The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1902-07-22

commercial enterprise and of its pros
perity that New York City consumes
more and greater variety of fruit in
proportion to It's population than does any
other community on the globe. To its
markets are shipped the fruits of all lands
and climes. and they find there a ready
sale. II rejoices the fruitcrers that the
"a, mand In the metropolis for these boun-
ties OF nature Is yearly increasing. Both
as a luxury and an aid to health the
use of fruit is continually extending.
Each fruit, whether domestic or foreign,
arrives here and predominates in its prop
er season. Just now the pineapple season
is at its height. Pineapples are brought
To this city in greater or lesser quant-
ties during ten months of the year The
heaviest shipments usually take place in
April and May, but drought delayed the
growtn and maturing of the crop of 1902
and so May and June became the heavy
months of this year. The fruit comes
from several localities, but Cuba is the
principal producer. The crop in that ISL
and this year is estimated at nearly 100000
barrels, or total of about liOGJ. 600 pines.
Florida is expected to furnish about half
that number, and the Bahamas about
36OO,OOO, making total of nearly 25OOO,OCO
pines to be marketed i'm the United States.
The season for Florida pines doesn't open
not ordinarily interfere with the Cuban
trade, and most OF the product of the Ba-
hamas is sent in sailing vessels to Balti-
more, where IL is wanted for canning pur-
poses. Porto Rico, II is stated, cuts no
great figure in the matter of pineapples
The present season is said to be only
fair one for pineapples in Cuba In the
Bahamas IL is complained that the crop,
though of good quality, is forty per cent
short of the average and only eighty per
cent. of last years value.
The greater part of the supply at this
port comes from Cuba, and the steamers
of the Ward Line, running from Ha-
vana to New York, have been for the
past few weeks bringing large cargoes
Of this fruit delivering them here in
three days from Havana one vessel re-
Gently transported $4,000 barrels and
crates which seems to be the seasons
record, and others have brought as high
as 1000 the highest total being consid-
erably over 100000 pines. AS indicative
of the brisk demand for the fruit, it may
be mentioned that a Front Street firm
which had 1900 packages consigned to il
on one boat sold them all at auction in
twenty minutes.
The barrels and crates containing the
pineapples are unloaded from the vessel
direct to the dock and are hand -truCked
to available places and piled up. \ cargo
OF 20000 packages taken out Of the steam
er Havana made bulk on the dock near
ly as high as a house and covered n
broad area From such a mountain OF
delicious fruit was waited IA refreshing
fragrance which charged the entire sur
rounding atmosphere. The packages
come consigned to different firms in the
fruit trade and soon as n vessel ar
riVes the consignees have men on hand to
see to them. Sales are made by the i'm
al s,, . D., fr,,,,
auction rooms, but such sales have been
known to occur on the dock AS fast as
the sales are made, which is almost i'm :
mediately trucks go TO the dock and bear
away the fruit to stores in the city or to
railroad stations or steamboat piers for
transfer to outside places.
The scene at the dock when a pineapple
cargo is being handled is a busy and in
teresting one. Tier ON tier OF barrels
pierced with auger-ho To insure venti-
lauon of the contents rises pyramidally
beside fully as high an aggregation OF
nat. open crates. In the latter each pine
is wrapped. in Florida-orange fashion, in /
stout paper Of various colors. The fruit !
is graded according to size, the quality |
being about uniform throughout, although !
some specimens are riper and therefore !
more luscious, II not more juicy, than
others. The crates contain forty-two I
thirty-six, or twenty-four pines each; the
barrels from sixty 10 a hundred or more /
the average being about seventy The
dockmen. white and black attack the big |
piles skillfully, and load the trucks which |
arrive and depart steadily and swiftly, |
until the huge cargo, in few hours |
melts away from the dock and is scat |,
tered to many destinations. Sometimes
the wrenching away of barrel from tho !
foot Of a pile starts a movement all up ,
the front and small avalanche of bar !
rels rushes down. No accidents however
have been reported this season from this |
cause. Occasionally crate breaks open |
more or less accidentally, and then, IL
the fruit happens TO be a little damaged. !
FEAST Is In order. which is especially |
enjoyed by the eolored workers.