October, 1880.
THE WEST SHORE.
PACKING FRUIT FOR EXPORT.
Then wu an essay lately written or the
Royal Agricultural Society of South Australia,
by Mr. Amos Howard, onj packing fruit for ex
port, from which we take the following para
graph!: Packing the Grape. I consider the packing
material a very important coniideration. The
material! I have had experience of are sawdust,
seaweed, bran, fine meadow hay, and fine wood
shavings. These were all partial failures,
with the exception of the tine wood shavings;
but of this last I cannot spoak too highly. They
combine these requisites lightness, oleanlinesa,
cheapness and elasticity. A good proportion of
size for the cases is, length 2 ft, width 14
inohes, and depth 11 inches this size would
contain about 60 lbs. of grapes. These boxes
should be packed in the vineyard, the bunches
being then but once handled. Sheets of oommon
white paper are provided of two sizes, which a
child oan twist np into oonioal-shaped bags.
They should be large enough to take in the
bunch completely. The box is prepared for the
reception of the fruits by placing a layer of the
fine shavings on the bottom; the bunohes are
out from the vine, held only by the stalk, and
ilaoed at onoe in the paper bags, being then
aid carefully on the layer of shavings. On no
account should the mouth of the bags be olosed,
as the sweating of the bunches would injure the
berries. On the other hand, if the mouth of
the bags is not doubled over, the shavings will
absorb the moisture, and the fruit will remain
uninjured. I have proved this from experience.
As soon as the first layer of grapes is oomplcte,
another of fine shavings is placed on them, and
these slightly pressed down so as not to bruise
the berries, for this purpose a light board out to
fit inside the oase with a handle to lower it gen
tly, will be found to press the packing more
evenly than the band the packer's judgment
will teach what pressure is necessary to pack
the fruit securely. These layers should be con
tinued until the oase is filled, and in finishing
off the lid should press slightly on the top layer
of shavings.
Packing the Flum. The method of packing
these is more simple. In their case the fruit is
placed in single layers between each layer of
the fine shavings, the same care is neoessary in
gathering and at once putting them in the boxes,
seleoting fruits without spots. The plums are
packed without paper; as they lay firmer with
out. (I wonld here remark, that firm packing
is of the utmost importance, as the slightest
looseness is ruin to the fruit) As each layer of
shavings is placed on the fruit, the light board
before mentioned should be nsed for pressing
tbem evenly down. The layers then are oon
tinned until the case is filled, the lid slightly
pressing down the top shavings. The firm
fleshed varieties will keep well for seven and
eight weeks, and damsons even longer.
Packing the Apple. These should be packed
in the same way as the plums, taking the extra
oare only of having a little shavings between
eaoh fruit Cases of the size recommended
should hold about 150 apples, spotless fruit
should be selected and packed straight from the
tree.
TH E FALL WOOL TRADE.
As the fall clip is now pressing for sale, the
aspect of the Eastern market is a matter of
much interest Walter Brown Co., of Boston,
in their latest circular, give the following out
line of the trade and matters affecting it! The
wool market for August opened with a moderate
inquiry and strong prices; the purchases, how
ever, by manufacturers were mostly oonfloed to
their immediate requirements, as they have had
but little inducement from the sales of goods to
enoonrage any anticipation of future wants by
heavy investments in the raw material As
the) month piugTseeid, consumers held back
from buying a much as possible, thus reducing
the volume of sales, and the last week shows a
smaller amount of transactions than for any
similar period during the previous 60 days.
The only aotive demand has been for delaine
and combing selections, which have sold freely
at steady values; all other wools have been in
very limited request, and in some oases oonoes
sions have been made to effect sales. The weak
est wools on the list are the low medium and
coarse grades from Territories and Western
States, whioh have been muoh neglected by
eonsumers, and exhibit a great contrast to the
active movement of last season.
The indifTorenoe shown by manufacturers to
the wools offering on the market would indicate
a larger stock in their hands than has been
generally supposed by dealors in the staple,
and a belief that they oan safoly postpone pur
chases until actual scarcity of stock makes it
necessary for them to buy. On the other hand,
a large number of the farmers in the best wool
growing distriots of the oountry are holding
their wools with confidence, feeling that they
will be noedod at their own figures before
another clip is available. What the roault will
be is to-day quite as muoh of an enigma as it
was two months ago; one faot, however, is quite
evidont, manufacturers, so long as the trade for
their goods oontinues in its present unsatisfactory
state, will not buy wool faster than thoy need
it, and the question arises will this "hand to
mouth" demand be sufficient to relieve the
market of the largo supplies of wool that have
accumulated duriug the past few weoks without
a further concession in prices.
The general prosperity of the oountry In its
cereal interests, as indicating a good healthy fall
trade in all branches, is a strong argumout in
favor of a renewed activity in the woolhusiunss,
and of which the advent is only a question of
time; the prices of the staple in foreign markets
are to-day too high to admit of additional im
portations in competition, and even should a
further decline take place in the values of
domestio wools, it will probably be only tem
porary. The Ixndon auotion sales begsn on the 17th
ultimo, with a very large offering of colonial
wools; the attendance was good, out the bid
ding lacked spirit and the pricoa oiiened about
5 below the closing rates of the previous
series. As the sales have progressed, they have
suffered no further decline, while at times some
animation has been evident in the competition.
The assortment though large, comprises but
little wool suitable for the American market,
even were prioes low enough to attract buyers
from this country; a It is, there is no proba
bility that our stocks will be at all increased by
any purchases at this offering.
Till FuTDKi Lumhkr Sum'LT. What are
the lumbermen of the Pacific coast doiug to re
place the forests they dostroy t This la a
serious matter, and It ought to be looked
squarely in the faoe. It is attracting the atten
tion of ship builders and other lumber interests
on the Atlantic side, and it should not be neg
lected on the Pacific where the lumber Industry
is assuming vast proportions. In relation to
this business, ths Xmrrkan Ship thiuks that the
Lumbermen's Association should consider the
matter and endeavor, through the action of its
members, to secure protection for the timber
lands so that the tree shall be thinned out
rather than destroyed, and given an opportunity
to make fresh growths from year to year. That
journal says: Home legislation may be needed in
the publie interest for th protection of the for
ests sgainst th cupidity of men, anxious only
about present fronts, and th lumbermen s
Association ought to b able to luggeat meas
ures that will be fair to all interests. Then la
scarcely a nation in Europe that does not to-day
regret its neglect to provide in time for forest
culture, though nearly all now have laws on the
subject The existing awt In this oountry an
really applicable only in th far Western States,
when then an public land which might be
worts obtaining for forest culture. In th
State now most In nsed of growing forests,
then is very little tree planting, bat Ui wast
goes on at a great rate.
TO DISTINGUISH DYES IN COLORED
GOODS.
It is often necessary to know with what ool
oring mattora a pattern has been dyed. In som
case an experienced dyer oan toon ascertain,
almost at a glance, or by simple methods, whloh
dyes tuff ha been employed; but with many
oolors this is sometimes Impossible. Kspeolally
is this the oase with blu dyad fabric, In which
it is not easy to My whether a pattern has been
dyed with vat indigo alono, or ha been topped
with cheaper stuff.
Th detection oan be mad by a ohsmioal
analysis, th method consisting! in destroying
one of the eoloring msttors by some reagent,
and thus prove its existenoe by th us of th
destroying medium, To aacertain which mor
dant has been used, it is only necessary to burn
a certain quantity of the fabric, and to find out
by ohemioal analysis which oxide waa presout on
the fabric These methods an, however, only
of use to chemists but the following la a simple
method that may be employed by anybody to
determine th coloring matter. To begin with
blue dved fabrics. Vol blut. In the first place,
is noithor affected by alkalies nor acids (with
the exception of nitric acid). Only chlorine
and chlorine compounds reaot on vat bins.
A blue dyed with nitiJuttf, or urtrncl, or Mr
mine o imi'yo, Is readily abstracted by boiling
water, and even mon so by osustio alkalies.
J'ruuitin blur is easily noognixed by using al
kalies which destroy it, wliil ohforin and
aoids have no effect upon it However, th
alkaline chlorine compounds of commerce)
(bleaching powder, etc) reaot upon it
Goods dyoil with foiiiwxf give, with acids, a
coloration mon or leas yellowish. In oase then
is another color associated with logwood, the
latter may be extracted with a large quantity of
acid. The fabrio is then well washed, and th
remaining oolor examined.
The red oolors an mon difficult to determine;
but theee oolors hav not th sain importance
a th blue.
Colors dysd with eothinml and Jlratil uxtal
(which, however, every dyer oan oasily dis
tinguish) become gooseberry red when treatod
with muriatio acid. If it is washed, od then
passed through milk of lime, a pntty loos
violet is obtained, MatUrr ml, treated x
aotly in the same way, aud after the milk of liin
bath boiled with soap, acquire a mon intens
color.
Corhinral rut and Uratil wxxxi ml oan b
easily distinguished by means of niello acid,
oootiineal red becoming brighter, while th
other is mon or less destroyed.
Illauk, whioh it generally dyed by two meth
ods, either with iron or chrome, when treated
with ohlorine, is destroyed If dyed with lron
but, if a chrome blank, reeiata to a osrtain x
tent, only becoming chestnut brown, vn with
strong treatment , . ,
To distinguish other oolors than are many
methods, which are, however, too complicated
to be mentioned here, Aniline oolors reqnin
greater chemical knowledge to distinguish thm
from each other,
i
How Slum Alia DiNisjri.TKiu. Th follow.
Ing system of disinfection I recommended by
the Austrian government for vessel that baa
case of small pox on board: Sulphur to the ex.
tent of 12 grains per cubio meter of speoe to b
disinfected t to be burned In an earthenware
basin, placed in the eenUr of torn sand to pro
vent all risk of fin. All th linen, elothet, stc.,
are to be hung across th oabin, which Is to b
hermetically closed (of thrs hour, and after,
ward exposed to the strongest possible draft
of air for 12 boars. Then th walla, floor, sail
ing, etc., an to be washed with om kilogramme
of lint or one-half a kilogramme of oh lurid f
sine to vry hundred liter of water.
To Rbmivi Cask raon alis-rui ne. Bans
a little lulpbar la th empty oaskt, bang, tad
1st them stand for day.