172 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



being sold in Devonshire and other counties at 6d. per score, 

 and as being difficult to get in any large quantity even at that 

 price. Surely this points out the defects in the distribution of 

 fruit and the difficulties in bringing the consumer in touch with 

 the grower. 



A large fruit merchant in Burnley (Lancashire) tells me that 

 there is ten times the quantity of fruit used in that town to what 

 was used twenty years ago. A Nottingham fruit merchant states 

 that until within the last twelve years the business in the fruit 

 trade was exceedingly small ; in fact, that local supplies satisfied 

 the demand, but since then there has been remarkable progress, 

 and he now sells forty packages where he sold one twelve years 

 ago. In Leeds, in 1823, the fruit market was held in the street ; 

 in 1854 there were only three wholesale fruit merchants ; in 

 1877 buildings were erected, and there are now fifteen wholesale 

 fruit merchants in the market, all doing a large trade. These 

 three examples show the enormous strides which have taken 

 place in recent years in the fruit trade in large towns. 



It would be a great advantage to growers if they could pulp 

 down some of their fruit in seasons of glut ; this is not so diffi- 

 cult as some people imagine, and is quite worth consideration. 

 At Toddington we are fortunate in having a jam factory in the 

 centre of the fruit farm, and, practically, the whole of the bush, 

 fruit, comprising Strawberries, Black and Red Currants, Rasp- 

 berries, and Gooseberries, and the greater part of the Plums, 

 Gages, Damsons, and Cherries, are converted into jam by Messrs. 

 T. W. Beach & Sons, Limited. The fruit as it is picked, instead 

 of having to travel by rail, is carried direct from the bushes and 

 trees to the factory, where it is turned into jam. A very high- 

 class preserve is thus made from the fresh fruit. Another great 

 feature in Messrs. Beach's business is their bottled fruits, which 

 are excellent. 



Foreign competition (with the exception of Apples) ought not 

 to materially affect our fruit trade. Soft fruit from abroad cannot 

 be put on the market in as good a condition as the home-grown, 

 and as the public taste becomes more educated, the more demand 

 will there be for fresh fruit and pure jams. Jams made from 

 imported fruit and pulp cannot compare with that made from 

 fresh-gathered fruit. 



