Fiff ii Yearti of Fruit Favmiwj. 
177 
the importation of fVuit from foreign countries has proceeded 
pari past^H. Croakers prophesied some years back that the 
British fruit-growers' occupation had gone, and that they could 
not hold their own against foreign rivals living in sunnier and 
less capricious climes. The prophecy is i-epeated periodically, 
yet the fruit acreage increases, and from many quarters the 
farmers of this countiy are plied with exhortations to go on 
planting fruit, and encouraged by accounts of startling profits 
to persevere. It will be useful and not out of place to give here 
some statistics as to the importation of foreign fruit during the past 
fifty years. These, though somewhat incomplete on account of 
changes in the classification of various fruits, will serve to give a 
good idea of the extent and increase of this trade with foreign 
countries. 
Taking apples first, in 1839 there were 71,162 bushels 
imported into this country; 323,719 bushels in 1849; 383,046 
bushels in 1859 ; and 491,689 bushels in 1869. After 1870, and 
until 1882, apples were not classified separately. In 1882 the 
quantity of this fruit imported was 2,386,805 bushels of the 
declared value of 783, 906^. In the last year, 1888, the quantity 
of this fruit imported was 3,796,592 bushels.' 
Bushels 
Of this quantity tlie United States of America sent . . . 1,648,890 
„ „ Canada „ . , . 875,86.3 
„ „ France „ . . . 541,865 
„ „ Belgium „ . . . 384,989 
„ „ Holland „ . . . 137,917 
„ Portugal „ . . . 144,126 
„ ,, Australasia „ . . . 29,908 
,, Channel Isles „ . . . 14,254 
„ J, Germany „ . . . 11,826 
„ „ Spain „ . . . 6,437 
The remainder came from Italy, Denmark, Madeira, and other countries 
in very small quantities. 
In 1886 about the same quantity of apples was imported 
from the United States as in the last year. Canada, however, 
has largely increased her exports of apples. In fact, the 
quantity sent in 1888 is nearly double that of any previous 
year, and is accounted for by the failure of the crop and the 
wretched quality of the fruit grown in England. 
With regard to this, the remarks of Mr. McD. Allan, who 
represented Canada at the Colonial Exhibition in 1886, made 
to the Fruit-growers Association must be quoted : — 
' These returns for 1888 were furnished by the courtesy of Mr, Courrous, 
chief of the Statistical Department of H.M. Customs. 
VOL. XXV. — S. S. N 
