THE SOIL.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLV, Issue XLV, 17 November 1910, Page 7

THE SOIL.

THE FRUITGROWING INDUSTRY.; CONiFEBEN'-CE AT HOBABT. Two delegates from. New attended"" : : the. Australasian. Conference of 'Fruitgrowers recently held at;; Hobart, and both were from the Nelson province—Mr E_ B. - Izard (Stoke> rs and.' Mr H.. Everett . (Ki--"Mail'' representative: has hai a 'verr interesting e'hat with Mr Izard since his return, and- the views expressed may be summarised as appended--? . 1 The order piper for the Conference ■was a lengthy one,, and .good Work was done. A large number df papers

were read, dealing with a variety of subjects; these were submitted by delegates well -qualified to express anopinion on "the particular topic -handled. Mr IzaTd was particularly impressed -with. 1 the paper and discussion on bitter pit. _ Mr J. Osborne junior, t'he Tasmaman Government's Horticultural-Instructor, dealt ably with this subject, and the fu3i text -of the paper prepared by him has been brought back by Mr Izard, who will submit -it at a meefan.fr of the Stoke Fruitgrowers' Association. Summed up, fhe consensus of opinion at the conference was that bitter pit affected young trees mainly. and that with age and less growth of wood.-the trees became free In-many of the subjects bef-ore the conference, New Zealand was not I narticularly interested. The • quesdon of a standard bushel case was.

however, one in -which New Zealandwould feel an interest. The con- - ference decided on the Peacock as the standard ease, and this case will now become generally used throughout the Commonwealth and New Zealand. The dimensions of the Peacock case have been previously publisher in these columns, but th'e -time is opportune to repeat them. They are: Inbdde equa/llin.g 2223 cubic inches; outside, 15inx9%inx20in, or 2850 cubic inehes. equalling,lft Bin bare. These cases go 24 to the ton, and will be used for hard fruits; for soft fruits half-bush-el cases will be used. '' Inspection.. charges'' led to a good deal of discussion and, adverse criticism. Fruit is loaded with* twe inspection charges. A consignment leaving Victoria for N.S. Wales pays •at both ends. The scale of charges, too, was strongly objected to, and certainly it seems exeess'iv-e- when an inspector should collect £IOO in oneafternoon. It was contended t'hat

the fruit should pay not more than the cost of inspection; the Government should not regard it as a reve-nue-producing affair. The conference appointed a committee to interview the various State Go\emments on the matter. Other matters, outside the work o± the conference, were touched on bv ivlr Izard, and brief reference to iomc of t* ese may be made. WOOLLY APHIS. In regard to the woolly aphis, however. Mr Izard says that a ladybird ibout thTee times the size of the Slack and yellow ladybird so wellknown in Nelson, preys on the blight '.n Tasmania. The ladybirds are present in countless numbers, and it_ is probably that the reason for the immunity of Tasmanian orchards from the attacks of a pest that fias assumed formidable- dimensions -here, md has proved decidedly difficult- to deal with, is to be credited to the •idybird. It is satisfactory to learn that Mr Izard is endeavouring to cure a consignment- of this particular ladybird; and if he is successful, the Introduction may lead to as good results in Nelson as in Tasmania. A na tural enemy for the woolly aphis win have very far-reaching effects, and

\f the TaF-manian ladybird can make itself "at home'' in Nelson and maintain its reputation as a wooly aphis scavenger, loeal -growers get on to a good wicket, as one of the greatest orchard scourges which has to be combatted will be reduced to a minimum if not absolutely wiped out —and all without an effort on the part of the grower! T ASM A XIA X ADVANTAGES. The Tasmanian lias a great- pull over the Nelsonian when it comes to the marketing of fruit. Messrs Jones and Co. practically control the whole output. The firm will start a man out in- fruitgrowing if desired. It will find the land, and clear and p'ant it and tend it for se.ven years. No interest is charged till th-e seventh year. Then, when tbe orchard was turning -in, there was no difficulty in g"tting rid -of the crop, as Messrs Jones and Co. entered into a ten years' contract to take the whole out-put. At good prices, too—is a bushel- for apples, 5s for bon Chretien pears, 2-d a lb for black currants, Id alb for apricots; with equally satisfactory prices for oiOer fruits. Indeed, these may be called handsome returns; and in addition, there is always the outlet —no looking around for markets, running the risk of a glutted auction room, and the .heavy freight and other charges, incidents t'hat attend the marketing of fruit in New Zealand. "Jones & Co." -is a great factor in the fruitgrowing world of Tasmauia; and the firm has been and is 2a immenseily important factor in the industry, and :he tremendous development of the industry is mainly due to the operations of the firm. Last season 345,000' bushels of aples were ex>orted from Tasmania to England, vhile 1,000.000 bushels were distributed amongst the other States- of he Conim-nn weak'h. These figures give an idea of the value of tl.v niitgrowing in-dustry to the island State. TWO SPRAYINGS A YEAR. At Glenorchy, a fruit-growing centre about five miles from Hobart, Mr. Izard questioned a grower in regard to spraying. He was informed that thf-e were no pests except codlin moth. "What spraying do you do?" the grower was p.sked. "Twice a year, for codlin moth." What about, iscale?" "I have not sprayed for scale for six years. I then used an oil wash; but have not touched the trees for scale since then." "Red spider?" The grower was taken aback—he had never heard of red spider in the ccchard ! "Woolly aphis?" We have no trouble, with that, either." Really, the Tasmanian fruitgrower is a lucky individual, and his lot is in marked contrast with that, of the orchardist in New Zealand, where it is a case of spray, spray, spray. Hardly a month in the year, but what the spray pump is in operation. Another growec with whom Mr. Izard was in conversation had an idea of settling in Nelson ; but after a retail of the difficulties the growers here have to contend with, it- is probable that he will hesitate before giving up an easv for a strenuous life. HUON VALLEY AND MOUTERE HILLS COMPARED. Before his departure from Nelson jMv. Izard was particularly requested to fiote the nature of the soil and the situation in the Huon, in order that he could make a comparison with the Moutere Hills. The verdict is that in some respects there is a similarity —the aspect is the same and the slopes are or about a s steep, gent'-ally speaking, as those of the Moutere Hills. But when it comes to the nature of the soil the similarity ends. The texture is totally difereiit. In the Huon the soil is loose, and the water gets away freely through the subsoil. On the Moutere, Mr. Izard remarked, there was a stiff clay, and probably the matter of drainage would not be 'so easily dealt with as in the Huon district. HANDLING FRUIT ON WHARVES. At the various poets called at on the outwa.rd and homeward journeys Mr. Izard took a note of the method of handling fruit. At Lyttelton he found a double shoot used, which was not at all satisfactory, as there was often a jamb and a case burst open. At Dunedin a system was in force with which the greatest pleasure was expressed. A shoot i s used, from the steamer to the wharf, and a man stands at the lower end and .controls a irope fastened on to the ship's rail. This rope runs the length of the shoot, "with a bit over," and the case of fruit is p-uided down the shoot-by the rope, and then on reaching the bottom, before it can bump, the rope tightened. Mr. Izard was greatly pleased with the Dunedin system, and those on the wharf who were handling the fruit were equally pleased at the praise bestowed on their method of dealing with fruit. On th e return journey it was found that the Dunedin system nad been adopted at Lyttelton, there hav- , ing been communication between the two ports on the subject. It is very satisfactory to learn that the fruit will receive such careful handling at the two r.orts named. At Wellington the fruit is "slung"—a most objectionable method. In Hobart the fruit is put into crates and raised to the 6teamer. This i s a quick and safe way of loading and unloading, and meets with strong approval.