News from Other Areas 



Editors' Note: The following item is reprinted from Garden, the journal of the Royal 

 Horticultural Society, London, England. It updates an article seen previously in Fruit Notes 

 [54(4): 11] on the British National Fruit Collection. 



National Fruit Collection Safe 



After a year of uncertainty, the future of the Na- 

 tional Fruit Collection has been secured. When, in 

 March last year, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries 

 and Food announced its proposal to close Brogdale 

 Experimental Station in Kent, the present home of the 

 Collection, unless alternative funding was found, there 

 was serious concern that this unique and internation- 

 ally renowned source of genetic material would be lost. 



While the fate of Brogdale was being decided, the 

 Society's Garden at Wisley (the Collection's original 

 home), Wye College, and East Mailing Trust were 

 considered as possible sites for the collection. Also, 

 Swale Borough Council offered to manage the Collec- 

 tion at the Brogdale site. 



However, on December 14 last year the Ministry 



announced that Brogdale was indeed to close on March 

 31 and confirmed that they had decided that nearby 

 Wye College, Ashford, Kent, offered the Collection the 

 best prospects for its future. As part of the University 

 of London, Wye will be able to ensure the Collection's 

 long-term security and independence from other fruit 

 research and breeding activities, in particular for Plant 

 Variety Rights testing. 



The Collection, which will be under the manage- 

 ment of Peter Dodd, dates back to the nineteenth 

 century. It contain approximately 2,400 different apple 

 varieties, 500 pears, 350 plums, 220 cherries, 320 bush 

 fruits, and 42 cobnuts, as well as varieties of vines and 

 ornamental prunus. 



The transfer to Wye will take about five years to 

 complete, as new plantings have to be propagated from 

 existing trees. 



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IN MEMORIAM 

 William T. Pearse, 1903-1990 



William T. (Bill) Pearse, a leader of the Massachu- 

 setts fruit industry and a long-time supporter of the 

 University's Fruit research program, passed away on 

 March 21, 1990. 



Born in Moretonhampstend, England, Bill came to 

 the U.S. as a child. He graduated in Pomology from the 

 Stockbridge School of Agriculture. A lifelong member 

 of the Massachusetts Fruit Growers' Association 

 (MFGA), he was employed in the Marketing Division 

 of the Massachusetts Department of Agriculture and in 

 the Middlesex County Extension Service, and for many 

 years was an operational consultant for J. P. Sullivan 

 and Company, Ayer, Massachusetts. 



Bill was a major figure in the MFGA. As Chairman 

 of the University of Massachusetts Fruit Advisory 

 Committee, he was an outspoken advocate for both the 

 fruit industry and the University's Pomology program. 

 Shortly before his death, Bill was named a Life Mem- 

 ber of MFGA in recognition of his many contributions. 



Bill's voice was a familiar sound at fruit grower 

 meetings for many years. Intensely interested in fruit 

 growing and in learning new things, his many ques- 

 tions were in search of better ways to get the job done 

 right. Among his legacies is the development of fruit 

 IPM in New England, which he strongly encouraged 

 and greatly helped become established in commercial 

 orchards. 



He is survived by his wife, Louise, by his daughters 

 Brenda and Cynthia, and by his sons David and Bill. 

 His family requested that memorial contributions be 

 made to either the Horticultural Research Fund, c/o 

 the Massachusetts Fruit Growers Association, Box 

 632, North Amherst, MA 01059, or to the Carroll 

 Center for the Blind, 770 Centre Street, Newton, MA 

 02158. 



With Bill's passing, a dedicated pomologist and 

 true friend was lost. 



Fruit Notes, Summer, 1990 



21 



