The Wairarapa Daily Friday, September 24, 1880.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 2, Issue 577, 24 September 1880, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily Friday, September 24, 1880.

The Colonial Industries report contains some valuable information respecting fruit-preserving from Nelson growers. This • is an industry for which the climate and soil of Masterton is ' Specially adapted, and' could, were there a sufficient amount of enter-' prise'to starta.fruit-preserving company,be established, as a! permanent, profitable, and healthy occupation. It is an industry which might" well be developed by our small farmers. Mr Budden, in his report to: the CommisI sioners, says"lam of opinion that i one man would find: profitable employi ment on-four- acres of "landi.confining ' himself to the growing «f small fruit i (berries). but would assistance:

» * V * ? nt fivsfc m plantingarid-galhevlng. - 'He might at tlie same time < grow some "of the larger fruits; and if he confined himself to these, he might afler a year or:two ■successfully cullivate < twelve acres, with the usual assistance in | gathering, • ■ Eventually:' the profits derivable from the four, acres of small i fruit would .be ,".about- equaLto..the,' profits derived from the twelve acres of ■large fruit, .but the ..four acres would ■require more labor being .-expended in any one year. But I am of opinion that it would add to the profits of slnall-fruit gro.wing to extend the area of land and, employ labor to almost any extent in ' the" cultivation, even more than it would do jn extending therarea and employing the. labor in.ithe cultn'a. tion of large fruit," Mr Burns, of Motueka, in a communication of a similar character, gives an estimate of the income which could be obtained from fruit-growing; . He . says :—" I think an ordinary crop of berries should yield five or . six tons of good, sound fruit per acre, and this is not by any means a heavy crop, , J.f a preservingfactory was established, i'ae friiitpreserver could afford to give the grower l|d per pound for every pound of good sound, fruit [delivered at the factory; therefore, at the amount of yield above mentioned, this would average a return of ,£SO per acre to the grower, and a little more per pound might be given for some kinds of fruit." The same grower is positive that it pays to preserve fruit, and that the Colonial jam will compete with that which is imported. To preserve on a. sufficiently large scale would, in his opinion require a capital .of £1,500. Whether a sum of this amount could be subscribed in the Wairarapa for such an object, is an open question, If it could, the results of establishing a preserve factory would be of great benefit to the district,