378 
The  Progress  of  Fruit  Farming. 
of  this  fruit  will,  it  is  thought,  give  many  valuable  hints  to 
English  growers  : — “ If  apples  are  to  be  packed  in  the 
orchard,”  says  one  of  the  witnesses  before  the  Ontario  Com- 
mission, “ a tent  should  be  put  up  to  shade  the  fruit  from 
the  sun,  with  a table  under  it  ; nail  strips  of  wood  round 
it,  to  keep  the  fruit  from  rolling  off.  Cover  it  with  woollen 
cloth,  so  that  the  pickers  may  empty  their  baskets  without 
injuring  the  fruit  ; let  the  packers  select  the  fruit,  rejecting 
every  apple  that  is  under  size,  spotted,  or  wormy,  or  deformed 
in  any  way.  Don’t  be  tempted  to  put  medium  and  large-sized 
apples  in  the  same  barrel.  Pick  the  apples  carefully,  lay  them 
down,  don’t  throw  them  the  whole  length  of  the  arm  into  the 
basket  so  that  they  will  rattle  against  each  other,  empty  them 
gently  upon  the  table  for  selection.”  * The  reason  why 
Canadian  and  American  apples  make  such  high  rates  is,  that 
they,  as  a rule,  come  to  market  in  admirable  order  and  in 
regular  succession,  and  they  frequently  arrive  when  the  supply 
of  English  apples  is  exhausted.  It  is  a very  weak  point  in  the 
English  system  that  the  fruit-growers,  and  especially  the  large 
fruit-growers,  do  not  pay  sufficient  attention  to  the  storing,  pack- 
ing, and  selecting  fruit  for  market.  Indeed,  many  of  the  large 
growers  do  not  store  it  at  all,  their  great  object  being  to  get  rid  of  it 
as  quickly  as  possible.  This  entails  an  enormous  waste  in  the 
case  of  apples  and  pears,  because  they  are  bought  by  persons,  in 
most  instances,  who  have  neither  capital  nor  any  means  of  storing. 
The  apples  are  roughly  handled  by  the  labourers  while  full  of 
juice,  and  while  their  skins  are  tender;  no  pains  are  taken  in 
sorting.  They  are  roughly  packed  and  banged  about,  while 
yet  unripe,  in  frequently  shunted  luggage  trains,  so  that  they 
positively  are  unfit  for  keeping,  and  therefore  they  must  be  sold 
for  speedy  consumption,  or  for  jam-making.  Thus  much  fine 
dessert-fruit  is  sacrificed.  It  is  absurd  to  say  that  English 
fruit  will  not  keep  as  well  as  that  of  America  and  Canada  if  it 
is  properly  treated.  It  is  equally  absurd  to  say  that  England 
cannot  produce  as  good  apples  as  these  countries,  and  that  their 
fruit  is  deliberately  preferred.  English  fruit-growers  should 
not  fold  their  hands  and  allow  Transatlantic  energy  and  perse- 
verance to  take  quiet  possession  of  the  trade.  A few  changes 
only  are  necessary.  Certain  improvements  in  the  system 
should  be  made,  to  effect  which  we  might  well  take  a leaf  out 
of  the  book  of  our  American  cousins.  These  remarks  apply 
not  only  to  apples,  but  also  to  soft  fruits.  If  it  is  desired  to 
retain  the  present  market  for  these,  and  to  extend  their 
production,  as  it  might  be  extended  far  beyond  its  present 
‘ Report  of  the  Ontario  Agricultural  Commission  of  1880,’  p.  54. 
