Fruit Crop Estimates for November, I 950

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 82, Issue 1, 15 January 1951, Page 19

Fruit Crop Estimates for November, I 950

higher yields had come to an end, and a reduction began which by 1915-16 had brought the yield down to the level of the early 1890’s. Careful systems of crop rotation were not sufficient to maintain fertility, weather may have been unseasonable, and the expansion of dairying had pushed wheat growing off some of the best land. Fuctuations in the acreage had a very marked effect on the yield, the extent of the fluctuations being shown clearly in the following table: —

AREA PLANTED TO WHEAT

The larger area in 1910-11 reflects the farmers’ dissatisfaction with overseas meat prices; the increase in 1915-16 was probably the result of higher prices after the very low acreage the previous year. The stimulus of wartime shortages was not sufficient in itself, and in 1916 the Government offered a guaranteed price which ensured a reasonable level of production until 1919-20, when the area fell to 115,000 acres, the lowest for many years.

Varieties of Wheat

By 1900 the old Tuscan variety of wheat had been replaced by Solid Straw Tuscan, which was particularly suited to New Zealand’s conditions because of its resistance to the threshing action of the wind. It almost certainly originated in one of the Mediterranean countries, and was introdduced to New Zealand during the 1880’s. It is probable that it is a cross between bread wheats and macaroni wheat. Although Solid Straw Tuscan spread rapidly, it did not entirely replace Hunters, which, with a stronger straw, stood up better on the heavier land. Hunters was an early introduction, before 1860, from western Europe. By 1910 it had become very impure and was gradually replaced from 1915 by a pure line called College Hunters, selected at Lincoln College. This selection is important as being the first pure line of seed of any kind produced in New Zealand.

These two varieties, Solid Straw Tuscan for the greater part of the wheat-growing land of Canterbury and Hunters for the few pockets of very heavy land, admirably suited the requirements of the growers. New introductions were made from time to time (they had been made even before 1900), but few of these came to stay, and of the majority only the name, if that, remains today.

Among the more important is Jumbuck, a high-quality baking . wheat brought to New Zealand about 1901, but its value as a high-quality spring wheat was not recognised until the 1920’5. Dreadnought since 1909 has been important in a small area of very heavy land in Waimate, where its potentially high production is able to be expressed. . •

Velvet and Pearl, similar except for the velvet chaff of the former and the fact that the yield of the latter was

lower and the quality higher, were important in the early years of the century, but acreages in these two varieties rapidly decreased until they disappeared. Velvet was represented by less than 15 per cent, of the wheat acreages in 1920. Other wheats which were important locally or for a short time only were Federation, Solid Straw Velvet, Hollow Straw Tuscan (the Tuscan before 1900), Sensation, Victor, Red Marvel, Bobs, Talavera (probably a pure selection of Solid Straw Tuscan), Bordier, Yandilla King, White- Winter, New Era, and Duluth. Pickling with bluestone was used to control ball smut, and later, about 1910, formalin was first used and became about equal in popularity with bluestone. . Oats In the first decade of the century the area in oats ranged from about 150,000 to 200,000 acres, and from 1900 to about 1905 about two-thirds of the area was threshed and about one-third chaffed, the amount devoted to greenfeed being fairly small. Gradually the proportion devoted to chaff rose, and in 1910-11 the two areas were approximately equal, that for threshing being 112,000 acres and that for chaff about 100,000 acres. With the outbreak of war and the great increase in the Army’s demand for horse feed,, the proportion devoted to chaff rose to about twothirds of the total (for 1916-17 oats for threshing totalled 82,000 acres and oats for chaff 159,000 acres). Appreciable areas of oats have always been grown for greenfeed, averaging about 8000 acres per year, though the area has varied from year to year according to climatic conditions. The cereal greenfeed crop is one which fits in with the system of management on the Canterbury mixed

CEREAL PRODUCTION IN CANTERBURY

farm. The root crop for winter feed is somewhat unreliable, and particularly in a dry year a cereal crop, usually oats but sometimes black or cape barley, is grown as a supplement frequently after a wheat crop. The varieties of oats before 1920 were White (Gartons), the main milling oats, usually spring sown, and Algerians (brown), Duns (grey), and Black Tartars, all grown for grazing, chaff, or threshing for feed. These varieties were usually autumn sown, as they stood the frost better than Gartons. For greenfeed (and most oat crops were expected to provide some spring feed before being shut for a crop) they recovered better after grazing and could be grazed more often than Gartons. Barley Barley usually occupied an area about a tenth that of the wheat crop, though there were years when it fell well below this. Up to the . First World War the area was around the 10,000-acre mark, except for the years 1900 and 1909, when it’ was about 15,000. Then it dropped to about 6000 acres during 1914-18, when the main emphasis was on wheat growing. This was a crucial period in barley growing also, because yields were very low through barley growing being pushed on to the poorer land. Moreover, the best barley was taken for malting, and seed supplies had become mixed and of poor quality. The main barley variety during this period was Webb’s Kinver Chevallier, commonly called Chevallier. . New varieties were introduced from time to time, but were discarded either because they were not suitable climatically or were of low malting quality. In 1919, 100 sacks each of two varieties, New Binder and Plumage, were sent out by Mackie and Co. of Glasgow. These were auctioned in 5-sack

TREE PLANTING ON THE PLAINS

lots and the proceeds given to hospitals. New Binder proved unsuited to the conditions and went out of cultivation. Plumage, on the other hand, . was a good yielder, and as it was a pure line and free from smut at the time, it was grown extensively until it was supplanted by newer varieties. ... mon e ++ a i J , 4. After 1920 Spratt-Archer and later Plumage - Archer were introduced. From 1919 the Canterbury Seed Comparty, for whom much of the barley was grown •• under contract was responsible for the careful selection of seed lines. Manuring with about lewt. of superphosphate per acre became more common from 1900. wlwL- „4= „ j i i • A... Pickling of seed barley in bluestone was carried out from 1890, though it affected the yield and the value of the produce. + lt was not until } 924 that th hot water treatment for covered smut and loose smut was applied to seed distributed to selected growers by the Canterbury Seed Company. AFFORESTATION T „ A-,™, of In many accounts recorded that* of settlement ffht is recorded that on their first sight the Canterbury Plains the early arrivals almost always remarked on the lack of woods in their new country. t They must have made early plans to begin planting round their farms and homesteads, and to endeavour to create a little of the atmosphere they had left . The French settlers at Akaroa landed in one of the w3l P co?lred n with* native bush "but they Plantedl fruit and walnut groves and Y avenues some of which persist tn fhk rhv ’ wmcn persist . ■ As the Pilgrims and their successors spread over the plains the absence of timber often caused them a great deal of extra work, and what few patches of bush could be found were soon cut out. The winds from both the north and the south made everyone long for some kind of shelter and also made the task of keeping mobs of sheep under control most difficult. Like many other things in Canterbury farming, the first tree planting

on the plains was done by the Deans brothers; their example was soon followed by other pioneer settlers, the first trees to be planted being poplars and willows. The willows at Akaroa were supposed to have come from St. Helena. In the diary of St. Leonard’s Station in 1855 there is an entry in July: “Planted 130 poplars an willows”, and in October: “Sowed see d o bluegum, broom and berries [probably hawthorn for hedges]”. An October entry a year later is “sowing the ‘oak’ seed” Runholders needed timber for many purposes, and though those cutting native bush had to obtain a Crown timber licence, fires and wasteful me thods soon reduced the limited areas and prompted the Provincial Council to consider ways of encouraging further planting. John Hall of The Terrace Station brought the matter up in the provincial Council during 1856, when he had already embarked on an extensive programme on his own land. A plantation was considered as a qualification for a “pre-emptive right”, and was regarded by the Waste Land Board as an improvement, but though this may have encoura S ed some plantmg there were chea P er wa V s in plant “pre-emptives” could be claimed. The Provincial Council also endeavoured to X O urase teee nlantin? on the to encourage tree planting on the smaller leased estates, but did not smMlej much response recelve mucn response, Establishment of New Plantations: From 1860 to 1870 tree P !antin S as carried on extensively, especially in the areas between the Rakaia and the Ashburton Rivers and the newly opened land around Timaru. “Burning off” J- ba tussock was responsible for the destruction of much bush in the foothills, causing the Government some concern about, the amount of timber s l- The Chief Surveyor recomthat it would be better to establish new plantations than to try to conserve the native bush This in turn produced the problem of the best kinds of trees to plant, and this question, along with the Chief Surveyor s suggestion, was considered by a Provincial Committee to inquire into new

industries which met in 1870. It recommended that land grants should be made to people prepared to carry on tree-planting experiments.

This resulted in the passing by the central Government in 1871 of the Forest Trees Planting Encouragement Act, by which 2 acres of rural land were granted to farmers for every acre of freehold land successfully established, no grant being given for fewer than 20 or for more than 250 acres. The “bonanza” wheat farms that were just beginning at this time suffered badly from the north-west gales, which often blew both soil and seed away. Extensive systems of trees as windbreaks were shown to be necessary, and their formation was successfully encouraged by this Act. Large areas were being set aside for plantations by road boards, and in 1879 public bodies received the same benefits as private planters in land grants. These enactments greatly encouraged tree planting by public bodies which had large reserves and which to pay for any planting done leased out land they were not ready to plant.

At this time 32,000 acres of Crown land were set aside for plantation purposes, chiefly in Ashburton, Selwyn, and Mackenzie Counties, and by 1902 the areas planted covered 10,500 acres. The formation of these plantations during the next 20 years greatly changed the appearance of the country, and they became a very valuable asset to the province. That the necessary conditions for such grants were strictly enforced may be gathered from old Department of Lands and Survey files, which contain instructions to inspectors to reject any part of the plantation where trees had failed.

Early Choice of Species

Tree planting in Canterbury passed through three stages. The settler first planted an orchard and then sowed hawthorn or gorse for hedges and European species of treeswillows and poplars or oaks and later elm, ash, and maple. Most of the nursery stock was imported from Australia. The Deanses had seed sent from Scotland and in one letter John Deans told his father that he intended to plant trees for shelter and ornament “as soon as we can raise the plants in our ground”. Records of planting on their Homebush run were kept from the beginning.

Odd references are found from the early years of settlement to seed of bluegums, white gums, and other species brought in or sent from Australia, and the first bluegum to be planted about 1860 at Temuka was reported to have been grown from seed brought in the waistcoat pocket of an Australian miner.

The European trees proved slow growers, but the rapidity of the eucalyptus trees grown from the imported seed became widely known, and Australian species formed the next choice for planting— (Eucalyptus globulus'), stringy bark (probably Eucalyptus obliqua), acacias, chiefly Acacia dealbata, and she-oak or casuarina species. About 1860 George Rhodes himself planted an avenue of bluegums at the entrance to Levels Station.

This eucalyptus phase was gradually merged with the growing of evergreen . trees, which started with the importation in the 1860’s of potted plants of American species pines and. cypresses It is not known exactly where the first Pinus radiata, then known as Pinus insignis, was planted, but it is certain that some Pinus insignis planted by J. B. A. Acland at Mt Peel Station were imported from Sydney in 1863 at a cost of 4s. 6d. for each plant. Cupressus macrocarpa must have been planted by one of the Rhodes family about this time too, for by 1867 a macrocarpa tree at Purau was 10ft. high. In the same year Robert Rhodes left Purau and built a new home at ' “Elmwood”, Christchurch, “where he introduced 12 varieties of conifers from San Francisco, few of which had previously been seen in New Zealand”, Soecies in Private Plan+inn P 9 .On .the foothills of Canterbury Acland started m 1859 to plant his homestead at Mt. Peel, using seed or plants imported from Veitch’s nursery at Exeter, England, and in this

year it is recorded that one seedling of Douglas fir (now known better as Oregon pine or Pseudotsuga taxifolia) was imported and thrived, but that seedlings of Sequoia welling tonia died on , the voyage out. During the 1860’s seeds or plants of the following species e , re , imported from England by Acland: Picea (spruces) Cedrus, Cupressus lawsomana, junipers, Abies, Pm us, and Californian redwood. A deodar planted at Mt. Peel Station produced fertile seed at 28 years of age - One of the early farmers who started extensive planting on the dry, shingly, poor soils characteristic of much of the plains was T. W. Adams. His plantations at Greendale were 500 ft. above sea level, and there from about 1865 he experimented with the planting of many timber-producing trees from temperate regions. In 1905 he was reported to have 1000 species or varieties established; these included 48 series of oak and 50 species of pine One of the most closely planted areas in Canterbury is that around Winchester, which was originally planted as part of the Orari run in

the 1870’s with acacias and willows on the river-bank, but in reporting on this planting in 1874 the “Timaru Herald” said that they “looked quite pretty , but wished that the “villagers would plant pines instead of gums and acacias”. This wish was amply fulfilled, in 1880, when the Winchester Domain was planted with an excellent mixture of evergreen and broadleaf species, which forms today a splendid memorial to the “town fathers” of that day. , , Plantings by Public. Bodies x , „ . be s P eci ® s planted generally in i O a ™ terbry by public bodies between , •' j and wep e mainly the same kinds, varied slightly according to locality and period. The Waimakarin .Y. er reserves were started with willows and poplars m 1869 and continued with the use of English trees (° a k and birch), Pinus radiata, Pinus Ashburton pXtaSns were Sorted in 1870 with Pinus radiata, Eucalyptus globulus, and oak,, and added later were Pinus laricio, Pinus ponderosa, and spruce. Selwyn plantations were

started about 1885 with Pinus radiata and various - eucalyptus species, together with small areas of larch, Douglas fir, Pinus laricio, oak, and the übiquitous spruce. The first of the railway plantations were started in 1885 at Weedons with oak, then English beech was added, but did not survive, and later areas were tried of larch, Pinus . laricio, Eucalyptus globulus and Eucalyptus erostrata, Pinus ponderosa, Pinus pinaster, Acacia dealbata, and cypresses. Larch and oak were widely used, and eucalyptus and the pines came in to replace slow English trees. Norway spruce was a complete failure, and Oregon pine was used more in the plantings made toward the end of the century. Of the different kinds of trees tried on the dry plains of Canterbury five have proved their worth: Pinus radiata, Pmus laricio, Pinus ponderosa, Oregon, and some cypresses. Eucalyptus trees have suffered badly from both frost and epidemic insect attacks; the climatic conditions are generally unsuitable for spruce, which becomes a victim of the spruce aphis.

Early Nurserymen

The nursery stocks for the first plantings were imported into New Zealand, but it was not many years before raising this material became a commercial undertaking. William Wilson was apparently the first nurseryman in Canterbury, and there is a description written in 1863 of 19 acres of his nurseries on land which is now part of Christchurch City; he evidently raised many of the various species of trees tried in the early plantations. In 1879 Nairn’s nursery was established on -land near Lincoln, and Millechamps started growing and planting trees on contract at the beginning of this century.

Planting Methods

Tree-planting operations in early days formed an important part of the run routine and were carried out as

nearly as possible in the way that the work had been done in Britain. At St. Leonard’s Station Duppa drew up routine farming instructions in which directions were given about the season to plant trees (July) and to sow (October). In preparation for planting, the land was ploughed and fallowed and often a crop of turnips was taken off; the trees were then arranged so that a plough could be used for cultivating between the rows. Seed of eucalyptus was usually drilled directly into the ground to form plantations, and Adams describes how in 1891 he drilled seed of gums, wattles, and Cupressus macrocarpa, which had been mixed with damp sand for some days previously, to form a plantation. The usual method was to broadcast seed at the rate of 2Joz. per acre and to harrow it in. When the Crown reserves were first marked out they were often laid off running in the same direction as the main winds, but when it was realised that they could be utilised for shelter belts they were usually laid out at right-angles to the north-west or south-west winds. Sometimes these reserves were a mile or two long and 10 or 11 chains wide, with trees spaced 10ft. apart, and gradually they formed a network over the country, especially in the flat, windy areas of the Ashburton Plain and in the vicinity of the Rakaia Gorge. When belts were planted by runholders or farmers they were often placed as a series of parallel belts, sometimes. J mile apart; later the plan was often adopted of joining two belts at right-angles to provide shelter from both prevailing winds, and this arrangement is shown in the plan of shelter belts planted over a period of 50 years by John Hall on The Terrace Station.

Private belts were only 1 or 2 chains wide, with rows and trees spaced 9ft. apart, and on The Terrace Station at least the custom was to leave in the long belts gaps 1 or 2 chains wide which were grazed so that fires would not travel the whole length. Care of Plantations The story of one old belt planted on part of the old Mt. Hutt Station on the banks of the Rakaia River is typical of the thorough and costly methods used in 1870-80. This belt was planted north-east to south-west along an upper terrace of the river in 8 rows of Pinus radiata trees with 9ft. between rows and 6ft. between trees. No thinning was done, and yet there were very few failures in spite of the intensity of the north-west gales. MIGRATION TO THE NORTH Two motives probably inspired the men who left Canterbury for the north from the 1880’s onward. On the one hand they hoped to put into practice the farming . methods which had proved successful in Canterbury; on the other hand the almost complete occupation of the province compelled those who wanted land to look elsewhere. During the long depression of the 1880’s economic necessity caused large numbers of people to leave Canterbury, and many of those who were prepared to face the hardships and uncertainties of taking up land in the bush left for the north. This steady exodus caused much concern among Canterbury people. A member of Parliament declared in 1892 that' the province had suffered a greater loss of the young and the able than any other part of New Zealand, but until the larger estates were broken up the opportunities for those remaining at home were limited. Commenting on the Cheviot purchase,

the Christchurch correspondent of the “New Zealand Farmer” declared: “It is better to buy a bit of Cheviot land than to take up bush land in the North Island as so many Canterbury men have been doing lately and are still doing.” From then on there were certainly more chances at home, but the movement north did not cease. n u . "Bonanza" Farms in Auckland Parts of Auckland Province attracted those with capital to invest. Some of Auckland’s open, ploughable lands bore a superficial resemblance to those in Canterbury, but the resemblance was in vegetation—tussock plains and manuka downs—rather than in the quality of soil, for Auckland’s clays, sands, and silts could not compare with the Canterbury Plains in fertility. Nonetheless, many people thought they did, and there were “bonanza” wheat and sheep stations in the Thames valley and pastoral leaseholds on the Taupo plains. However, the grand Auckland ventures all failed, the large arable farms for want of fertiliser and the sheep runs because of sheep sickness attributed vaguely to , want ot salt . The relationship between the establishment of permanent pastures on the Auckland waste lands and the Canterbury cultivation techniques appears

Introduced Mammals of New Zealand: K. A. Wodzicki FORTUNATELY not every farmer will find this book of direct and pertinent interest to his farm management, for there are some so located and capable of so managing their farms that they suffer no damage and little danger from rabbits, deer, opossums, or any other animal dealt with except the übiquitous rat and mouse. The more fortunate pest-free farmers, however, should be just as interested to know accurately the habits, the history, and the distribution of farming pests as their more troubled brethren. The maps are of absorbing interest, for they are the first attempt ever made to record cartographically the distribution of the major pests and the varying intensity of their present occurrence. The reader will sometimes find that areas which he from past experience knew to be pest infested are shown as free or as but lightly infested. He will find perhaps more often that areas which 20 years ago were free of one or other animal are now heavily infested, or lightly infested, and so probably on the way to subsequent heavier infestation. Studying the maps and drawing on his own experience, he will begin to realise that all animals move not as individuals or even as pairs, but as populations; and if the author has succeeded in making clear this main purpose in preparing the book, some readers at least will grasp the new technique. They will not deliver judgment on the basis of the book’s freedom from natural history anecdotes, its failure to prescribe methods of pest

IBOOK review!

to have been fully grasped first by an Ashburton merchant, Hugo Friedlander. In 1906 he acquired 6000 acres of gumland scrub on Manakau Harbour to convert into a grassland estate for closer settlement. Joseph Batty, an experienced Canterbury farmer from Methven, was appointed manager, and he proceeded to Drury, south of Auckland, with seven 4-horse teams and began operations. The light scrub was burnt off and cut with scrub mowers and later the land was ploughed up. When it was worked down it was sown with oats, then with swedes or rape, and then with ryegrass or clover. Each crop, including grass, was manured, usually with a mixture of superphosphate and bonedust, but preferably with basic slag (3cwt. per acre) for grass, T . • , ■ , .In 1911 after 4 years work, Batty had established 3000 acres of ryegrass and clover pasture on which ran 8000 sheep and 350 cattle. The transformation of this waste gumland created much interest and when the first seetions were sold the demand was keen among young farmers m the district, Friedlander was only one among a number of Canterbury . men who were turning their attention to the north, “Of late years”, commented the “New Zealand Farmer” in August, 1911, “the lower price of the second-class land in

annihilation, its impartial abstention from criticism of past actions either of men or of administrations. “The approach usually involves investigation of the habits of an animal society or population as a whole, as contrasted with the older method of observing individual animals ” (p. 241). Not the least merit of the book is that it teaches the method by example rather than by precept. One short factual introductory chapter of 18 pages and one concluding chapter of 3 pages contain the only personal views in the book. The rest is facts as narrated by scores of observers; all are scrupulously credited to their sponsors and all are assembled, summarised, analysed both geographically and historically, tabulated, or graphed. Yet this assemblage and analysis of bald facts are welded into a readable narrative, pleasingly illustrated, without loss of scientific order or cohesion. If future administrative control measures of wild animals are carefully and progressively based on scientific work as carefully conducted and as fairly, impartially, and pleasingly presented as has been done in this book, the seeming chaos that prevails at present in New Zealand’s feral animal picture will gradually but surely be reduced to order, and that order will remove one item from the list of the present worries of many farmers. C.M.S. Bulletin No. 98 of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Wellington, New Zealand. Price 12s. 6d.

the Auckland Province has induced many South Island farmers to turn their attention to the north, and invariably they have secured considerable areas which they are handling in most cases in a very businesslike manner”. The Tokoroa plain was particularly. attractive to South Islanders not only because a railway ran right through it but because it was easy, rolling, “tussock” country. . Many experienced Canterbury men took up land, endeavoured to improve it, but nearly all their attempts ended in failure, for the sheep just pined away and died. It was not until the 1930’5, with the discovery of a means to combat “bush sickness”, that any real progress was made. Acknowledgment Acknowledgment is made to the Canterbury A. and P. Association and Canterbury University College for the loan of photographs reproduced in this article.

Proceedings of Ruakura Farmers' Conference

TJRACTICAL recommendations of experts engaged in agricultural research are presented in concise and clear form in the “Proceedings of the Ruakura Farmers’ Conference Week, 1950,” published by the New Zealand Department of Agriculture. The volume, which is of over 230 pages, is a complete record of the papers and discussions on them at the conference. Dr. C. P. McMeekan, Superintendent, Ruakura Animal Research Station, directed the proceedings, which were run in co-operation with the Waikato Farmers’ Educational Committee.

The language of the layman has been used throughout and the papers have a down-to-earth quality which, will appeal to all farmers, not only for this reason but also because they will find practically all modern farming problems dealt with frankly and realistically with sound suggestions and recommendations given which cannot but improve their own farming standards. This is not to suggest that papers were dogmatic; often they tended to be controversial and stimulating, as can readily be gauged from the lively discussions appended to the addresses concerned.

Though primarily a record of the results of experimental work at Ruakura, the subjects before the conference covered a much wider field. As instances, Professor G. S. Peren, Mr. E. Bruce Levy, and Professor W. R. Riddett made valuable contributions on the broader scale, while Messrs. I. L. Elliott and F. B. Thompson, Rukuhia Soil Research Station, gave information on the latest developments in research on regenerating peat lands of the Waikato.

The book is available at 10s. a copy from the Ruakura Animal Research Station or from Publications Section, Department of Agriculture, Box 3004, Wellington.

FRUIT DISTRICT J= © o >, ct a — GJ 3 L- d *7*7 +-• 3 -F- a Q. a = C GJ C © xaO MM 5 cs © c GJ O © 5 >, GJ CT C = i- o © co E •+-* CT C GJ £ C/7 a ■ CD C5 CD o < O 5 XCfl gj xca * GJ ■ © Z s GJ © oz © -4~> oo © H APPLES— Ballarat .. .. .. 37 7 59 9 1 . 7 3 8 1 125 Cox’s Orange Pippin 7 3 50 1 1 126 12 16 11 227 Delicious .. II 8 80 2 4 152 24 18 40 339 Dougherty .. 19 4 50 — 23 1 —— — 23 —— 1 97 ■■ ■ ■ — 97 Granny Smith .. .. 61 3 80 2 3 76 2 2 4 233 Gravenstein 17 — 30 ■■ 1 ■■■ 53 1 1 I 103 —- 53 1 1 103 Jonathan .. ' .. ' .. 7 ___ 40 40 —— —- 1 1 242 242 24 24 12 12 32 32 358 358 Sturmer .. 1 5 150 5 , 16 334 26 48 32 617 Other varieties .. 77 5 124 3 6 139 20 48 46 468 Total 237 35. 663 15 32 1152 1 13 153 167 2567 PEARS— Beurre Bose .. 5 1 3 — 8 ■ — — 8 — — 17 — — 17 Louise Bonne de Jersey . • —— —- — 15 15 —— — —— —- — — —— 1 1 16 16 Packham’s Triumph 6 — 4 —— —— 3 . — —— —• 13 P. Barry .. .. .. 2 1 15 —— 1 4 —— 1 1 — — 24 24 W. B. Chretien .. 7 — 50 ——• . —— 34 . —— 2 8 101 Winter Cole 1 1 65 —— 2 31 1 5 3 109 Winter Melis —— — 30 —— 10 — 2 5 47 Other varieties II 1 9 2 . — II 1 7 4 46 Total 32 4 191 . 2 3 10! 2 17 21 373 OTHER FRUITS— Peaches 57 5 238 1 — 51 6 8 67 433 Apricots .. .. — — 4' —— — — 1 1 —- — 11 I 1 130 130 146 146 Nectarines —w. 20 —— 111 ■* 20 —— ■—"W 1 1 1 1 ■— — 18 18 40 40 Plums .. .... 31 5 51 1 1 16 2 10 30 147 Cherries .. .. — — 2 — ■ ■■ — 1 5 1 1 19 Quinces .. .. .. 1 — 8 —— —— —— 9 9 — — — . — 1 1 19 19

THE following estimates of the fruit crop for November, 1950, in 000’s of A bushel cases, are provisional and revised monthly for the period November to March and are summarised from information supplied by field officers of the Horticulture Division, Department of Agriculture.

Year Acres 1890-91 .. 212,000 895-96 .. ... .. 169,000 1900-01 .. .. 147,000 1905-06 .. ■ 155,000 1910-11 . . 230,000 1915-16 .. 245,000 920-2! .. 171,000