264 



THE FRUIT GROWER'S GUIDE. 



The apple and plum crops were almost everywhere deficient in England in 1890, 

 also in America, yet 1,450,000 bai'rels of American and Canadian apples were imported 

 into Great Britain in 1891. 



Fruit, like every other product, is consumed in proportion to its price. The advent 

 of Free Trade somewhat lowered prices, and enormously increased importations of fruit, 

 yet the supply did not keep pace with the demand for fruit of fine colour, shape, and 

 quality. This is clearly shown both by the importations and the increase of the fruit- 

 growing area in this country. In 1839 it was 90,000 acres; in 1872 it was 169,808 

 acres. In 1891 the fruit area had risen to 268,000 acres, 58,700 acres being devoted 

 to small fruits, or double what it was five years previously. Notwithstanding the great 

 increase, the demand, for apples especially, has exceeded the supply, for we find that 

 during the ten years (18811891) the average quantity of apples annually imported into 

 this country considerably exceeded 2,000,000 bushels, and in 1891 the quantity was 

 3,1 47,373 bushels. 



Statistics of the fruit acreage and importations as issued by the Board of Trade 

 should be studied by British fruit growers. Exaggerated views as to the advantages 

 to be gained by the extended cultivation of fruit would not then mislead on the one 

 hand, nor pessimistic utterance on the British fruit grower's occupation being gone 

 on the other. Fruit-growing in this country is profitable, or the area would not increase 

 annually, while the importations show that the home produce has not yet reached suffi- 

 cient development to satisfy the advancing taste and increased demand for fruit by the 

 population of this country. Fruit culture under favourable circumstances by com- 

 petent persons is likely, for some time to come, to be profitable on an average of seasons ; 

 but we advise it to be commenced in a small way in the garden of the cottage, small 

 holding, and farm and gradually extended as opportunities offer and experience 

 warrants. This caution is imperative to prevent novices embarking on rash ventures 

 in the hope of making fortunes in growing fruit. 



