California Fruit

l'rom the New York Tribune. The rapidity with whioli fruit can now be transportad across the continent from California to this city, and the spienilid condition ia which it arrivés in this market, has created for it a trade that isnot only worthy of note, but is to some extent surprisiag. In order to ascortain all the details of this trade, a l'ribune reporter recently visited Jersey City on the arrival of the California fruit cars, and there ascertained froin observation and conversation with the railroad officials and consignees many facts of interest. The fruit, which at the present time consists of Bartlett pears, Germán prunes and plums, is first very carefully picked, and then turned over to the packers. It is next 80KTED WITII GREAT CABE, and those which may be over ripe, or in the slightest degree dainaged, are picked out and laid aside for home use. During this process the fruit has to be very carefully handled, as the least abrasión renders it unfit for packing, the slightest unsoundness of one plum or pear imperiling the whole box. The fruit is then wrapped carefully in paper, each pear or plum by itself, and next packed in a box so tightly.that it is impossible for the plums or pears to shake or knock against each other while en route to the East. Although so closely packed, the paper wrappers prevent any undue pressure or contact between the fruit. The boxes are made sufficiently open to admit the air, and yet the openings are not wide enough for any ordinary dainage through handling the fruit. These boxes are IH inches long by 12 inches.broad, and when iutended for pears are 12 inches deep, rendering them capable of holding about 200. When intended for plums the depth is very little more than six inches, the box holding about the samo nuniber of that class of fruit. The boxes having been thus packed are shipped East by means of the Diamond Eefrigerator Line, along the Pacific Railroad, aud 8T0WED AWAY IN CAKS constructed for the purpose. These cars have doublé walls of wood, the intervening spaces being filled with cork, the floor covered with zinc, and a roof in which is au ice-chest capable of holding several tons of ice. When the car is loaded, thick doublé doors closo the cooling-chest, an ordinary railroad car door then shutting the whole from the outside world. When thus closed the only air that can reach the contents of the car is through the air passages ; a small but constant current passing under the eaves of the car into the ice-chest, where it is cooled to the temperature of melting ice, from 35 to 3ü degrees Pahr. This cold air then sinks by its own weight through air passages along the sides and ends of the car into the receptacle or storehouse of the fruit, at the saine time driving out, through ventilators in the roof, any air that might have become heated inside the car. The warm air thus driven out is made to pass again over the ice, and after being cooled falls as before into the receptacle. By these means A CONSTANT CU11RENT OF AIR of an even temperature is kept up - not cold enough to freeze the fruit, but sufficiently cold to prevent any change taking place in its condition. Whole carloads of perishable fruit are thus con signed in California to persons in this city, aud arrive in the market in an excellent condition. The cost of transport is very great, a certain oar-load consisting of 340 boxes of pears and 299 boxes of pluins and prunes, having cost for freight and charges alone 1 1,200. But, as the fruit realizad at wholesale, upon the average, about $5 per box, the shipment of a car of fruit at this time of the year provea to be somewhat of a proiitable investment, the gross receipts being over $3,000 per car. On the morning of the reporter's visit, the California fruit cars had been attached to the early express train, and arrived at the depot in Jersey City between 5 and 6 o'clock A. m. The consignee's wagons or trucks were already in waiting at the time of the arrival of the train, the producers having informed their agenta in the city, by both mail and telegraph, of the shipment of their consignments. THE REFRIGERATOR CARS having been backed up to the platform specially set apart for the delivery of this kind of fruit, the railroad company's agent at Jersey City took possession of the car, and unlocked the doors, which had been securely fastened in California, the agent here only having duplícate keys. By this course, all possibility of the contents of the cars being tampered with while en route was completely avoided. As soon as the doublé doors of the car had been opened, the coldness of the air within was very perceptible, even on the platform and bofore entering the car. The company's employés then proceeded to unload the car, each one separately, the car men of the consignees receiving the boxes directly from their hands, and loading them at once into the market trucks. So rapidly was this work executed that, notwithstanding the late hour at which the train arrived, a portion of the consignments of each agent was conveyed across the North Eiver in time to catch the market trade. The boxes were examined by the consignees on arriviug in this city, and the fruit was found to be in excellent condition, although, according to the advices, it must have been nine days on the way from San Francisco.