HORTICULTURE IN NEW ZEALAND. 



149 



Auckland district especially producing very fine fruit— good crops with 

 good prices. A small basket containing about 1^ lb. fetches 2s. Gd. in 

 the retail shops at the commencement of the season, falling to Is, 6d. and 

 sometimes Is. 4<i. towards the latter end. These are good prices com- 

 pared with those in England, and should pay handsomely. Of course one 

 has to consider the increased price of labour in the colony, and Straw- 

 berries, as is well known, require much hard detail work in order to 

 grow to perfection ; but for a man with a wife and family of an industrious 

 bent of character (the very class of people the colony is so badly in need 

 of) Strawberry-growing may be made a profitable avocation. There is 

 a steady demand, and a glut in the market need not he feared. 



Raspberry-growing is another industry to which I would like to call 

 your attention. In all parts of the South Island this fruit can be grown 

 to perfection, and in the North Island also ; but in the warmer climate of 

 the north the plant makes too much wood, and in the far north the sun 

 scorches and dries up the fruit. In the Nelson Province, in the northern 

 portion of the South Island, the Raspberry particularly flourishes, a 

 very large acreage having been planted in the Motueka district. There 

 are upwards of 150 plantations, the largest being 25 acres. The ' Red 

 Antwerp ' is the variety mostly favoured, and it is considered the standard 

 of excellence. Several American varieties have been tried, but have not 

 met with favour. The ' Red Antwerp ' is prolific and reliable, and a pro- 

 fitable variety to grow. A market is found in the capital city of Welling- 

 ton and in the small townships on the west coast and at Nelson. About 

 85 miles from Motueka there is an extensive jam factory which will 

 take all the surplus fruit at a fixed price. Raspberries sell in Wellington 

 at 5d. a pound in buckets containing about 16 lb., but there is at times 

 a glut, when lower prices have to be accepted ; and as the fruit is so liable to 

 perish a quick sale has to be effected. Last year in the district I have 

 mentioned the crop was so abundant that I am informed that Id. a lb. 

 was all that the Nelson factory would give in the height of the picking season. 

 I heard of a grower who, on the road to Nelson with a cartload of Rasp- 

 berries, hearing that Id. a lb. was all that he would receive at the end of 

 his journey tipped the entire load into the river rather than accept such an 

 unpaying figure. I am glad to say that the Government, through the 

 Agricultural Department, have come to the rescue, and have been instru- 

 mental in getting the fruit placed on the London market in a pulp state, and 

 from latest accounts it is likely to prove a success. A pulp factory which 

 was capable of dealing with 150 tons the first season has been erected at 

 Motueka, and an idea regarding the output from the district may be 

 gathered when I tell you that on one occasion during the past season up- 

 wards of eighty horse conveyances of various sizes, each loaded with Rasp- 

 berries, were seen, standing in two rows, near the Motueka wharf awaiting 

 delivery. The pickers receive ^d. a lb. Care is taken that the fruit 

 should be packed in good condition, and the pickers are scrupulously clean 

 in everything pertaining to the work. The pulp is put up in various 

 sized tins, from 2^ lb. upwards, suited to the wants of every household. 



It should be a satisfaction to our English cousins to know that they 

 are now, or will in the near future be, in a position to obtain the very best 

 unadulterated real British jam from New Zealand, and the help they will 



