, which is sold for £lO to £l5. Each tree on
arriving at maturity will produce annually, on an average,
12,000 to 16,000 oranges; one grower is said to have picked
26,000 from a single tree. The trees bloom in March and
April, and oranges are gathered for the London market as:
early as Novembe!. The Portuguese never eat them before
the end of January, at which time they possess their full
flavour. In the season of 1851, which produced by no
means an unusully large crop, not less than 353 cargoes
of oranges, containing about 200,000 large boxes, hold-
ing 800 oranges, were shipped from the Western Islands.
Fayal formerly exported a great many oranges, but the
insect pest, which appeared in 1840, in a few years killed
all the trees there. Terceira annually exports about 30
cargoes, and St. Mary a few cargoes, but St. Michael is
the great mart. In 1801 the value of the fruit imported
from thence was but £lO,OOO ; in 1850, £65,000 ; and in
1859, £84,123. It was estimated that the produce of fruit
in this island during 1859 was 252,000,000 of oranges and
40,000 lemons ; of these all the lemons and 49,000,000
Oranges were consumed on the island. The export of
oranges from St. Michael was 179 379 boxes in 1852 ;
123,327 boxes in 1855-6; 100,079 in 1856 7; 179,922 in
1857-8 ; and 130,858 boxes in 1858-9. The trade has been
suffering for several years from severe depression, owing to
the low prices obtained for the fruit in England. In the
season 1858-9 the growers obtained an average of 10s. sd.
per box, which is considered a very fair remunerative price
by the proprietors of orange gardens. More than half the
orange crop is shipped in the months of November and
December. The value of the fruit imported now reaches
nearly £600,000 annually.—Gardeners' Chronicle.

COUNTRY MAR.K.i. A 6.

1" -

YORK- JAN. 11.

We were again but scantily supplied with wheat to-day,
and the attendance was not numerous. The trade ruled
dull, and prices declined is per qr.
Wheat, red 60s to 63s i oats.... 22s to 26s
White do .64s to 68s i Beans 48,. to 503
Barley .32s to 38s f Feas ....—s to —s
- -

Malt, 68s to 70s per qr. ; rye, 3Gs per qr. ; flour, 475
to 49s per sack.

NORWICH—JAN. 11.
Wheat to-day was in fair supply, and only in middling
condition, selling at is to 2s under the prices of last week. 4'
A fair quantity of barley, which fully supported late rates.
Flour easier to purchase.
White wheat. 62s to 64s I Red wheat 58s to 62s
Malting barley....3Bs to 39s I Chevalier barley 37F to 38e
New d 0.......... 37s to 39s I Oats.. —Q to —l3