6 THE FRUIT GROWER'S GUIDE. 



concrete conditions remained unchanged ; the change of men and methods effected the 

 happy revolution. So it is in the occupation of fruit-growing ; those who make the 

 best choice of site, soil, and varieties and adopt the best methods succeed, and, if 

 possible, extend their operations ; others who err in those respects do not succeed, and 

 hence condemn the work and all who advocate it, with everything else thereto pertain- 

 ing, including the weather, laws, customs, everything ; all is wrong ; they alone are 

 right. It is the way of the world. What is really wrong is wrong practice in some of 

 the respects indicated ; and an endeavour will be made in this work to point out common 

 errors in attempts at fruit cultivation, in order that they may be avoided ; to make 

 clearer what is obscure to many and so add to the store of knowledge on the subject ; 

 and to lay down sound principles, and detail correct practices, for the more certain 

 accomplishment of the end in view the best crops of the best fruit that can be produced, 

 so far as these are amenable to the art of man. 



Such will be the endeavour ; but other highly important matters, pertaining to the 

 supply of fruit of various kinds, will have ample consideration. The gathering, 

 sorting, storing, and packing of fruit, and its transit to the centres of consumption in 

 the most attractive guise, are points which demand the most careful attention. Except 

 by a comparatively limited number of persons, the full significance of the careful 

 handling and agreeable presentation of fruit has not been adequately comprehended. 

 It must be remembered that the first impressions of the value, or otherwise, of fruit are 

 obtained by inspection. If the eye is offended, the palate will not be gratified. Praise, 

 however exuberant, of the high quality of unsightly specimens will fall on deaf ears. 

 The silent appeals of handsome fruit handsome because not lacking in size, colour, 

 freshness, and uniformity in sample are a thousand times more effectual in commanding 

 attention than the smooth platitudes of vendors, which are often, and sometimes not 

 without reason, interpreted by purchasers as excuses for defects in their wares. The 

 thoughtless manner in which fruit has been dealt with in its passage from the trees 

 to the consumers, has, more than all else besides, militated against the popularity and 

 consequent demand for home-grown produce ; and the public taste has been turned by 

 the force of attraction to the imported samples so temptingly displayed in our markets. 

 Some of the more observant cultivators have departed from what may be termed 

 " ancient usage " in the purveying of fruit, and newer and more rational methods 

 must become general before public confidence can be reposed in the produce of our 

 orchards and gardens. 



