178 
Fifty Years of Fruit Farming. 
" That exhibit of fruits at the Colonial Exhibition did more for our country 
than all the literature in the world. Our fruits told dwellers in Britain of a 
climate far superior to anything they had given Canada credit for. Some 
years ago I made the remark that I believed we could grow the finest apples 
in the world. My experience of Britain's markets, where I met apples from 
almost all other fruit-growing countries, has confirmed the impression. Our 
apples have taken the British buyer by storm, and consumers there will not 
purchase others so long as they obtain a suitable article from us. Canada 
has gained a good name for honest culling and packing. Another point I 
may mention here, that British apples are mostly cookers, and it is rare to 
find an apple there combining both cooking and dessert qualities. After 
visiting many orchards in various parts of Britain and discussing apple-grow- 
ing with growers and dealers, I have arrived at the conclusion that British 
growers have become discouraged, and hence the fact that hundreds of acres 
of orchards are sadly neglected and in a state of decay. Apple-growing in 
England is rapidly waning, and there are some like indications throughout 
Europe." 
It is feared that Mr. McD. Allan was not well informed as to 
the apple revival in this country, and did not taste any really 
good specimens of English apples. 
As to the imports of other fruits, described as " unenumer- 
ated," " raw," the increase has been equally startling. In 1839 
there were 69,740 bushels of raw fruit imported, not including 
apples, oranges, and lemons. By 1849 these imports had reached 
124,262 bushels, and 263,997 bushels in 1859. The figures 
were 631,357 bushels in 1869. After this period there was a 
most hasty and extensive augmentation in the raw fruit im- 
portations, whose exact amounts it is difficult to arrive at beyond 
1880 in consequence of altered classification. Since 1881 the 
quantity has varied between 1,166,318 bushels in 1887, the 
least in this period, and 3,039,060 bushels in 1888, the greatest 
in the period. 
Of this unenumerated raw fruit Spain is the chief exporting 
country, France is next on the list, then follow Belgium, Hol- 
land, and Poi'tugal in order. In considering the importation 
of this class of fruit, it must be borne in mind that it includes 
peaches, apricots, olives, cranberries, pines, pomegranates, 
bananas, grapes, melons, water-melons, shaddocks, and other 
similar kinds of raw fruit, which do not come into direct com- 
petition with British farm fruit either for table purposes or for 
jam -making. Large quantities of pears are also included in this 
unenumerated schedule which come in before English pears, and 
therefore do not directly compete with them. It is computed 
that not half of the unenumerated fruit imported enters into 
direct competition with the fruits grown by British fruit farmers. 
The competition of foreign producers is a serious matter to 
the fruit-growers of this country, and calculated to dishearten 
them, and hinder enterprise, if the bare figures of the importa- 
