THE FRUIT CONFERENCE

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 27, 26 October 1907, Page 8

THE FRUIT CONFERENCE

; ; Mr;' T.■ AW Kirk; F.L.S., of "the New Zealand'. Agricultural Department, is in Australia - National FrHit--I'!]] Australasia.-- :Oh .-the oft tho , Conference,vwhen 7a motion, the: fruit ; fly^-ril;'very troublesome, pest in Australia—was before members, Mr. Kirk delivered, an'address, in .which,, ho gave soino interestinginformation ' ' about,- -the Mediterranean' fruit fly in'.New Zealand, .and. said that Mr. Quinn; of the South Australian Department of ' Agriculture, saw. during !a ! recent visit to the Dominion tho fly breeding iii"gardens; year'.Napier.' 1 New Zealand had ;.a very' large' trade with' the ' Pacific Islands, and growers in; the islands assorted that ' they,',had got, fruit fly : from Australia,, so some day' Australia' might 1 find the -Pacific Islands resorting' to 'retaliation.. -'..Nij' New '•Zealand they dreaded tho' Mediterranean Jly more than:the.- Queensland;^?.'..: dji - had. bred' on-peaches' and apricots at'. Blenheim, in the northern part'of the South' Islaiid, and, the Appearance; of the ' ily in New . Zealand . gar-' dens had 'cost hundreds .propounds. The ■fruit 'fly.' had 1 given- New 'Zealand ,'growers '■such 1 -■ , 'a'-scaro' ; 'that:-they- wdro anxious ito. do ,cverything-to. expel, it -The- : New'- Zealand fruit, trade was now,worth,£l,ooo,ooo a.year, to-the Donunion/Vand'.-tiie. trade had at' length', been got going-on. : a sound, commercial basis. 'At prosent.NewrZealand was importing 1 more 1 maggots from. the South Sea ■Islands than fromiAustralia,, and he-had freiquently .'seeh' the' mascots jump out of fruit'' on the wharf; ' New, Zealand .might .'be iriiiea ■upon: nob'to takcanysteps- that would- Viotbe' absolutely., inecossary,. fbr: - the'. protection' of • its own interests..

.'.' TH3s Blessed Fruit Fly.": • :' ! ' •" . •-•Adelaide papery tb'-handyreport.Mr.;Eirk ■as;' ■saying :—"New..Zealand .Had. a;'.,y - ery. l'la'rgetrade;with ;tho..:Pacifio;:lslands,;:and ;. trie growers in'the islands asserted:that they had got tlie fruit fly from Australia, so some day Australia might' iirid'the.Pacific Islands -reporting to 'retaliation.. .in New, Zealand they dreaded the Mcditorrarieari'fly.morothan the Queensland fly! It bad-bred on. '-.peaches- and apricots, at Blenheim, 'in' the ■ northern..part of' the' South Island,: and .'the appearance' of ■the ; .fly'in' New Zealand 'gardens", had cost ■hundreds "of-pounds.;;' Menha'd had- to bc.put' on"' ,to',:watch and trace • the nest,;''arid pick infected fruit ;as it ;bcc'ame : 'ripe, arid thoroughly, spray the; ground-.'round the trees with .kerosene. . ■Tbe.'.fruit;fly had given ..New Zealand growers -siich a;scare that- they were 'artxibiis "to;- do- '-everythingv.to expel..it.. 1. 'Anstrjiliaiugrower receritly'said'tohim/rJ.Npw-yoiviha'vei'gdtfthis'ibless&tl-'fruit-fly "you- need' ■not r 4ro'ubloVvts''with''Vestnc'tions I : ';but ho : was ; sorry With'that. vibw. . Tlio ; .'"New' Zealand ■ fruit trade. \ was'-'rhdw . worth■' a'ybhr to tho'ridminion, and ; tho ; trnde had itt length been got -going on -a' jsouhd;--. commercial basis. -At; present-' New Zealand .was.;importing more .maggoty from .the. South': Sea .Islands • than iroiri Australia, and.he.had'frcquently seen the.maggots jump' out of the'fruit on-the wharf. -,'Hb had; more-pvbr.-see'n 'the-'maggots l in .pineapples,'.'not! .withstanding'that one. of the delegates had /assorted, that tho did not i brocd r in ; pineapples.. i Although; New. Zcalandors -wero 'scarcd'.about,the; fruit-fly, they- wore'not, at present; prohibiting!the:importation.'of 'fruit'. from..ahyi.:-portVof-!Anstra'lia:>'n-A i t.:tho' same that the examination.they were ableto.mako was'nbt a real safeguard, but that it only reduced the risk'to -a.mini--,'iriutn',:... Ho thought it not,unlikely, that-New Zealand: would, presently ask" : -fqtf a-', certificate .that,. allV,iippo'rted, ; fruit,-.was'.''grown 'in, 'an ;orchard.,whore the fruit-fly'-,was;not known to' ;p:;ist, ;i a'n'd ho, did not;think that-.wbiijd, 'be unreasonable regulatibn. ( ',ln'New.;Zcaland' at present, they. made, no.-charge,for- r the cx'aminatibri.of fniit.'.lmt.thoy ohargod-for fumigating fruit, and;'they charged' ' for.';tho destruction, of maggottyi fruit: i- New '.Zealand/imported lastsyear,;£i62,ooo'- worth of.fresh' fruit, of. which £34,000 ,ivas dutiahjo and £127,000 worth v/as admitted frep.., N.o\v' Zi'.'lanflmight;be, relied: upon not to" take any .stops.that would not bo absolutely necessary' for-the protection.of-its,-own interests." ■>: , ■''