Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-03-13
MEN OF MANY MINDS.
Interviews With the People on Vari-
ous Topics of Interest.
FANCY FIGURES FOR FRESH FRUIT.
More Reasonable Prices Expected as the
Business Develops.
SOME VARIETIES THAT ARE VERY RARE

This is the time of the year when eggs
tumble in price, and Southern fruits and
vegetables are shipped to the Northern
markets at rates that make even the mill
ionaire weary of life As for the rest of
the world, they must be content with
canned goods and bread for few months
longer when articles considered lux
urious now will become drugs on the
market stalls. Fresh strawberries from
Florida have been received here since the
middle of January. Tony Barcky, the Lib
erty street dealer, got in his first invoice of
strawberries January H. and then they
sold for So so per box Now they are quite
plentiful at 75 to so cents per box, but even
these prices are voted high.
Great progress has been made in recent
years in the art of preserving fruits. 1t is
done so successfully that Mr.. Barckv SAYS
the epicure can secure such fruits as plums,
pears, grapes, peaches, strawberries and
fine apples during the months of December
and January. Speaking on the subject of
growing fruit yesterday he said:
Fruit and Civilization.
"The business has advanced on lines par
ward. AS early as in the tenth century
picturesque accounts have been written
of the finding of grapes in the new land,
America From this it was given the name
of vineland. The progress made in pomology
has been phenomenal Not more than two
decades ago the sight of strawberries dis
PLAYED in the month of February had the
effect of drawing crowds of people to the
spot. What a change 20 years has wrought
Such sights are common nowadays To-
day improved transportation facili-
ties makes it possible to ship fruit of the
most perishable nature"
About month ago the English papers
made great adieu over some fine peaches
from South Africa. Such hubbub was
raised and the demand was SO large for
them that they retailed at 81 per dozen. 1t
was the enormous price that stirred up the
English press, but the people were willing
10 pay for them. Mr.. Barcky was in
terested and he telegraphed an agent in
Africa to ship him some of the peaches. 1t
is an experiment and everything depends
on how they stand the sea voyage.
The Good Time Coming.
Mr.. Barky saws the time is coming when
fruit will be sold all the wear around at rea-
sonable prices The climate of the United
States varies TO such an extent that one Sec
tion will be made to supply the other with
nut the Intervention Of cold storage and a
resort to other perservative methods. As
rule enough fruit is allowed to rot in the
6eldS by careless farmers to supply the peo-
pie with cheap jellies aud jams. This is
branch of the fruit business that has been
sadly neglected in this country.
"Thes1ing orange" continued Mr. Barcky,
sis the latest novelty in the fruit business.
Ii resembles a mandarin. and peels very
much like it. 1t is full of seeds about the
size of grain of wheat. They are soft and
add peculiar and pleasant flavor. They
ire grown extensively in Japan, and a few
Fears ago Florida man imported some of
the bulbs and went into the business.
Rather a Scarce Article.
This season his output was from six to
,even boxes. I was fortunate to secure
three of them. The gentleman's observa-
tion has been that the quantity will be less
than of the American orange, but the quality
is something that we can't begin to equal
/ never tasted ANYTHING like it. When Patti
was here L prepared several baskets
of fruit for her, and put some of the king
oranges in with the other. The dina was so
well pleased that she has left an order for a
box to be sent to the various places where
Ihe will be up to June.
81 am not sure that 1 can get the oranges,
md have telegraphed the fruit growers in
Florida The time is coming when these
oranges will be grown here extensively. I
think the trees viii flourish very we'll after
they become accustomed to the change in
climate, and the growers understand their
peculiarities. The king is certainly the
best orange produced.