OF THE 

 UNIVERSITY 



THE HORTICULTURAL PAST. 



Our experience is that there are two classes of farmers in this 

 country, who are paying attention to fruit growing. 



First the old-fashioned type who swears by and insists on 

 continuing to plant the well-known varieties, such as Summer or 

 Winter Saffron in pears, Wemmer Hoek, Hugo or May in 

 in apples, and peaches which come under the generic style of Los 

 pit and Taai pit ; in apricots, Cape early and late. 



Then again the new man, v/ho must have everything in new 

 and latest varieties either English or American, and who can see 

 no merit in anything standing in our old orchards. Now, after 

 nine years careful study of our old Cape orchards, and of pushing 

 into public notice new varieties from England, America and 

 Australia, we consider we are able to give an opinion of 

 some value as to the respective merits of the different ideas of 

 these several classes of growers and planters. 



Nine years ago we found very few young orchards being 

 planted, either East or West. In the West such planting was 

 almost entirely confined to the planting of the old varieties 

 mentioned. In the East again at this period planting was 

 generally confined to new varieties which had been introduced 

 during late years by the several nursery firms engaged in 

 distributing fruit trees. 



In the West we would say that the planting was being under- 

 taken by those who had proved that small profits could be made 

 out of their orchards then standing, by consigning to local 

 markets, by drying in the sun by the slipshod methods then in 

 vogue, and by selling to the jam factories. 



In the East we think that the planting was mainly due 

 (outside of many commercial citrus orchards) to the wish of the 

 individual farmer to have enough fruit to supply his household 

 needs and therefore the lists of varieties ripening at different 

 times vide the nurserymen's catalogue appealed to the idea of 

 planters, to have a continual small supply of fruits of different 

 dates of ripening, colour, and characteristics. We would 

 now wish to point out to our readers that although st this 

 -date the planting being undertaken was commercially of 

 practically no value to the country, we consider at the 

 same time very good work indeed had formerly been done both 

 East and West, but particularly in the West, towards assisting, 

 One reason is this : we feel satisfied that very many years ago prob- 

 ably, in the last century, and in some instances early in the present 

 one, when France was far in the van of Horticultural progress and 

 knowledge, in fact to an extent that we think is scarcely 

 recognized to- day, and when the influence of France probably passed 



