Fruit-growing in Kent. 
99 
degree by the competition of foreigners in the matter of soft fruit, 
i.e., fruit of a perishable nature, as gooseberries, raspberries, 
currants, and strawberries ; jet, as a fact, the cost of carriage of 
a ton of fruit from France to the London Docks is no more than 
from Maidstone to the London markets. Rents and labour are 
cheaper in France and Belgium, while the climate of the former 
country is far more suited for the production of fine well- 
flavoured fruits than our own.* Mr. Brehaut remarked upon 
the point that " in making any comparison between the state of 
fruit cultivation on the Continent, as compared with that in 
England, it must always be borne in mind that much of the 
land devoted to the purpose is, as regards climate and soil, the 
best in the world."f Continential growers are able to send 
fruit to London earlier than the home producers. They send 
strawberries, cherries, and other fruits in quantities, and " take the 
edge off the appetite of the people," to use the forcible remark of 
a worthy salesman, " before Kent cherries are fit to eat." There 
is, however, the solatium that if Kent growers do not get the 
first " pull," they have the field pretty well to themselves for a 
time, after the foreign soft fruit season is over, before the gages, 
plums, apples, and pears are ripe. Still, in spite of all the 
advantages possessed by the " foreigners," their fruit is not so 
good, taking it generally, as that grown in Kent, which is 
acknowledged to be, on the whole, better than any other that 
comes to London. Fruiterers and salesmen say that the foreign 
fruit has much improved in flavour and size, and is steadily 
improving, while the imports are increasing year by year, as may 
be seen by the returns of the Board of Trade, which show that the 
total amount of " raw " fruit imported into England in 1875 had 
reached the enormous amount of 2,220,412 bushels, as against 
1,128,568 bushels in 1871. France sends strawberries, cherries, 
red currants, gages, plums, pears, and apples ; and sent to 
this country 581,170 bushels of " raw " fruit in 1875, against 
354,606 bushels in 1871. Plums and currants arrive from 
Belgium and Holland. Apples and pears are imported from 
Spain. Immense quantities of apples come from America,^ 
of fine quality and flavour, almost equal to Ribston or Cox's 
Pippins in good seasons. These arrive generally in excellent 
condition, being packed in barrels like oil-cake ; and they 
* 703,777 bushels of raw fruit were sent to England in 1875 from Belgium, the 
value of which was 160,548?. France sent 581,170 bushels, whose value was 
271,278?. showing that the quality of French fruit is far superior. 
t ' Report on the Present State of Fruit Cultivation on the Continent (1868).' 
By the Rev. T. Collings Brehaut. 
J A large Covent Garden fruit merchant wrote on the 18th of December, ult. : 
"This day alone there are 16,394 barrels and 109 cases of apples from America, 
to be sold by auction." 
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