DISEASED FRUIT.

Otago Witness, Issue 2809, 15 January 1908, Page 10

DISEASED FRUIT.

PENAL CLAUSES OF THE' ACT. i WELLINGTON, January 9. The recently reported decision of the Biological Department to endorse with strictness the penal clauses of the act relating to diseased fruit of New Zealand growth has caused something of a stir. For the guidance of any who may be unaware of the fact, it is mentioned that a gift of diseased fruit makes the giver liable to a penalty just as much as a seller would be. "Anybody concerned in distributing diseased fruit" are the terms of the act. "It has become absolutely necessary to administer the penal clauses strictly," : said Mr Kirk, chief of the Biological Department, to a reporter to-day. "There ; have been three years of _ warning given to orchardists, and to permit offences to continue now would be unfair to careful growers and unwise from a oommeroial j point of view. A great deal of money has been invested in orohard properties, and to allow such a pest as the Mediterranean fruit fly to establish itself here would be ruinous. There is now ap area of 27,515 acres under orohard cultivation within New Zealand, and this is increasing at the rate of 700 acres a year." In this estimate no cognisance is taken of any area less than a quarter of an acre, and the lands under tomato crop are also left out. A commercial orchard in bearing should, it is stated, never give a . return of less than £30 an acre, and on this basis it will be seen that the department is charged with the interests of an industry worth £755,450 per annum. RESULTS OF INSPECTION. (From Our Own Cokbespondent.) " WELLINGTON, January 10. A heavy shipment of Island fruit arrived by the Manapouri. Ten thousand cases and bunches have been put ashore. A very minute inspection of the fruit has been made by the Biological Department. Large -quantities of fruit and tomatoes are being imported from Motueka. and Nelson respeptively. A line of new apples from Nelson was condemned by one of the in- ' spectoTs, after it was sold, as it was found • to be infected with codlin moth. A line . of Sydney pears infested with, fly maggots has also been condemned. Generally, however, oversea shippers are exercising more care than formerly. i A new feature of the fruit trad© here > is the presence of the street barrowmen. Formerly the Wellington fruit trade was almost entirely in the hands of Chinamen. Now the barrowman. is cutting into the trade of the bland but tricky Mongol, who never by any chance eeems to sell you euoh nice fruit as Jie has in his window. But if you have to watch the Chinaman < fpr quality you have (occasionally) to tfatch • the barrowmen for. weighj* [