FARM NOTES FROM ENGLAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 12662, 16 September 1904, Page 7

FARM NOTES FROM ENGLAND.

[raoii Ofn English aohicultcral cob, KESPOXDENT.] FRUIT Without BLOSSOM! What can anyone make of a statement published in the American Florist relating to the new seedless apple, which is attracting much attention in the United States? The statement is attributed to Mr. Dunn; who is acting as press agent to Mr. Spencer, of Grand Junction, Colorado, the raiser of the seedless apple. This is one of Mr. Dunn's statements:... new apple has > many features that make it; of special advantage. The very absence of seed makes the apple wormless, it being a known fact that tho apple worm lives off the seed. The trees also are blossqmless. Late frosts leave the seedless apples still bearing, although the ordinary apple tree growing alongside them may be barren. This has been proven in Mr. Spencer's orchard. " Now,.fruit without flowers is a botanical impossibility, as the fruit is the. ripened ovary, and the ovary is an essential part of the flower. It is true that the fleshy part of the apple is not what botanists. term a fruit;; the core is the two fruit, the nips being true seeds. But' the fleshy part of the apple is the swollen calyx tube, and the calyx is the outer crop of the blossqm. ~, Therefore there must be a. blossom of some kind..., Mr.. Dunn's statement as it stands is certainly inaccurate. But it is conceivable that by some freak of nature a kind of • half-blossom has been produced on an apple treo consisting of a calyx without, any corolla (inner cup) or ovary, and that, this green half-flower is impervious to frost of ordinary, severity. There are flowers with only on© cup. and,.the. single cup is called a calyx, but the apple has two cups— a calyx,,arid a corolla. It is strange, indeed, if by accident or artificially, crossing a selection Mr. Spencer has raised a variety of the apple tree producing, a calyx, not only without, a corolla, but also devoid of an ovary. As the core, is the mature ovary, an d., pips are contained in the core, a seedless apple, apparently, must come from a blossom not containing an ovary. SIR. CHAMBERLAIN AS AN AGRICULTURAL PHYSICIAN.

In the Duke of Portland's great riding school at Welbeck last Thursday Mr. Chamberlain opened bis . promised campaign in the agricultural districts. He drew a distressful picture or the condition, to which British agriculture had been reduced by onesided freo trade. He depicted the great decrease,, in .arable cultivation and production, the consequent loss of , employment .to tarm labourers, and the extensive migration to the, towns, But :,wfien ; lie came, to his prescription for curing these evils, he must have reminded his hearers of the " mountain in labour" bringing: forth .'.'a ridiculous mouse, t fie Proposed, a, duty of 2s. per quarter,, on. grain, make . excepted, a higher {unspecified) duty on flour, and 5 per nt. on meat, dairy produce, poultry, eggs, vegetables and fruit. Such trifling duties would not make one .farm profitable that does not pay now., or .give employment .to an additional labourer. ; It. as r Mr. Chamberlain believes;- they-would riot raise the price of food,, it is, obvious,that.tHey could not give any .advantage to producers. Moreover, lie proposes .to give exemption to colonial exporters, who, he believes, would be able to supply all our requirements, It is truo that, with "the millions" which the duties would bring in, the Government would bo able to reduce the duties on tea, sugar and tobacco, so that farmers and labourers would get a small advantage, he contends, iii thin domestic expenditure. But how could the millions . come in if duty-free' colonial produce kept out foreign produee on which the duties would be imposed ? .It is astonishing that so clever a. man as Mr. Chamberlain can put. forth a schemo which, on the face jof it, .is nothing but gammon. The fact'ls that Mr. Chamberlain's scheme of fiscal re--1 form-is "neither flesh, ,ftshj fowl nor good red herring." If wo are to , give un free ! trade, there are only two substitutes'worth ; considering. One is free trade within the Empire, including all, our,, outside posses- ! sions, with substantial duties against the rest of the world. This would produoe great prosperity for Home and colonial agriculture. The other plan is out-and-out reciprocity, without preference to the colonies. If - the population at large will riot stand either of these thorough-going schemes, We had better keep on with our one-sided free trade. At least, this is the case eo far, as our Home population are concerned. Mr, Chamberlain's scheme would be of sopie little benefit to the colonies if, it possessed the element of permanency. But it would prove a delusion and a snare otherwise. PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION 01? MEAT AND DAIRY PRODUCE. , Some time ago a special committee wk appointed by the Royal Statistical Society to inquire into this subject. After collecting information during many months the committee have made their final estimates. They make the annual production and consumption as follows for the United Kingdom: ... PRODUCTION, , Tons. Beef and veal ... ... 662,520 Mutton., and lamb ... ... 313,822 Bacon and pork ... ... 219,578 Total meat ... ... 1,245,920 Cheese ... ... ... ... .68,300' Butter ... 156,250 ■ Milk, consumed as such, 620,000,000 gallons. . ~ -..-.'-. The, estimates cover. "only ~ carcases, and riot the offal, while rabbits, poultry and game are riot included. CONSUHPTION PEE HEAD OF POPULATION. Home. Imported. Total. lb. lb. lb. Beef and voal ... 35.9 20.9 56.8 Mutton and lamb 17.C 10.5 27.5 Pork and bacon ... 14.6 22.2 36.5 Total meat ... 67.5 53.6 121.1 Cheese 3.7 6.8 10.5 Butter 3.7 9.8 16.5. L . Gals. Gals. Gals. Milk 15.0 — 15.C . Condensed milk, which alone is imported to any appreciable extent, is not included. In .their calculations the committee reckon that 27. per, cent., of the cattle enumerated in the Board of Agriculture returns of June 4 are killed within i2 months, with 38 per cent, of the sheep arid lambs; and 121 per cent.-of the number of pigs... The. average weights allowed are 6161b fees..bead for cattle, 951b for calves, 651,b ! , for sheep, 401b for , lambs, and, 1351b td't pigs., Tlje., average production of...milk per .cow., or heifer, after deducting what is consumed by calves, is put at 420 gallons a head.