FRUIT-GROWING IN THE CLUTHA VALLEY.

Otago Witness, Issue 3030, 10 April 1912, Page 14

FRUIT-GROWING IN THE CLUTHA VALLEY.

The writer of Rural Notes last week book a very conservative view of the capabilities of the Clutha Valley as a fruitgrowing area. His statement was that "all the way from Tuapeka Mouth right up to Hawea Flat a distance of 128 miles the district could not be excelled for fruitgrowing. At a moderate computation an average width of two miles would be available for planting. That would provide 163.800 acres, which would easily grow three tons of fruit per acre when in full bearing, or a, total of 494.400 tons, which would be worth at least £l4 per ton, representing a total value of £6,921,000 worth of fruit." His estimate of a- crop of three tons per acre might have been trebled without seriously overstepping the mark. When in Alexandra recently the writer learned that a fair return from one tree in full bearing was five cases ot fruit fit for market, each case weighing 361 b net; and with old pear trees the vield may reach 14 cases or 15 cases. Yvhen the trees are planted 20ft by 18ft apart, there are 108 of them per acre, and, estimating five cases from each, their yield would therefore be 19.4401 b, or eight tons 13£cwt, nearly three times the amount stated. If the area mentioned—viz., 163,800 acres—was planted in orchards, and the trees were matured, the total yield would amount to 1,426,000 tons of fruit, which at £l4 per ton, or per pound, would be worth £19,964,000, or nearly equal to the total value of the exports of the whole Dominion. That is without reckoning anything for the intense cultivation which would be necessary to make tho orchards a success, and which would produce tomatoes, strawberries, potatoes, and onions, from which very large supplementary incomes would be derived. Such figures reveal a position which justifies th.e expenditure of public money in many directions. They show that very little expansion of the present orchards will flood the local market, and point to the necessity for a foreign outlet for tho fruit grown on wholesale lines. New plantations going in take six or seven years to mature, and should be put in with a view to exporting most of the fruit which is grown. All the preliminary difficulculties of shipping should be overcome at the earliest possible date. The stimulant of cheap freight should be offered as an inducement to invest money in orchards, and the Lawrence-Roxburgh railway proceeded with without delay. - And why should not public money be utilised to provide the necessary irrigation works which are too large for the private individual? This work might be made a charge on groups of orchards, to be repaid in 15 or 20 years, no interest to he charged till the trees were in full bearing. But while railway communication and water supply are indispensable to the. progress of the (".-trtec, the provision of cold storage for fruit in the city would enable the present growers to supply first-class fruit all the year round in the city. At the present time there are no properly-insulated chambers lor the storage of "fruit, and those wiio have tried it have not been succesful. Tn Auckland they have overcome all difficulties in this respect, and we should be able to do so here also. That, however, would (filly be a temporary expedient, giving the present growers so much relief. The possibilities of the district demand the sympathetic assistance of a progressive Government. Its greatest needs are railway communication, plenty of water, and an export market for the phenomenal amount of iruit which it could" produce.