The Pioche weekly record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1877-1900, 1895-02-07
CALIFORNIA FRUIT.
The Seasons Net Results Have
Not Been Profitable.
INFERIOR QUALITY SHIPPED EAST.
E L. Goodsell Gives the Causes for Poor
Results. Slow Transportation
Made Much Worthless Fruit.

says the New York Commercial Bull
letin." The fruit has arrived in this
market in poor condition, and little, if
any, money has been made on the ship
ments by the growers. E. l.. Goodsell,
the fruit auctioneer, was conversed
with regarding the causes of the poor
results He said:
GAS regards the net results of the
California producers for this season, as
compared with last season, it is gener-
ally conceded that the same have not
been profitable or satisfactory. The
causes for this state of affairs can be
briefly given, in my Judgment, as oc-
casioned by the fact that the California
fruit shippers forwarded too much
fruit of an inferior quality to this mar
ket that should have been kept in Cali
/ fornia and used for other purposes, dry
ing, canning, etc. The great evil,
/ however, exists in the fact that on ac
count Of slow transportation the fruit
arrived here in over.ripe, bad and some
times worthless condition and the trade
was unable to buy and resell to the con-
Stunning public, where it would have
been possible to have done so at a profit
after paying a reasonable valuation
at the auction sale on this account. 1t
is, therefore, a self-evident fact that
unless the jobber can have an oppor-
tunity of handling California products
in condition that will justify reship-
ping to interior and small markets, and
if necessary holding the fruit for buyers
for day or two after purchasing at
the auction sale, it will be impossible
to make the California fruit industry
profitable success to the producer of
that State. Fast transportation, there
fore, is an important factor in the sue
cessful development of the California
fruit trade, in my opinion.
"As regards expenses, car cannot
DO sold in this market at the present
time for much less than $3.50 to 5000
outlay, which the grower must pay.
Dissecting this amount, we find that
the railroad companies get $3.50, which
would not be an unreasonable amount
if the value received was given in the
matter of say, refrigerator six-day
service to New York. An item, how
ever, that certainly needs to be reduced
is the charge for refrigerating the fruit
that is now made by owners of the
various cars connected with the Cali
fornia fruit transportation business.
This aggregates $l75 on each car, and
while no doubt expenses are heavy in
the matter of re-icing cars and the de-
tails incident to properly managing
the business, yet if four railroads can
make profit in their pro rata share of
$3.50 it would seem as though the re-
frigerator-car line could materially re-
duce the cost of refrigeration and still
have profit left.
$50 far as commission charges are
concerned these are reduced to mini
mum, and nothing can be expected in
the way of saving from this source.
'The details of handling the Cali
fornia business are most scientifically
conducted, and all propositions to do
away with the present source of outlet
and methods of conducting the bust
ness-so far as the disposition of the
fruit is commemorative useless
AT a recent convention in California
1t was proposed that bureau of in
formation should be established which
should be of great value to all con-
cerned in the trade, contingent. how
ever, wholly upon the railroad COM
/ panies giving better time than is at
present their schedule.
1T is also proposed that there shall
be further amalgamation of interests
of all concerned in the marketing of
California fruits, but in this age of
competition it is hardly to be expected
that those connected with this branch
of the business could consistently yield
advantages to smaller shippers without
some consideration, and when this is
brought about we can expect to see a
living illustration of the lamb and lion
lying down together.
From the fact that the California
people are agitating the question of
quick time, and from the well known
progressive ideas of the managers of
the various railroad companies inter-
ested in the California fruit traffic, it
is to be hoped and expected that the
necessity named above Of not less than
six-day schedule time service estab-
lished through to New York is not a
matter of distant future.
" A brief review of the fruit industry
so far as the development in the New
York market is concerned goes to show
that the increase of production and
consumption in the past few years has
developed beyond conception of posi-
ibilty.
Gardening SO far as it relates to cul.
tivated fruits-so it is claimed bv
writers-was as far advanced from
5000 to 10000 years ago as it is to.
day, but the truth of this statement, of
course, can be merely derived from con.
lecture.
An investigation of the history of
Ancient Babylon shows that the peach
was cultivated, and is of the variety of
the almond. The theory is that the ont.
side skin of the almond has become
heshy instead of remaining in the pres
ent form of the almond.
The orange is claimed nv Soma m