85 



OLD ORCHARDS- 



Mr, Liebbrandt (Keeper of the Archives) states that the 

 Citrus family were introduced by the Dutch East Indian 

 Company mainly from Sr. Helena, where they had been 

 planted very many years before by the Portuguese, and 

 doubtless were also obtained from India and the East, as the 

 ships of the company were trading throughout the Eastern seas, 

 and seeing the attention the company were bestowing on Agricul- 

 tural Development every step would doubtless have been taken to 

 secure and safely land the very best varieties from all the ports of 

 call for the company's ships. We should gather that no fruits 

 introduced in these days gave greater prospect of bringing wealth 

 and benefit to the country than oranges. Undoubtedly they 

 nourished exceedingly wherever planted, and wherever the 

 settler trekked further inland orange trees were invariably 

 planted by him and almost invariably thrived. The French 

 Huguenots in particular took up the matter of orange growing 

 with great spirit, their orchards in Drakenstein Valley and French 

 Hoek being celebrated at an early period. In fact wherever 

 Citrus trees would grow in Africa they have followed the 

 colonization of the country, both amongst the early English 

 settlers in the East and the Dutch as they trekked through Natal ' 

 and the Transvaal. 



There is no doubt that Citrus fruits are very much at home in 

 Africa ; we think that some of our old orchards will hold their 

 own with any in the world for health and vigour. We have our- 

 selves seen many of the older groves along the Mediterranean in 

 France, Spain and Northern Italy, and have seen none of them 

 approaching in general health and appearance even our average 

 grove at the Cape. However, the ravages of the Australian Bug 

 and the mal di goma (root rot) have played havrc amongst our 

 oldest and finest groves ; the great majority of these have now 

 already disappeared and of the remainder collar rot is taking 

 tuem off very rapidly, or if not killing them out, at least injuring 

 them to sufficient extent to render them of not the same account 

 either in appearance or bearing capabilities that they formerly were. 



DEMAND. 



The production of oranges in Africa has fallen very much 

 below the demand owing to the destruction caused by the Austra- 

 lian bug, and the " root rot." Between these two scourges the 

 great majority of our oldest and finest orchards have gone under. 

 We have no hesitation in stating that twenty years ago the pro- 

 duction of oranges was greater than it is to-day. It being 



