AMERICAN FRUIT IN NORWAY.

The importations of fruit into Norway in the year 1897 were as follows:

Only some $25,000 worth was imported from the United States, the balance coming principally from Germany, Holland, Denmark, and southern Europe; canned fruit came from France.

The import duty on fruit is as follows, per kilogram (2.2 pounds):

Reduction is made for the weight of outer packing or covering. The imports of fruit in 1898 were larger than in 1897, for the reason that the summer was cold and native fruit a general failure in consequence.

In

This year is remarkable for its late spring. On the high ground in central Norway and in the north it is still much like winter. many places, stock has had to be killed for want of food.

It will thus be seen that there is good reason to believe that the fruit crop in this country will again be a failure, and American shippers should make arrangements accordingly. I have seen very little, if any, high-grade American fruit in this market, and I am certain that much more would be consumed if the goods offered were of a better quality. American apples in barrels very often arrive in such poor condition that the importers suffer loss.

From Spain, apples come in shallow baskets, each holding about I bushel. This fruit is nearly always sound, and, although the quality is poor, it brings a good price. Apples in barrels get bruised and spoil. I believe it would pay to have first-class fruit wrapped

in paper and packed in shallow boxes or baskets. If the fruit is of good quality, the increase in price would be no objection.

Of the dried fruit imported to Norway, but little comes from America, and an effort should be made to increase the trade. Among wholesale dealers in Christiania, I will name: Bisgaard & Heen, Skippergaden 28.

AMERICAN FRUIT IN THE NETHERLANDS.*

Reports relating to the prospects for the general fruit crop are not very promising. A short crop would probably raise the prices of Dutch fruits and high prices might, as they did last year, curtail the consumption, especially of apples.

The season for importing fruits from the United States commences about October or November. Evaporated fruits are most in demand here and bring better prices than dried fruits. The goods

must be "wood dried," and a statement to that effect should be marked on the outside of the boxes and barrels. Many dealers here require also a certificate of inspection, setting forth that the goods are zinc free.

It is difficult to quote prices at present, as the season is over. There are, however, already offers in the market of prime evaporated ring-cut apples for fall shipments as follows: Boxes of 50 pounds. net, 39 to 40 Dutch guilders ($15.60 to $16) per 100 kilograms (220 pounds), costs, insurance, and freight paid to Rotterdam.

It is of great importance that the quality of packages of each lot should not differ, and that top, center, and bottom layers should be identically the same.

Parties or corporations desirous of exporting fruits to the Netherlands could make consignments to a bank here—for instance, to the

*This report was made in answer to inquiries by the Oregon State Board of Horticulture. Advance Sheets have been sent the board.

Disconto Maatschappy-with the instruction to sell the goods on arrival through a commission merchant. (Messrs. Altona Bros., who kindly furnished me with this information, have stated to me that they would be willing to undertake the sale of the goods and would. do their utmost to build up a regular business by selling American fruits at public auction in order to reach small buyers.)

Fancy apricots, primes, on the spot, packed in boxes of 25 pounds net, are offered at about 36 Dutch guilders ($14.40), import duty of 5 per cent paid, per 50 kilograms (110 pounds). New-crop fancy apricots, August or September shipments, are offered at 38 Dutch guilders ($15.20) per 50 kilograms (110 pounds).

ROTTERDAM, June 16, 1899.

S. LISTOE,

Consul.

AMERICAN BARBER CHAIRS IN GERMANY.

More American barber chairs should find their way into Germany. In the large cities, shops of the first class possess many chairs of American make. In the provincial towns, a comfortable barber chair is rarely seen. The ordinary chair in Germany has a cane

bottom with a wooden head rest.

In Germany, barbers shave customers to a certain extent in their own homes. Much time is spent each day in going from house to house. I think one reason may be the poor equipment of the shops.

The best way to introduce these chairs is for our manufacturers to secure membership in some one of our export associations which have established sample rooms in the large cities of Germany. The chairs should be put on exhibit, and I am sure some middleman would soon be found who would undertake the task of introducing them into the smaller towns and villages. I might further add that a few months' credit would greatly facilitate sales. Other barber supplies, such as razors, soaps, perfumed waters, mugs, brushes, etc., would, in my opinion, find a smaller market, as these articles are exported more or less from Germany to other countries.

EIBENSTOCK, May 22, 1899.

ERNEST L. HARRIS,
Consular Agent.

PATENT MEDICINES IN PORTUGAL.

Minister Townsend transmits from Lisbon, under date of May 17, 1899, copy of the revised regulations for granting licenses for the sale of medicines of secret composition. The substance of the regulations is given below:

ARTICLE I. Any person desiring a license for the sale of a patent medicine must apply either in person or through the medium of an attorney to the Minister of the Interior, giving a circumstantial statement of the effect and utility of the medicine, together with a sample of the same, accompanied by the formula for its preparation, signed and sealed by the applicant or his attorney, and by an acknowledgment of the deposit of 75 milreis ($81.50) in the public treasury.

ART. II. These requirements having been complied with, a member of the consulting board of health shall be appointed to inspect and test the aforesaid medicine and the formula for its preparation.

ART. III. Said inspector shall, as early as possible, request the attendance of the applicant or his attorney on the day, hour, and place of examination. The operation of testing shall be conducted in such a manner as to preserve the secrecy of the formula.

ART. IV. The inventor or his attorney shall provide all ingredients, apparatus, or utensils necessary for compounding the medicine. The operation may be extended beyond one session should any unavoidable impediment arise or if the age or nature of the preparation so demand, in which event all articles connected with the examination shall be sealed with the private seal of the acting member of the board of health. If the impression of said seal shall not be found intact on the day of the second session, all operations previously begun shall be declared null and the examination shall be recommenced.

ART. V. The preparation obtained shall be placed in an appropriate receptacle, the mouth of which shall be secured by wax, signed and sealed by the inspector; also by the inventor or his attorney. Said receptacle shall be sent to the Minister of the Interior, with the formula of preparation and a confidential note declaring the circumstances of the examination.

ART. VI. The formula and preparation shall be confidentially submitted to the consulting board of public health, of which the inspector is a member. This board is empowered to grant the license, decide upon the selling price, manner of administration, and the doses, all of which it shall be obligatory to state on the label of the bottle; after which, the formula, properly sealed, together with the decision of the consulting board, will be filed in the archives of state and classified as an application for license.

ART. VII. The granting of a license shall be published in the official journal and the price in the official tariff of prices of medicines.

Clause I.-Licenses shall be personal and of limited duration; they may be renewed at the option of the board of health.

Clause II.-The minimum term for which a license may be granted shall be five years. The formula of the medicine shall be published in the official journal fifteen years after the grant.

Clause III.-License for the unexpired term of a patent medicine will be given to the heirs or executors, provided they prove their acquaintance with the formula and their ability to execute the same.

Clause IV.-Licensed medicines must be kept up to the original standard of purity. For the purpose of ascertaining whether there is any adulteration, the inspector shall have possession of the formula filed in the archives, together with the portion of medicine necessary for testing. Should any adulteration be proved, the license shall be declared null and void. All medicine of the same denomination shall be seized without relieving those guilty of the adulterations, whether venders or others, from their criminal responsibility.

ART. VIII. The amount of the deposit, pursuant to Article I, and likewise the secret formula, shall be returned to the applicant when a license is refused.

ART IX. The stipulations laid down in the preceding articles are applicable to the importers of patent medicines not yet included in the list of medicines as dutiable, with this difference, that the license shall not be personal, but granted for the medicine.

ART. X. Patent medicines which have obtained the approval of various foreign academies of medicine, authenticated by the Portuguese chargé d'affaires in the different countries, may, with the approval of the board of health, be admitted into the Kingdom by complying with the formalities of Article I.

ART. XI. Infractions of these regulations shall be punished as acts of disobedience, when they are not liable to other penalties according to general laws. Proprietors of establishments where the medicine is offered for sale and persons selling it shall always be held responsible for the violation of the final clause of Article VII. ART. XII. On a petition from the parties concerned, the respective provisions may be applied to the requisitions for licenses pending at the date of this resolution, without its being necessary to increase the deposit made pursuant to the decree of April 13, 1893.

ART. XIII. The regulation of April 13, 1893, is hereby amended and superseded.

BANKING AND RAILWAY STATISTICS OF IRELAND, 1898.

Banks. An analysis of the banking and railway statistics of Ireland for 1898 shows that the amount of deposits and cash balances in the various banks in Ireland on December 31, 1898, was $238,156,777, being an increase, as compared with 1897, of $3,387,084. The total amount was made up of $191,925,027 in the joint-stock banks, $35,160,462 in the post-office savings banks, and $11,071,288 in the trustees' savings bank. These figures, respectively, show the following increases as compared with 1897: $671,577, $2,525,714, and $189,793. It is interesting to note in this connection that not only was the total amount in the banks the largest ever recorded, but that in each class of banks the deposits were the largest on record. The average bank-note circulation at the close of 1898 was $31,150,466, a decrease of $3,260,533 as compared with 1897.

Railways.-There were 2,988 miles of railway open in Ireland at the close of 1898, the earnings of which were $16,979,597, an increase over 1897 of $228,929, or 1.4 per cent.

The local financial papers seem to consider the above figures