TASMANIA'S APPLE INDUSTRY.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 10478, 3 October 1905, Page 1

TASMANIA'S APPLE INDUSTRY.

The Red Funnel .Magazine has an interesting artrcle ou tlie apple industry ut Tasmania. The writer s_y_ tlrat the cultivation of fruit tiirougnout lasniuiini, especially m tir. southern districts, lias made marvellous progress within the last decade. A truvttlei* who had made v tour through tlie island 10 or lo years ago would oe asi.ni.lied were he now to revisit it. Country formerly occupied by _usir and scrub nas now luxurious orchards, gullies dollied with thiuKet. uf raspberry canes, and grassy, meadows. There i_ but one topic of conversation — apples. Probably nr a conple ot years' tiuie not less Uian 20,000 awes will have been planted. The area now in' full bearing is something over 15,000 acies. j_as>t year* Tusmuma exported to England alon. 576,000 cases, while some 600,000 cases m addition went to Australian and other markets, 'lwenty-eignt large steamers were engaged m the English trade, the largest consignment, carried by the Persic,- amounting to 47,210 cases. Dependent on fruit production, theie are other important industries. Some 50 sawmill- are kept busy supplying the _, 000,000 super, leet ot timber rec-uired for box-making purposes. Next year it is estimated 800,1)00 ca.es will leave Tas. mania for England alone ; and if the entire crop be put down at 2,000 t OOO cases, a very moderate computation, the value oi tlie coses alone, at from 4_d to 6d apiece, will run into a very substantial amount. In the Huon district particularly a whofe fleet of river steamers is kept going by the orcliardiats. Roughly speaking, nearly £200,000 worth of jams, pulp and dried fruit is turned out annually by the Hobart. factories, and a large amount of labor is there employed. It may be said without hesitation tliat fully a tenth part of the present population of the island is supported directly or indirectly by the fruit industry. Orchards m Tasmania are not, as a rule, of very large size. The largest property of the kind, situate m the Derwent Valley,, consists of 137 acres m full beating, while m the Huoir an 80-acre orchard holds the premier position. The average size is probably some 10 acres— an urea quite sufficient to.-suppprt m comfort an industrious man and his family. One of the best features attending the expansion of the industry lias, indeed, been the growth of a race of sturdy, healthy yeomanry, wiio, living and working under the .most favorable conditions m respect to health and physical development, are becoming a, double source of wealth to the State. Men engaged m the industry do not "decay" as their modest wtaltlr ''accumulates." The orchards m a thriving fruit district present a delightful appearance during the seasons of spring aud autumn. At the former time of year the blossoming plantations spread like a brilliant carpet, over the flats of the Derwent, or clothe m pink and wlrite drapery the steep hillsides above the picturesque township . of Franklin, like the hanging gardens of ancient Babylon. Laud of medium quality, provided there i s the clay subsoil to supply the necessary potash, is quite surtable to tire growth of apple trees if the elevation is not over some 300 or 400 feet above sea level" and tlie rainfall is sufficient. Land of suitable quality can be obtained from the Government at from 10s to £1 an acre. Orchards m full-bearing represent m concrete forms a large expenditure of effort and money, as well as of patieuce. The cost of clearing bush land is expensive. Yearling trees costing 4_d each are planted, 100 to 160 to the acre. It is six years before the first crop comes m. Some iO or 11 varieties of fruit are principally cultivated, the favorites being New York pip. pins (also called Cleopatras), scarlet Permaius (or Nonpareils), Alexandras, Ribstones, Stunners, French crabs and Jonathans. Not long ago no lets than 4s 6d a case had t. be paid for freight on bulk shipments to England. Now freights are down to 2s 6d a case, which, works out at 72s 6d per torr, as compared with 52s '6d per ton for butter and 60s for rabbits. 1 Dealing with the question of profit, the writer says: Assuming the trees to have been planted ten years, and to have been well selected and cared for, the yearly yield of marketable fruit- from each tree should average at least- two bushels. Tuking the price, after deducting freight, at 3s a bushel all round, and the number of trees to the acre at 160, the gross return would then be £24, or £240 for a 10-acre orchard. From this sum might be deducted £5 an acre for manure., cost of spraying and general cultivation, and about the same amount for packing expenses and commission — a clear annual profit of £140 for the whole orchard being thus left. From the sale of bag apples at ls per bushel to drying factories and, possibly (though this industry is as yet sadly neglected), for cider-making purposes, a fairly substantial sum would also be received, and £150 a year might safely be put down- as the income derived from a well-managed property of the size above-mentioned. Both yield and price have been assumed to be low. As to yield, the writer is acquainted with several cases where individual trees have produced over 20 bushels apiece m one season, and where 600 bushels and 2000 bushels of fruit of good quality have been, gathered from orchards of jj-acre and 2_' acres respectively. These, however, were exceptional instances.