THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 1913. A NATIONAL APPLE DAY.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXV, Issue 10713, 23 December 1913, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 1913. A NATIONAL APPLE DAY.

One of the happiest ideas that have come to us from American fruit-grow-ers is that of a National Apple Day, the object being to bring before the great communities of city consumers, in the most attractive manner possible, the virtues of the apple, not only as a choice item of dessert, but as a valuable everyday article of diejt. In the opinion of the N.Z: Journal of Agriculture, the idea could be <o-, pied with distinct advantage in thi3 country. As the National Apple Dny ; would be primarily a great advertising campaign on,behalf of the king of fruits, the scheme would require to be designed on a generous scale, and in a manner which would appeal to. the greatest "number of consumers. It may be rather ambitious to adopt one American feature—'the free distribution of apple-pies (special machinery at the Spokane National Apple Show turned out these pies at the rate of ,2250 per hour,). However, it would certainly pay well to give choice apples for sale in the streets, the proceeds to be devoted to the local hospital. With the co-opera-tion of the charitable ladies of the community this distribution of apples would enable, quite apart from the circulation of the fruit, most attractive advertisements to be secured by fruitgrowers' associations by« means of specially decorated hand-,

carts, which if. stationed in the main thoroughfares could be used as sources of supply for the lady sellers. Apart altogether from the "Benefit which would accrue to the grower in this' gift of apples for the benefit of a hospital, there would be the added satisfaction of knowing that some contribution had been made towards the alleviation of the suffering of those whom adverse fate had made inmates of the institution, while a special gift of apples on such an occasion to the little sufferers in the children's ward would be a graceful and humanitarian act. There is no limit to the possibilities of Apple Day as a means of extending the consumption of fruit. is declared that in some American cities, where the Apple Day is an annual event, the sales of fresh fruits have increased by several hundred per cent, in two or; three years. A National Apple Day might well be conducted in connection with a National Fruit Show, an idea already suggested by, the Department to fruitgrowers' associations. The combination would be admirable. The Apple Day could be made a special feature of the show. While the public may not be persuaded To visit the show by .ordinary means, the apples would be taken to them, and this would probably have the effect x>f inducing them to attend the show. The consumer and the producer would thus come in close touch with each other, to their mutual advantage. What tlie fruitgrowers of other countries are doing to extend the use of their products surely we can do with equal measure of success. AH that is required to give practical effect to the idea outlined is the necessary co-operation on the part- of our fruitgrowers' associations, the majority of which have on 'their boards of management men who could be trusted to carry the National Apple Day and the National Fruit Show movement through to a successful issue.