FRUIT-GROWING IN TASMANIA

Otago Daily Times, Issue 16600, 25 January 1916, Page 2

FRUIT-GROWING IN TASMANIA

AN INCREASING INDUSTRY.

Mr W. T. Goodwin, Government orchard instructor for Otago and Southland, who has just returned from a holiday trip to Tasmania and Victoria, yesterday gave a Daily Times reporter a few impressions of the fruit-growing industry on the other side. He said that the industry had made great strides in Tasmania since he had left there a little over five years ago. He was particularly impressed with what ho had seon in the Tamar River d.'strict, where a lot of new land had been put under fruit, particularly apples. These orchards were just coming into bearing, and were looking remarkably well. In the Derwent Valley and Huon Valley districts groat developments in fruit-growing were also going on. Some of the orchards in Tasmania were affected with' black spot, but not to any serious extent", and "growers were getting good results from spraying the trees with the lime and sulphur spray. The prices in Tasmania of stone fruit— peaches and apricots—and also of raspberries and black currants, were proving most remunerative, growers at the present time, for instance, obtaining 3d per lb from the jam factories for raspberries, as against ljjd to lfd per lb in ordinary times. War orders were responsible for a heavy demand.

Mr Goodwin stated that the Tasmanian and Victorian Governments had made arrangements to eocure the refrigerating space on transports, and that about 1,250.000 cases of fruit would be sent Home by these boats, it being understood that the steamers would continue their trip after landing the men in Egypt. Mr Goodwin visited some of the Government horticultural stations and cool stores in Victoria. He said that the cool store in Melbourne was arranged on a very fine system. The local demand for fruit in Victoria was, of course, far greater than tho local demand in Tasmania. At Ringwood (Victoria) the Government had installed an up-to-date cool store, but this had now been purchased by the s-urrounding growers, who had put in a staff of their own. Mr Goodwin spoke in high terms of praise of Hoadley's jam-making and packing plant in Melbourne. Ho said it was really wonderful what labour-saving machinery had been installed there, and how the plain tin was stamped out, the completed receptacles filled with jam, labels attached, etc., all practically by machinery. This was the only plant of the kind in Australasia, and was purchased in America. Mr Goodwin will go to Wellington this week on departmental business, and will be absent from Dunedin for a few days.