The morning call., 1890-08-04
THE FRUIT SUPPLY.
The Supply Of California Products in
Eastern Market.

CHICAGO, Aug s." The supply In fruit
is good, considering the various unfavor-
able circumstances" said l.. G. Kunze, the
fruiter. with fine pears, plums, prunes,
apples, peaches and grapes in abundance it
would be folly to talk of fruit famine.
Still, things are not as they ought to be,
due to almost total failure of the fruit
crop in nearby districts. What tides us
over the difficulty, though is the California
supply. The incest pear in the market
just now is the mountain Bartlett from
California which retails at 20 to 90 ceuts a
dozen. Nice Crawford peaches sell at 20 to
20 cents dozen; besides, the Foster and
strawberry peaches are also good. Fine
plums, such as Japan, are selling at 81 so
per box of five pounds. The finest egg
plums bring 90 cents a box and
peach plums 81. The largest de-
mand and supply, however, is in
we have ever had in Chicago are elling at
81 % per five-pound box. In grapes we
have the Concord from Georgia, selling at
81 for ten-pound basket, and California
sweetwater and Fontainbleau .at 90 cents
per five-pound box. OF oranges we still
have the paper-rind ande st. Michaels of
California, selling at 75 cents dozen. Nee
tarines are poor aud scarce and so are ap-
ricots, but pineapp!es of fair quality still
retail at 40 cents each. Generally speaking,
however, the fruit market is badly demoral-
lied and in very unsettled state. There
is very little home fruit, and what there is
is not good. Even California fruit is not
what 1t usually is. Among the first-class
quality we get rarely perfect specimen
either of peach, pear, or plum. Often there
are worms in the best of this fruit. and the
skin is rarely smooth and without defects.
How quiet the market is, is shown from the
fact that have been shipping fruit of all
kinds from here to Florida. just think of
it-from Chicago to Florida"
Among wholesalers on South Water
street things look just as queer and unsatis-
factory. Fruit is almost exhausted" said
}. II. Barnett. 'The rast week has been
one for the blackberry, but the crop is very
short and another few days will wind 1t up.
Grapes are now coming in from Illinois,
and of good quality SO far, and are selling
at 90 cents a basket. Some Georgia grapes
are selling at the same price. New apples
are more plentiful and are selling at 81 so
to So per barrel for green and SO to So SO
for red. California fruit this week has been
abundant and rather cheap. Some days the
arrivals in this fruit aggregated twenty
cars, whereas ten cars used to be large
arrival in other years. Fine Crawford
peaches sell at 90 cents to ST % per box,
plums at 70 cents to 81 25, grapes in half
crates at 75 cents to 81 %. Bartlett pears
bring 81 p to So 70 per forty-pennd box"
says: Probably not more than six
or seven carloads of peaches came to
this market last week, 20 per cent of which
came from California, yet prices are
only a trifle higher than for the
same quality Of fruit last season, and
California products actually sold for higher
prices last season at the corresponding
date than they did on Saturday last.
On Friday and Saturday five or six
carloads Of California fruit were sold at
auction, ali of which commanded good
prices except peaches, which sold at from
rs cents TO ST so per box. which would not
basket. Eleven carloads of California
fruit will be offered for sale in the auction
rooms to-day, and it is believed that the
prices will be as low as those of Saturday,