782 JOURNAL OF THE EOYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



of our rural districts might be stayed. And not only is such a consum- 

 mation desirable in the interests of the growers, but it would also be an 

 equal boon to the public at large. 



At present the facts are just these : Lovers of home-grown fruits can 

 have the doubtful pleasure of having too much for three months in the 

 year, and for the remaining nine months (except for Apples and Pears) 

 they are compelled to live on past memories, wdth the result that they 

 have no alternative but to buy the imported fruits of other countries ; 

 whereas, if British fruits were obtainable all the year round — having all 

 the freshness and flavour of recently picked fruit — they would certainly 

 continue to use them in preference to others. I must confess that to me 

 it seems remarkable that until the last two or three years no really serious 

 attempt appears to have been made to meet the evident interest, not only 

 of the growers, but also of the consumers of home-grown fruits. 



Preservers seem to have been contented with the continually increas- 

 ing trade for jam and marmalade, allowing France and America to do 

 the Whole Fruit trade in tins and bottles at very high profits, practically 

 giving them a monopoly in these goods, which they have not failed to use 

 to the very best advantage. 



Certain it is that all has not been done that might have been in this 

 direction. 



Lest I should be misunderstood, perhaps I ought here to call attention 

 to the fact (which, of course, is well known to everybody) that British - 

 grown fruits have been put up in bottles in a certain form for many years 

 past, but with results that cannot be regarded as at all satisfactory. 

 Owing to the long and tedious method of preserving, the flavour, colour, 

 and wholeness of the fruit have been in nearly all cases destroyed. And 

 at no time do such preserved fruits appear to have had any real hold on 

 the fruit-eating public ; the fact is, the public wanted something better, 

 something more like what has now been produced by the new method of 

 Whole Fruit preservation. 



Some two or three years ago the whole matter received considerable 

 attention ; it was generally felt that there must be a departure from the 

 old lines altogether. New " vacuum bottles " were just then put upon the 

 market and were being used for other purposes with some success. 



It was hoped that these might be the very thing wanted, and attempts 

 were at once made to utilise them for the preserving of Whole Fruits. 



The results were, it is said, by no means encouraging, and in some 

 cases disastrous. 



The chief difficulty lay in the fact that a twofold purpose had to be 

 achieved under one operation, viz. : "To perfectly preserve the fruits 

 whole, and at the same time to effectively seal the bottles." This, 

 together with the fact that every kind of fruit had its own special 

 characteristics (requiring different treatment), made it an almost impos- 

 sible task. Many regarded it as absolutely so, and gave up the attempt 

 altogether. A few, how^ever, persevered, losing a good deal of money in 

 experiments, but having the firm comiction that the principle was right, 

 and that if only the difficulties could be overcome, and it were made 

 possible to preserve fruits in vacuo, splendid results would be achieved, 

 and a new era opened in the fruit industry of this country. I need 



