VOL. LVI.— ?fo. 3,04y. 



- > 



SATURDAY, MARCH 30, 1912 



THE 



GARDENERS 



MAGAZINE 



NOTE OF THE WEEK. 



Tree Sales in Ireland. 



Some correspondence has recently taken 

 place between the Horticultural Ta'acles As- 

 sociation and the Irish Department of 

 Agriculture with reference to the practice 

 which obtains among the 

 various County Councils, 

 which are under the control 

 of the Department J of en- 

 gaging in the sale of fruit 

 and other trees. The ques- 

 tion involved is one of con- 

 siderable importance, not 

 oiilv to the members of the 

 Association, but to all who 

 are engaged in the nursery 

 trade in Ireland, and should 

 have the most careful con- 

 fe'deration. That it is impor- 

 tant there can be no doubt, 

 for^ miless the circumstances 

 are quite exceptional, there 

 is the gravest objection to 

 public bodies entering into 

 competition with private 

 firms who have to contribute 

 to the funds by which they 

 are able to compete with 

 those engaged in trade, and, 

 it may be, undersell them. 

 It will be admitted, unless 

 we are much mistaken, that 

 the 



hausted fruit trees that had become woi-n 

 out. This being the state of things, it is 

 obvious that no ordinary course of proce- 

 dure would have brought about so great a 



calls attention to the very vSerious injury 

 whith is being done to the nurseiy tra<le in 

 Irehuid through the County Councils sup- 

 plying fruit trees, forest trees, and even 



change as to fully justify the optimistic ornamental trees at very low prices to land 



views expressed by Messrs. Gordon and 

 Castle in their report on the possibilities 

 of Ireland as a fruit-growing country. It 

 would have been little use at the outset of 



the 



exceeded the 



cu'cumstances in which 

 Irish County Councils 

 are placed are of a quite 

 exceptional character. If 

 this be so, the point to con- 

 sider is not whether the 

 Councils have done wrong in 

 selling trees, but whether 

 they have 



limits that should have been 

 placed on their sales. We 



from 



e trend of the correspon- 

 dence, that there has been some excels of 

 zeal, but to understand 

 IS necessary 

 fruit growing; 



in Ireland twentv v^^r^ ago, except- 



are inclined to think 

 th 



MR, H. CARVER. 



owners and occupiers throughout the coun- 



i Ti-__1 '1 1 



try. 



It is also pointed out that if it were 



a matter of assisting the poorer and more 

 ignorant part of the population to improve 



their surix)undings, no ob- 

 jection would be raiseil, 



but it was understoo<i 

 from 



that 

 case 



was 



numerous complaints 

 this was not the 

 but that the 



-1'. 



I - 



vari- 

 ous County Councils were 

 pushing the business in all 

 directions. In reply, the 

 Department states that 

 ''the County Committees do 

 not, as a rule, supply fruit, 

 forest, or ornamental trees 

 to landowners ; their opera- 

 tions in this direction being 

 mainly confinetl to small 

 holders, cottagers, and 

 labourers." From this ex- 

 tract^ it is evident the sales 

 have not been limited to the 

 three classes of cultivators 

 last named, as they unques- 

 tionably should have been. 

 It is further stated that ''the 

 committees who adopt this 

 method of distributing trees 

 always obtain competitive 

 tenders from nurserymen in 

 Ireland. The best tender, 

 not necessarily the lowest, is 

 accepted; and tlie commit- 

 tee then proceeds to re-sell 

 the trees to occupiers in the 



countv 



at cost price, plus 

 It can scared V be 



carriage. 

 contende<l, therefore, that 

 the committees are in ruin- 

 ous competition with 



servmen. 



nur- 



Moreover. as trees 



the position it 

 to remember that, whereas 



the educational movement for instructors cost 



pnce, 

 neither the 



to have gone into country districts to teach 

 the peasants and small holders the princi- funds 

 practically unknown pies and practice of fruit culture unless ducing 



twenty 



wa s 



are 

 the 



are sold by the committee at 

 the b uy ers paying ca r r ia ge , 

 rates nor the Departments 

 used for the nurnose of 



cost of 



purpose 

 the trees to 



the 



years 



^'ig in gardens under 

 experienced men, it is now an nnportant 



T^?' ^^^^^"^ ^^^^ l^^^'-s Castle 

 and Mr. George Gordon made a journey 



tnrough Ireland for the purpose of investi- 

 gating the condition and 

 jruit growing in that country, it was quite 

 tne exception to meet with a fruit tree that 

 ^ad been plante<l within a roe<^nt period, 

 and few were the farmers who a,>]n-e.riate<l 

 importance of replacing old and 



they had received some assistance in the purchasers, so that the public funds 

 the charge of purchase of fru^t trees. This was done as are not used in competiti^m with private 



part of the educational work, and, as proved 

 by the results, the practice has been most 

 satisfactorv. Whether it should have been 

 continued after the growers had acquired 



enterprise, 

 as an cxct^llent 



This may have been regarded 



ih'fence of ilie ju'actice of 

 Avliich the Assix iation comjflains, but we are 

 unai)le to ie<rard it as snch. brcaii-e no in- 



possibilities of expei'ience may be an open question, but formation is given with regar<l U^ tlu 



man- 



there is no justification for the supply of ner in wliicli tlie cost of the several trans- 



trees to the public at large, which the As- 

 sociation states is now being done. In the 

 letter Mith which the correspondence was 

 ex- opened, the secretary of the Ajp^ociat'on 



actions are detraved if not from the funds 

 at the <lis|H>sal of the committees, wh'cli, 

 being raise*! from the rates, are of a public 

 eharacter. It is also .stated by the Depart- 



