310 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
October 4,1894 
and profitable formed of them. Raspberries, too, formed a 
remunerative crop in small gardens, and mention was made 
of an allotment holder who for the past fifteen or twenty years 
had never failed to realise £3 to £4 annually from his Raspberries 
grown in a line round his small plot of land. The splendid show 
which they had all seen that day told him, as it must everyone else, 
that with the intelligent cultivation of wisely chosen varieties 
England can produce as good fruit as any country in the world. He 
should like to see this event a great annual attraction, and it had 
been hinted to him that if such a fruit show could be repeated 
next year at the Crystal Palace it was very probable the incoming 
Lord Mayor of London (Sir Joseph Renals) would attend in 
State and open the exhibition. Mr. H. R. Williams, as a Past 
Master of the Fruiterers’ Company, corroborated the latter state¬ 
ment, remarking that if such were to come to pass it would 
bring together a great concourse of people, and assist the fruit¬ 
growing movement considerably. He had been much amused 
with the controversy in the daily press regarding the price of 
Pears, and said that as a nation wo did not eat enough fruit. His 
trees were properly thinned and root-pruned, and with very 
satisfactory results ; but he took the precaution to point out the 
importance of planting good trees of suitable varieties obtained 
from a reliable source. Mr. A. H. Pearson recorded his experience 
in regard to fruit culture, observing he did not quite agree with 
the statement that Marie Louise Pear was overrated. When grown 
on an east wall it was a very good and useful variety; but he 
considered Doyenne d’Ete was one of the best Pears to grow 
in the midland counties. Mr. T. F. Rivers also briefly expressed 
his views on the matter, as did others, the majority of the 
speakers concurring with what had been mentioned in the 
paper. 
On Monday also a very large audience assembled under the 
presidency of Mr. G. Bunyard, and on this occasion Mr. C. Wise, 
agent for the Toddington Estates, and manager of Lord Sudeley’s 
fruit farms, read a paper on “Fruit Growing on a Large Scale.” 
After remarking that, in his opinion, many of the reports referring 
to the profits of fruit cultivation were greatly exaggerated, he 
proceeded to show how moderate prices may be realised if the 
crops are judiciously managed. Soil and situation were important 
items to bear in mind in selecting a site for a fruit farm, and he 
advised all intending planters to avoid valleys or low positions 
where spring frosts do much damage. According to his observa¬ 
tions the trees should be at least 250 feat above the level of the 
sea, and if sheltered so much the better. The protection may 
be afforded by planting belts of Larch and other quick growing 
trees, but each plantation at Toddington was surrounded with a 
double row of Damsons. In making a selection it was absolutely 
necessary to notice what kinds did well in the locality, and 
whether there was a market for such sorts. On the fruit farms 
which he managed they had thirty-five varieties of Apples, but 
he thought a dozen would be ample. Strawberries did well in 
his locality, especially Yicomtesse Hericart de Thury, President, 
and Sir J. Paxton. As regards the demand for fruit he had every 
reason to believe that this would still increase, as it had done 
during the past decade. 
Some very valuable and interesting figures in reference to fruit 
crops and their prices were recorded. Mr. Wise said that 
during last summer he knew of one instance where 170 tons 
of Strawberries had been sold for making jam, and he had heen 
offered £40 per ton for Raspberries, although the average price 
was £25. Generally Strawberries and Raspberries produced 
2 tons of fruit per acre, the cost of planting, management, and 
other details, exclusive of manuring and picking, being from £10 
to £14 per acre respectively. Black Currants were an uncertain 
crop, the prices also varying considerably according to the supply. 
About 2 tons per acre may be estimated as an average crop, and 
this season he had obtained £14 per ton. The cost of planting 
an acre of^Black Currants was about £12, including the bushes. 
There was not, he said, a great demand for Red Currants, but 
the crops and returns were much the same as for the Black kinds. 
Gooseberries were profitable, especially Whinham’s Industry, Crown 
Bob, and Keepsake. He had known the latter variety to produce 
a crop of 5 tons per acre, which was however unusual, these 
realising from £9 to £14 per ton. Where it would thrive the 
cultivation of the Prune Damson was strongly advised by the 
essayist, who mentioned the fact of having gathered as much as 
7 tons of this fruit, and 1 ton of Black Currants from an acre 
of land under his management. He admitted, though, that this 
was an exception to the 600 acres which constitute the Tod¬ 
dington fruit farms. As to Apples he considered a good early 
cooking variety was the most profitable, one that will enable the 
grower to place fruit on the market when the foreign samples 
are scarce. After giving some excellent advice on planting? 
pruning, gathering, and packing the fruit, and urging growers 
to make an attempt to obtain a reduction in railway tariff for 
the consignment of their goods, Mr. Wise concluded by saying 
that bees and osiers should always be adjuncts to a large fruit 
farm. Apart from the profits made out of the honey the bees 
assisted in the fertilisation of the fruit, and the osiers could be 
utilised for making baskets. 
Mr. Smith, a Kentish grower, said, as pointing out the im¬ 
portance of remarks of the essayist with respect to planting certain 
kinds of fruit, that in his district there was no market for yellow 
Plums, and the Pershore variety, so largely grown in some localities, 
was also utterly worthless with him. Mr. Hammond, an Essex 
grower, assured the audience that it was possible to grow fruit 
profitably ; but from his experience of the past would advise 
tenants not to plant fruit trees on land which they held on a short 
lease. Despite the preferential rates of the railway companies, and 
the enormous importations of foreign fruit, he was of the opinion 
that home growers could hold their own by producing superior 
fruit, and placing it on the market in a proper condition. Mr 
J. Cheal thought the facts given in the essay would do a great 
deal of good in contradicting many statements which had recently 
appeared in the daily press. By exercising forethought and care 
in planting he had no doubt that fruit culture was remunerative, 
and instanced a case in point. He considered preserving the fruit 
in seasons of abundance was of great importance, and predicted a 
future for this industry. Mr. Bashford briefly alluded to the 
culture of fruit in Wales, remarking that he had produced a crop 
of Gooseberries at the rate of 8 tons per acre. Mr. D. T. Fish, 
too, supported the views set forth, and urged all who could to give 
the matter their consideration. 
The important subject of “Packing, Grading, and Marketing 
Fruit,” was dealt with by Mr. George Munro at the third Con¬ 
ference held on Tuesday last, when Mr. Philip Crowley presided. 
Having had considerable experience as a fruit salesman, the 
essayist naturally impressed his audience with these matters. He 
first reviewed the system of packing now generally adopted, and 
compared the methods of the home growers to those followed 
abroad. Hothouse produce, such as Grapes and Cucumbers, was 
on the whole fairly well packed, and it was mentioned that English 
Cucumbers were now finding a ready sale in Antwerp, Hamburgh, 
and other continental towns. As to packing Strawberries and 
Cherries, growers here have, he said, much to learn from the 
French, the same applying to Apples and Pears. The two last- 
named fruits were, it was asserted, consigned to market in a worse 
condition now than they were twenty years ago. It was advised 
that growers should take as much trouble in packing Apples and 
Pears as the foreigners did with Oranges and Lemons, each fruit 
being wrapped in paper. He considered that such firm fruit 
would be better, and meet with a more ready sale, if sent to the 
market tastefully packed in boxes and cases after being graded. 
These questions were fully detailed, and their importance cannot 
be over-estimated. As the essayist observed, were they more 
frequently taken into consideration, many thousands of pounds 
