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Otago Witness, Issue 3313, 12 September 1917, Page 36

At the conclusion of a conference of fruit-growers, held at Alexandra on Saturday to discuss the prospectus of the proposed Co-operative Association, the question of the prohibition of the importation of fruit trees from Australia was

"■raised' by tho production of a very >weird specimen of an apricot tree. '"' This was claimed by the producer to be a fair average specimen of a line of some 300 trees which had been supplied to him by a New Zealand nurseryman. The epeci- ■' men was a malform of the worst possible ■ description, from which it would be impos- ' eible to build up a satisfactory tree. ■ Several members expressed their disapproval of the action of the Government in prohibiting the importation of Australian trees, and also gave it as their opinion that the whole business had been • .engineered by the New Zealand Nurserymen's Association. Mr Bennetts finally moved: " That this conference of growers, .j-epresentative of practically the whole ftuit-growing area of Otago, views with alarm the fact that the Government has

prohibited the. importation of Australian 'fruit trees, and strongly protests against same." The motion was seconded by Mr Ashworth and carried unanimously. Bread made from vegetables is the latest food " substitute " in Germany. It made its appearance last month at an exhibition of kitchen produce organised by the Berlin Housewives' League. Officially catalogued as "a substitute for rolls," the concoction, it was explained, is made from scraps of fresh and parched vegetables, as well as from dried beans or peas. Eatable "vegetable bread," it is claimed, can be baked if the inventor's recipe is faithfully followed. The mixture, an attendant at the exhibition said, could bo improved by adding a little oatmeal. The best "vegetable scraps" for the purpose of baking "vegetable bread" were said to be the unused leaves of lettuce, cabbage, and cauliflower. The milk supply of Auckland is in an unsatisfactory position, the chief milk distributors expressing the opinion that conditions were rather worse than in any previous season. The supply has been short for some months, and the continued bad weather has had the effect of retarding the growth of pasture, so that the usual increaso at this time of the year has not yet been experienced. The shortage is expected to last for a few weeks yet, but relief will be felt with the advent of fine weather. It is anticipated. nowever, >that a serious shortage in supply will occur in the auutmn, as many farmers who previously supplied milk for town distribution have been tempted by tho high prices offering for butter and cheese to supply factories. " The enormous demands made by the

American Government and the Allies on i the cotton crop for munition purposes are • seriously affecting the cotton industries of ■ Lancashire." says Mr J. M. Connaughton, the representative of a big Manchester ' cotton firm now in Wellington. The demand made upon the availablo supply was great before America came into the war, but with the entrance of that nation, cotton, he said, was likely to bo very short, and that would most likely mean a rise in cotton piece goods all over the world. Mr Connaughton has since his arrival in Wellington received a cablegram from his •principalis advising him to " withdraw •voiles," which means that ho can no longer accept any orders for voiles, one of the

finest and most dressy fabrics made from cotton. This. will bo sad news for the ladies, though the restriction is not likely to affect Wellington until next year, and what will happen next year concerning many things is in the lap of the gods.