FRUIT CULTURE AS AN INDUSTRY.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume IV, Issue 969, 14 June 1883, Page 4

FRUIT CULTURE AS AN INDUSTRY.

“Orchardist” writes to the New Zealand Herald’.— “The importance of fruit culture as an industrial art, and as the source of a good and cheap supply of fruit, is felt by everyone. Whatever affects either of these interests may fairly be brought review in the columns of a puWtc" journal that has nil Such to fofmf' a company .an extensive scale. It does not follow that the success of such a scheme would enable us to obtain a supply of good g frgit apy cheaper or better than/hefore. That it would not help to extend fruit planting among >S certain, if it would not close their markets altogether—a threat held out. * I lo<3epetj-| deutly of this view of the matter, it is only just to the public invited to invest money in the speculation to look into its claims to their confidence. In the published prosppctqs f of this,new. com-; pany it -fe. stated- that, the' promoters* have 200 acres ready to be utilised as an apple farm. As against this, they retain one-half of the shares, offering the remainder for public subscription. Is this land freehold? Is it mortgaged? Will it form part of the general shareholders’ estate ? And if so, where is it situated, and whal is ita value? They say they will be entitled to claim LBoo from Government for planting 500 trees on every acre, four-fifths of which number * are to be . destroyed.’ Is not the bonus offered under the Act for the encouragement of forest tree planting, to be paid, when it is paid at all, only in waste lands ? and for the bona fide planting of forest trees which are intended to grow ? To the unsophisticated, this looks like a hofe, or Something- worse. But the inducements in the way of profits are still more has found a bonanza f lf ’’pottf ’fddlish fruit growers have not struck pib The CorapstockLciiei brrivefr theiT^kapuna' 1 Diamonds are nothing to .it. . Unfortunately the wonderful percentages promised are to# like precious, jewelsr We nave never seen yet, and believe them to be largely composed of gas and moqpgbine. Planting; 500 trees to the acre will pay the nurserymen, but not the fruit gower. The truth is this busing a • others, to be a "financial success, demands skill and experience practically and locally acquired; and all experience proves, both here and elsewhere, that success is not to'hSLgauwtdl without time and toil, as well as money. Those who have had a little experience, and some knowledge gathered in th£ neighboring colonies and in some of the best fruit-growing sections of America, are convinced that.napaying results need be expected 1, from apple planting on any extended scale, .before : the sixth or seventh year at least. The orchardist has some peculiar difficulties to contend with here. The so-called American blight is not the worst of these which he has to fear. In Tasmania the codlin moth, or apple worm, has proved so ruinons in many orchards that the Legislature has tried to devise means to stop its ravages, but without effect It is no stranger here, and might one day make short work with thedividends of- an apple farm "company. As' for the prices said to be obtamable/or our apples in California, they are to a large extent visionafy There are only one or two months when this fruit is not plentiful there, and afrif tch high* prices in that market, as small fruits of all kinds come in so ffrjfy- fyajftig'superabundant ‘arid' cheap. Preserved fruit? of every description are aUrt’tfrgftpF ■’ ’Sanftner 'iapptes are sent in very early byrriU °r ?teambpat fronj Of the South; arid latekeeping kinds, .grown in , the, “ foot hills,” 'ar "elevations of frpm a, OOO to 4,00,0 feet, oyer ,srich ( there ■ is railroad coArimmcatiori, riot to speak of the supplies from Oregon, can., b©', kept m good condition much longer than could |be done in this climate. Then we have the great expense of freight, and packing trans-tropical shipment, as well as risk of damage in transit to take intdhlccount. For dried apples the is limited, and high price of labor, this article coqld not be produced here at a'iovTenougn price tp cpnipete with the Aroeridflf ;, Cicler is not much in demand as yet, and will be made cheaplyMougfr {rdni lhC surplus of numerous Sri progress—iproe, pf fn th/?nv both in the. Nprih - sland!.-,'@i£thise mean^ J BeMri that a.,pu/fljf..app|egrowth ‘^ 4 large' scale wooW(!h«B<#paymg-cdfiCefh, far -less.'a ve|Si»MNttt&ni /-^especially considering that the limited market.*asy9)}!d n - b.eo/glutted by Over-production. It is.pqt; likely .that any ring, holding a monopoly of, fruitgrowing and" fruit-selling will dispose of, thewoproduce- a |ojf. lower’ price than they can* help from any benevolent imwopid iterid at the presep| to, discourage ourdolonisfs from giving attention tq industries of this nature would be certaiply unde- j sirablS. 1 5 better- for the colpny if a hundred seulersplfint everfskww abr£k' each' in' fruit trees, occupying far* more land,, feeding, f far mow^miHe^ ? dnd T pr6dacing cheaper and better fruit, than to see this work taken in hand by a few fruit dealers and speculatpusfini Auckland. America, which has been referred to, has an immense population if it has great orchards: fruit .growing< has yW^^lsen_ r in private hands. the* published reports sent to the Minister of Agriculture at Washington on fruit growing in the thaHhe partment of Agriculture devotes the utmost attention to the encouragement of fruit culture by settler? f in aU partsiot thafVXSV cWurifry I ,' as a branch of rural of national iraportance. ~ ;

JkM tonne oi the peripatetic coffee-stalls : 'la Melbourne have become now veraxalp:f fiWabg'Jtilol^rb^ tftiiv»i« aad raising the license fees has * fan debated la the QityGbuncil. It was •• ‘ ‘ faded tfat an interest of thepa was oifor as much as would purefase tbefooafwiff’bf iar'tjity

Public opinion decideS'fsaya a correspondent of tljie ’Glasgow Weeldy Herald) that we ought )ko take a new departure on the matter bf secret or detective police. As a reason for this view it is not needful to do more than allude to recent events in this country. Had. the French system been at work in England, the police would, haie months ago had special agents in all the places where Fenians meet. The French police have no difficulty in where crime exists, and- who the criminals are. Their weak point is in , often not having sufficient force to put down-meet- ‘ ingti arid demonstrations against otdeh “They- have in their system an"agency called the secret police, which is the counterpart of spies in warfare. Veify few, If any, persons, save the chief* of police themselves, know who these secret agents are. They belong to all classes, and can assume any disguise. But ogr so-called detectives pfice merely policemen in plain clothes, who are quite as Wellknown amongst the dangerous classes ais their brethren in blue tunics anji helmets.