A SOUTHERN TOUR (Continued).

Te Aroha News, Volume VIII, Issue 485, 5 July 1890, Page 3

A SOUTHERN TOUR (Continued).

Fruit Trees in Christchurch, In sauntering through the streets of Christchurch I had a fair opportunity of seeing the fruit trees, etc., which succeed well in that district. Apples were well represented in nearly every garden. I also fancied that they were not nearly so much subject to blight as the trees in north Mew Zealand. Their cropping capabilities were also first-class ; every tree which had soy* thing like a fair show was literally covered with fruit, many of the. limbs being bent down to the ground with the weight of fruit. At the same time I may remark that the individual apples were not nearly so large or so highly coloured as the fruit grown in the neighbourhood of Auckland. On a competition tiible, Auckland, fruit would far surpass it, but again on the other hand the Christchurch apples, though they are smaller, would far surpass Auckland fruit in keeping qualities, being much harder and firmer in the flesh. This is brought about by their greater extreme of climate. Pears: Every tree which I saw was covered with a fine crop of splendid fruit. In fact, their cropping capabilities are equal to thoseof the apple, and nearly every small garden had a few fine trees. Plums : There was also a fine assortment of plums; these also all carried first-class crops. The pear and plum in Christchurch did notsuffer so much from antumnal growth as our trees in the North, neither did they suffer so much from the ravages of the plum and pear tree slug, which militates so much against the cropping capabilities of those trees near Auckland. The cherries were all over before my visit, but I had a fair idea of their cropping capabilities by seeing the number of cherry stones under the trees, and these seemed to be legion. Walnuts : Considerable numbers had been planted some years ago, and had grown to fine largo trees, the branches of which had fine clusters of fruit upon them, clearly showing that those in the future will be among the most profitable trees to plant. The same can also be said of the chestnut, which also does splendidly. Apricots, in some districts, I was informed, also gave splendid returns. Peaches, were also pretty extensively grown ; these did not grow quite so luxurantly as they used to grow north, but they still gave good returns. Large numbers of gooseberries were planted in nearly every garden there; they do unexceptionally well, giving splendid crops each year. At my visit the season was justover. On my searching the bushes in a garden I was only ablo fco got> about half-a-dozon \ tno flavour of these to me was really grand. Currants : Black, red, and white, were also to be found in almost every garden. The season for these was also over, but from what I had seen on a former visit, and by wbat information I obtained during this visit, they crop exceptionally well. From what I was told it was only necessary to have a few bushes of each of these in the garden, and sufficient fruit was obtainable to make a good supply of preserves for a good-sized family. Raspberries also seemed to flourish extremely well, and I was informed they also cropped well. In one garden the youne canes of this season had attained a height of over six feet. Filberts I was also told did very well, but I did not Bee any growing, although there was any Quantity of the fruit in cobs for sale m the fruit shops in Christchurch. The different varieties of the American blackberry I was also informed did remarkably well in some situations. Now, from difference . between . the seasons

between Auckland and Christchurch, I would fancy in the future that a large trade in early fruit should spring up between Auckland and the Southern cities ; Auckland in being quite a month in advance with some of its fruits ; not only in fruits, but also in vegetables as well. Take potatoes for instance; in Auckland they can be grown all winter, in Canterbury, Otago, and Southland they must wait for the hard frost to go past before they can think of growing thorn. Again, the South should by the way that tho small fruits grow be able to grow and manufacture all the jam which our Northern population require instead of importing from Hobart, thus giving a trade which would bo beneficial to North and South. I only wish I had boon able to have spent a few weeks in and around Christchurch instead of a few days, so that I could have made more accurate observations on their capabilities for growing fruit and vegetables.