42 THE FRUIT INDUSTRY 



Another witness, Mr. Chivers, spoke of jam manufac- 

 turers as the biggest customers of the fruit-grower, and 

 mentioned that at his works at Histon, near Cam- 

 bridge, over 100 tons of strawberry jam had been made 

 up and put into jars in a single day. As for cider, not 

 only has there been a substantial increase in the 

 amount made, the value of the annual production in 

 the two counties of Herefordshire and Somersetshire 

 being put at about 500,000, but, according to one wit- 

 ness, there is * no limit to the extension of the demand ' 

 for such qualities as well-instructed makers of the 

 smaller type, giving personal attention to the manu- 

 facture, are able to produce. 



Official statistics in respect to the actual extent of 

 the fruit industry are somewhat vague and unsatis- 

 factory. Taking those that refer to orchards only, as 

 distinct from small fruit, I find the total acreage in 

 1904 given as 243,008, of which 236,705 acres were in 

 England, 2,490 in Scotland, and 3,813 in Wales. But 

 these statistics are compiled from returns voluntarily 

 made by owners or occupiers ; they are assumed to 

 have omissions ; they are known to exaggerate in a 

 county like Hereford, where old orchards with a mere 

 sprinkling of veteran trees rank as if they were in full 

 bearing ; while, per contra, no account is taken of 

 orchards on any holdings of less than i acre in 

 extent. 



The total area under small fruit in 1904 was put 

 (on the same basis) at 77,947 acres, but some of 

 the returns under this head would be duplicated by 

 those referring to orchards. It is, therefore, only an 

 approximate estimate that the total amount of land in 

 Great Britain under fruit generally is about 300,000 

 acres. 



In respect to orchards, the figures even taking them 



