33 



thousands of pounds to our customers and to the interests under 

 our charge by making such experiments covering nine years. We 

 have ourselves got thousands of trees which were of worthless 

 varieties, the majority of them old orchards, which have been 

 worked over by top grafting, and which we feel certain now will 

 pay us handsomely. 



3rd. Because he will be able to use such trees for testing the 

 different washes which an orchardist finds necessary, he will then 

 be in a position before his younger trees come into bearing to 

 know the most suitable spray to use and also to get a fair know- 

 ledge of to what extent he can prune to secure a crop. 



BASIS ON WHICH FARMERS CAN DECIDE WHETHER 

 TO ADD FRUIT GROWING TO THEIR OTHER 

 SOURCES OF INCOME. 



We are repeatedly asked for advice in all sorts of out-of-the- 

 way places as to whether a man should plant fruit trees. 



We try here to give a lot of general information about grow- 

 ing prospects, outlets for product and particulars of varieties, 

 which if carefully read should assist the individual to form an 

 opinion. Then the principle we imply is as follows, it rests of 

 course with each intending planter to decide whether it is a sound 

 one in his case. 



It is not in our mind a question as to whether we can grow 

 good fruit, but the question to put is ivhether off a certain piece of 

 land one can make more money by planting fruit trees of sorts 

 than by the present style of utilizing it. In hundreds of instances 

 within our personal knowledge, and there must be thousands out- 

 side of this, the answer must be in the affirmative as regards 

 planting fruit trees, as land suitable is lying idle, bringing in not 

 even a sovereign a morgen, and perhaps the household is even 

 without fruit for its own consumption, and fruit trees at 5 per 

 100. 



THE INITIAL DIFFICULTIES OF ESTABLISHING 

 ORCHARDS IN SOUTH AFRICA- 



The South- Western District of the Cape Colony, covered by 

 an annual winter rainfall, is probably the easiest country in the 

 world in which to establish a young orchard ; during our nine 

 years' residence we have positively seen no difficulties to en- 

 counter worth mentioning ; we shall therefore let it pass. But 

 it must be remembered that throughout the greater part of South 



