BLAIRGOWRIE 51 



principal markets for the fruit are Manchester, Liver- 

 pool, Leeds, Bradford, and Newcastle. Large quantities 

 are sold to jam-makers. As for the profits made, 

 Mr. J. M. Hodge, in an article contributed by him 

 to Chambers' s Journal, giving some results of ' Fruit- 

 culture on Small Holdings ' in the Blairgowrie district, 

 mentions the case of one raspberry-grower who from a 

 single acre of ground made a total profit in nine years 

 of 492. 



A considerable proportion of the growers in the 

 Blairgowrie district are small holders, cultivating, on 

 an average, 5 acres, though many of them have only 

 2 or 3 acres. These small holders have formed them- 

 selves into a co-operative society, and they dispose of 

 their fruit through the secretary, who deals with it in 

 bulk, saves them all trouble in finding a market, and is 

 generally able to dispense with salesmen, unless they 

 buy outright. He himself is paid a commission on the 

 business done. Since 1903 there has been a substantial 

 increase in the number of small holders in the district. 

 In that year a syndicate bought the estate of Wester- 

 Essendy, three miles from Blairgowrie, and, keeping 45 

 acres to plant as a fruit farm for themselves, cut up 205 

 acres into small holdings of from 5 to 25 acres each, 

 which they offered to working men desirous of taking up 

 fruit-farming as a business. The price they charged was 

 50 per acre. Part of the purchase money was to be 

 paid down, and the balance cleared off at the rate of 5 

 per acre per year, plus 4 per cent, interest. On these 

 terms the whole of the holdings were taken up within a 

 year. The syndicate does cartage work for the small 

 holders, at a very low rate, and the co-operative society 

 provides them with an outlet for their produce. So 

 well has the scheme answered that more estates in the 

 neighbourhood are being dealt with in the same way. 



42 



