THE FRUIT INDUSTRY.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XCV, Issue 10919, 30 March 1896, Page 2

THE FRUIT INDUSTRY.

A , VISIT TO CENTRAL OTAGO. [“ Cantebbubt'Times.”] The glowing accounts that have been from time to time published regarding that almost unknown country. Central Otago, •and its fruit-growing capabilities have, it is safe to say, directed as much attention to it as the great railway question has done, and are a much pleasanter subject to discuss. During the last two'years a good deal of information about the district and its fruit has been published in the Canterbury Times—first, Mr. Kobert Naim's interesting and dispassionate account of- his visit to the Teviot district, and later the information extracted from Mr J. C. Blackmore, Government pomologist, and our visitor of a year ago. Signor R. Bragato, the Yictorian vitioultural expert, by the process of interviewing, and from their respective official reports. Greater importance has recently attached to the subject owing to the efforts made by the Government to foster and encourage the fruit-growing industry in the colony; and in order to see not only the advantages and capabilities of the central Otago dis-trict—-as that which sends to the .market the finest fruit in large quantity—but also the disadvantages of that remote region, a favourable opportunity of a run through, the district was embraced, and in the last week of February the journey was taken.. The railway journey from Milton (on the main line) to Lawrence —which was the rpufe taken—is of little interest. This branch does not present any of the costly engineering triumphs which form a feature , of the Otago Central line proper, but H ; promises decidedly more traffic, some excel . - lent crops of wheat and oats being see n along the line, even when a high elevatn in was reached. It soon strikes the travel] ter that the "garden wall” takes a deal’ of climbing. At Lawrence a box seat; on Cobb- and Co.’s coach is" secured, throx igh the courtesy of Mr Hugh Craig —■ the Cassidy of Central Otago—and after an excellent lunch, at which fruit in vaij ions forma is prominent, a start is made on the forty-mile journey to Roxburgh. 1 The first part of the journey is over hilly country, and it is not until . the Beaumont hill is descended that much cultivable country is reached, alt) aough some good grain crops are seen in very unlikely situations. The first large i . re?, of agricultural land is the Moa Flat csf; ate, of which the famous Island Block f -r/ms a part. The block is formed of ailavij, I soil of the richest quality) and has been v : lined at a very high price for small farms i >ll which fruit-growing would form a par i of the system. But gold has been four. don the " bottom ” of the alluvial deposit , and the rich soil, in most places 10ft 'co 20ft in depth, is being washed down th/ :, river by the hydraulic dredges, and a waste of barren shingle left in its place. To the left extends the Moa; Flat Es date itself, whose fertile land remains u) ideveloped, save for three' small farms whi .ch have at some time been selected from tl i,e immense run. A little further on, on i .'he opposite side of the valley, is Teviot station, the land of which is good to the v'.jry hill tops, and .is being gradually cleared of scrub and much of it brought into culti nation. Miller’s Flat is the centre of this fine district of which the resources, mil ring excepted, are still practically undeveloped. Another hour takes us into Roxburgh, which is entered by the suspension bridge over the Clutha which took the place .of that washed away by the great flood oil 1878. One of the piers of the old bridge i/5-still standing, and is shown in our view of "the town, which was taken from the approit si to the bridge, the back-ground being ti.ie range of hills along the base of which most of the orchards are -situated. Bb • should tie mentioned that here and the/■<& oh the road between Lawrence .and I Jioxburgh small orchards are seen, and. also ,a very large quantity 'of Rind pxcepfently .adapted for fruit-growing, but which is unobtainable, being either reserved /.'or goldmihing purposes or forming part of large estates or runs. After tea, for w hich the long drive in the bracing air ha«; given an appetite, a. visit was paid to one*of the hydraulic mining claims working under the electric light on the bank of the rr ver opposite the town; and on the following morning a dredging claim on the river i rais visited. The effect of the goldmining u ill be pointed out later on.

During the eventing some of the fruitgrowers call, and, unlike some of their contemporaries near 'Chrfetchurch, talk freely of the industry arid ite returns. The effect of the fruit dutyiis with one voice declared to he that fruit in the regular consignments sent dovm from this the famed Teviot district, meets now a regular sale, which was not previously the case, b.ut that the prices obtained are no higher than formerly. The ,"growers are quite satisfied with this resulk, for in previous seasons much of their fruit had to be sacrificed at what price the jam manufacturers chose to pay, on the days of arrival of Melbourne or Sydney steamers. Throughout the district the opinion’ as ftb theeffect of the duty was ascertained, and without exception was in accord with tltiat expressed at '.Roxburgh. The invigorating effect of the air led to other questions being put, and it • was elicited that Central Otago, with its pure, dry air, was liecoming recognised as a sanitorium, not only for those whose lungs were affected*, hut. by families residing in the large towns or at low elevations. Better access to the district would lead to a large influx of visitors every summer. Even now many families braved the journey for the sake of the recuperative effects of the climate, to say nothing of the benefit of having an abundant supply of the finest fruit. On the morninjg after arriving at Box-

burgh,, a'(ter the visit to the dredge a round oj:J the orchards was undertaken. Fortunai ;ely, we had the guidance of Mr J. C. Blao Innore, the instructor in fruit growing;; for the South Island, and thus it was tha fc, though the first of the two days spent I Mere was cold and wet—the second was lei; p unseasonable—most of the principal oj l jchards were visited. The orchards begin a mile or so below ■ Roxburgh, and ef ? :tend along the base of the Mount Benge> r Range to Coal Creek, .five or six miles- .• above Roxburgh. Our first visit was to Mi Joseph Tamblyn, the pioneer of fruit- growing in the Teviot district, and now / ihe Secretary of the Teviot and Alexandn a Fruit-growers’ Association. The first: fruit trees planted in the district were two ‘ wild cherries, bought from a swagger, and planted by Mr Tamblyn thirty years ago. Mr Tamblyn also planted the first apz i got in the district, and has since been th? : first to introduce many of the best va/ .-feties of various fruits. Fruit-growing ws i 3 taken up by the miners as an occupatii m for the summer mouths, when the ri vier was too high to work at their it ignlar avocation. At first none of the ii isners had much experience, but as t hey were intelligent men, and most c/i them possessed of fair means, -they soon. discovered the kinds to grow and were not long in finding that the industry was profitable. Small blocks of land on the slope of the front hills and /extending to the coach road, which is the boundary at this point of the land reserved j for mining, were taken up. The orchards I were, as a rule, planted on the slopes, the 1 level frontage being cropped with grain or | roots. The fertility of this 'land is shown | by the fact that some of it has been cropped constantly for nearly thirty years, without a spell and without manure, and the present season’s crops, despite the worst weather ever experienced in Central Otago, were heavy and of excellent quality. The hills to their summits have a deep deposit of rich .soil, and many level patches, some of them twenty to thirty acres in extent, are cultivated and yield excellent crops of grain and roots.

By and by a check was sustained by the appearance of the codlin moth introduced, doubtless, in second-hand fruit cases. (Now, no such cases are permitted tp enter the district till they have been disinfected by the Association agent in Dunedin, Mr A. Lorie.) The ravages of the pest were so severe that .many acres of apple and pear trees were rooted out by the owners, owing to their inability to cope with the pest. The growers had very little knowledge of systematic fruit cultivation, and none of the modern methods of prevention and eradication of the many pests which made their appearance in the , orchards. The fruit for some years was very fine, and after the production became too large for the demand in the local townships, quantities were sent to Dunedin and other large towns, and gained great favour with consumers. The time came, however, when blights, grubs, &c., injured the trees to such an extent as to affect both the quantity and the quality of. the fruit. Apples and pears were, as said before, a dead letter, peaches perished, apricots and plums also suffered, and the industry was in a really critical condition. It was at this juncture, three or four years ago, that the attention of.the Government was directed to the subject, and the importance of the fruit-growing industry • being recognised, a staff of experts were appointed to instruct the growers how to clear their orchards from the pests, and •keep them clean, and also give instruction in the practical orchard management. The result is seen in the improved condition of most of the orchards. The codlin moth has almost disappeared, and the peach, apricot, plum and other trees are clean and healthy. Newly planted trees are given sufficient space, and the intervening ground is in most cases properly cultivated. Much has yet to be learnt, with regard to the training and pruning of the trees, and this will form the subject of demonstrations in the different districts during the coming winter. Everything cannot be accomplished at once, and the expert's time has been fully occupied until now with the eradication of pests, except that, this season, some instruction has been given in evaporating fruits, a branch of the industry which will attain important dimensions in Central Otago, not only as a means of disposing of the surplus fruit, but also as enabling the fruit to be carried to market at a small cost. One of the articles in the deed of incorporation of the Teviot and Alexandra Fruitgrowers' Association is that each member shall be bound to act according to the decision of the majority in the clearing of his orchard from Might and other pests, as well as in other matters, and this being loyally carried out, on the lines laid down by Mr Blackmore, has assisted greatly m bringing the orchards into their present improved condition..

Mr Joseph Tainfolyn’s orchard is a very fine one; it forms the foreground of the view of the Tesdot orchards, which are seen planted along the base of tlie front hills. Indeed, Mr Tamblyn, with characteristic enthusiasm, cut down four or five fruit trees to enable our photographer, Mr M’Eacheu, to secure an uninterrupted view from a desirable point. Tire soil is light and stony-—as much so as that of the Canterbury planus, but with this difference, that the stones are soft, broken flakes instead of being waterworn shingle. On the slopes and fiats of the hills the soil is deep and of a vegetable nature, producing splendid crop?! of roots; here and there apple orchards have been planted on the higher spurs with every prospect of success. The orchards do not extend far outwards from the base of the hills ais there the frosts are sharper. Maize grows luxuriantly, and plants of sorghum grown from seed ripened i?i the district ware seen in some of the gardens, though it ii i not yet grown as a crop. A finer dairy com a try could scarcely be wished.

There is abundance of water for irrigation, derived from the races which in the early days were made to bring down water for mining purposes. The season is a long one, peaches being marketed from the beginning of January to the end of April, and the apricot season is nearly as long; Much attention is being given to late sorts, with the view.to prolonging the season. Much expense has been gone to in introducing new varieties from various parts of the world, and many of the growers complain bitterly of having been victimised by fraudulent nurserymen who have sent them worthless kinds instead of what they represented to be improved varieties. A less injurious fraud is sending varieties not true to name, often what the orchardist has already in his possession. One case is cited of a New South Wales advertiser, whose large nurseries were found, on enquiry at the address given in his circulars, to consist of a mere house plot; yet from thence, thousands upon thousands- of trees were sent out! A suggestion may not here be out of place that before sending- for trees to an unknown advertiser, . enquiries should be made through the Agricultural Department as to his trustworthiness. Many fruit-growers in New Zealand could supply a rather long black list. The money loss is less serious than the loss of the three or four years before the fraud is discovered. What has been said regarding Mr Joseph Tamblyn’s orchard applies to those of most of bis neighbours. Messrs Toms, Birch, John Tamblyn, Bennetts, Moodie, and several others were visited, and only the wet day prevented others being called upon, particularly some good gardens a mile or two to the south of Roxburgh. The gardens of the growers named extend from the outskirts of the township to Coal Creek Flat, five miles northward; Coal Creek apricots are a household word in Dunedin. Mr Moses Manuel, President of the Fruitgrowers’ Association, was not at home, but his dwelling and its surroundings showed him to be one of the right type of men. Indeed, the comfortable appearance of the fruit-growers and their families, their dwellings and surroundings generally, speak well for the industry. All the members of the growers’ families give their assistance during the fruit season. The sons and elder daughters gather the fruit carefully into baskets, which when filled are carried to the packing shed. Here other members of the family, generally under the charge of the good-wife, grade the fruit into th e different qualities, and pack each into separate cases for the market. Uniformity of grading and packing is observed throughout the district. The following is a copy of the printed instructions hanging in every packing shed for the CLASSING OP FRUIT.

Peaches and Apricots.—Class I—Jam: ■ Will include all fruit which is not suitable ] for retailing as dessert. Badly scabbed or damaged fruit should not be packed at all, unless otherwise very fine and large, when ! it can be packed in this class. Class 2 | Good dessert fruit, clean and perfect, but; not sufficiently large for best dessert. No ; damaged or scabbed fruit must be packed in this class. Best peaches, not papered, i will be graded in this class, which must measure at least 2in in the largest way.

Class 3—Prime dessert fruit, well coloured, large and clean—in short, perfect fruit. Peaches to he graded in this class must be papered, and must measure at least 2|in in the largest way. Class 4—Extra prime: No fruit must be graded in this class unless of exceptionally fine quality, and must measure at least Sin in the largest way. Strawberries.—Class I—Small fruit, but sound. Class 2—Choice fruit. This class should be packed in crates. Plums.—Class I—Jam1 —Jam fruit.’ Any but choice dessert varieties must bo graded in this class. Class 2—Choice dessert varieties only, which must be well coloured and fairly ripe; with the exception of a few very choice varieties plums graded in this class must be large. Grapes. Class I—lnferior,1 —Inferior, small or white varieties. Better sorts arriving damaged will be graded in this class. Class 2—Medium. Class 3 —-Good-sized, wellcoloured fruit. THE MAIN POINTS IN PACKING are that—hard and soft fruit must not be packed together, cases must be quite filled, ripe fruit labelled “ ripe,” and the fruit graded carefully—any inferior fruit packed with good means a poor price for the lot. “It pays to pack well. Bad packers always get low price, where good packers with the same grade fruit do well. Better pack half your fruit well and throw away the other half, than pack it all badly. FROM ROXBURGH TO CLYDE

the journey is for the most part over hilly country, but the soil is suitable for fruitgrowing, and there are many spots adapted for orchards, if the land were obtainable. Indeed, many small orchards are seen from the road. At Bald Hill Plat there are some good gardens, including that attached

to the Cape Broom Hotel, which is claimed to be the only, hotel in New Zealand the foundation stone of which was laid by the Governor of the colony. This ceremony was performed by Governor Bowen in 1873, and the proprietor, Mr J. It. Kemp, is naturally proud of the honour. His Excellency could scarcely have had a better lunch than was served to our party. . Mr Blackmore is called upon to examine some fruit trees, and finds that an insect wellknown to him, but new to the district is

i doing the damage. It is a long i cold drive until we descend from the snow-topped hills to the famous Conroy's G-uliy, where are situated Mr Richard Dawson’s Rosevale Gardens, which ; produce the finest fruit of the district. Peaches, plums, apricots, apples, pears, quinces, grapes and all sorts of small fruit are grown here in as great perfection as is possible in any part of the world. r i'he grapes are grown against blackened walls, ' and were already changing colour. The I whole garden was thoroughly cultivated, . and the result was seen in theisuperiority .of the fruit. Unfortunately a drenching , rain precluded an 'inspection of the whole . garden, which is of great extent., It was . established thirty-four years ago in a . worked-out sluiced ground, and a photograph of the site as it appeared as lately as live years ago would cause < almost everybody, to deny the possibility of getting anything useful to grow on such a : waste of broken rock and big boulders. : Yet a profitable garden is now established i—profitable in spite of the fruit having to I he carted by road nearly seventy miles to a '• railway station. Mr Dawson’s fruit always scored' high at the local shows* and was . very successful at the Dunedin show a fortnight ago. It is a pity that the great . distance and slow transit prevents the city . consumers from tasting the fruit in its j perfection. All the fruit must he picked j “hard” to stand the journey to market, ; and as a consequence it does not command i near the price that its quality merits and i which consumers would readily pay if it ‘ could be delivered to them fresh aud ripe, j From Conroy's it is not long until we | emerge upon the large plain called Fraser’s j- Flat, which extends from Clyde to near i Alexandra. This alluvial flat has an area of ten or twelve square miles, of which about 4000 acres are in.the. highest-degree suited for grape-growing. Yet there is no I cultivation to be seen, except one large i orchard, Mr Iveson’s, away to the left under the hills. Actually, we are told, the meat used at one of i the largest stations, to which parj; of the flat belongs, is bought. There is ahun- ; dance of water for' irrigation in the Fraser i river, but the rights are all held by or i reserved for mining, and this is a great ! obstacle to the utilisation of this fine tract lof land. The slopes of hills surrounding this plain contain many desirable orchard sites, and the plain itself was reported by Signor Bragato to be ideal in soil and climate for grape growing for ‘ wane and distillation purposes. The soil is particularly rich in potash—as, indeed, is the whole district —and this is a special advantage in fruit growing. The Waikerikeri valley, under the Dunstan range and the foothills and ridges of the range would afford i sites for hundreds of orchards, hut neither | land nor water can he had for tills purpose, j At Clyde, the annual flower and fruit show,

! which is held in alternate years at Clyde, i Cromwell and Alexandra, was being held. The only hail was not nearly large enough ; for the fruit exhibits, as arranged by the 1 committee' and a delicate compliment | was expressed, or implied, to some of i the residents in the district though ; not in Clyde, we were told by. the fruit being protected with wire netting, j prevented such an examination as was ' wished by many of those whose interest was of a less selfish nature. The flowers

call for no mention, but the stone fruit was of magnificent quality, although it was stated that had the show been held at the date originally fixed, instead of being postponed for a fortnight on account of the lateness of the season, the display would have been even finer. The vegetables were wonderfully good, the season having been in their favour though against fruit. Great interest was taken in a collection of evaporated fruits, comprising some prepared last year by Mr Blackmore —which were found to be in perfect condition —and others prepared this season by Mr Boucher, assistant to Mr Blackmore. Mr Boucher was manager of a fruit ranch in California, and his opinion on Central Otago can.be taken as worthy of acceptance. It is as strongly in favour of the advantages of soil and, climate which that region possesses as either Mr Bragato or Mr Blackmore has expressed. The Conroy’s Gully fruit, exhibited by Miss Dawson, took a large majority of the prizes. Miss Dawson also took a full share of the prizes for flowers; but in vegetables, Mr J. Terry scored so heavily as to carry off the silver cup for most points in the three sections. The district has a progressive resident in Mr Benjamin Naylor, president of the Horticultural Society. Panning, stock-rearing, dairying, fruit-growing and other rural industries are largely engaged in by him and encouraged in others, and it was matter for regret that time did not admit of his model farm being visited. Mr K. S. Gilkison, the secretary, is also a “ progressive.”

ALEXANDRA. Time also precluded a visit to this fruitgrowing centre. There are many fine orchards in this locality, and there is a vast area of land suitable for orchards and gardens on the adjoining runs, and between here and Ophir, which is the northern extremity of the fruit area—so far, at least, as semi-tropical fruits are concerned. The more northerly parts of Central Otago grow fine apples, and grand crops of wheat and barley of the best quality, but the conformation of the country does not give the warmth which prevails in the Teviot and Dunstan districts. . . CROMWELL is thirteen' : mdes.vfroid -Clyde,'‘• the - road being ■ through the Kuwaru Gorge, where there is very little cultivable land. The country around Cromwell is fitted for the production of grand fruit, especially descriptions suitable for drying. Little or no fruit is sent outside the district, the distance to rail, eighty-eight miles, being an effectual barrier. ARROWTOVVN is the next stage, and ’in this district we saw some of the finest crops of barley that it is possible to grow. Unfortunately the .weather threatened to spoil the colour of the grain. Some beautiful-fruit is seen, but the locality is scarcely so well adapted for the industry on a large scale as those already noticed. Our coach journey ends at'picturesquo QUEENSTOWN, whence the steamer down Lake Wakatipu takes us to Kingston, where rail is taken for Gore or Invercargill, according to the day of the week. DEVELOPMENT. That there is abundant scope for the development of the fruit industry in Central Otago has been made manifest by the preceding remarks. There are, however, two important hindrances. LAND AND WATER RESERVATIONS' stand badly in the way. The rulers of this country, like most of their subjects, do not know enough of this grand territory. Much of it has passed out of the hands of the Crown, end much is reserved for gold-mining. The former can be dealt with by existing legislation.; the latter will require the attention of Parliament. Many of the mining reserves are of greater value for farms and orchards than for gold-mining; and it is a crying evil that such magnificent land, which should be a heritage for all time, should be sluiced down the rivers or turned into barren shingle beds, fit only for homes for the rabbits. (Eabbits, by the way, swarm through the Arrow end of the district, and in many places have left no trace of vegetation beyond a stunted thistle.) In California the law forbids the destruction of land not proved to be payably alluvial; in Central Otago some grand flats have been washed away without enough gold to pay for the companies' scrip being obtained. THE RAILWAY

is a burning question. There is only one way into the garden without a wall having to be climbed, and, strange to say, the advocates of that route are almost silent. For stridency of pleading, in season and out of season, the supporters of the Otago Central Railway proper—or improper—can scarcely he beaten. Yet all the while the country can be tapped from Heriot (the terminus of the Waipahi-Keriot branch) at a very small cost, and the extension, like the branch itself, would run through a fertile country, capable of supporting a large and permanent population, when the Moa Flat and other large estates are cut up into small farms, as they must be before long. The construction of twenty-five miles of railway would take the line to Coal Creek, where there are abundant deposits of the best brown coal in New Zealand, and at this point the railway would he within twenty-five miles of Alexandra, and light waggons would be able to make the out and home journey in one day, while Teviot fruit picked one day would he marketed in Dunedin on the next. This line would supply all the reasonable wants of central Otago for the next generation, and would have some prospect of paying its expenses—which the more ambitious Hyde scheme has not. The Heriot route would also effect a. vast saving to settlers on the cost of their timber, on which, at present, the expense of cartageexceeds the cost of the article itself. AN EXI'IuIUMENT STATION is urgently required in the district, and would have"been supplied by this time but for the difficulty in'obtaining land. It may not be credited, but it is a fact that some of the farm-orchards —of which, <parhaps, one-third is in orphard and most of the remainder consists of hill-side —are valued by their owners at as much as ,£SO per acre, noth improvements, and of course the Government could not pay any such sum, though Mr Black more asserts that for regularly managed fruit farms there would be “money in it.” Like the railway also, there is some jealousy about the location of the experimental farm, the strong section aforementioned wishing it to be so placed that it can be used as a lever for the continuation of the Otago Central Railway It should certainly be placed in a central position, and that soon, as instruction in planting, training, pruning, grafting, budding, cultivation, trear.meat of pests, <S:c., is required, and mast be provided.

Mxiclx more should ha written about this garden of New Zealand, but space is more than exhausted, and to a later opportunity must be deferred some remarks on the direction in which the resources of the district should be developed, and on the distribution of the fruit, which, as managed rjy Mr A. Lorie. the Association’s agent in Dunedin, has contributed much to the profitable character of the industry. A word of acknowledgment must be given for the very great kindness shown to the writer by everybody whom he met in the district, and it is hoped that some benefit to them may ensue through this article.