Methods  of  Preservation  and  Distribution. 
27 
iinportation  of  fruit  has  increased  enormously,  the  acreage  of 
fruit  land  in  this  country  has  steadily  extended.  The  annual 
average  quantity  of  apples  im})orted  into  this  country  from 
1882  to  1892  was  2,000,000  bushels.  The  annual  average 
(juantity  of  apples  imported  from  1893  to  1899  inclusive  was 
4,201,107  bushels.  From  1900  apples  were  computed  by  cwt. 
instead  of  bushels,  and  estimating  each  cwt.  as  two  bushels, 
the  annual  average  importation  of  apples  in  1900,  1901, 
1902  and  1903  works  out  at  5,685,342  husliels.  The  value  of 
the  apples  imported  in  1903  is  given  as  2,781,348/.  In  1903 
the  importation  of  fruit  of  all  kinds,  excepting  bananas, 
amounted  to  5,689,645  cwt.,  of  the  value  of  4,086,242/. 
In  spite  of  the  large  im[)ortation  of  fruit  the  price  of  apples, 
pears,  ])lums,  damsons,  gooseberries,  currants,  and  raspberries 
was  very  high  in  1903  as  the  yield  was  small.  Most  of  these 
fruits  made  almost  record  prices. 
There  is  always  a great  demand  for  good  specimens  of  the 
finer  varieties  of  apples,  pears,  and  plums  having  colour  and 
flavour,  and  some  of  the  growers  use  every  endeavour  to  supply 
fruit  of  this  kind.  In  the  best  aj)ples,  pears,  and  plums  grown  in 
this  country  there  is  a flavour  which  is  not  present  in  the  very 
best  foreign  fruit.  It  is  true  that  some  of  the  American  and 
Canadian  apples,  for  example,  possess  tine  qualities,  but  they  can- 
not ecjual  those  of  the  Cox’s  Orange  Pippin,  to  take  one  instance. 
If  growers  will  cultivate  the  best  kinds  of  fruit  witli  skill  and 
energy  and  have  it  {kicked  carefully  and  systematically  graded 
for  market,  and  ])acked  well,  they  need  not  be  afraid  of  the 
foreign  producer.  For  the  “small  fruit” — currants,  goose- 
berries, raspberries,  and  strawberries — there  is  always  an 
enormous  demand  for  eating  and  for  jam-making  from  all 
classes  of  the  community,  which  will  increase  as  long  as  the 
price  of  sugar  remains  cheap.  A high  duty  on  sugar  would 
seriously  cripjde  jam  manufacturers  and  benefit  foreign 
makers,  who  at  present  are  completely  handicapped,  if  they 
are  not  altogether  out  of  the  running,  by  taxed  sugar.  Dear 
sugar  would  also  materially  injure  British  fruit  growers. 
Methods  of  Preservation  and  Distribution. 
This  demand  for  jams,  jellies,*  preserves,  and  other  fruit 
confections,  which  are  produced  at  a small  comparative  cost 
in  Great  Britain,  has  caused  but  little  attention  to  be  paid 
to  other  modes  of  preserving  fruit  adopted  in  countries 
