Fruit Growing in Scotland 35 



sobering effect, and the industry will possibly now develop more natu- 

 rally. 



Perthshire. The greatest fruit-growing county, however, is Perth- 

 shire. It had long to take a second place; but it has been steadily 

 pulling up on Lanarkshire, and has now definitely taken the lead. There 

 are 3037 ac. under fruit: 506 ac. of orchards and 2477 ac. of small fruit. 

 The principal orchards are in the Carse of Gowrie, between Perth and 

 Dundee, where Apples are the main crop. The trees are a fine sight in 

 the springtime, when in flower. It is questionable whether the abundant 

 promise is ever fulfilled. Spring frost plays havoc with fruit trees on 

 the low-lying lands of the Carse. The best-known small-fruit district is 

 the Blairgowrie district. Blairgowrie, the centre of the industry, is situ- 

 ated on the lowest slope of the Grampians, looking down on the fertile 

 valley of Strathmore. In the early days of last century it was a village 

 of handloom weavers. In the fullness of time the handloom was laid by 

 and factories were erected on the banks of the River Ericht. They too 

 had their innings. The competition of the towns, with their better rail- 

 way facilities, and of the jute mills of India, with cheap labour and raw 

 material on the spot, outweighed the attractions of a country life and the 

 advantages of cheap water power, and the manufacture of jute and linen 

 fabrics has for many years been a decaying industry. In the days of its 

 manufacturing prosperity Blairgowrie \vas famed for Strawberry culture, 

 not because of the extent of the acreage under Strawberries, or the heavy 

 crops for the acreage was never extensive, and the crops were never 

 heavy but because of the scarcity and the quality of the fruit. The 

 rapid development of the fruit industry, however, did not take place until 

 twenty-five years ago, when Blairgowrie had ceased to be a thriving town, 

 and Raspberries had become the principal fruit crop. A few years later the 

 Blairgowrie and Rattray Fruitgrowers' Association was formed. It is one 

 of the landmarks in the history of the trade, and the precursor of other 

 associations of a similar kind throughout Scotland. The object of the 

 Association was to eliminate the middleman as far as possible and get 

 into direct touch with the preservers. A secretary and a salesman was 

 appointed with this object in view. At the formation of the society there 

 were only a few members, and the total output the first year was under 

 20 tons. The association grew with the years, until to-day it has control 

 of hundreds of tons of fruit. Prices were good in those early days, and 

 the enormous crops of Raspberries grown showed that the climate, or the 

 soil which is light, and not what would be considered good for ordinary 

 agricultural purposes or both soil and climate, were well suited for the 

 production of this particular fruit. A multitude of men went back to the 

 land cobblers, bakers, grocers, masons, joiners, manufacturers, lawyers, 

 clergymen. It is significant that, while craftsmen of various kinds became 

 fruit growers, few ploughmen took advantage of the movement to secure 

 for themselves a more permanent position on the land. The reason was, 

 no doubt, in part at least, due to the fact that a ploughman has not 



