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Waikato Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 2973, 4 August 1891, Page 2

Tin: difficulties to be overcome in successfully dealing with large quautities of surplus fruit are not by any moans confined to this colony. In drawing attention to the annual waste of good fruits, coincident with large imports of foreign preserved fruit, the Sydney Mail says: "Fruit growers have nowreached that stage, when something more than fancy and amatcnr work is required. Enormous quantities of choice fruits are being wasted in fertile districts such as Tumut, Gundagai, Orange and Bathurst, but the proportion of preserved fruits still proceeds in a way which is more than ordinarily irritating. We have long since tired of these continual displays of preserved fruits at agricultural shows. We see on one side of the main pavilion, what our reporter de - scribes as grand displays of green fruit — apples, pears, plums and quinces —and on the other, American bottles filled with what seems to be good qualities of Australian fruits. The gulf between these two lines of exhibits is never bridged, at least, so say the grocers. We glance at the gnrrlen produce section and see immense piles of choice tomatoes, and are reminded that the tomato sauce which we had with our beef steak that morning came from South Australia. Is it laziness or the lack of knowledge which is the cause of those impleading features in horticultural shows? The small lot of preserves, good and deserving though they may be, as examples of the energy and skill of a few housewives who do not allow good fruit to go to waste, also seive To remind us that what could be done is not clone. It is the duty of horticultural societies to remedy faults such as are now apparent in the fruit industry. If shows bring about no change, the societies should do sonic thing which will be effective. The Tumut Society's encouragement of a fruit factory is a wise step. Recent experience leads us to the opinion that one good fruit factory would bo more serviceable than ten ordinary horticultural »hows.