The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-06-09
BEST FRUIT MARKET
IN The NORTHWEST
Few Cities in the Country Excel
st. Paul as a Wholesale and
Retail Center.

st. Paul, according to the statements
Of the men who do business along
commission row, has become one
of the best markets in the entire United
States for really good fruit Converse
lions held yesterday by q Globe rep
resentative with a number of these gen.
tlemen and some Of the retail dealers
as well, go to indicate that their posi-
ton is fully justified by facts.
William A. Murphy, of the firm of B.
Presley & Co., when questioned on the
subject, said:
ST. PAUL AMONG THE BEST.
''St. Paul is one of the very best mar
lIets for strictly good fruit that there is
in this entire country, and bears that
reputation throughout the producing dis
tricts and among the shippers. 1t is well
recognized among the California shippers
that fancy grades of fruit, If shipped
to St Paul, will bring good prices. Ours
was the third city in the United States
to inaugurate daily auction sales of Cal
nornia decidUous fruits, only New York
and Chicago being ahead of us. Mime
apolis began just about the same time.
These sales are held daily at the freight
house Of the Milwaukee road under the
management of the Twin City Fruit Auc-
ton company which comprises the
wholesale fruit dealers of this city. Sim
liar sales are held in Minneapolis These
sales will continue throughout the sea-
son until some time in October. At pres
ent the varieties chiefly sold are peaches.
cherries apricnts and plums.
1t IS well known fact that in this
city we handle about three times as
much California deciduous fruit as goes
to St Louis. There is more fruit sold
In Minneapolis than here but 1t is of
an inferior quality. The demand here is
all for high grade stock, and we nave
great difficulty in disposing of anything
that is not UP to standard. In 1895 St.
Paul was the best market for Tokay
grapes in the entire United States The
average weekly shipment for that sea-
Son was three cars each containing 200
crates There are now shipped into st.
Paul an average of from five to six cars
Of Strawberries per day, which I think
Is not equaled by many cities, regard
less Of their size. Our local dealers were
the first in the country to ask the ba-
mana importers to establish an extra
large grade, and we are now receiving
an extra Port Limon, which is SO large
that but 300 punches can be packed in a
car The average shipment is ten cars
per week.
1--WE ship our oranges and lemons al
most entirely from Southern California
now and our deciduous fruits from North
ern California, Oregon, Washington ana
Idaho. We are still uncertain as to
where the bulk Of our apples will come
from this year, but I think from Mis-
sour, Illinois, Kansas and Arkansas. We
generally get quite a few cars of box
apples which are very nice. from Wash
7ngton, Oregon and Idaho.
bananas are, Of course, all shipped
from Central America the distributing
points in this country being New Or
leans and Memphis. The trade is all con-
trolled by three concerns, the principal
of which is the United Fruit COMPANY
I'VE use very few imported lemons now.
I'ormerly there would be only a few
cars every season shipped here from Cal
1Iornia, but now nearly all Of them
come from there. The California lemon.
! may say, has almost entirely taken
the place of the Messina product in this
country, and there are not more than a
half dozen cars imported for this mar
ket each season."
one characteristic of this st. Paul mar
ket is that we never have any trouble
in getting good prices for the best grades
of anything in the fruit line It is onlv
when a car is delayed or becomes heat
ed in transit and the contents arrive in
bad condition that we have any difficulty