CLASSIFICATION OF FOOD. 



179 



carriage, say, and of market methods — which he cannot fight 

 single-handed, and under the burden of which he cannot make 

 fair head-way. Then the wide question of education in the 

 direction of the encouragement of a more general use of fruits 

 and their proper preparation ; and the side issues to which we 

 are thus introduced — philanthropical, educational, commercial, 

 and national — all these come in ; and I would fain hope that you 

 will determine that these considerations are well worth your 

 closer and more serious attention. Unless we grapple with 

 them — unless we meet them and try to deal with them 

 favourably and earnestly — we can never rightly realise " The 

 Importance of British Fruit Growing from a Food Point of 

 View." 



Discussion. 



Mr. W. EiOupell, speaking as an experienced fruit-grower, 

 said he always listened with the greatest pleasure and profit to 

 Mr. Baillie. Alluding specially to Tomatos, he said the fact 

 that such large quantities were being consumed was something 

 to be thankful for. Nothing had surprised him so much as the 

 rapid growth of the taste for that fruit. He remembered the 

 time when Tomatos were looked upon as very little superior in 

 flavour to the Potato-apple, but now the demand exceeded the 

 supply. Of course, he was speaking of sound, ripe fruit, and 

 not of the rubbish that was put upon the market. With refer- 

 ence to the views of vegetarians, he could not help thinking that 

 a Norfolk dumpling was greatly improved by the addition of a 

 little bit of beef-suet ; and he noticed that vegetarians spoke as 

 if they eschewed everything but vegetable food, while at the same 

 time indulging in milk, cheese, and sometimes good beef gravy. 

 With regard to the planting of Apples, he said his experience 

 had shown that if they had a fairly good soil and used the Para- 

 dise stock, they could get a crop the second year after planting, 

 and might look for an average crop every year after. If one sort 

 did not bear, another would, and it was only necessary to select 

 those of good quality. The old varieties were many of them now 

 out of date, and a nurseryman would be only too glad to obliterate 

 them from the list altogether. That, however, could not be 

 done, because gardeners are continually asked by some old- 

 fashioned persons for a particular variety they were fond of when 



