IRISH GARDENING 



VOLUME VI, 



No. 69 



A MONTHLY JOURNAL DEVOTED TO THE 



ADVANCEMENT OF HORTICULTURE AND 



ARBORICULTURE IN IRELAND 



NOVEMBER 



The Fruit Growing Industry/ 



By Professor J. R. Campbell, B.Sc. 



Object ok Conference. 



► HE object of this conference 

 is. to afford to all eni^aged 

 directly or indirectly in the 

 fruit growing- industry — ex- 

 S^' ^S^y^ i^^/ perts, growers, salesmen, 



f ^^^B"l nurserymen, and manu- 



N^ I facturers — an opportunity of 



stating their views on its 

 present position and prospects, on the methods 

 adopted by the Department for its encourage- 

 ment, on the progress that has been made, and 

 on such action as in the light of experience 

 may now be considered desirable. 



Need for Conference. 

 In the beginning the Department's horti- 

 cultural operations were necessarily conducted 

 on a small scale. It was then possible for their 

 officers to consider and to attempt to deal with 

 the wants of individuals. Now, however, the 

 number of persons engaged in fruit growing is 

 so great and the branches of the work so 

 numerous that this is no longer possible. At 

 best the wants or groups only or of growers' 

 associations can be considered, and hence 

 periodic conferences — district conferences as 

 well as all- Ireland conferences — have become 

 almost a necessity. Meetings of this kind not 

 only assist the Department in gauging the 

 wants of fruit growers and in determining how 

 these can best be supplied, they also provide an 



* Paper read by Prof. Campbell at the Kniil Con- 

 ference in connection with the Autumn Fruit Show held 

 in Dublin, iSth and 19th October, 191 1. 



opportunity for fruit growers from various 

 parts of Ireland meeting and comparing notes 

 with one another. Advantage has therefore 

 been taken of the presence in Dublin of ex- 

 hibitors and others at the great annual fruit 

 show of the Royal Horticultural Society for 

 Ireland to call this meeting. The Department 

 wish to acknowledge the ready help which 

 they have received from the society as well the 

 kindness of the Royal Dublin Society in placing 

 this hall at our disposal. 



Procedure. 



It has not been considered necessary to sub- 

 mit a formal agenda. This is not due to any 

 lack of subjects. On the contrary, so numerous 

 are the questions for profitable discussion that 

 it would be wholly impossible with the limited 

 time at our disposal to do them justice. Mat- 

 ters of detail or ol' local importance must be 

 left to district conferences and to local horti- 

 cultural associations. We can only deal to-day 

 with those affecting the industry as a whole. 



Every phase of horticidtural activity is so 

 intimately associated with the Department's 

 schemes that I cannot do better than take them 

 as the basis for this opening statement. Your 

 attention will thereby be directed to some 

 educational and other agencies by means of 

 which the Department have sought to encourage 

 fruit growing. These schemes apply to the 

 whole country and they effect all interests. 

 If from this necessarily brief summary there is 

 omitted anything which you deem of sufficient 

 and general importance you need not hesitate 

 to bring it forward. 



