THE FRUIT INDUSTRY

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXI, 7 February 1928, Page 3

THE FRUIT INDUSTRY

A is'KW "DELICIOUS" Much prominence is being given by some American papers lo ;i now apple which is referred to as the "Richared" Improved Delicious, states the Mel bourne 'Argus". Actually it is the red Delicious, and in the general description it tallies with one raised by Mr b'rank Walker, of Lalla, near Launrrston. Mr Walker has had his trees for something like 12 years, and numbers of them have been in bearing for at least five or six years. The "Richared" Improved Delicious, which is being boomed, certainly possesses no qualities that are not present in the I-alla apple, This new variety is of rich colour all over, so that the stripes, which are one of the features of the ordinary Delicious are not noticeable. It also ripens a little, earlier; in shape it, is characteristic of the Delicious with the crown formation and it is also an excellent storage variety. In flavour Lalla is similar to the. ordinary Delicious. It is said of the Richared variety, which derived its name from Richardson, who discovered it in his orchard at Monitor; Washington, that (he new apple has better storage qualities, the fruit after being held in storage for a period of 14 months was in ncrtVct condition, and was crisp and juicy. No particular attention was given lo the apple until 1920. since, when having completed all requisite tests ever a peiiod of several years, it has been placed or. ihe market.

There seems to be no doubt but that the new apple is a sport for the Delicious like the Rome Reality, appears to be somewhat, prone tr> 'develop new types. Not many years ago the Golden Delicious was very popular with American growers, samples of the fruit received ii! Melbourne having much the appearance of a deeply coloured Cleopatra. Tn the case of the Rome. Beauty there are many sorts in cultivation in Victoria, their chief characteristic being tin! deepening of the red tints which tend to obscure the ordinary striped markings of the variety. Among these are half a dozen that are grown under different names, though it is difficult to distinguish one from another. The Klberta peach is another fruit that has a great tendency to develop sports and to give rise to new varieties. While in the early : tages there is usually a keenness to obtain trees of these new fruits, it is rarely that they oust the fruit from the parent stock. The chief exceptions to this statement that have occurred during the last decade have been Heibets's Red Rome ami Lalla, the red Delicious found in Tasmania. Trees of the last mentioned variety wee placed on. the market, only last Vear. Mr Walker having first propagated and brought into bearing numbers for his own'orchard planting, and to supply the wood for propagation which will be increased steadilv during the next two or three years. The American red Delicious or Richared was evidently found years after the first appearance of the sport in the Tasmanian orchard.

FRUIT FOR FRIENDS

CONTROL BOARD'S POLICY CRITICISED "Curious" writes to "The Post" as follows:—"Apropos the recent announcement that the present year's export apple crop will be a record one, docs it not seem regrettable that the Fruit Control Board deliberately neglects the op- ! port unity of permitting residents her:; to avail themselves of a chance to advertise and assist the demand at Home for the earlier varieties, such as Gravenstein, Worcester Pearmain, and Cox's Orange, by extending the same facilities for sending to friends cases of these varieties, the same as is done for Jonathan, Delicious and Stunner, which are. shipped later on in the season. One would think that early advertising would every time he better than late, and in view of the plain warning that has been given against a repetition this year of tjie many /favourable circumstances which enabled last year's splendid returns to be obtained, it would appear that every post should be made a winning post in obtaining the best returns for growers. I can speak from personal observation that Australian exports simply wipe the floor with their New Zealand confreres in the matter of advertising their wares in the English market, and most particularly in the matter of fruit and butter. The Control Board's stated reason for neglecting the early varieties named, viz., tli.' lack of keeping qualities'which would enable a email family to consume a 401 b case before deterioration set in, seems to me an exceedingly lan;e excuse unless the shiploads which are to be dispatched to the English markets are being sent in fear and trepidation of a satisfactory financial return to the growers. Surely under the present strenuous revenue conditions irr the Dominion every avon.ie should he exploited which might help the prosperity of the country's producers. It is not as if the growers were making a present or even a concession in connection with these deliveries, as it is apparent that the prices charged will provide a good profit to everyone concerned."