FRUIT CULTURE. jjy 



same time tlio dirtiest, most nog-lectcd, and most diseased orchards in 

 the Colony, and grows a largv proportion of the greatest rubhish, 

 which is due in a great measure to tlie prevalence of the insane systeni 

 of trying to grow every possible variety of fruit in the same orcliard, 

 instead of confining the attention to the growth of those varieties that 

 the soil and climate are capable of producing to perfection. 



In the table-land districts of the Colony there are large tracts of 

 country widely separated from each other, but which have a climate 

 and rainfall that is just suited to the production of the fruits of the 

 temperate regions, including a]iples, pears, plums, quinces, cherries, 

 and all kinds of berry fruits and hardy nuts. In these districts the 

 winter is more or less severe, snow being not uncommon, and frosts of 

 frequent occurrence. The summers are generally bright and warm 

 during the days, but always cool at night, so that though there is 

 sufficient sun-heat to put plenty of sugar in the fruit, the fruit does 

 not ripen as rapidly as in warmer or more humid districts, and the fruits 

 grown possess much greater firmness, and are much better keepers 

 and shippers. In these table-land districts the rainfall is usually 

 sufficient for the successful growth of all the fruits adapted to the 

 climate, but the rainfall is often badly distributed, and there are 

 longish spells of dry weather, which necessitate the orchards being 

 kept in a high state of culture in order to obtain the best results. No 

 trees in this district require irrigation, but where berry culture is gone 

 in for extensively, it will always be advisable to have a supply of 

 water to fall back upon during a dry spell. Most of the table-land 

 districts are well supplied with water, and contain numerous running 

 streams, the water of which could easily be conserved for use in a dry 

 time, as the hilly nature of the country gives many opportunities for 

 the formation of natural reservoirs by damming- up gullies, so that, 

 should water be required for berry culture, there is often little diffi- 

 culty in conserving it. Apples, pears, plums, and cherries, when 

 planted in suitable soils and properly looked after, are usually heavy 

 bearers in these districts, and the fruits are of firmer texture, higher 

 colour, better flavour, and better keeping qualities than the same 

 fruits when grown in other parts of the Colony. Cherries do remark- 

 ably well in many parts, the red Kentish cherry growing almost Avild 

 and without the slightest cultivation, and yet bearing heavy crops of 

 fruit ; in fact, this variety is such a hardy grower that it is planted in 

 hedges to form a breakwind or protection for the orchard against the 

 prerailing winds of the district. 



In the central districts of the Colony we have an enormous extent 

 of countiy that is suited for fruit-culture but of a totally different 

 type from that of the districts I have already mentioned. Hero 

 we have a soil and climate that are best adapted to the growth of the 

 vine, the olive, the fig, the apricot, the ])rune, and drying peaches, in 

 fact, for nearly all varieties of drying fruits. Here the rainfall is much 

 smaller, the summers hotter and drier, and the winters much milder 

 than in the table-land districts, but everywhere throughout this dis- 

 trict, where the rainfall exceeds 20 inches per annum, all the fruits 

 that I have mentioned can be grown to great perfection without irri- 

 gation, provided that suitable sod is chosen, and that the right varieties 

 are planted. Here the success of fruit-culture depends mainly ou 



