PUBLIC OPINION

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume 49, Issue 7743, 12 July 1921, Page 4

PUBLIC OPINION

01 TR US Fit UIT G ROW 1N 0

(To the Edit<n). Sir, With your permission 1 would wisjt to draw attention to a project that should interest a ntuubef of your readers. In this district we are fortunate in possessing a soil and a climate that, taken together, arc 1 a dly anywhere surpassed in general suitability for the growth ot trees and the production of Iruit. Onr orchards and gardens have ior many veara borne us fruit in [illusion, but in spite ( )t this na’nrd lerfility ft nil-growing as an industry is in a by ho means flourishing condition. Locally, the supply <f privately grown"fruit luiug so plentiful, the demand for the crmincrcially grown product is sormwhat limited, whilst the distance from, and heavy cost cf reaching the principal markets of the Dominion, have been a severe handicap to our growers in compete tion..with orchardists situat'd conveniently near to their market. On this languishing industry there b.-s descended during the last two vears, with especial virulence, the dreaded Fire Wight, which has adminisLred a veritable c up de grace lo the growing of pears, and halo some extent shaken our confidence in our apple growing. Now, it has been said by an observer (whom we hope may prove to be a far-sighted cm-:) lh,,t this is the best thing that could have happened fer the industry in this' Bay of Plenty, for the reason that growers will now perforce abandon the growing of pip fruits, and will concentrate their t-nergi's on the culture cf those varift es of semi-tropical for the production of which the district is so pre-emine «lly suit able, and which, however, eanno l>c produced with any certainty a all in much tii' la”grr pan cf the Dominion-

The lemm, the orargn the hint*, the pomelo, together with the pa* H.ron fruit and the tree' tomato amongst others, can indeed be grown in many favoured spe n in North Auckland, bm nowhere in the island is there a stretch of country so perfectly suited to the growing o' these fruits of anything like th extent presented in this Bay with its north-east aspect and its shelter ing rang',? of hi'ls, which break and temper the ke nness of the southerly and westerly winds. Standing on some one of th heights that command the picturesque .sweep of our Icvdy bay, it rnot difficult to imagine the sunny Hopes covered with mile after mil? of flourishi ig lemon, lime and orange groves, ami see them everywher intersected by the white lines of faultless roads along which stream : of motors, laden with the produce o c the countless orchards/are converging ou the flemi-hing port of Tturanga. where; I ,the fruit, bearing a brand known the world over, is distributed tc the markets of both hen Spheres. To some tins picture may appear chimerical, but there is no doubt that it is a possibility of the* future, and a possibility that could be made aTcrtainty, butanol without effort.

The first Duel most obvious step for all interested in bringing about the development is to get together, to combine and to co-operate. It is hardly necessary for me to enlarge cn the benefits derivable from cooperation. They should be well known. There have been failures in co-operative movements, but these are cases in which the true principle of co-operation have in one particular nr another not adhered to. When loyally followed cut co-opera-tion has proved over and over again to be tb: making of an industry, ni' indeed in seme cases has saved an industry threatened with extinction and turned it into a colossal.success, an instance of that being the lemon industry in California.

With ;onr special opportunities for the development of a 'citrus indrs Fry, we have now a great; opportunity of forming a united and single niinded society of grbwers, who, by working together loyally on true cooperative principles should, in a short lime, attain an unique and commanding position in its own particular branch of fruit production. We should have every possible advantage in the obtaining of our spraying materials, manure and other supplies. We should market onr own fruit, dealing directly with the retailer and consumer, eliminating tie? auctioneer and other superfluous middlemen. By the practice of the best methods in p’ckitig, curing, grading and packing the brand of the association would be known as a sure giiaiantee of the bights*/ quality. The prices we should fix would b? found satisfactory to both producer and consumer-; and fur-, liter, the existence of the association, as a centre for the citrus growing community, should prove of \lic utmost advantage in tlie dissnnii'hlKin of knowledge of all the best methods, by the reading of papers and discussions at the regular per’odica! meetings, and the general festering of a spirit of mutual assistance and i sprit de corps. We must not forget too, that we have in the Government Experimental Station, with its capable and enthusiastic manager, a very great advantage over any other district. Devoted specially to experimental work in oilrus culture, it is destined in the future to provide us with an eloquent object lesson in the art and science of kmon, orang.and lime growing. As an earnest of the assistance we are likely to draw from this source Mr. Davidson has kindly c iismted to read ns a paper on “Citrus Diseases,” at our next meeting on the _____ __

‘2Gth inst., which paper is certain to be of a most informative character, ami should he listened to by all growers rf tins' fruits.

The Fruitgrowers’ Association, which has exist 'd for some lime in Taurangi, has not succeeded in any way in filling the position I have briefly sketched above . It is fully conscious of its failure, and is willing and anxious to merge itself into a new and**live society, if such can be persuaded to aris;- out of the dying ashes of the old. A meeting is called for Tuesday, the 26th. inst., at 2 p.m. in the Coronation Hall, to which all interested are heartily invited. New blood and new ideas aid wanted and will be welcomed. A scheme fer the formation of the proposed new society will be sketched out and laid before the meeting for discussion. It is hop’d that a representative gathering will assemble, which can decide whether or not the time has arrived for'iir.ugurating such a society. Sooner or later one must of ne cssity be formed. The business of th? meeting will include the election cf all officers. In rv-ny way it is Irp'd a fre h -itart wifi bo marie.

Attention is also drawn to the fact that there exists at present no rf or 1 i cull ura 1 Soci ty hi Tauranga. This should cei l airily not be so. It is hoped that all gardening enthusiasts pud losers cf flo.vers will also attend onr meeting on the 26th. whi it a proposal will be advanced .hat a combined citrus growers and Horticultural Society be formed. This proposal can then be discus-ed and decided upon. May I add, that should any be unable to ntend the meeting, Mr. Bonl hron, the secretary, or L .vonld be glad to receive any sugges ions or expr a ions cf o[i ions ■I any time, and t :se can ;1 o bo »ut brirro the me ting. With apologies to you, sir, fu' ;lre length of this Idler. 1 am etc., E. MAYFIELD. President,' Tauranga Fruitgrowrs' Association. Tauranga, -Inly lOlit. 1921.

THE WHARF SITE.

(To the Editor.) Sir, In consideration of the mount of adverse comment hsplnycd on account of the locality chosen by the Harbour Board as a permanent ■.Vharf Site, 1 would ask a little •pace in order to explain the posiion that I took up as regards the natter. Some 23 years ago I arriv’d in Tanranga and was much imoresscd with the pretty little town and its natural beautiful water ftont. It was a lovely morning, the fulls dipping in and out of the water :ish splashing in all directions, the whole scene being most attractive from a visitor’s point of view. Now, Sir, I look at Tauranga from two distinctly different stand-points. First of 11, its harbour which must tome time devrlop into a large shipp ing centre, and secondly, from its natural advantages as pleasure resort for as a pleasure resort it would be difficult to over estimate its advantages. Every visitor brings many others after him, which materially assists in the development of the whole district. When the question arose as regards the permanent .vharf site a deputation from the Borough Council waited on the Board, making a vury natural request that the wharves, if possible, should be located somewhere at at least beyond th: precincts of the 'Strand and so preserve the water front, which is undoubtedly the town's'greatest natural asset. Mr. Blair Mjtson was subsequently instructed to report as to the possibility of placing the wharves a little past th: Victoria Wharf ami so keep the Strand’s frontage intact. Now, Sir, if the engineer's report showed clearly that such a project was unwork? ble, w? should, however much we regretted it, have had to have bowed to the inevitable and sacrificed. Hie Strand frontage, but Mr. Blair Mason’s report displayed nothing of the kind but was to the effect that the structure could be easily erected, starting at the Victoria Wharf northwards but that the expenditure would be a little

Vfe ntovu very lilile more- indeed as Mr. G reen pointed out that there would be a certain amount of reclaimed land available which would provide a considerable asset. Now, Sir, my contention is that wharves doing a fair amount of business are at the best necessary evils, and their locality, except for business purposes, is to be avoided as much as possible. There is no chance of getting away from the soot, smoke and noise of vessels and every ether objectionable feature that clings particularly to shipping localities. The site just below the Strand is near enough, too. near in my oninion, for all business purposes. The present Town Wharf could be retained for ferry bo its, launches and small craft, for which accommodation must be found somewhere. Now, Sir, the question cf the moment is can anything be done at this, the eleventh hour, to alter the position? Are the ratepayers of Tauranga going to lie down and be deprived of their greatest natural asset without a strenuous protest? I trow not. And I say, Sir, that nr Slone should be loft unturned in order to prevent that, which under the circumstances is nothing more or less than , deplorable piece of vandalism and an attempt at least to deprive the inhabitants of Tauranga of one of the most valuable assets with which the Almighty has endowed her.—-I am, etc., H.SOUTHEY. Tauranga, July 11, 1921.