510 JOUBNAL OF THE EOYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



KEPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE FRUIT 

 INDUSTRY.* 



To the President of the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries. 



Sir, — The Departmental Committee appointed by Lord Onslow to 

 inquire into the condition of the Fruit Industry beg to present the following 

 Report : — 



Preface. 



1. The Reference to the Committee was as follows : 



" To inquire into and report upon the present position of fruit 

 culture in Great Britain, and to consider whether any further 

 measures might with advantage be taken for its promotion and 

 encouragement." 



2. The inquiry thus undertaken has proved to be long and complicated, 

 many different issues having been raised in the course of the evidence. 

 The Committee have met altogether 49 times, having examined 61 

 witnesses, and 11,968 questions have been asked and answered. The 

 witnesses consisted of officials from the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries, 

 who were able to state the present condition of the industry, and to inform 

 the Committee what measures had hitherto been taken by Government to 

 promote it ; of some of the County Council Horticultural Instructors, who 

 explained what had been done so far by way of instruction by several of 

 the County Councils ; of fruit-growers from all the principal fruit-growing 

 districts in England, Scotland, and Wales ; of salesmen from several of the 

 largest distributing centres ; of railway officials, who stated to what extent 

 the railway companies had been able to meet the requirements of the 

 industry ; of land agents and surveyors, who dealt with the present state 

 of the law with regard to land tenure, so far as it affects market gardens 

 and fruit plantations ; of officials of the Board of Trade, Somerset House, 

 the Royal Agricultural Society, the British Bee-Keepers' Association, and 

 other bodies, who gave evidence on special points brought before them- 

 In addition to this the Committee heard several witnesses on the condition 

 of the cider and jam industries, on the prosperity of which the fruit- 

 grower is largely dependent. In the selection of witnesses, the Committee 

 endeavoured to procure thoroughly representative men, by inviting various 

 corporate bodies and local associations to delegate one of their members 

 to give evidence. Besides hearing evidence, the Committee visited some 

 of the chief fruit-growing districts in England, including Swanley in 

 Kent, the large plantations at Toddington in Gloucestershire, and the 

 Evesham district. They also took the opportunity of seeing the National 

 Fruit and Cider Institute, at Long Ashton, near Bristol, the Swanley 



* This Report is so intimately connected with one large branch of the work of 

 our Society, that the chance of any (but a very small proportion) of our Fellows seeing 

 it otherwise has induced me to print it in full. Anyone sufficiently interested in the 

 subject to wish to read the Evidence of the Witnesses called before the Committee 

 can obtain the verbatim report of questions put to and answers made by all the 

 witnesses by applying to Messrs. Wyman and Sons, Fetter Lane, London E.C. — Editor* 



