September 11, 1890. J 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
219 
Gordon’s report with regard to their Irish tour would be the first one 
to be taken. 
This paper (which follows) was followed by considerable discussion, 
in which Mr. W. H. (Bullock) Hall, Mr. Denny Lane of Cork, Mr. 
Albert Bath, and others, joined. The remaining papers were then taken 
in this order :—“ Peaches and Nectarines,” by Mr. T. Francis Rivers ; 
" Plums for Market,” by Mr. J. Smith of Mentmore, admirably read by 
Mr. J. Cheal in the unavoidable absence of the author ; and “Cherries 
for Market,” by Mr. G. Bunyard. 
The Exhibition of Irish fruit, provided by members and friends of 
•the Association in Irelmd, comprised 150 dishes, chiefly Apples and 
Pears. The exhibitors were :—Lord O'Neill, Shanes Castle, Antrim 
(gardener, Mr. C. Warwick) ; the Rev. A. H. Pakenham, Langford 
Lodge, Crumlin (gardener, Mr. Harding) ; Sir Charles B. Barrington, 
Bart., Glenstal Castle, Murroe (gardener, Mr. Richard Weller) ; J. F. 
Lambard, Esq., Dublin ; and J. F. Bannatyne, Esq., Summerville, 
Limerick (gardener, Mr. Elliott). Samples of the local varieties from 
old and neglected orchard trees were shown for comparison with 
fruits from well grown trees of good varieties, to indicate what could 
be effected by suitable attention. 
FRUIT PRODUCTION IN IRELAND. 
By Messrs. George Gordon and Lewis castle. Read by Mr. Gordon. 
Early in the year it was decided by the Committee of the British 
Fruit Growers’ Association to prepare a report on the present condition) 
and the possibilities of fruit culture in the United Kingdom, it being 
believed that a report, at once comprehensive and trustworthy, would 
have great practical value. In considering the form the report should 
take it is felt that as the climatic and economic conditions in Ireland 
differ widely from those which obtain in other parts of the United 
Kingdom, it would be necessary to devote special attention to that 
country. It was thought that whilst our local secretaries in Ireland 
would be able to render valuab'e assistance, it would be an immense 
advantage were some members of the executive to visit Ireland for 
inquiring into various matters of special importance, that the view pre- 
eented of the condition and the possibilities of the fruit growing industry 
in that country might be as clear and exact as it is possible to make it. 
Eventually Mr. Castle, the Honorary Secretary, and myself, although 
well knowing the severe tax it would impose upon ou.r time and strength, 
undertook the task, and we have now to inform you that it has been 
accomplished. We have also to give you a summary of our tour, and an 
indication of the impressions produced upon us in the course of the 
journey. This we shall do as briefly as possible, leaving details until the 
publication of the full report. 
As many of you are aware, we devoted the greater part of the month 
of August to the work in hand, and I would mention, as a matter of 
•some importance, that our inquiries extended from the counties of 
Antrim and Derry in the north to Cork, Kerry, and Waterford, which 
.form the southern seaboard. In this tour, which involved travelling 
nearly 900 miles by rail and car, we saw much to deplore in the present 
condition of fruit culture, and not a little that filled us with hopeful¬ 
ness as to the possibilities of the industry. We met also with much 
kindness and great interest in the object we had in view, and an evident 
desire on the part of those with whom we came in contact to render all 
the assistance possible. Commencing our inquiries in Ulster, we soon 
found ourselves on farms that would bear a favourable comparison with 
the best holdings in England. We found also in this province that 
orchard planting had not been altogether neglected in the past, and that 
on many of the farms there were considerable breadths of Apple trees. 
<On examining the orchards in Antrim and Armagh, we found that 
whilst the utmost care and skill had been brought to bear upon the 
Wheat, Oats, Flax, and other staple crops, it had been thought sufficient 
•to simply plant the trees and leave the rest to Nature. When I tell you 
-that the greater part of these orchards were planted from seventy to 
eighty years ago, and have since been practically left to themselves, you 
will readily understand that they give a very poor return. As a matter 
of fact, the majority consist of old worn-out trees, bearing plentiful 
crops of lichen and moss, with but little fruit, and that of the most 
inferior description. Not only are thousands of trees utterly exhausted, 
but a considerable proportion represent local varieties of the most 
inferior description, and therefore quite unfit for sending to markets in 
which the finer kinds make their appearance. We were repeatedly told 
by those who were old enough to remember the orchards when the 
trees were in a vigorous condition, that they had now ceased 
to bear satisfactorily because of a change in the climatic conditions, 
whereas the cause, as you so well know, is the exhaustion 
of the trees in consequence of old age and an impoverished condition of 
the soil. We saw but few signs of these old orchards being replaced by 
new ones. Here and there a few trees had been planted during the 
past few years ; but instead of their having fresh ground they had 
almost invariably been planted in the positions occupied by trees that 
had died out. As might have been expected, they bad become a prey to 
mildew, lichens, and mosses, and presented a miserable starved appear¬ 
ance. Had we taken a superficial view of the case as presented to us 
in Antrim and Armagh, where Apple orchards occupy much space in 
proportion to their area, we should perhaps have regarded the produc¬ 
tion of first-class fruit in these counties as an impossibility. Knowing 
from practical experience and wide observation that the condition of 
the greater proportion of the orchards was due to old age and want of 
attention, we sought those which had a reputation in the several dis¬ 
tricts for the excellence of their fruit. We turned our attention also to 
gardens near at hand that were under the charge of men who had 
received a training in fruit culture. In the orchards that were in a 
fruitful condition we found the trees to be much below the average in 
age, and to have received some attention in the way of pruning and 
manuring. The gardens, however, afforded the best indications of the 
possibilities of fruit culture, not only in Ulster, but in the whole of 
Ireland. 
Proceeding southwards we passed through a district on the boundaries 
of the counties of Meath and Dublin in which fruit growing is carried 
out on much the same lines as in the market gardens in the neighbour¬ 
hood of London. In Ulster the whole of the orchards were in grass, 
but here the Apple and other standard fruit trees were planted at wide 
distances apart, and the intervening spaces filled with Gooseberries, 
Currants, and Raspberries. The whole of the standard trees were in a 
healthy state, shoving that they received proper attention, but the crop 
was comparatively light, and as we were assured by those who were well 
acquainted with them much below the average. The various bush 
fruits presented the most satisfactory appearance, and had as usual borne 
heavy crops. It may here be stated that throughout the whole of 
Ireland, excepting of course in the mountainous districts, the whole of 
the bush fruits grow vigorously and bear heavily, the fruit being of the 
finest possible quality. No better crops of Currants and Gooseberries 
could possibly be desired than those we met with both in the north and 
south. For many years Gooseberries were rather largely imported, but 
they are now being planted somewhat extensively in one or two districts 
in Ulster, and they appear to be yielding satisfactory returns, The 
district between Drogheda and Gormanstown is not only remarkable as 
representing the most advanced stage of commercial fruit culture in 
Ireland, but it is distinguished by the general prosperity that prevails on 
all sides. In no other part of Ireland did we see the labouring classes 
so well dressed or having such comfortable well-kept houses as in the 
neighbourhood of Gormanstown, and it is fair to assume that the air of 
prosperity is chiefly due to the profitable character of fruit culture as 
there carried out. 
South of Dublin the orchards on farms are comparatively few in 
number, and, as in the case of those in the north, they are chiefly 
furnished with old trees, more remarkable for the picturesque appear¬ 
ance of their lichen-laden branches than for their fruitfulness. But 
from the appearance of the orchards attached to the homesteads of some 
of the landed proprietors, and the condition of the trees in large gardens, 
it is evident that Apples of the finest quality might be profitably grown 
in many districts in the several counties between Dublin and Cork. In 
the Golden Yale there is ample evidence of the practicability of growing 
Apples of the finest quality, and here we met with an instance of the 
way in which suitable land might be increased by the judicious planting' 
of fruit trees. On a large estate in which the rent of much of the 
land does not exceed 10s. per acre, there are several orchards that 
are let at a rent of about £3 per acre, which was not regarded by the 
tenants as in any way excessive. Here we found in full force the 
barbarous practice which obtains throughout Ireland of shaking the 
Apples from the tree, with the result that the greater proportion are 
bruised and rendered worthless for keeping beyond a few days. To 
gather the fruit by hand is considered a waste of time. We inquired 
of a young lady who was busily engaged in shaking down the fruit, 
how she secured the Apples that could not be shaken off, and she at 
once replied, “ We knock them down with a long pole.” In the valley 
of the Suir between Limerick Junction and Waterford, much of the 
soil and many of the situations are suitable for Apples. At one time 
cider of excellent quality was manufactured from Apples produced in 
this district, and the trees appear to have been allowed to die out. 
Whether the manufacture of cider was profitable or not we could not 
ascertain, but the fact that there were large breadths of free-bearing 
Apple trees is a proof that the district is on the whole well suited to 
their cultivation. 
In speaking of the possibilities of fruit culture in Ireland, we arc 
