Fruit-Growing.

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume 8, Issue 21, 16 March 1897, Page 3

Fruit-Growing.

Mr Mayo, Government pomologisl, addressing the settlers in the Mangaiainoko (Wellington) ■ district lately, expressed his views on this' subject in terse language. *,I-/■w°uld like to point out at once," he said, “ That the greatest mistake made by fruit tree planters is that they plant too many * suitable fruit ’ in their district for their own welfare. If any of you intend planting young trees this season, /take my advice and plant a late keeping variety. From the end of last May to Christmas we have been buying ‘Hobart apples ’ wholesale, thousands and thousands of cases, at prices varying from -/2 to -/4 per lb. You can easily substantiate this by looking up the Wellington auction market reports in your papers. And yet folks say fruit-growing does not pay. A wholesale average of -/8 per lb. for six months for apples which will be retailed at -/5 don’t pay 1 I reckon it don’t pay those who don’t attend to their orchards. But it pays the Tasmanian growers to pitch them into our markets with all their freight, cost, &o. W bilst we are growling at the shipping companies re cost to put fruit on the London market, they pop their surplus fruit on ours. Apples and pears are winter fruits, just as a cabbage is a winter vegetable, and this is the lime l io have them for sale. When berries, -cherries, peaches grapes, plum!*, &c.. aseon the market, don’t try to sell apples; people won’t look at them the second time.” As to methods of cultivation, he said, “Do you slick a cab-Jbage-plaut into a hole io the hard ground, amongst grass, docks, &c., in the autumn and expect to cut a good cabbage in the spring ? No 1 Do you buy one pound of every variety of potato you can hear tell of, mix them All up together, and expect to get a crop that will fetch top price ? Not likely! You choose good seed, well cultivate the best piece of laud you have on your farm, manure and attend to the growth, ami keep each variety by itself to save sortage. This for an .annual crop. But for the permanent crop of fruit trees, good for a life-time perhaps, you buy the cheapest trash, and stick them in without trouble or -deep cultivation, perhaps allow cocksfoot aud docks to choke them, and then, perhaps, turn in the cows or the horses to choke down the grass and .docks. This is what some folks do, And then they say fruit-growing don’t W”