The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1903-09-18
COLD STORAGE FRUITS
Great Success In American
Shipments TO Europe.
FANCY PRICES PAID FOR APPLES.


Growers and Exporters by the De-
partment OF Agriculture.
''You can never tell till you try" IS
the motto on which William A. Taylor,
the field agent Of the division Of po-
mological investigation in the depart
ment of agriculture at Washington,
seems to work, says the New York
Post His idea was abundaptly made
good when a cargo Of russell apples
was sent to Paris a Month or two ago
and sold for prices 40 per cent above
what the same fruit would have
brought in the home market 1t is said
to have been the first time that apples
were ever taken out Of cold storage at
that season OF the year and marketed
in Europe. Why russets should have
been chosen for the experiment has
puzzled many observers, but for rea-
sons best known to themselves Pari-
sian apple eaters had taken great
fancy to russell apples and wanted
nothing else when these could be got.
1t was at the suggestion Of the pomo-
logical division that this kind Of fruit
was shipped, and the sequel proved
the soundness Of the judgment
A large fruit farmer in southern II
linois complained last fall that he was
getting next to nothing for his hard
red winter apples. lie carried his COM
plant to Mr., Taylor, whom he knew,
and asked for advice about sending
them abroad. London" said Mr.. Tay-
lor, "has taste for some other things
no more wonderful" would you be
1 willing to take car load of my apples
and put them down in London under
! government auspices If I'll guarantee
the exepense3' suggested the orchard
/ ist "That is what we are here for"
4 answered the pomologist. So car
/ load was made up. The apples Were
eagerly bought in London for some
what more than S. a barrel, which,
/ after all cost Of harvesting. packing
with especial care, railroad transporta-
ton to the seacoast, etc, left very
/ neat return to the owner of the or
chard. It did not take long for other
4 Illinois farmers to catch the idea, and
before the winter was over thousands
Of barrels from that part OF tie coun-
try found their way to the London
market
The pomologists at the department
had an idea that summer apples, too,
would sell in London. We have 50
many apples in the United States which
ripen In midsummer and are delicious
TO eat. but highly perishable, that il
4 seemed worth while to try to do some
thing with them, and recent expert
ments Of the department with peach
shipments had shown that it was pos
slble to send very tender fruit long
distance without spelling it. Delaware
apples were chosen and were packed
in quart baskets like peaches, and the
baskets carefully laid ii crates, all
4 under the eye Of the Washington pro-
fessionals. They went safely and
brought about double the price the de-
i partment people had dared to estimate
for them.
The next object lesson was arranged
for the benefit Of the pear culturists
Of Niagara county, n. Y. The depart
| ment undertook to see that its Ameri-
can clients should receive not less than
the best home market price for their
| Bartletts. The experts supervised the
| wrapping and packing, personally con-
Quoted the cargo to London and put
it up at public auction. Once more
their expectations were justified The
experiments made with Delaware and
Georgia peaches not only have been
successful in a pecuniary sense, but
have taught shippers here a great deal
that they had not guessed before about
the possibilities of storing such tender
fruit in refrigerated warehouses moi
merely for ten days or a fortnight, but
for FIVE or six weeks, and bringing
them out hard and bright and fit for al
market conditions. 1t was simply G
question Of knowing how and Knowing
the scientific reason Of the how.
Congress appreciates what the de
partment has been doing in these lines
and has of late kept it supplied witt
appropriations for just such work
The fruit shipping demonstration
are to be broadened this season so al
to include strawberries, gooseberries
pIums and cherries. There are also t.
be some experiments with the colC
storage Of lemons. The department /
now laying Its plans for a pretty biz
attempt in which some lemon growers
in California, a transcontinental rail
road with a terminus IN Chicago and
storage company in the latter city vii
be parties. the government standing
whatever loss shall be involved, bul
the lemon growers getting any prof.
that may be netted In the end.
Later experiments win be made
. with oranges, which are supposed TO D
easier to keep than lemons. There i
an additional interest attaching 70 tn'
stored orange from the fact that th'
court honors in Europe are already pc
ginning to be paid to the California OF
ange in competition with the oranges
| 5f all other parts Of the world,
Cold storage Of fruit is comparatively
unknown in Europe. We date ouI
great advances in that direction from
the Paris exposition Of 1900, when i