April i, 1895.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 699 
CHEAP CLEARING AND PLANTING. 
Tea-planters of ; en reckon the cost of clearing and 
planting at £30 per acre, including the cost of culti- 
vation up to bearing time. Mr. Grey can, however, 
plant up coffee and cultivate up to the third year 
for only RlOJ per acre, the actual clearing survey, 
nurseries, at d planting up costing only R57 per acre 
It seems pretty cheap, does it not ? I wonder if any- 
one can beat this. — I'lunln-. 
THE WORLD'S FRUIT MARKETS. 
A South Australian on His Travels. 
Intercifto irith Mr. Fred. Smith. 
South Australia, or Australia for that matter, has 
neV' r had a more diligent and enthusiastic searcher 
after advanced knowledge in all matters pertaining 
to fruit culture and the development of the fruit 
trade than Mr. Fred. C. Smith, the eldest son of 
Mr. Smith, the present head of the firm of Smith 
and Son, the well-known vignerous and fruit-pre- 
eervers of Anzaston. Mr. Smith is a recognised 
authority on fruit culture, and nearly two years 
ago he left South Australia for a trip round the 
world to extend his practical knowledge; and he 
returned to his native colony by the R. M. S. Oiient 
on Wednesday, heartily welcomed back by his nu- 
merous friends, for he is a young Australian who 
is imm nsely popular, and very highly esteemed for 
his progressive and businesslike qualities. His 
travels represent by land and bea roughly 50.000 
miles, and he comes back the picture of health after 
having had a '• really grand time." One of our staff 
i >terviewed 'he Yalnmbi horticulturist on Wednesday 
afternoon. 
''Your object in going away was — ?" 
"To learn the improved methods in horticulture 
of foreign countries," Mr. Smith replied, "and the 
varieties of fruit that wou'd be best for us to produce 
for export in the canned, dried, and fresh forms, and 
als3 to examine the markets in England and India 
with the view of getting an idea of the prospects 
of the fruitgrowing industry." 
"And where have you been?" 
"Well," replied Mr. Smith, "if it interests you 
to know, I spent four an i a half mo-ths in California, 
travelling over 4,000 miles in that State, visiting the 
large orchards and fruit districts. Then I wis for 
a week in Oregon and British Columbia, a month 
at the World's Pair, three weeks in Canada, and 
three week's in the Eastern State 3 , visiting Eoston, 
Philade'phia, and New York. I stayed some time 
with my relatives in Dors' tshire in England, then 
for two months I went around the coaHal districts 
of th-< Mediterranean, visiting places in Portugual, 
Spain, Morocco. Algeria, Monaco, France. Italy, 
Sicily, Malta, Syria. Palestine, aud Egypt. Next I 
returned to England, where I remained two months, 
aud thence back to the continent — Belgium, Holland, 
and on the R ioe. I paid other visits to E gland, 
France, and Italv, an i from Naples to Colombo 
went into the interior of Ceylon, and subsequently 
to India, where I spent five weeks, including a 
fortnight in the Himalayas, visiting fourteen or fifteen 
cities in Iudia. Another tr p to Ceylon, and then 
I started for home.- Altogether I have been away 
twenty-one months." 
Asked to relate some of his observations, he said 
— '• I found the Calioniians years abend of us in 
their methods of pruning, packing, shipping, and 
spraying fruit, and in the selection of the var'eties 
best suited for Export. Th i main factors contri- 
buting to this advancement are their immense 
natural opportunities and the great local markets. 
We need to follow California very closely in the 
methods best calculated to compete with her in the 
English and other markets. Of course you do not 
wish me to go over dotails which have boon fully 
dealt with in my letters to the Register relating 
to these matters during the last fifteen month -i " 
"What; are the avenues in the fruit trade open to 
South Australia /" 
" There is a very large market for canned f nits 
io England, but to ensure a permanent tr^de it is 
essential that only the very best varieties of fruit 
— and these by the way are very few — should be sent 
away. This remark appl es to either dried, fresh, 
or canned fruits. The lower grades of canned fruits 
in London realize a price which hardly pays for 
export, but for the better qualities a good demand 
exists at high prices. It is, however, difficult to 
induce the large wholesale houses to handle new 
brands where the present goods satisfy the require- 
ments of their trade. We placer! 500 cases of our best 
Augaston canned plums in London this season, but 
unfortunately the market was already glutted with 
plums, and wj received only 4s a dozen for them, 
leavng us no profit However, the firm who bought 
them were so pleased with the quality that they 
were anxious to have more. The best ' anned apri- 
cots from Victoria and South Australia realized 
between 6s and 7s. a dozen and Angaston pears 8s. 
a dozen tins in London this last season. It may 
be said that this frnit fresh to the m>rket was 
in competition with the new brands from America 
and Southern Europe, and consequently had to 
overcome the prejudices of people. But these facts 
need not discourage us, beca-ise our fruits are of 
such a quality that when properly packed and la- 
belled and when they become kno ; .tn they will stand 
an even better chance than the Californian, because 
we have b-tter freigh'p, aud the quality of at ieast 
two of the main lines in canned fruits — pears and 
apricots — is superior in delicacy of flavour and in 
fineness of texture, the Californian being too fre- 
quently coarse and stringy, and unnece sarily large 
for marketable purposes. I don't mean to say that 
good fruit is not put up in California, but generally 
speaking the judgment just passed upon the Califor- 
nian fruit is correct. The Californian peaches I 
found were generally superior to ours, owing to 
South Australia having to rely upon too many 
varieties and inferior c orts for canning. The Yellow 
Crawford and white Heath Cling are the types of 
peaches that must be raised for canning." 
"Is California, which seems to be our serious 
competitor at present, able to place fruit in the 
Lmdon morket earlier than we are ? " 
" Yes, the fruit reaches London via Cape Horn 
in March, April, and May, a little before the bulk 
of our fruit would land there, which is unfortnnate 
for us, but in our favour is the fact that South 
Australian fruit reaches London shortly after our 
fruit season is over, while the Californian arrives in 
London months after it is sent' because it goes by 
sailing vessels round the Horn to avoid the heavy 
railway charges across the American Continent. I 
was furprised to see so much Continental fruit in 
the market. Making enquiries at the largest canning 
factory in Italy, that at Turin, the principal told 
me that owing to the very heavy duty on sngar in 
Italy they were not able to competa with California 
and Australia, notwithstanding the cheap Italian 
labour and the depreciated currency." 
' Hav - we anything to fear from Continental 
competition ?" 
"With their cheap labour and nearness the En- 
glish' markets, combined with the adoption of the 
improved Californian methods and skilled improved 
managers, wo may have something to fear from 
them, but from what I gathered in London the 
competition is not so serious as I at first anticipated 
The Continental export trade has not developed so 
rapidly as ono would have expected. Now, as regards 
dried fruit, apricots as the principal paying lying 
for export. In order to couipete with California these 
must he placed on the market at Sd a lb. I wis 
surprised to find that California had not pushed the 
apricot trado in Euglaud as she might nave dou6, 
and I was pleased to notice that Messrs. Chaffey 
Brothers' methods of packing in neat handy packets 
were superior to those of California, and that tho 
quality and appearance of their goods were evon 
better than those of the Pacific Slope. Tho Murray 
irrigationists, though, aro making a mistake iu asking 
