348 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
October  10, 1895, 
CAN  FRUIT  GROWING  PAY? 
At  the  monthly  meeting  of  Dundee  Horticultural  Aisociation  held 
recently  in  the  Technical  Institute  a  lecture  was  delivered  by  Dr.  Robert 
Robertson,  Errol,  on  “  Does  Fruit  Growing  Pay  ?  ”  There  was  a  fairly 
large  attendance,  and  Mr.  Grant,  Fern  Hall  Gardens,  West  Ferry, 
presided . 
[Affiemative.] 
Dr.  Robeetson  argued  that  fruit  growing  in  this  country  would 
pay,  and  pay  well,  if  carried  out  in  a  businesslike  and  scientific  manner. 
This  he  endeavoared  to  prove  by  the  continually  extending  fruit  area  in 
this  country,  the  greatly  increased  demand  for  good  fruit,  as  well  as  the 
importations  from  other  countries,  which,  he  said,  might  be  greatly 
prevented  if  in  this  country  they  would  set  themselves  to  cultivate  a 
better  class  of  fruit  than  they  did  at  present.  He  held  that,  according 
to  the  experience  and  opinions  of  others,  some  of  whom  had  devoted  a 
lifetime  to  the  fruit  business,  it  was  more  through  the  want  of  cultural  care 
than  climate  that  fruit  growing  did  not  pay.  After  referring  to  the 
wholesomeness  of  fruit  for  dietetic  purposes,  he  gave  some  statistics  as 
to  the  increase  in  the  quantities  of  fruit  which  had  been  imported 
during  recent  years.  With  reference  to  the  Tomato,  which  he  said  was 
often  called  a  vegetable,  while  in  reality  it  was  a  fruit,  he  had  been  told 
by  shopkeepers  in  Dundee  that  they  now  sold  as  many  tons  as  they  did 
stones  six  or  eight  years  ago.  Passing  on  to  speak  of  the  question  from 
the  landlord’s  point  of  view,  he  said  that  land  at  Blairgowrie  and  Coupar 
Angus,  which  used  to  let  at  about  30s.  per  acre,  now  brought  £6  and  £8 
as  orchard  ground.  With  fair  seasons  and 
A  Little  Moee  Skill  and  Eneegy 
they  would  to  a  great  measure  drive  their  Continental  and  American 
competitors  out  of  the  market.  The  late  Mr.  Reid,  Ballindean,  advocated 
the  cultivation  of  the  larger  fruits,  and  said  that  he  could  always  get  a 
ready  market  for  them.  The  lecturer  was  of  opinion  that  where  it 
did  not  pay  it  was  for  the  want  of  energy  more  than  on  account  of  their 
“  confoundedly  bad  land  laws.”  He  then  referred  to  a  visit  he  paid  to  a 
number  of  orchards  in  the  Carse  of  Gowrie  in  company  with  Mr.  Dunn, 
Dalkeith,  who  was  astonished  at  the  quality  of  the  fruit  that  was  grown 
there  with  comparatively  little  attention  to  the  trees.  As  to  the  money 
question,  he  said  that  the  rent  for  Megginch  orchard,  which  was  from 
7  to  8  acres,  averaged  in  the  five  years  from  1886  to  1890  £4  per  acre  ; 
Seaside  orchard,  with  from  20  to  25  acres,  in  the  four  years  from  1887  to 
1890  averaged  £3  per  acre  ;  and  Seggieden,  with  25  or  30  acres,  for  the 
five  years  from  1886  to  1890  from  £7  to  £8  per  acre.  He  would  leave 
it  to  themselves  to  say  whether  that  paid  the  landlord.  In  concluding, 
he  urged  on  head  gardeners  to  use  their  influence  with  their  employers 
to  induce  them  to  let  ground  at  reasonable  rates  for  building  small 
houses  with  orchards,  and  thus  encourage  an  industry  which  was 
calculated  to  pay  landlords  and  tenants  in  the  end. 
[Negative.] 
Mr.  David  Ceoll,  nurseryman,  while  admitting  that  Strawberries 
and  small  fruits  could  be  grown  profitably  in  this  country,  did  not 
think  Apples  and  Pears  could  be  made  to  pay.  As  to  the  rents  quoted 
by  Dr.  Robertson,  they  must  remember  that  the  grazing  on  orchard 
ground  was  not  to  be  compared  in  value  with  grass  grown  by  itself,  and 
if  they  deducted  the  value  of  the  grass  there  was  very  little  profit  left  ; 
therefore,  he  was  not  astonished  that  fruit  growing  in  the  Carse  was  to 
a  large  extent  decreasing.  The  fact  remained  that,  notwithstanding  all 
that  had  been  said  about  the  profit  to  be  got  out  of  fruit  growing  and 
that  they  could  get  land  in  England  almost  if  they  only  paid  the  taxes, 
nobody  tried  it. 
Mr.  James  Laied,  nurseryman,  said  he  was  quite  convinced  that  if 
the  trees  had  more  attention  than  at  present  the  results  would  be  much 
better  :  but  he  was  inclined  to  think  with  Mr.  Croll  that  Apples  and 
Pears  would  not  pay.  While  in  England  lately  he  had  seen  a  great 
many  orchards  with  magnificent  fruit,  and  he  was  assured  by  growers 
that  they  would  not  pay  for  the  labour  of  picking.  He  thought, 
however,  that  the  fruit  was  not  always  sent  to  the  market  in  the  best 
way,  and  if  it  were  graded  better  as  to  quality  it  would  bring  higher 
prices. 
The  Chaieman  thought  Mr.  Laird  was  not  far  wrong.  He  noticed 
in  the  “Evening  Telegraph”  the  other  week  that  a  Surrey  grower  had 
sent  twenty  baskets  of  Pears  to  London  and  got  7d.  per  ton  returned  to 
him. 
Mr.  Alexandek  Cameeon,  Binrock,  said  nineteen  or  twenty  years 
ago  he  had  some  experience  of  fruit  growing  for  a  profit,  and  the  money 
received  for  the  Apples  would  scarcely  pay  the  carriage.  Curiously 
enough,  however.  Apples,  Pears,  Apricots,  and  Peaches  grown  on  walls 
paid  handsomely. 
Mr,  Claek,  Scotscraig,  said  the  difficulty  was  not  the  growing  of  the 
fruit,  but  the  marketing  of  it  profitably. 
Unwholesome  Feuit. 
Mr.  Duncan,  Ivergowrie,  referred  to  the  large  quantities  of  unwhole¬ 
some  fruit  that  were  sold  in  the  streets,  and  thought  something  should 
be  done  to  put  a  stop  to  it. 
Mr.  Butchaet,  Elmslea,  asked  where  could  they  get  a  better  Apple 
than  Winter  Strawberry,  as  it  was  called,  and  which  was  grown  on  a 
standard  tree,  or  a  better  cooking  Apple  than  Tower  of  Glamis  ?  He 
thought  what  was  required  was  a  place  for  storing  the  fruit  till  it  could 
be  profitably  marketed. 
Dr.  Robeetson,  In  replying  to  the  general  discussion,  said  he  sent 
112  lbs.  of  Pears  to  Dundee  this  week,  and  got  2^d.  per  lb.  for  them, 
not  a  great  price,  but  one  that  would  pay  for  growing.  He  held  that 
the  profit  went  to  the  middleman,  and  it  would  be  better  if  there  was  a 
fruit  market  in  Dundee.  He  knew  that  the  party  who  bought  his  Pears 
sold  them  to  another  party  in  Errol  for  6d.  and  8d.  per  lb. 
A  hearty  vote  of  thanks  was  awarded  to  Dr.  Robertson  for  his 
lecture.  A  number  of  specimen  fruits  was  shown,  and  a  dish  of 
Pears  belonging  to  Mr.  Andrew  Smith,  Taymount,  Broughty  Ferry,  wa& 
awarded  a  first-class  cultural  certificate. 
CCELOGYNE  CEISTATA. 
Examples  of  excellence  in  cultivation,  whether  of  fruits^ 
flowers  or  vegetables,  are  always  interesting  to  members  of  the 
gardening  community,  and  as  coming  under  this  category  the  repre¬ 
sentation,  fig.  66,  engraved  from  a  photograph  of  a  Coelogyne 
cristata  that  carried  100  spikes,  will  be  looked  on  with  pleasure. 
Some  of  our  readers  will  doubtless  have  seen  this  magnificent 
plant  when  it  was  at  the  zenith  of  its  beauty  at  Floors  Castle,  and 
they  will  agree  it  was  worthy  of  some  special  recognition  such  aa 
that  accorded  to  it.  Specimens  of  this  Orchid  are  frequently  seen 
with  extraordinary  numbers  of  flowers  expanded  at  the  same  time^ 
and  the  one  under  notice  was  really  a  sight  worth  going  many 
miles  to  see.  We  cannot  say  how  many  blooms  the  plant  actually 
produced  on  its  100  spikes,  nor  can  we  say  what  particular  method 
of  cultivation  was  adopted  to  attain  to  such  splendid  results,  but 
perhaps  Mr.  C.  Street,  the  excellent  gardener  at  this  establish¬ 
ment,  will  be  good  enough  to  favour  us  at  some  convenient  time 
with  these  particulars.  They  would  be  read  with  interest  by  old 
growers,  and  could  not  but  prove  of  the  utmost  value  to  those 
young  gardeners  who  are,  perhaps,  undertaking  the  sole  manage¬ 
ment  of  Orchids  for  the  first  time. 
Vanda  Sanderiana. 
This  is  certainly  a  charming  Orchid,  and  I  quite  agree  with 
what  Mr.  Bedford  says  about  it  on  page  300.  I  can,  however,  tell 
him  that  it  flowered  here  two  years  ago.  I  am  sorry  it  is  a  slow 
grower,  and  consequently  a  shy  bloomer.  If  it  deserves  the 
name  of  King  of  Vandas  I  think  that  most  delicate  Orchid  Vanda 
ccerulea  is  entitled  to  the  term  Queen  of  Vandas.  I  have  a  small 
plant  with  a  large  spike  bearing  fifteen  splendid  blooms  at  the 
present  time. — Herbert  May,  Marhree  Gardens^  Collooney,  Sligo. 
Cool  Orchids  in  Autumn. 
The  autumn  months  are  always  anxious  ones  for  the  Orchid 
grower,  not  only  on  account  of  the  warm  house  kinds  that  are  now 
finishing  their  season’s  growth,  but  especially  in  the  cool  house. 
Here  the  majority  of  the  plants  can  hardly  be  said  to  have  a  resting 
season,  and  certainly  not  a  ripening  one,  as  the  term  is  understood 
in  reference  to  Dendrobiums  and  such  kinds.  Still,  there  is  a  time 
with  even  the  cooler  kinds  when  the  atmospheric  moisture  must  be 
lessened  and  a  little  more  sunlight  allowed  in  order  to  harden 
the  pseudo-bulbs  and  consolidate  the  leafy  system  of  the  plants.  If 
all  finished  their  growth  at,  or  near  the  same  time,  this  would  be 
comparatively  easy,  but  many  of  the  plants  will  be  starting  to  grow 
at  a  time  when  others  are  nearly  or  quite  finished. 
It  is  impossible  to  treat  each  plant  exactly  as  it  should  be,  but 
if  all  are  grouped  in  order,  keeping  those  that  have  completed  their 
growth  at  the  cooler  and  yet  lighter  part  of  the  house,  it  will  be  a 
distinct  gain.  The  latter  will  not  require  much  diminution  of  water 
to  the  roots,  but  less  damping  should  be  done  in  their  vicinity  in 
order  that  the  spikes  may  have  time  to  form  before  the  plants  begin 
to  grow.  This  has  been  a  very  troublesome  matter  this  season,  for 
with  the  outside  temperature  higher  than  it  was  at  midsummer,  it 
has  been  quite  impossible  to  keep  the  houses  cool  enough  without 
very  frequent  dampings,  and  the  effect  of  this  is  to  start  the  plants 
into  growth.  This  is  very  annoying,  for  they  are  thrown  out 
of  their  annual  routine,  so  to  speak,  and  if  the  spikes  are  produced 
they  are  bound  to  be  smaller  than  would  have  been  the  case  had 
the  growths  remained  dormant,  the  strength  going  to  the  growth  at 
the  expense  of  the  spikes,  or  vice  versa. 
This  irregular  habit  of  growth,  however,  is  principally  confined 
to  a  few  species,  among  which  are  such  well-known  kinds  as 
Odontoglossum  crispum,  0.  luteo-purpureum,  0.  Pescatorei,  and 
