Strawberry Growing in Hampshire. 



[JUNE, 



general regulations impose severe penalties for misdescrip- 

 tion, thus affording extra protection to the purchaser. 



The total sales of the Bureau in 1908 were about 102,000 

 cwt., 60,000 cwt. being cereals, roots, &c. ; and 29,000 cwt. 

 potatoes, the remainder being grass and miscellaneous seeds. 



Railway Rates. — The German railways convey seed-corn 

 at a special rate, by which only one-half of the actual weight 

 of any consignment above 44 lb. is charged for. In the case 

 of certain recognised seed farms, the reduced tariff is allowed 

 at the time of conveyance, and in other cases it can be 

 recovered by the buyer on making a declaration that the seed 

 was used on his own farm. 



STRAWBERRY GROWING IN HAMPSHIRE. 

 J. C. Newsham, F.L.S., 



Hampshire Farm School, Basins;. 



The development of the strawberry growing industry in 

 this country is becoming more and more extensive, and it is 

 computed that nearly 30,000 acres are at present devoted to 

 this particular form of culture, which in such counties as 

 Kent and Hampshire has become a well-established and 

 important industry, affording employment to many thousands 

 of men, women, and, in the harvest time, as many children. 



In the county of Hampshire, the area devoted to this in- 

 dustry extends from the sea northwards as far as Fareham, 

 Wickham, and Bishop's Waltham. The industry is centred 

 in the district of Botley, Sarisbury, Swan wick, and South- 

 ampton, and found its origin in this particular part of Hamp- 

 shire, not as the result of a well-devised plan, arising from 

 the natural adaptability of the soil for the growth of straw- 

 berries, but rather as the mere chance issue of a small- 

 holder's enterprise many years ago. 



Production in Hampshire. — The number of baskets of fruit 

 despatched during last year from Swanwick Station amounted 

 to 874,216, this number representing the output in a compara- 

 tively scarce season, as in the previous year, which was con- 

 siderably more favourable to the setting and ripening of the 

 fruit, the number of baskets despatched from this station 

 amounted to 1,109,714. Large quantities of fruit are also 

 sold to local dealers and to visitors. 



