8 



cargo, which arrived last Thursday, brought fancy prices, peaches 

 selling as high as 4 for 3 dozen. . It is believed that equally good 

 figures will be received for the present consignment. The cargo 

 includes not only Peaches but Tomatoes, Grapes, Pine apples, and 

 Cucumbers, all of which are luxuries in London at this time of the 

 year. The trade seems to have been successfully inaugurated 

 between the Cape Colony and the Mother Country, and it is 

 believed that an immense and profitable field of enterprise has 

 been opened to all the Southern fruit-producing countries ; it is 

 certain that London can absorb any quantity of fruit at this season, 

 and there seems no likelihood of the new business being overdone. 



Major Tamplin's motion was well received by the House, 

 showing its .feeling towards any possibility of Agricultural deve- 

 lopment. We would say that the net immediate result of the 

 Select Committee and the interest shown by the Government then 

 in power was the fact that it brought fruit-growing into the focus 

 of the public eye, which was what was needed at the time, but 

 there are undoubtedly very much greater results than this, which 

 ever since that date have been quietly accumulating as follows. 



It has been we consider largely owing to the interest taken in 

 the Fruit Industry that farms in the Western Province 

 to-day have increased so enormously in value ; the value 

 has doubled, and in many instances trebled, within our own 

 knowledge. Many of our farmers in the West resent the 

 presence of the new comer, whose leaning in most instances 

 was fruit rather than wine. We claim, however, that it 

 is owing to the advent of these self -same uitlanders that many of 

 our farmers have been enabled to tide over what has been for all 

 a very severe struggle. Food stuffs and forage going up in price ; 

 wine going down (we remember it at i 2 10s. per leaguer.) Phyl- 

 loxera ravaging most districts placed our farmers in a most un- 

 enviable position. Five years ago mortgages were foreclosing right 

 and left, and the confidence of capitalists and merchants in the 

 future of the Western Farming industry had sunk to zero. 



The interest taken in the newer fruits and the enteiprise often 

 of the farmers themselves and the confidence engendered by the 

 then satisfactory behaviour of the newer fruits, we consider turned 

 the scale as regards confidence in Western land. Wine farmers 

 will claim it was the wine industry ; we claim however no, as 

 wine was during this period at a very low figure indeed and the 

 farmers were at that time undecided with what stocks they could 

 successfully cope with phylloxera. As we say, from about four 

 years ago, prices of land in the Western Province has been steadily 

 going up the result to the occupier being that his friend the 

 mortgagee, who was at that time gecting restless and uneasy, began 

 to be inclined even to help him with increased loans, and with 

 the assistance of these loans, which we- claim was justified by solid 

 natural increase in value of the soil, farmers were able to go on 

 with tree and vine planting, with the net result that to-day the 

 land in the Western Province. has increased in value to the extent 

 of several million sterling. 



