Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-09-05
sAvANNAH,s FRUIT TRADE.

Where the Luscious Banana Comes
from, and the Milky COcOanut Grows
Some Interesting Facts Concerning
Southern Markets-The Increasing De-
mand for Imported Fruits.
The appearance in the market OF an
abundant and increasing supply of hardy
Northern fruits is having the usual effect
of pushing tropical fruits to the wall.
A MORNING NEWS representative
called upon one Of the leading fruit deal
ers yesterday to ascertain the amount OF
trade carried on in this market during the
busy season, and some interesting facts
were obtained.
From the Bahama Islands come the
oranges. lines, lemons, and sapOdlllas-
from twelve to fifteen cargOes arriving
during the season. In each cargo there
are from 80. 900 to 100, 900 oranges, about
10000 lines. $1,000 lemons. and 5000 sap
Odillas, which would aggregate for the
entire season of Is cargoes, from 69O,OOO
to /. 800. 600 oranges, 100000 lines, l,l23;-
600 lemons. and $4,000 sapOdillas.
The season proper along the South Al
lantic coast is from the LIST Of November
to the 1stOfMay, while the Northern ports,
owing to the cold weather, only receive
the tropical fruits from the 1st Of May to
the LIST of November.
During the early part OF the winter
months. and in fact during the entire sea-
son, Savannah and Charlest' are the
only two ports on this coast which import
fruits. the climate further north being
too severe for the shipment OF tropical
fruits-the cargOes freezing on their way
and totally destroying their marketable
value.
The banana season would continue good
the year around, but on account OF the
strict quarantine regulations at this port
the fruit is only brought here during the
months above stated. Bananas are always
in demand. This fruit coming to the Sa-
yannah market is imported. While the
plant from which it is taken can be raised
in Florida aud along the south
ern portion of our coast, the
supply from that source is scarcely
worth considering. 1t is generally known
that there are two kinds of oananas-One
red. the other yellOW-and nearly every
body knows that the taste and texture Of
the two are substantially the same. The
red bananas are gathered on the island OF
Baracoa. one of the West Indies. They
average a little higher in price than the
yellow fruit, not because people like them
better, but because the supply is not so
large as that of the other. Yellow ba-
nanas are raised in Central America, the
| West Indies. and other centres tributary
to Aspinwall.
Last year there were consigned to the
house Of Mr.. j. b. Reedy eight car
goes of this luscious fruit, averaging
1000 punches to the cargo, with from 90
to 200 of the fruit on each bunch.
In the cOcOanut line, this firm handled
during the season 10000 of the milky fruit,
while the trade in pineapples amounted to
over 100000 Savannah is the largest de-
pot in the South. supplying Cincinnati,
Chicago. st. Louis, Louisville, Chatta-
noOga and Atlanta. with large quantities
of all kinds of fruit. Owing to her posi-
ton, she Is considered one of the best dis
tributing points in the South. 1t has been
proven that the shipments made by Florida
dealers to Savannah have realized more
for their fruit than in their cOnsignments
to the Northern and Western markets,
for the reason that savannah is nearer the
fruit-producing region, ana that the dis
lance is much shorter; hence, the fruit
does not decay so quickly, and Is disposed
OF at much better prices.
The receipts OF oranges during the busy
season oftentimes run up to 10000 and
10000 crates a day. During the coming
season arrangements will be made to han
die a much larger quantity of fruits than
has ever been handled in this section Of
country The demand throughout the
North and West has increased at least
% per cent. during the past year.