34 Commercial Gardening 



dispatched from the Kirriemuir railway station since 1906. These are the 

 figures: 1906, 61 tons; 1908, 110 tons; 1909, 324 tons; 1910, 378 tons. 

 Scotch raspberries are mostly consigned in hundredweight barrels to pre- 

 servers in the United Kingdom for jam purposes. The fruit growers of 

 Kirriemuir have developed the Raspberry industry along a new and 

 a more profitable line. They are the largest consigners in Scotland of 

 punneted raspberries to the English market. The best -known fruit 

 district in Aberdeenshire is on the banks of the Dee, immediately north 

 of the city of Aberdeen. Specially fine strawberries are grown in this 

 district, which come into the market after the southern strawberries are 

 done. Both Raspberries and Strawberries are grown, though not to a 

 large extent, at Banchory. Mr. Maconochie, once member of Parliament 

 for East Aberdeenshire, was anxious to develop fruit culture in his con- 

 stituency. It was begun on the low-lying lands of Buchan, but is making 

 little progress. The Lothians are more noted for their market gardens 

 than their fruit fields. Some of the finest market gardens in the country 

 are in the Lothians. Much of the Lothian fruit which finds its way to 

 the Edinburgh market is grown in market gardens. There is only one 

 district, the district round about the village of Ormiston, where there is 

 a congregation of fruit growers. 



Lanarkshire. The fruit-growing counties mentioned are insignificant 

 when compared with the two great fruit-growing counties of Scotland 

 Lanarkshire and Perthshire. It will be seen from the foregoing figures 

 that there are now 2838 ac. under fruit in Lanarkshire, 736 ac. being 

 devoted to orchards and 2102 ac. to small fruit. Lanarkshire has been 

 a fruit-growing county from time immemorial. The fruit lands extend 

 14 ml. along the Clyde valley, from Motherwell to the town of Lanark. 

 The valley is narrow and the hills on either side rise rapidly to the ridge. 

 The low-lying land is subject to frost; the higher lands are wind-swept. 

 Many of the orchards are several miles from a railway station. The roads 

 from the valley to the stations are so steep as to be wellnigh impassable. 

 The Clyde valley, however, has its advantages. It is well wooded. The 

 wood provides abundant shelter for the orchard trees. It is also in 

 proximity to Glasgow, the great fruit depot of Scotland. If Lanarkshire 

 is not now the biggest fruit-growing centre of Scotland, it is the most 

 diversified. All kinds of fruit are grown Apples, Pears, Cherries, Plums, 

 and bush fruit. Raspberries were once grown extensively, but the climate 

 or the soil, or both, seemed unsuitable for their commercial production, and 

 this crop is now a diminishing quantity. Strawberries, on the other hand, 

 seem to be a native of the district. It has been said that 7 tons have been 

 taken off a single acre. The circumstances must either have been very 

 exceptional, or the facts must have been exaggerated. There can be no 

 doubt, however, that heavier crops are grown in the Clyde valley than 

 in any other part of Scotland. Some years ago Tomato growing was 

 almost a rage in Clydesdale. Tomato houses sprang up like mushrooms. 

 Enormous profits were reported. Bad crops and bad prices have had a 



