FRUITGROWERS.

Press, Volume LXIV, Issue 19251, 5 March 1928, Page 3

FRUITGROWERS.

CANTERBURY ASSOCIATION. The monthly meeting of the Canterbury l'ruitgrowers' Association was held on Saturday night, Mr F. W. Sisson presiding over a good attendance , The chairman, reporting on the recent conference with representatives of the Fruiterers' Association and the Tomato and Stone Fruitgrowers' Association, said that there was a great amount of talk, chiefly about packing and "top-dressing." Getting Beyond a Joke. The fruiterers reckoned that "topdressing" was getting beyond a joke. There were usually two rows of good stuff at the top and bottom; previously it was confined to one row; now they had to take off two rows to get to the rubbish. It was alleged that some of the offenders were people with good orchards and people with well known marks.

Mr Merton: I thought that the system of registered brands would kill anything of that sort. Mr F. W. Cone: They would not buy the same brands if they were once "had."

The chairman said that anyone who wanted to make a living out of fruitgrowing would not indulge in "topdressing." Mr Merton said that a fruitgrower who did so would be killing himself. The chairman said that the matter was under the jurisdiction of the inspectors, and he understood that a case was to be brought before the Court shortly. Mr E. Freeman said that there wcie 200 or 300 amateur orchards about which marketed stuff, and he thought that they were the chief offenders. The chairman said that the fruiterers were going to have things altered, and were not goinrr to stand it anv longer. Mr Cone: It is fraud —that's all that it is.

An instance was cited in which 5Jd per lb. was paid for a case of tomatoes, but when it was examined the buyer asked that it should be put up again, when 3d a lb. was obtained. Combined Picnic. The chairman also referred to the suggestion that the fruiterers and the members of the Fruitgrowers' Association should hold a combined picnic. Tlie fruiterers could only have a picnio on a Sunday. Were members in favour of Sun3ayP

Several members: No. Mr Freeman said the fruiterers proposed that it should l">e held on a Sunday this year, and afterwards on January Ist. Tt was decided that while the Association was in favour of a combined picnic, a Sunday was not suitable. Sale of Plants. The chairman said that the chief business of the conference was a discussion regarding the prohibition of the sale of plants and seeds by fruiterers. The Association's representatives had indicated that they would support the fruiterers in their protest. He did not think that the nurserymen could cope with the business in August and September. Mr Freeman said he thought the whole trouble was that they had too many professional politicians, who did not know what to do half their time, and humbugged here and humbugged there. The demand for the prohibition had been pushed by Mr Green, secretary of the Nurserymen's Association. The chairman said it meant that tlio public would have to pay double for bedding-out plants. 'lt was decided, on the motion of Mr G. E. Billson, Seconded by Mr E. A. Stead, "That in the opinion of this Association the recent Gazette notice prohibiting fruiterers from selling plants and seeds is wrong in principle, and creates a monopoly for a favoured few." Provincial Conference. Mr Cone said that the Federation had set down June 2nd as the date of the conference of the Fruitgrowers' Associations in Canterbury in order that either the president or secretary of the Federation would be able to attend. This would clash with the Association's monthly meeting, but after consulting with the president, who thought that the Association's meeting could be held a week before or after, he had advised the Federation that the dato would be suitable. The date of the Dominion conference was June 13th. Some North Island Orchards. Mr Cone reported on the meoting of the Board of the Federation in January, held at Hastings, and said that the business was mostly routine in character. There were no pressing problems in Hastings, as all the fruitgrowers appeared to bo prosperous, and the crops were splendid. He noted that they pruned very sparingly. He visited (on holiday) the Tauranga district, and found that orchardists were going out of apples and pears, and confining themselves to lemons. When he • told a grower there that the only New Zealand lemons he had seen in Christchurch were thick-skinned, he was told that all the "dud" lemons were sent to Canterbury. He was shown some Tauranga lemons that were as thin-skinned as any imported. The lemon-growers wanted the other Id duty placed on lemons from non-British countries. Duty on Imported Apples. The chairman said he had heard that one Nelson orchardist, who usually exported large quantities of apples, would not export aDy this season, and reports from Loburn were to the effect that little, if any, exporting would be done.

Mr Cone moved: "That arrangements be made for representatives of the Association to place before the Canterbury members of Parliament the necessity for an extra Id duty on imported apples." He said that it was absurd to put up cool stores to keep local apples all the year round and allow American apples to swamp the market. Mr Billson seconded the motion, which was carried.