FOR PROFIT. 189 



manure his land or crop required, and at a moderate 



price— either prepared bones, guano, or some of the 



phosphatic manures which had been referred to. One 



of the principal reasons for which he would recommend 



these things in preference to farm-yard manure, was 



the economy of application. Apart from the question 



of weeds, which was very serious, especially with 



manure from London, the expense of hauling 20 or 



25 tons of farm-yard manure on to an acre of fruit 



land, first getting it to the plantation, and then 



spreading it amongst the fruit bushes, was enormous, 



whereas if you had a suitably-prepared manure, with 



the jjroper quantity of potash, phosphates, and ammonia, 



it would all go in a one-horse cart and be carried 



out and sown broadcast on the land for three or four 



shillings. On a large scale, that saving alone would 



mean a good living for the fruit grower. With regard 



to foreign competition, there had been complaints for 



25 years, but he thought the time had come to admit 



that the British fruit grower was largely dependent 



on foreign and colonial produce. In the old days a 



small quantity of fruit could be sold during the 



season ; there was a shop here and there, and fruit 



was very dear, and when any unusually large 



quantity was sent to market there was no one to 



distribute it. The season then only lasted three or 



four months, but now we had choice fruit all the year 



round. There were hundreds of shops, stores, and 



barrows — fruit was constantly put before the public, 



who were thus educated to the consumption of it, and 



insisted on having it, and thus the fruit grower was 



far better off than he would have been without foreign 



supplies. Reference had been made to the advantage 



