FATHER OF AN INDUSTRY

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 78, 29 September 1934, Page 15

FATHER OF AN INDUSTRY

There are many .men of distinction who have settled in England and en-: riched it by their presence. One of ; these; who came from Denmark as a young student and changed, the whole aspect of the valley of the Lea, has just passed away. ' lie was Hans Ovo Larsen, who, forty years ago, saw the : great possibilities of the cultivation of fruit in glasshouses. At first he devoted himself to peaches, in the growing of which he became a specialist. He soon turned his attention to the more humble tomato, and in 1896 he started it Waltham Abbey a tomato' nursery which has grown to twenty-six acres. He was an enthusiastic believer in applying scientific knowledge to the cultivation of crops, and was one of the founders of the Experimental and Research Station at Cheshunt, which has been doing for fruits grown under glass what Bothamsted has done for crops grown in the open. If the English tomato has justly gainad a high rank among the fruits of the world it is i largely due to his advocacy from the beginning, not only of good cultivation, but also of careful grading and packing for tho market. He was a great leader, and worked hard for his fellowgrowers- during the depression from which, in tho last year or two, they have made such' a striking1 recovery. ;

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