780 



JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



WHOLE FRUIT PRESERVATION— ITS RELATION TO FRUIT 



PRODUCTION. 



By J. E. Austin, F.R.H.S. 



[Read November 26, 1901.] 



The subject of which I have undertaken to treat relates to an industry 

 as yet in its infancy, but is one which I fully believe to be capable of 

 almost unlimited extension, and which, if properly developed, will have a 

 very important bearing upon the future of the fruit trade of this country. 

 In many respects fruit preservation is so closely allied to fruit production 

 that they may be regarded as one industry, and yet in several important 

 particulars they are distinct and separate ; but in any case the success of 

 either must materially affect the other. 



The development of the fruit trade of this country, and the rapidly 

 increasing quantities of fruit consumed, make it a subject of great — one 

 might almost say of national — importance. For not only is it the sole 

 source of revenue of many thousands of families, but it has become a very 

 important factor in the food supply of this country. We are essentially 

 a fruit-eating people, and no British table is considered complete, at any 

 time in the year, unless fruit in some form or another is placed upon it. 

 This is a fact which I believe is much more fully recognised by Continental 

 growers than it is by ourselves, if at least one may judge from the vast 

 quantities of fruit imported into this country, and the strenuous efforts 

 which foreigners make to maintain their hold upon our markets. 



I believe, however, there has been a general awakening of late years, 

 both among growers and preservers, as to the great possibilities of the 

 fruit trade of this country, and we are beginning to see more clearly than 

 at any pre^'ious time that some portion of the large sums of money which 

 are being paid to Continental growers (not only for fresh fruits but also for 

 preserved) should find their way into English pockets instead. 

 • There can be no doubt that the growers of this country labour under 

 a series of disadvantages as compared with the growers on the Continent, 

 and some of them very real drawbacks indeed. Chief among these may 

 be mentioned the fact that, owing to climatic conditions, the growers of 

 the Continent are able to place their productions on our markets some two 

 or three weeks before the same things grown at home can posssibly be 

 ready for market, with the result that the foreign produce is able to make 

 the very high prices which the British public are willing to pay for early 

 fruits ; and, at the same time, the keen edge of the public appetite is 

 destroyed or appeased before the fruits of this country are obtainable. 

 This does not, as some may suppose, apply merely to one or two kinds, 

 but to nearly every kind of fruit grown — as, for instance, Strawberries, 

 Cherries, Gages, Apricots, Black and Red Currants, and Plums of all 

 kinds. 



Ha^g an intimate acquaintance with Covent Garden and other 

 markets, I have noticed for several years past what fabulous prices have 



