The Evening Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, and Echo. THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 1895.

Auckland Star, Volume XXVI, Issue 74, 28 March 1895, Page 4

The Evening Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, and Echo.

THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 1895.

For the canst) that lacks assißtanw, For' the •tnoKg that, needs r6flißt«noe, for tlio future in tho distance, And tiia gced that wo can do.

Iris very desirable that the Government should regard favourably the request of the Auckland fruitgrowers fortsome 'slight assistance towards sending a delegate to represent them at the Fruitgrowers' Conference to-be held in Hobart.- But even if the Government does not give the help asked it will be to the advantage of our orchardists to go to some expense—it would not fall very heavily on them individually—in. despatching one of the most practical and intelligent of their number to Tasmania. Fruitgrowingquite deserves to be ranked as one of the chief rural industries of the Auckland province; a very large number of persons are partially or entirely engaged in it, and no little capital has been invested in it. From our climate and the nature of much of our sdil, it is an industry that should every year assume a growing importance, and it is therefore very necessary that we should do everything in our power to foster it. At present, we are quite aware, the orchardist's occupation is a somewhat discouraging one. The markets in the colony are glutted with almost every kind of fruit that is produced, and the outside markets in Europe have not been developed. The fruit industry is in that state of transition which all young industries more or, less pass through. It is too large for local demands, and not large enough to take a commanding position abroad.

In a lesser degree what is true of fruitgrowing in Auckland applies to Australia and Tasmania. The orchardists of the latter colony, and,of New South Wales and Victoria, are suffering just as much, or nearly'as much, as our fruitgrowers. Markets are full .and prices are low.. But they very properly do not lose heart They recognise the full importance of the fact that fruit of the finest qualify can be raised in these colonies in the richest profusion and at a time when nearly all the rest of the world cannot produce so much as a green gooseberry. They foresee the time when tho consumption of fruit will be immensely increased both here and in the Old Country, and when the means of transit and the facilities for marketing will be enormously improved. They recognise, too, that we have very much to learn about the economy of orcharding, which can only be gained by experience and the adoption of more scientific methods.

The fruitgrowers of Tasmania bave always been in the van among Australian orchardists. The settlers in that colony were forced into the industry ; it was the thing that promised the settler the most profitable return, and at one time it quite fulfilled that promise. But as the other colonies extended their orchards Tasmania found market after market shut against it, and the revenue of its fruitgrowers suffered a considerable decline. Fruitgrowing, however, still continues to be one of the great industries of the little colony, and the people are determined that nothing that can tend to promote it shall be neglected.

The coming conference at Hobar 1 happens at a time when the fruitgrowing industry all over these colonies is in a very depressed state, and though one cannot expect that a conference will remove the depression, yet there are many ways in which it may be productive of much substantial good. If

tlie delegates are intelligent, practical men, thoroughly acquainted with the condition of the fruit industry in the countries or disiricts they represent, they should be able to enlighten each other on many valuable points. Apart from, the assistance a delegate from Auckland might be able to render to our fruitgrowers by attending the conference, ha could greatly increase the value of his visit by making himself thoroughly acquainted with the methods of orcharding in Tasmania. We know that the industry is carried on in a much more methodical manner than is common with us, and it will be most interesting for all our orchardists to learn how the orchardists of Tasmania manage to make the industry a payable one, as they undoubtedly do.

The great fruit district of Tasmania

is the Huon, although the New Noriolk district contains the largest orchards. There are about 2,000 growers in the Huon, nearly ail of them on small areas of from .5 to 15 acres. They produced last year over 300,000 bushels of apples and pears, or nearly half the entire production of the colony, The land is ot\ poor quality, and useless for anything but fruitgrowiner, and it may be mentioned that the fruit on this inferior soil is so much superior in quality to that grown on richer soil that fruitgrowers carefully avoid choosing the better ground for their orchards. The yields in some of these, orchards, which, by the way, are all. cultivated by horse power, are sometimes immense. The calculation of some growers is 500" bushels an acre, but 200 bushels is considered a

payable return: We feel sure that if the Auckland orchardists sent a thoroughly competent man to inspect these orchards, he could supply them with a very great deal of information which might be turned to profitable account, . " .