17G 
Fifty Years of Fruit Farming. 
trees : this happened actually in 1886-. Added to this is the fact 
that in many towns and villages fruit is a luxury beyond the 
means of moderate incomes. Much has yet to be done in the 
direction of distribution. A year or two ago the growers of 
the famous East Kent cherries, feeling that the returns made 
by them were not by any means satisfactory or sufficient, 
agreed to try to sell their fruit by means of travellers, or agents, 
visiting towns and districts where fruit is known to be scarce 
and always dear. Mr. Tallerman propounded a plan to Kent 
growers of making arrangements with grocers and other trades- 
men to take fruit direct. This question is receiving the careful 
attention of those interested in fruit production. 
To railways is undoubtedly due in a degree the great de- 
velopment of fruit-farming. Facilities of transport have been 
afforded, absolutely essential in the case of soft, juicy, soon de- 
composing material ; but the excessive rates charged for the 
conveyance of fruit have handicapped growers, and have tended 
to hinder the extension of the acreage of fruit-land in this 
country. As is well known, fruit is brought for less from France, 
Belgium, Holland, and other countries to London, than is 
charged for fruit carried there from Kentish villages. Enter- 
prising farmers in Kent have chartered barges to convey their 
fruit to London, with decided benefit to their pockets. Some 
living within a reasonable distance from London have reverted 
to the old custom of sending it in vans by road. 
So far, this has been, speaking generally, a chronicle of 
steady advance in modes of cultivation and details of manage- 
ment of fruit land and fruit. There is, however, one detail 
which has been somewhat neglected, and in the opinion of 
many it is of considerable importance. The packing of fruit 
and its "setting off" for market are not sufficiently attended 
to. The former is too much the same as in ancient days : 
baskets of the same type and capacity are employed. The 
latter is as a rule ignored. Here and there growers may 
be found who put fruit into smaller and neater baskets than 
the typical " sieves," " halves," and " pots," also into boxes. 
Some set off their fruit with coloured paper, and arrange it 
carefully in the packages, but much improvement is absolutely 
necessary in this direction. Sorting fruit for market has been 
more practised latterly. Generally it is sorted into " firsts " 
and " seconds," and, occasionally, growers very particular as 
to their reputation further divide it into "thirds." Not many 
years ago it was all heaped into baskets without any classifica- 
tion whatever. 
Together with the increase of fruit produced in this country^ 
