158 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



as the Pacific Coast Region, has been found to more nearly resemble 

 Western Europe in its adaptability for fruit culture. The country is thus 

 divided into two great natural regions. 



Until recently our fruit culture could hardly be considered to have 

 developed to a commercial extent. Orchards of various fruits were grown 

 principally in small areas simply as adjuncts to the general farm 

 industries ; and fruit culture, as such, was not carried on as a primary 

 interest, fruit being grown simply to supply home consumption and for 

 sale to a limited extent in local markets. While fruits were very generally 

 cultivated, their use was comparatively limited, due to the fact that no 

 satisfactory means of transit had been found. The introduction of rail- 

 roads gave a great impetus to the cultivation of fruit. Fruit could now 

 be carried to a much greater distance. Commercial fruit-growing in 

 America, however, may be said to have had its beginning with the intro- 

 duction of cold-storage methods about 1880. Shortly afterwards the use 

 of refrigerator cars in fruit shipments was introduced, and this led to a 

 further extension of our orchard interests. At the present time probably 

 the most characteristic feature of American horticulture is the vast 

 orchards which have been planted in many parts of the country, and the 

 immense wholesale business which has been developed. Another special 

 feature deserving to be mentioned is the enormous extension of our 

 specialised nursery business which will be mentioned below. 



THE USE OF AETIFICIAL REFRIGERATION. 



As already indicated, probably no one feature has been so important 

 in leading to the extension of the American fruit industries as the 

 introduction of artificial refrigeration. Before the introduction of this 

 means of refrigeration, the fruit-grower was necessarily confined to local 

 markets in the sale of his produce, and under these conditions it was im- 

 possible to dispose of very large quantities of fruit, owing to the limited 

 season, and the fruit could only be kept for a very short period. As a 

 result, gluts often occurred in markets, and large quantities of fruit were 

 lost. Efforts were made to minimise the loss from this source by canning, 

 and quantities of fruit were preserved in this manner. However, con- 

 ditions were not satisfactory for a great extension of the fruit-growing 

 industries, and the difficulty of keeping fruit made the market very 

 unstable. 



The application of artificial refrigeration in the preservation of fruit 

 has occurred more recently than we are at first inclined to recognise. It 

 appears at first to have been used mainly in the preservation of meats, 

 &c. The first application of refrigeration to fruit- storage, according to 

 Mr. W. A. Taylor, Assistant Pomologist of the Department of Agriculture, 

 took place about 1878. In that year the Pictet Artificial Ice Company 

 fitted up a building in New York City for the purpose of keeping fruits 

 &c. in cold storage for the public. In 1881, according to the same 

 authority, the Mechanical Refrigerating Company, of Boston, opened a 

 storehouse, and was probably ihe first to utilise artificial refrigeration for 

 storage on a large scale ; and in 1888 the Western Cold Storage Company, 

 of Chicago, opened a storage chilled with ice placed in suitable bins. The 



