130 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



the diamonds, and the result was that some twelve years ago some very 

 small initial consignments of fruit were received in London from South 

 Africa. I do not say that these initial consignments were the products of 

 those gentlemen who had the idea of developing the cultivation of fruit, 

 but I do say that the success of the experiment and the condition in 

 which these fruits arrived led them to think in the direction of fruit- 

 growing. 



In the year 1892 the question was brought up in the House of 

 Assembly in Cape Town, and a commission was appointed to take evidence 

 as to the possibility of opening up a fruit trade, and anybody who could 

 give any information on the subject was examined and the whole matter 

 thoroughly gone into. The result was that the Government concluded 

 that there was every prospect of a business being worked up between 

 South Africa and the home country, but that it would be better to leave 

 it to private enterprise ; and on that point I think they were quite right. 

 The effect of the appointment of the commission and the notices in the 

 Press of the success, so far, of Cape fruit led to the going out from 

 England of several fruit-growers with the object, if they found suitable 

 locations, of starting fruit-growing ; and it also led to several landowners 

 in the colony looking to the planting of trees with the object of opening 

 up this trade. From that time forward for the next five or six years 

 planting was done on a fair scale. 



I may give you an idea of the impossibility of starting a commercial 

 orchard in South Africa ten years ago from a personal experience. I was 

 instructed by the late Mr. Rhodes to plant in 1892 on the side of Table 

 Mountain what was at that time the biggest orchard planted in one season 

 in South Africa: it amounted to 370 trees. I had a very good knowledge 

 of varieties, but such was the scarcity of stock that it was impossible for 

 me to plant that orchard without using 120 varieties ! For instance, 

 in all the Colony I could not get more than three trees of the Williams' 

 Bon Chretien Pear ! This will show you, as I say, the impossibility at 

 that time of starting fruit-growing on a really commercial scale, and I 

 saw there was only one thing to do, namely, to begin by growing the 

 trees, so as to give all planters a chance of procuring good and sufficient 

 stock, and that of trees of good varieties. 



In the rural districts fruit-growing associations were started. It may 

 be worth while mentioning that in these country districts (every district 

 I have mentioned is within sixty miles of Cape Town) the soil was in the 

 hands of the Dutch, and the members of these associations taking an 

 Interest in the fruit-growing were almost entirely Dutch. I was a 

 member of four of these associations, and one very seldom heard a word 

 of English spoken. Although our country has been a British possession 

 for 100 years I was the first Englishman to settle on the soil in the 

 Paarl district. 



What gave a great impetus to the development of the fruit-growing 

 industry was the visit of Mr. Cillie to California. He is an exceedingly 

 capable man. and he had the confidence of the Dutch, which led to the 

 formation of the associations just mentioned and to the formation of a 

 company for drying fruits, particularly Apricots. In the district of 

 Wellington, which is about forty miles from Cape Town, there were ten 



