FOURTEENTH EXHIBITION OF COLONIAL-GHOWN FRUITS. 



Another point to which he wished to refer was the wonderful 

 progress they had made, not only in the production, but in the market- 

 ing of their fruit. Only those who grew fruit and vegetables for 

 market knew how very important it was to present the produce in 

 such a way as to be attractive. The selection, grading, packing, and 

 marketing was a study in itself; and, so far as they could judge from 

 what they saw before them, considerable progress had been made in 

 that direction, especially in the important element of packing. He 

 knew quite well that in certain estabhshments in this country fruit 

 was now so packed that it might travel safely from one end of the 

 world to the other without injury, whereas a few years ago, owing to 

 rough handling on our railways, fruit like pears more often than not 

 arrived almost in a state of decomposition. But things were very 

 different now, and that was a matter for congratulation. 



He was sorry that the produce from the West Indies was not yet 

 there; because he thought that a great many of their fruits and pro- 

 ducts might with advantage be more largely used in this country 

 than they are at the present time. Some progress, however, had 

 already been made in this direction, due very largely, he believed, 

 to the efforts of the late Sir Alfred Jones. In regard to bananas, for 

 instance, he understood that banana flour was now extensively used for 

 mixing with wheat flour in pastry and for various other purposes. 

 He might also mention that one of the most excellent products of the 

 West Indian Colonies was the West Indian ginger. The ginger they 

 formerly had at their tables came from China and was immersed in a 

 very dark-looking syrup. He considered the West Indian ginger very 

 superior to that. 



With reference to whether the encouragement of Colonial fruit- 

 growing would interfere with our domestic supply, he thought it 

 really did not. In this country, owing to the very variable climate, 

 the amount of fruit grown in our orchards in a favourable year could 

 never be depended upon for the year following. Taken indeed at its very 

 utmost extent the total amount of fruit grown in this country might 

 almost be called small as compared with the demand, and he was 

 confident that the British fruit-growers need not look with any appre- 

 hension whatever at the beautiful fruit they saw to-day. There would 

 always be ample demand for our own fruit, and there was more than 

 ample room for Colonial fruit also; and were it not for the importa- 

 tion of fruit enabling the smaller greengrocers to keep their shops 

 going during the season of small home supplies, British growers 

 would, he thought, soon be complaining of circumscribed markets. 

 He believed he was correct in saying that last year we imported 

 3,000,000 cwt. of apples, and no fewer than 6,000,000 bunches of 

 bananas, which showed what an important part fruit from our 

 Colonies played in keeping open home markets. 



With regard to the production of fruit in this country, with one 

 or two exceptions we could grow the finest examples of fruit which 

 the world produced. No men of any nationality could grow such fine 



