The times., 1901-03-31
GOOD APPLES RARE.
A Strange Falling on in This Great
American Prodsct.
(From the New York sun

A Strange Falling on in This Great
American Prodsct.
(From the New York SUM-
IF you want Il rare fruit and don't mind
expense, buy apples. said the proprietor
of retail fruit store that caters TO New
York's most exclusive trade. "HothOuse
grapes and winter Strawberries are COM
mon enough, but ! give you my word,
half the time we can't get tirst-class ap-
Piles at any price.
Some of them look well enough. at
first, but they haven't a good flavor and
they rot while you stand looking at them.
| don't know what's wrong The old or
chards are played out and new ones
haven't been planted to take their place,
and the trees that are bearing don't get
the proper care.
why. 1 can remember when delicious,
juicy. sound apples were a drug on the
market. Everyone kept a few barrels of
apples In his cellar; and, with a little
sorting, the fruit was good all winter. / d
like to see you try that now. We don t
even buy barrels of apples for our trade.
IT doesn't pay. The apples will not keep
until the barrel is ernptied-
Look at those pippins. We've had them
three days and they are speckled and
unattractive already. The only good ap-
are packed in small quantities in boxes.
and they keep fairly well. We've ham
died 1000 boxes of them this winter. and
we get from 80 cents to 81. so a dozen.
thought II they had been asked TO pay
$50 dozen for apples? I've paid 30
cents apiece for apples In Europe and
we'll reach that record here before long
If something isn't done to improve our
orchards.
IT'S a pity for more reasons than one
that apples are getting scarce. A physi-
clan was talking about it in here just the
other day He will have apples no matter
what he has to pay for them. and he
says they arc the most wholesome fruit
Ii
lowed to have all the apples they want
and he says that If all children were al
lowed to eat apples whenever they felt
like 1t. there wouldn't be half so much
sickness among them.
Maybe that's one Of the reasons chill
dren used to be healthier than they are
now. | remember when ] was q young
ster | always had apples in my pockets
and so did every other boy, hut we
didn't often sec candy. Then in the
evening al home there was always
big silver bowl of shiny apples on the
sitting-room table, and everybody in the
family ate at least one or two during the
evening. That sort of thing would bank
rupt millionaire nowadays.
This is rather an off season for fine
fruit-between hay and grass as far
mers say. Some fruits are about played
out. but We manage to keep a pretty big
variety on hand.
The oranges have been unusually fine.
Orange growers are improving their
grades right along, and this is a good
season. A comparatively new orange is
first favorite among epicures just now.
It's the King of Siam. Here's one. You
see it looks like a big tangaripe with a
rough, loose skin. We are getting them
from Florida now. A little later they II
come in from California.
There's another orange that has
jumped into New York popularity all OF
a sudden. the little Kumquot. L mean,
this little thing that looks like a plum
dressed in orange skin. They are used
for garnishing and for salads, and then
they are preserved and candied. Three
years 90 il was almost impossible to sell
fresh kumquOts here, save TO confec-
TONERS. but some of the caterers took
them UP. as salad relishes, and the swells
fancied them, and now we sell any guam
tity of them.
''The hothouse peaches aren't so good
as they should be this season, but then
one ought not to expect much of them.
after the trip they have TO make. You
know we get them from Cape Town IN
South Africa. They come by way OF Eng
land. and we sell them for SO dozen
Pretty soon hothouse peaches Will come
in from Massachusetts, and sell low as
s. or s6 a dozen.
Home hothouse grapes will soon ne in
season too. but now we get our best hot
house grapes from England. Only TWO
wholesale dealers in the city are handling
the hothouse grapes now. and they nave
only about 100 pounds week for all
their retail trade.
this month. All the pears you see come
from cold storage. and they aren't worth
a cent though we have 10 charge Dig
Crane fruit is fine and cheap this sea
son. and pineapples are unusually good
The pineapples are cheaper than tney
used to be too. You can get good one
for from 80 cents to 81 Ihe carry straw raw;
berries are another out-of-season trulJ
that is inner in quality and lower IN price
| than il was formerly. Florida berries
! that used to sell for $l.25 a box are going
a IOX now. ana they are
much larger and more delicious IN flavor
| than early berries used 70 be.
.'The tomatoes have been the bother
! some proposition this winter They We
| been shriveIIed and small and t1steless-
| vet they've brought big prices The only
| decent ones We've been able TO get have
| come from Canada. and are worth 7s
cents pound
hothouse asparagus from Illinois is worth
| 81 80 a dozen lunches and the white hot
| house asparagus grown around here
| brings 50 a dozen bunches. There are
| seven stalks in a bunch. you know
"MushroOms2 Why ali the world seems
| to have gone to raising mushrooms late
| w The market is flooded with them
| Luckily, their popularity seems be IN
| creasug with the supply. But after all
| the price of first-class selected mush-
! rooms hasn't dropped They are still
| worth 81 pound, though you can get al
| the small mushrooms you want Tor OF
| cents a pound American cooks are using
| the fresh mushrooms more and more II
| sauces and seasoning.
| ..In fact. the demand for all sorts OF
! out-of-seasOn vegetables and fruits IS IN
| creasing enormously in this country,
! don't know whether We are becoming
! more eXtraVagant or whether the class
| that can afford luxury is increasing IA
| pidly. but where ten years ago one per
son bought the kinds OF winter fruit and
| vegetables We sell hundred buy them
now