The Press. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1897. MR GLADSTONE ON SMALL CULTURE.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 9836, 20 September 1897, Page 4

The Press. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1897. MR GLADSTONE ON SMALL CULTURE.

Mr.Gladstone's mind in some respect 3 is liko an elephant's teunk. It can grapple alike with the weightiest matters and with the smallest. On the one hand it can root up trees and on the other it can pick up a pin. Years ago, in the intervals of his Homeric studies and feats of statesmanship, he took upon himself to advise the British farmer to grow fruit and make jam as a remedy for agricultural depression. From a speech which the right honourable gentleman made at the Hawarden Horticultural Show tho other day, it appears that he has not outgrown either his belief in small culture, his interest) in the farmer, or his power o£ making a bright, vigorous and effective speech. In the first place he took the opportunity to sound the praises of a neighbour of his, fortunate Mrs. Adions, who had carried off the first prize for butter that day, and a few weeks before had taken the third prize at the open meeting of the Agricultural Society representing the whole of England. " Well, ladies and gentlemen," exclaimed Mr. Gladstone in triumph, "it is not a very bad " position if the parish of Hawarden " produces butfcer better than any of " the 10,000 Qr, 12.gQ0 parishes in " England' except ■cw<&" ' Needless to say this remark was received with loud cheering, and if Mrs. Adkins happened to be present among the audience, when her virtues as a butter maker were thus being extolled by England's great ex-Prime Minister, she might be excused for feeling a glow of pride and satisfaction at achieving such fame.

Turning next to his favourite subject of fruit culture, Mr. Gladstone was able to produce evidence that in one case at any rate his recommendations had been followed with good results. He read a letter which he had received, in which the writer said:—

" Dear Sir,—Some years ago, in a speech made at Hawarden, you suggested that, under certain conditions, farmers should devote a part of their land to the culture of fruit and flowers. lam pleased to say that I took your advice, especially with regard to flowers, and that for the past three years, although I have largely increased my growth, I have received many more ordera than I have been able to supply. You will, I am sure, be pleased to near that I send out flowers to dwellers in our large towns at a cost to them of something like 50 per cent, under whatthoy formerly had to givo; also that lam able to pay my workpeople 20 per cent, higher wages than they used to receive when the land was worked for purely agricultural purposes. In addition to this, I put by a very substantial profit for myself."

The reading of this letter was received with laughter and cheers, after which Mr. Gladstone went on to state his views with regard to frestrade, and the question of Englishmen supplying as far as possible the food required by their countrymen. He stated emphatically that he was "a very strong freetrader," and that he looked back with satisfaction and delight upon those changes in the laws of the country which had " made the " products of the whole world open to •' the population of tnis country with- " out hindrance or charge of any " kind." At the same time, though he wished, thai tbk products of the whole world should find their way to the tables of the working classes without let or hindrance, ana , though he hoped that "no delusions and no quackery " would ever induce the Legislature of " that country to go back upon the " happy expeiienoe it had witnessed;" yet if any of these products could be better raised at home he " delighted in it." When he found that 1,200,000,000 eggs were laid all over Europe to be imported into England he could not help thinking it would be a very good thing if five or six hundred million of those eggs were laid at home, " because," added the right honourable gentleman, " you " may depend upon this that the " nearer an egg is laid to the place " where it is consumed the better it " will be." There is a quaint touch of humorous commonsense about this remark which strikes us as very delightful. Of the general soundness of Mr. Gjlujstoke's views there can be no question. We wish some of our own colonists could ba persuaded to go in more lor petit culture. On this subject Mr. Seddon made some sensible remarks in Wellington the other day. There is from time to time a great outcry against the Chinese growing most of the vegetables for the New Zealand markets. Mr. Seddon very pertinently asks why Europeans do not go in for growing them themselves. "In the greatest city of the

" world, London," he said, " where " there ia an enormous consumption " of vegetables, none are grown by " Chinese. The whole supply is " provided by our own people. " There was astonishment when " I said that in the young " countries at this side of the world "we were dependent entirely upon " Chinese for our vegetable supply. " They get theirs cheap in London too, " and that they get them good goes " without saying, for there they will " have nothing except what is really " good. There is an idea that the " growing of vegetables is derogatory, " and if anything can be done to drive " these nonsensical ideas out of people's " heads so much the batter." With the general tenour of these remarks we fully agree. We are not aware that the growing of vegetables has been ! considered at all derogatory—one of the greatest living novelists, Mr. R. D. Biackmoue, has for years grown vegetables for sale in the London ! market—but we certainly think that, with proper care aud management i Europeans ought to be able to make it pay.