34 



a fair price, and of a guaranteed quality, the nearer their success 

 will be ; and, indeed, the danger of their not being able to grow 

 fruits of excellent quality will then be reduced to a minimum. 

 We write as a plain farmer, and not even as a scientific one* 

 and with no pretence in this matter to pose as an expert. We 

 have here in the Western Province an object lesson always 

 before us in the wonderful manner in which vineyard 

 lands have retained their fertility. These lands have been in 

 crops for well over a hundred years, and in many instances up- 

 wards of two hundred years, and are still of a high grade of fer- 

 tility. The Western vineyardist has made the manure of his 

 vineyard his first care, and until late years his manure has been 

 entirely produced by himself on his farm. It is customary to 

 own large and small stock, and to kraal them at nights, bringing 

 into the kraal from time to time bushes from the surrounding 

 mountain and veld. This serves as a warm,, dry bed for the 

 stock at nights, and undoubtedly adds a large amount of potash 

 to the great benefit of the manure. Times are now changing, 

 farms are getting cut up and more restricted in area, the acreage 

 tinder cultivation is annually increasing, and the farmers, to keep 

 up the fertility of the increased acreage, must necessarily have to 

 resort to the use of artificial fertilizers. 



We know that there is an increased import of fertilizers to 

 Africa every year, and this is a healthy sign for our future. The 

 time has come when the government of South Africa has rightly 

 recognised that to a great extent our future rests on the intelligent 

 manner in which the land is farmed; but we are satisfied that 

 enormous strides in such recognition must take place before the 

 agricultural farmers of South Africa are placed in even a fair 

 position to compete with their competitors in other more favoured 

 countries who directly compete with them in agricultural produce 

 in South African markets. 



We consider, for instance, that it was a criminally short- 

 sighted thing for our Colonial Government to export and to sell in 

 Europe a large portion of the Colonial guano supply, as has been 

 done. 



Growers need not be anxious as to suitability of the several 

 kinds of artificial manures for orchard purposes. They have 

 long been so used in every fruit-growing country of the world, 

 and the high standard that fruit growing has attained in the 

 world's commerce can be fairly and properly put down to their 

 intelligent use and extreme suitability. 



Let us for a moment go to Southern California, which, as 

 our readers know, has taken a front rank in the successful culti- 

 vation of citrus trees, olives and nuts. Twenty-five years ago, 

 when we lived there, almost the only manure used was the sheep 

 manure, which was brought into the groves from the outlying 



