The tri-weekly standard., 1866-08-04
TropicaI Fruits.

Where then come from, the quantity brought
and sohere they go to.
The market is now glutted with tropical
fruits of all kinds. A visit to either one OF
the large markets lying upon the river will
prove Of interest to any -one who desires in
formation upon the traffic carried on In
foreign fruits. Piles of pine apples, quantities
of bananas, boxes of oranges and lemons, lie
about the docks at those points, without re-
gard to regularity or ownership, all awaiting
transportation. The amount Of money IN
vested in this trade is immense, yet 1t is car
ried on in such loose, detached manner as
almost to preclude the possibility OF arriving
at any satisfactory statistics in reference to it.
The men engaged in the business are not OF
the class one would suspect of conducting
great enterprises. or of directing capital to
successful results One of the largest dealers
in tropical fruits is the proprietor of mod
est stand in Fulton Market where only II few
specimens of his fruit are to be seen. but un-
der whose direction fully one-half the impor-
tations and shipments are made. He owns
several vessels which are employed In tins
trade exclusively, and has in addition cargo
upon cargo consigned to him to be disposed
of He has, us have several other dealers,
accumulated fortune in the trade, yet no
one of these individuals is able to give an
approximate idea of the amount of capital
invested in the business, its extent, nor any
statistics which the curious would like to
| know From various sources we succeeded
in obtaining few facts, which we present.
Pine-applcs are mostly obtained from the
West India Islands. They are brought here
principally by English vessels, which, at
other seasons, are transformed into wreckers
and coasters among the islands Large plan
| tations there are given up almost exclusively
to the cultivation OF this luscious fruit, and
are produced in such quantities that 1t Is at
times almost impossible to give them away.
The masters of these vagabond schooners,
| falling in speculatIons elsewhere, touch ut
! these various ports and load with this fruit,
which they purchase from the planters at
from % tcss0 cents per dozen, in gold. The
| few American schOoners engaged in the trade
! have arrangements made with particular
planters for their cargoeS, and often take out
/ in payment cargoes of sugar. -four, tea and
! rum. Large numbers of pinc-applcs are lost
on the voyage from rot, to prevent which
! the schooners crew is usually kept busy in
! sorting over the fruit. The loss, however, on
| all car@oes will average about 10 per cent.
from the time it is taken on board until it is
! posed of to retailers. Purchased there at
| 30 cents per dozen, in gold, they retail here
ut the present time for S15 per doZen-yct
| the dealers claim that but little profit is
made on account of the great number which
spoil. The pine apple season lasts from the
1>t of May to the last of July. There have
arrived ut this port this season about fifty
cargoes OF this fruit, each cargo averaging
about 1900 pine-apples From here they
are shipped to all parts of the country. in
such quantities as may be desired. This sea-
son the fruit has been of good quality. anu
the market well supplied. Last year there
WAS but little over half crop, owing to Il
three months drouth. and what was saved
OF an inferior quality.
Bananas obtained principally from
BaracOa, at the eastern extremity of the Is
land of Cuba. and are brought here by the
same vessels which bring the pine-apples
the cargo, generally embracing quantity of
each, 1000 punches of bananas are about the
everage amount brought by each schooner.
This season there have been about 100000
bunches in market. They are purchased for
about half dollar in gold per bunch and
sell here at from one TO two dollars per
bunch. The percentage of loss is about the
same as with pineapples. Bananas are in
season from March till the last of July. While
many of those we receive of natural
growth the finest are cultivated expressly for
this market.
Oranges and lemons are obtained from
several different places, and are constantly
arriving fresh. The West India Islands
furnish US our Winter supply. the islands of
the Mediterranean those required in Spring,
while the Mention fruit fills up the interim.
The largest supply OF oranges and lemons is
Messina, in the Island of Sicily. They are
now in season. and are usually considered
the finest brought to this market. About so
cargoes of oranges and lemons have arrived
this year. averaging 5000 boxes to tue cargo
They cost, where purchased. from 81 to So
per box, and sell here ut from 81 to S6. The
fruit brought early in the season requires no
handling before delivery to retailers, but that
arriving now has all to he sorted over
Fully 10 per cent. of all arriving during the
Summer months is spoiled Havana oranges
are considered excellent, but the supply is
limited Lines come with the oranges and
lemons; large quantities being disposed of
i'll the large cities.
Cocoanuts are brought from Baracoa Rua-
tan Brazil and several other places. The
supply is regular and the demand steady
All fruit-veSsels bring cocoanuts in greater
or lesser quantities, and many are also
brought in regular merchant vessels. 1t Is
impossible to approach an estimate of the
quantity brought to market, IN consequence
of this irrcgularity in their arrival. The
fruit schooners, however, bring hundreds of
thousands Of them every season. They are
used principally by c,,nfectioners i'll the
manufacturure of candy, and by pastry
cooks who use large quantities in the max
ing of pies
Watermelons. although not specially a
tropical fruit, are brought here from the
South in great numbers. There is scarcely
vessel arriving here from Charleston or
Savannah at this season of the year that
does not have on board hundreds of water
melons The markets are now full of them,
and hundreds of people stop at the various
stands to devour huge sections of them, as
they are brought out cool and refreshing
from the ice-boxes. Our early melons all
come from the South, and the first of the
season bring from two to three dollars apiece.
Large nice ones can now be had for one dol
lar and half In about a month New Jersey
will enter the field with her hundreds of acres
of melons, and them all competitors must
yield to her the foremost place. Jersey mel
ons, of all kinds are the best produced
The farmers there cultivate acres of them,
and in the height of the season the market
is so gluttcd that thousands rot at the stands,
and the best may be had for few cents