October  3,  1896. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
357 
J.  R.  Pearson  &  Sons,  Chilwell.  The  fraita  were  large,  and  of  superb 
quality,  illustrating  the  naefulness  of  the  variety  as  a  late-keeping 
fruit.  A  rather  small  fruit  of  this  excellent  Apple  is  depicted  in  fig.  64, 
page  345.  Messrs.  Fellowes  &  Ryder,  Orpington,  sent  a  collection  of 
Tomatoes  Duke  of  York.  Messrs.  Chas.  Lee  &  Son,  Hammersmith,  sent 
a  large  exhibit  of  Apples  and  Pears,  comprising  100  dishes  and  baskets 
of  fruit.  The  quality  throughout  was  good,  and  all  the  best  varieties 
were  included. 
Very  effective  was  the  exhibit  staged  by  Messrs.  T.  F.  Rivers  &  Son, 
Sawbridgeworth.  This  comprised  fruiting  Apples  and  Pears  in  pots, 
bunches  of  Grapes,  magnificent  Apples,  Cox’s  Orange  Pippin,  The  Queen, 
Belle  Dubois,  Peargood’s  Nonesuch,  Bismarck,  Ribston  Pippin,  Emperor 
Alexander,  and  many  others.  Pears  were  also  excellent,  and  taken  as  a 
whole  the  exhibit  was  one  of  the  finest  in  the  show.  Messrs.  Spooner 
and  Sons,  Hounslow,  sent  a  most  interesting  exhibit,  comprising  baskets 
of  Apples  and  Pears  richly  coloured,  and  of  high  quality.  The  same 
applies  to  the  collection  sent  by  Messrs.  J.  Peed  &  Son,  Norwood,  which 
consisted  of  Apples  and  Pears,  and  the  fruits  without  being  large  were 
of  good  quality  and  colour. 
Messrs.  J.  Laing  &  Son,  Forest  Hill,  staged  a  most  effective 
collection  of  fruit,  consisting  of  Grapes,  Apples,  and  Pears  tastefully 
arranged.  Amongst  the  Apples  Blenheim  Orange,  Ribston  Pippin, 
Warner’s  King,  Cellini,  and  others  were  very  fine,  the  same  term 
applying  to  the  dishes  of  Pears  which  were  numerous,  while  the  fruits 
were  large.  The  same  firm  also  showed  a  miscellaneous  group  of 
plants  and  a  large  collection  of  hardy  flowers.  Messrs.  Gaymer  and 
Son,  Banham,  had  a  large  exhibit  of  Apples  interspersed  with 
bottles  of  cider  and  perry. 
Messrs.  Young  ik  Dobinson,  Stevenage,  sent  a  large  exhibit  of  Tomatoes 
of  the  variety  Young’s  Eclipse  ;  and  from  Mr.  J.  R.  Box,  Croydon,  came 
a  large  collection  of  tuberous  Begonias,  both  double  and  single  sections 
being  represented.  Mr.  T.  S.  Ware,  Tottenham,  sent  large  collections  of 
Dahlias  and  Begonias,  in  which  many  charming  varieties  were  included, 
and  made  an  effective  show.  Mr.  H.  A.  Orr,  Bedford,  exhibited  his 
patent  storing  trays  for  fruit.  An  interesting  exhibit  came  from  the 
Horticultural  College,  Swanley,  consisting  of  Grapes,  Apples,  Pears, 
Tomatoes,  and  Nuts  of  superior  quality.  Messrs.  Wood  &  Sons,  Wood 
Green,  arranged  a  stand  of  the  various  horticultural  sundries,  in  which 
the  excellent  sample  of  Orchid  peat  was  particularly  noticeable. 
THE  LECTURES. 
Fbtjit  as  an  Article  op  Food. 
As  on  previous  occasions  papers  appertaining  to  fruit  were  read  and 
discussion  invited.  On  the  opening  day  of  the  show  a  fair  number  of 
people  congregated  to  hear  an  essay  read  by  Mr.  E.  .T.  Baillie,  F.L.S., 
on  “The  Importance  of  British  Fruit  Growing  from  a  Food  Point  of 
View.”  In  the  absence  of  the  President  of  the  Society,  Sir  Trevor 
Lawrence,  the  chair  was  taken  by  Mr.  G.  Bunyard,  who  was  supported 
by  the  Rev.  W.  Wilks,  Mr.  A.  H.  Pearson,  and  others.  Mr.  Baillie 
dealt  with  his  subject  from  various  standpoints,  and  spoke  highly  of 
shows  of  the  character  of  the  one  held  under  the  auspices  of  the  R.H  S. 
as  a  means  of  education  and  instruction  on  this  all-important  question  of 
fruit  growing.  He  (the  essayist)  contended  that  with  regard  to  the  u^es  of 
fruit  as  food  it  was  important  and  necessary  to  observe  and  preserve  a 
proper  balance,  and  right  advancement  depends  on  the  just  relationship 
of  theory  and  practice,  capital  and  labour,  and  so  forth;  At  some  of  the 
Society’s  shows  they  had  seen  the  methods  adopted  for  preserving  fruits, 
and  these  had  proved  to  be  features  of  interest  and  instruction,  testifying 
to  the  usefulness  of  the  art  of  fruit  preservation,  Mr.  Baillie  contended 
that  it  was  perfectly  right  to  assist  education  in  the  matter  of  production, 
and  in  this  respect  cnlturists  must  assist  Nature. 
He  further  remarked  on  the  subject  of  marketing  and  distributing 
fruits,  adding  that  it  was  must  important  to  look  at  this  subject  of 
British  fruit  growing  from  a  fruit  point  of  view,  and  in  this  respect  he 
spoke  highly  of  the  exhibits  he  bad  just  had  the  opportunity  of 
examining.  In  the  first  place  fruit  as  an  article  of  food  was  necessary 
for  the  requirements  of  the  great  family,  and  some  people  he  believed 
could  see  the  force  of  a  remark  made  by  an  eccentric  Frenchman,  who 
said  anyone  could  take  the  necessaries  of  life  so  long  as  he  could  get 
its  luxuries,  adding  that  he  considered  bread  to  be  the  necessity  of  life 
and  an  Apple  the  luxury.  Food,  continued  Mr.  Baillie,  was  derived 
from  both  the  animal  and  vegetable  kingdoms,  and  the  Vegetarian 
Society,  of  which  the  essayist  spoke  very  highly,  maintained  that  the 
proper  food  for  man  was  to  be  obtained  from  the  vegetable  kingdom. 
These  sentiments  he  firmly  believed,  as  he  was  a  vegetarian  himself 
and  had  been  for  many  years. 
The  food  stuffs  obtained  from  the  vegetable  kingdom  have  a  very 
wide  range  in  the  field  purely  vegetable.  Some  obtained  food  from 
bulbs  and  tubers,  others  from  leaves,  and  others  from  stalks,  as  in  the 
case  of  Rhubarb  ;  but  it  was  fruit  in  the  form  they  could  see  it  that  day 
that  was  the  highest  standard  of  food  for  the  requirements  of  the  human 
family,  because  fruit  of  this  character  is  produced  above  ground,  and,  in 
free  contact  with  sun  and  air,  has  no  chance  of  becoming  contaminated 
in  any  way. 
Going  on  to  speak  of  fruit  and  vegetables  as  the  natural  food  for 
man,  the  essayist  made  reference  to  savages  who  live  almost  entirely  on 
these  articles,  maintaining  by  the  illustration  that  the  nearer  man 
reaches  primitive  innocence  the  more  often  we  find  him  subsisting  on  a 
diet  of  vegetable  fcod,  and  as  he  advances  towards  civilisation  then  it  is 
that  he  departs  from  his  simple  and  natural  mode  of  living.  No  one 
would  deny  that  it  is  quite  possible  to  live  healthily  on  a  diet  consisting 
wholly  of  vegetables  and  fruit,  and  many  people  become  vegetarians 
because  of  the  economic  part  of  it.  Fruit,  continued  the  essayist,  has 
a  value  that  has  been  considerably  underrated  rather  than  overrated 
Most  people  do  not  take  fruit  as  food,  but  generally  speaking  after  food’ 
in  the  shape  of  dessert.  He  failed  to  understand  why  this  should  be, 
and  could  call  to  mind  instances  where  through  necessity  animal  food 
rarely  appeared  on  the  table.  Looking  back  over  a  period  of  twenty- 
five  years  he  remembered  country  farmhouses  where  little  meat  was 
used.  Milk  and  so  forth  with  bread  formed  the  chief  articles  of  food, 
and  then  came  the  huge  Apple  dumplings  almost  inseparable  with  the 
everyday  diet.  How  quickly  they  disappeared,  and  where  could  we 
find  a  more  healthy  and  stalwart  class  of  men  than  these  ? 
Mr.  Baillie  made  some  further  remarks  on  the  value  of  fruit  from  a 
medicinal  point  of  view,  a  knowledge  of  which  had  existed  for  ages,  as 
it  was  an  easy  matter  to  take  extracts  from  old  works  which  testified 
plainly  to  this  fact.  There  was  ample  evidence,  he  continued,  of  the 
value  of  fruit  as  a  market  commodity,  as  we  as  a  nation  are  annually 
paying  away  millions  to  foreign  countries  for  articles  of  food  that  could 
readily  be  produced  at  home.  Speaking  of  Oranges,  Lemons,  Bananas, 
and  fruit  of  that  character  we  are,  of  course,  obliged  to  import  them,  and 
lightly,  too,  as  they  are  commodities  which  we  are  unable  to  produce,, 
but  there  was  really  no  necessity  for  us  to  import  a  single  barrel  of 
Apples,  as  there  were  no  fruits  for  Britishers  to  compare  with  British 
grown  fruits — (cheers) — and  there  was  no  occasion  for  alarm  as  to  over¬ 
production  as  long  as  we  continue  to  import  fruit  that  can  be  grown  at 
home.  He,  Mr.  Baillie,  maintained  that  the  production  of  fruit  is  one  of 
the  healthiest  and  happiest  of  occupations,  and  in  his  paper  he  bad  tried 
to  view  the  question  from  various  standpoints.  He  did  not  propose 
wearying  them  with  figures,  as  these  could  readily  be  obtained  by  anyone 
who  wished  to  study  them. 
He  would,  however,  like  to  add,  that  the  importance  of  home-grown 
fruit  will  not  be  fully  realised  among  the  working  population  until  the 
masses  are  educated  more  in  the  lessons  of  thrift,  and  taught  better 
methods  of  cookery,  in  order  that  these  commodities  can  be  utilised  to 
the  best  advantage.  With  the  working  classes  generally  fruit  is  practi¬ 
cally  unknown  as  an  article  of  food,  and  he  knew  that  in  seasons  when 
crops  have  been  exceptionally  large  there  are  numerous  cottage  homes 
where  not  a  single  penny  has  been  spent  in  the  purchase  of  fruit,  and 
large  quantities  have  decayed  that  might  be  used  as  food.  He  knew 
that  some  advances  had  been  made  and  were  being  made  by  our  system 
of  technical  education  in  bringing  the  working  classes  into  access  with 
those  articles  of  food  that  will  help  him  to  bear  better  the  beat  and 
burden  of  the  day. 
The  Royal  Horticultural  Society  can  in  its  turn  advocate  methods 
for  the  better  production  of  all  that  is  useful  in  Nature  as  a  means  to 
an  end,  and  the  energies  of  labour  should  be  so  directed  so  as  to  bring 
about  a  healthier,  happier,  and  brighter  state  of  affairs  ;  and  introduce 
health,  contentment,  and  peace  to  the  homes  of  our  workers.  We 
advise,  suggest,  and  direct  what  can  be  done  ;  but  we  should  endeavour 
to  show  the  way  to  do  it,  and  devise  methods  to  practically  help  the 
producer  in  the  shape  of  lessened  carriage  rates,  better  market  systems, 
and  so  forth.  Education  in  fruit  culture  should  be  encouraged  and 
endeavours  made  to  point  out  the  various  beneficial  uses  to  which  fruit 
can  be  put,  These  and  other  points  were,  in  the  essayist’s  opinion, 
worthy  of  the  attention  of  all  interested  in  the  fruit-growing  industry, 
and  points  that  must  necessarily  be  grappled  with,  in  order  that  fruit 
as  an  article  of  food  will  be  used  and  appreciated  as  it  should  be. 
At  the  close  of  Mr.  Baillie’s  paper  a  discussion  took  place,  in  which. 
Messrs.  Roupell,  Basham,  and  others  took  part. 
The  Cider  and  Perry  Industry. 
In  the  unavoidable  absence,  through  indisposition,  of  Sir  Trevor 
Lawrence,  the  chair,  on  Friday  afternoon,  was  again  taken  by  Mr. 
G.  Bunyard,  who,  in  a  few  well  chosen  words,  introduced  the  compiler 
of  the  essay,  C.  W.  Radcliffe  Cook,  Esq.,  M.P.  This  gentleman  has  for 
many  years  interested  himself  in  the  cider  and  perry  making  industry, 
and  is  therefore  thoroughly  capable  to  deal  with  a  subject  of  such 
importance. 
In  commencement  Mr,  Cook  said  that  in  consequence  of  the  interest 
he  had  taken  to  further  this  industry  he  had  been  honoured  by  an 
invitation  to  read  a  paper  on  that  occasion.  In  the  first  place  be  had 
been  reared  in  the  midst  of  that  cider  making  county  of  Hereford,  and 
he  had  long  been  of  the  opinion  that  the  industry  was  one  capable  of 
almost  unlimited  development.  Everywhere  in  Hereford  and  other  cider 
making  districts  were  to  be  seen  in  the  extensive  orchards  ocular  demon¬ 
strations  of  the  fact  that  the  manufacture  of  the  beverage  had  once  been 
an  industry  of  considerable  importance.  This  no  doubt  was  at  the  time 
when  the  light  wines  of  France  and  Germany  were  consumed,  and 
before  the  introduction  of  heavier  drinks.  Old  writers,  such  as  Evelyn 
and  Dr.  Beale,  referred  often  to  the  orchards  of  Hereford,  and  even  in 
the  time  of  Charles  cider  was  preferred  to  wine.  There  is  every  reason 
to  believe  that  the  industry  was  a  profitable  one  at  the  end  of  the 
eighteenth  and  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century,  and  an  Irish 
writer  says  that  about  that  time  good  cider  fetched  from  15  to  18  guineas 
a  hogshead. 
The  first  decline  of  the  industry  can  be  marked  from  the  time  of  the 
French  War,  when  the  price  of  corn  was  very  high,  and  farmers  gave  up 
the  growing  of  fruit  for  cider  making,  and  turned  their  attention  to  corn 
growing.  A  second  reason  was  the  suicidal  system  of  merchants  and 
middlemen  in  diluting  the  liquor  with  water,  the  result  of  this  being  that 
the  drink  was  brought  into  such  discredit  that  it  was  never  to  be  found 
outside  the  cider-making  districts,  and  even  there  it  was  quite  unpalat- 
