Evening journal., 1888-06-05
GLUr IN GREEN GROCERIES.

"~e@~ho humping OF Ofatea Ia
New York HarbOr.
Two-thirds of the fresh vegetables
and fruit which have arrived from the
South by steamer during the last week
have been taken out to sea and thrown
overheard. This was not done b caus,
the shipments were spoiled and use
less, but because the market for such
produce was glutted and the de lers
wanted to maintain the old high
scale Of prices. Had the dealers ac-
cepted the larger shipments referred
to prices would have gone down a,
ouce, and at this season Of the year il
would be imp 1ssible to in
crease the scale again to the old
figures. The result was that
the Old Dominion and Ocean Steam
ship companies found it both cheaper
and convenient to transfer cargoes 10
lighters and send them oustside to be
heaved into the sea than to attempt
any sales to cover freight charges.
Last Tuesday 5000 crates of fresh
squashes, beans, tomatoes, cabbages
egg-plants ard cucumbers. which had
been brought up from Florida the day
before by the steamer Augusta, were
fed to the fishes off Coney Island, and
on Friday similar disposition was
made Of several thousand more crates
which came on the Tallahassee. The
vessel arrived on Wednesday, but the
vegetables were kept over Thursday
ID the hope that soms buyers would
present themselves.
The officers Of the Ocean Steamship
Company expressed a willingness 20
give away the vegetables if they felt
free to do 50, but they say that if they
did it would tie up the business Of the
dealers who have now got their produce
on the market, and would prt bably
destroy the demand for the next in
Coming cargo. L ,ch crate represented
a loss Of 6 cents on freight ana
l3 cents on the crate itself. |
The crates are not considered worth
saving, on account Of the trouble |
involved in tearing them apart,
Nearly 65,C00 crates OF vegetables have
arrived during the last ten days by the
Southern steamship lines, and prob
ably half as many more have come in
by rail. Large shipments of ions
have been received from Egypt, Ber-
muda and New Orleans, but the |
dealers are protecting themselves by \
storing the onions and waiting for
better prices. The onions are choice
and will keep long time. A like
course is being pursued in regard to
potatoes, but with less euccess.
"The great trouble is that consumers
will buy foreign potatoes instead OF the
native article" said G. S. Palmer. a
large dealer. to the reporter. cor
rather, should say, il rests with the
government for not placing a cuff
ciently high protective duty on in
ported potatoes. The trade has got into
the habit of using the foreign arucle
because it is put up in convenient
packages. although the dury is As
cents a bag, foreign potatoes sell
at 81 % wholesale for the best
" lille the new Southern grown. Of tni.
year, meet with poor sales az 50 70 II
the duty on potst les was only little
higher the consumer would b, GIN
using the native potato, and the IN
creased market would make the
prices even more reasonable than now. I
| think the events Of the last week will
have a material ffecs upon the Sou h
ern sh ppers, aud that favorable re-
action will set in soon. The back
ward weather has had much 20 do .
with the poor condition Of vegetables .
The cherry crop ia North Carolina is a .
dead failure, and California has not
yet come TO the res 1e, while the
peach crop of Florida and South |
Carolina is only about one /
half what il usually is, owing to late
frosts. The peach sections of ID la
ware, however, hold out splendid pros