FRUIT PRODUCTION.

Nelson Evening Mail, 24 July 1916, Page 1

FRUIT PRODUCTION.

(To the Editor.) Sir, —On opening your paper this evening I received a shock. I thought "Hill £25,000" had been climbed, but- on looking a second' time I saw it Was "H'ill 11,580,200." I knew then that Mr M'Kee was angry, and that is the worse state of mind to be in when you are writing to a newspaper. The objection Mr M'Kee has to' my figures ds shown by the concluding paragraph of his letter, when he says my figures are "scare" ones. ■ However, ;Mt M°'Kee has got right away from the point, and it is this: The areas in orchards are available to anyone who likes to seek them. 'They wiU be found on page 810 of the June special issue of the New Zealand Farmer, dealing, with the -fruit industry throughout New Zealand. The figures are as used by' ineThe next step is just a little-arithmetic —so-many acres of orchard at so-many trees per acre give a total of so-many trees for the total acreage. That's simple, isn't it? As I have, said, the acreage is official, while I worked- out. the number of trees at 130 • trees to • the acre. This was to be conservative. -As I pointed' out Mr M'Kee has circulated all over New (Zealand per medium of his booklet previously referred to that there are 169 trees to the aero in certain'parts of Nelson. ISo I must be on- the safe side at 130. Further than that (as »I shall quote" later} Mr' A. J.. Campbell*, Assistant Horticulture Division, ' jiuts the number at ISO. So, Mr Editor. we arrive at the point ivherc a, little more arithmetic is needed, and that isjin connection: with working- out the aimual increase. Just'at this . pomt,however., I. want to quote at. some length from 'Bulletin No. .69 (new aeries) written by Mr A. J. , 'Campbell, "Assistant Horticulture Division. 7 He says: "For a number of years . past substantial - areas , planted? in- fruit-trees have been ■annually added to those existing, in the 'Dominion, : but a special impetus' was given ; to: <>*"- chard planting about;the year 1909; a large area of comparatively; cheap. ldtia ; . in the Nelson "district.: :wai , -VDoade";*ava|l- > - able for . orcharding" purposes. Subse-' : quently other district's adopted a similar scheme to that introduced in the Nelson district for the control and management of new orchard -properties, with the,, result that from 2000 to 3000. acres .of new orchards have been planted yearly. Present indications are that this rate of increase is likely to continue for jsonje time, and some idea of the annual crease in'the fruit-production of the Dominion as a result can be gathered from the following : 3000 acres of land planted, in .fruit-trees at the .rate of ISO trees per acre equals 450,000 trees. . (Calculating the yield when the trees are in , full 'bearing at the modest' estimate' of two 1-bushel cases per tree, gives.a total of • 900,000 cases of fruit annually. Now, allowing for failures, which are more, or less sure to take place in this as well as any other industry of the- kind, -by halving this total, we ; still have 450,000 additional cases of fruit to be dealt with every year. Multiply this by 7, and "we have a total of 3,150,000 Cases, the trees for the production of which ha)vev been • planted during the last seven years.- We shall not, of course,. feel the .effect of this increase for several years to" tome, but the trees planted in 1909 and now , (1916) coming into bearing, and should in a year !or two be producing fruit" at the rate mentioned. From that tinje onward an annual increase equal to the above can be expected so long as the ■ area is being extended at the present rate. An industry making such rapid strides as this is worthy of, and; naust. require, very careful management from a> Dominion point of ■view. The problems that necessarily have to be faced should' be taken in hand' and. dealt with as early as, possible, and.'.the business thoroughly ■well organised and' placed on a _ sound footing in ample time to cope with the increased trade." I have quoted) Mr Campbell at length;, because it shows how one in authority recognises what has to be done. In computing my figures, 1 took as a basis the fact that trees planted in 1909 came into bearing in IM. .Ml" • Campbell says ;the same. He says that these trees should: in yearuor. two' f191i7-lQ18) be producing two; per tree. Yet : Aiy estimate shows 1 1909 plantings producing 1 cases in 191&, li cases in '1917 and li cases in A-case less than Mr Campbells estimate.^* I want to assure Mr M'Kee veadei-s that I am not quoting jtheMffigures with any, idea of damaging _tne industrv. What a- fool I would be! But I would be a' bigger fool if I'shut my eves to the problems of the future, in <r mv head . like .an ostrich -waiting, .for >■ something to turn up. In conclusion, I want to ask Mr M'Kee why he »did,not. refer to tiiv extract's'from his booklet "Apples for-Export"? In that, as I have shown, - Mr, M'Kee stated that orch- , ards were being planted here with MS trees to the acre, and', remember, this statement has added weight to it fact that it was made by the President of the Nelson ©istrict Fruitgrowers Association! Then again, as I showed, Mr M'Kee made the statement, backed: up by his position ! as .President' of the; Nel-.; son District Fruitgrowers' Assoaa,ti<?n, tliat £540 an acre net could be from orchards managed with ordinary care. Now, will Mr.: M'Kee tell us;how a man can make £4O an acre clear off his.orchard,'iif my estimates are highMr aVli'iKee has not disputed the basis-Ot calculation, and 1 as I have /shbwnVthisUs: less than his own and Mr Campbell s, then the other is purely one of calcqiaT. tion and can be submitted to any, qualified man to check: One point more,, in closing. Mr Campbell reduces his figures half, so as to .make, 'allowance for. failures,, etc., I reduced mine* 50, per cent.; (the same thing). Mr Campbell s .figure* for! the increase in the production of orchards planted since '1909, for the year I<sllß is; 900,000 cases, less half, 450,0WMy figures for the same period _are 1.111,53i2 cases, less 50 per cent., 555.7&5. - The difference is accounted . for bv • tlie fact that Mr Campbell has worked' his figures out on a straight basis, while I hive allowed, a gradual increase of ,-case. per tree each year. I am, etc., I •ii. G. nrLT-i. Mount, street, July 22, 1916.. ...... ,