A FRUIT CENSUS

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 145, 16 December 1926, Page 8

A FRUIT CENSUS

SHARP INCREA3E OF APPLES

NEARLY TWO MILLION BUSHELS LAST SEASON. .

A "commercial orchard, I.', is—for statistical purposes—an orchard' producing' or capable of producing annually -fruit' worth £.50 or more: ..Orchards not filling this definition- are private orchards. 'For tho' season 1925-26, the area returned to the-Government,Statis-tician- as ." under-orchard" was '27,068 acres, of which 21,813 acres was commercial orchard, 5255 acres private. More than 'half the'total area of commercial orchards'is divided into orchards not. one of which ;e'Xceeds 20 Seres.- The . .commercial orchard, most commonly met-with is under five acres". This information is obtained ;fn'the Census and Statistims (Office's iepdrt oh agricultural and pastoral production for 1925-26/ « . . The principal fruits produced'by commercial orchards during the seasons 1024-25 and lf)2o-2<5 are set 'forth in the following table:- — . .

Compare■ with the above.fruit acreages tho¥ areas of market, gardens (excluding potato patch.es of .J' acre and over), which rose from 4516 acres in 1924-25 to 4599 acres', in ii>2s-2G; nurseries and seed-gardens, which, in .the same years rose from 482 acres to 505; and vineyards, from 224 acres to 261.

...•■ 192i-2o. ; 19iu-2G.-* ' . • . Bushels.. ' BiishclsV \pples ....... 1,503,256. 1,035,489 Pears 215,831 179,207 'caches.,....... 126,733 ... 105,171 STectarines •.-.■.. 14-,434. 15,007 Apricots 72,151 ■ - • • 6,7,295 Plums ',.„,,... 67>252 ['. .....54,332 berries. ...... ' 9,270 - 8,149 3ranges- .7.;. 3,54ft ' 5.649 [jemoiis'..■.....' '2p,785 22,369 Juihees ...»..' 2,153' ' 2,577 Walnuts .57^ 1,394 llmonds ....... ,19 .11 Tjoroughs.. .'. ...,.'. ■