100 JOURNAL OF THE EOYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



all the health-giving qualities of fresh fruit. I believe it is to the citizens 

 of the most distant outpost of the Empire (Tasmania) that the credit 

 is due for having made the early experiments in connection with the 

 carriage of apples in cool store over long sea distances. It was found 

 necessary for them to secure other markets for their surplus, and 

 though at the time England was expected to consume all the surplus, 

 as a matter of fact fruit is so carried to many other parts of the Empire 

 and in increasing quantities to other countries. If it be thought I 

 dwell too much on apples I would justify my remarks by saying that 

 of all fruit imported into the United Kingdom from other parts of the 

 Empire, apples represent by far the greatest in aggregate value. When 

 I mentioned that inferior land has been made very valuable by the intro- 

 duction of fruit-growing, I had in my mind only the land that required 

 no special treatment by way of preparation, but in Australia, in addi- 

 tion, at Mildura, in the State of Victoria, loamy wastes have been 

 converted, by means of irrigation, into most valuable fruit-growing 

 lands; there, sub-tropical and tropical fruits grow luxuriantly, and it 

 is hoped that the extension of this great work will enable Victoria to 

 supply dried fruits in sufficient quantities to satisfy the demands of 

 the Commonwealth, and to contribute largely to the wants of the 

 Mother Country. 



There are subsidiary interests in connection with fruit-growing 

 besides jam-making and wine-production; there is basket-making for 

 small fruit, bottles and tins for fruit and pulp, tim.ber for cases and 

 barrels; and another industry I hope to see extensively taken up 

 in connection with orchards is the keeping of bees, for it has been 

 successfully demonstrated that cross-pollination — i.e. introduction of 

 foreign pollen into the blossoms — improves the size and quality of the 

 fruit. For this purpose nothing can be better than keeping bee-hives 

 in the orchards or in very close proximity to them. It will be at once 

 seen that the introduction of bees in connection with orcharding secures 

 two extra profits for the orchardist — the improved value of the fruit and 

 the return from the honey. If properly attended, each hive may be 

 expected to give a return of 200 lb. weight of honey — under the old 

 system, I believe, 80 lb. was the highest amount obtained. 



I shall now incorporate the figures I have been able to compile 

 showing the total area under fruit in the various divisions of the 

 Empire : — ■ 



Acreage of Orchards and Vineyards in the 



British Empire. 





Acres. 



India (1906-7), including vegetable gardens . 



. 4,020,136 



Ontario (1908) 



338.255 



United Kingdom (1907-8) .... 



335,177 



Cape of Good Hope (1908) .... 



72,590 



Quebec (1907) . . . 



77,416 



Victoria, Australia (1908-9) .... 



75,105 



Nova Scotia (1907) 



54,051 



Carried forward . . 



. 4,972,730 



