REPORT OF THE APPLE AND PEAR CONFERENCE. 



89 



gether right flavour can lurk beneath the skin of apple or pear 

 than can be found in the flesh of a British-grown Cox's Orange 

 or Ribston Pippin, or some of our best pears ; and no sprightly 

 sauciness of brisk acidity can be found in the often insipid flavour 

 of many of the foreign sub-acid apples to compare with that of a 

 Northern grown Keswick or Lord Suffield. 



There are those about us, and apparently warmly interested 

 in this movement, who go to extremes in both directions. In this 

 problem of production let us remember we have all tastes to suit, 

 all palates to please, and therefore a wide range for our catering. 

 One cannot help being amused to read of somebody's piippin, 

 which is the apple of the future for the essence of its sweetness 

 and syrupy juiciness, to which sugar would be a superfluity if not 

 an absolute detraction ; and in another week's issue of the same 

 journal the merit of somebody else's seedling, which is to be the 

 apple of the future, is found in and founded on the fact that its 

 beautiful tartness of flavour is such as absolutely to defy the 

 seductive influence of sugar or syrup, bringing it to the dull level 

 of the popular palate which can only take its strawberries when 

 reduced to a kind of saccharine paste, which can only take 

 currants as preserves, or cherries in brandy. 



So long as opinions differ so widely we need not fear the 

 unavoidable influence of climate in any of the home districts upon 

 the quahties of our British-grown fruits. 



Whilst admitting of a certain amount of healthy variation in 

 the quality of the fruits, I w^ould venture to say that the error of 

 the past has been rather in the multiplication of kinds than in 

 the other direction. Some people have prided themselves upon 

 having as many varieties as they can count trees in their orchards, 

 but I could never see the full force of the benefit of such possession. 

 It is well to choose but few kinds, letting them be such as are 

 suitable to the district and such as commend themselves as 

 market favourites. 



For instance, in the larger Lancashire towns apples of a brisk 

 sharp flavour find much readier sale than the sweeter fruits, for 

 which there may probably be greater demand in the south. If 

 you can sell at Cottonopolis Keswicks or Lord Suffields by the 

 ton, why not grow them by the acre rather than coddle with 

 somebody's new seedling said to surpass the Newtown Pippin in 

 its sugary flavour when the season is favourable enough for it to 

 fruit ? Meet the demand of the district, and proceed cautiously ; 

 extend as rapidly as you like, but carefully. 



If it is worth doing at all, it is worth doing well. Do away 

 with worthless incumbrances of the ground. A good fruit is as 

 readily grown as a bad one. This is the crux in the provinces. 



If time permitted me to draw you a picture of the typical 

 farmer's orchard, you would not wonder that fruit-growing was a 

 feeble industry in many places. Such so-called orchards are, many 



