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THE 



GARDENER 



JANUARY 1879. 



OUR SUPPLY OF APPLES AND PEARS. 



T is the opinion of some, that the production of Apples 

 and Pears in the United Kingdom has ceased to be 

 a matter of much importance, now that the Americans 

 can pour these fruits into our markets and shops 

 so speedily and in such enlarged quantities. Fruit is now sent 

 on to us some seven or eight thousand miles across the Rocky 

 Mountains, and three thousand miles by sea, in good quality and 

 condition, in a comparatively few days ; and that certainly may be 

 ranked among the facts that are stranger than ever fiction anticipa- 

 ted. Our French neighbours also cultivate these fruits to make up 

 the deficiency of our home produce. It is well that these sources 

 can be looked to for a supply of such wholesome fruits, which in the 

 case of Apples can be purchased at a rate that enables the frugal 

 peasant or artisan to enjoy the wholesome supplement of tarts and 

 puddings. The question, however, arises, Ought we to be so depen- 

 dent on foreign sources for a full supply of these fruits 1 This, like 

 every other question, has doubtless two sides to be looked at; but our 

 object at present is not to discuss it in the abstract. Our conviction 

 is, however, that our home production might be much more satisfactory 

 than it at present is, even in spite of many adverse circumstances. 



Some writers have assumed and tried to prove that the climate of 

 this country has changed so much for the worse that Apple crops 

 are not now what they formerly were. This we believe to be an 

 assumption that has no foundation either in statistics or anything 

 else, and is repudiated by the recognised fact that drainage and high 

 cultivation have had rather a beneficial influence on our climate. Be 



