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I fORTICULTURE DIVISION. REPORT OF THE DIVISIONAL DIRECTOR. The> Director-General. Wellington, 18th June, 1920. I have pleasure in submitting herewith the annual report, of this Division for the year ended 31 st- March, 1920. T. W. Kirk, Director, Introduction. The following are the principal activities dealt with by the Horticulture Division:— (1.) Instruction in fruit and vegetable production; inspection erf ore-hards, vineyards. gardens, and nurseries, anil affording information as lo the' most up-to-date methods of controlling diseases and insect pests ; alser giving advice as to suitable varieties of fruit, vegetable's, &c, to plant. (2.) Administering fruit-export regulations, and the regulations relating to the sale, for consumption within the: Dominion, of New-Zealand-grown fruit. (3.) Demonstrations and instruction in the grading and packing of fruit, and in pruning and spraying. (4.) Testing new brands of spraying-oompounds lor the purpose of ascertaining their efficacy under local conditions. (.5.) Affording advice on the preserving of fruit and vegetables both for commercial and domestic purposes ; cool storage' ; advances under the Fruit-preserving Industry Act. (6.) Advice regarding ore-hard shelter, hedges in general, &c. (7.) Control of the Horticultural Stations at Te Kauwhata, Tauranga, and Arataki. (8.) Registration erf all orchards and nurseries in the Dominion. (9.) Orchard-tax : Issuing of tax-demand notices, &c. (10.) Inspection of all imported fruit, plants, vegetables, bulbs, &c, at the ports of Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin, and Bluff; also inspection anel grading of all locally grerwn fruit, plants, vegetables, &c, intended for e>xport. (II.) Viticulture and winemaking : Giving advice on the growing erf grapes, both outdoor and. under glass, the control of pests and disease's, anel em the making of wines. (12.) Affording information on beekeeping generally and the production of honey for market. (13.) Inspection of apiaries and instruction in up-to-date methods erf controlling disease. (14.) Grading of honey hn- export ; registration of honey-export bra-nils. (15.) Registration of apiaries, The Fruitgrowing Industry. The season's fruit- crop has been a very satisfactory erne. Apples and pews have yielded heavy crops, whilst- the return of stone-fruits was above' the average in most localities. Satisfactory prices are being realized by growers, ospee-iallv those who take e:are to forward nothing but clean, wellgraded fruit. Brown-rot disease; in stone-fruit- has been less prevalent, although in some localities apples and pears were attacked to a slight extent. Black-spot infection was again fairly conspicuous, especially in the Nelson and Motueka districts. Other diseases and pests have' Ire'e'ii more easily kept under contrerl. The' Orchard Instructors report that considerable' improvement is noticeable in the: management and care of orchards generally. A. pleasing feature, is the large number of returned soldiers who have taken up fruit-growing under the: repatriation scheme. With one or two exceptions they are, promising to become a valuable' acquisition to the various districts in which they are settled. Assistance is given them as far as possible by the Instructors, both by practical demonstrations and written advice. The demand for information em fruitgrowing matters has increased ter a considerable extent, and involves a large amount erf correspondence as well, as special visits. The, Assistant Director, Mr. J. A. Campbell, who spent the major portion of the year investigating the' horticultural industries of the United States of America and Canada, returned to the Dominion in December last. During his visit Mr. Campbell secured a large' amount of valuable inferrmation, particularly in connection with the grading anel packing of fruit, co-operation, and marketing. This in format ion is being passed on to the. New Zealand fruitgrower, and shoulel in the near future' have' a beneficial effect on the fruitgrowing industry of this country. The area planted during the. year in new orchards was 494 acre's, which is a slight decrease on that planted the previous year. The following figures show the area in acres planted during the 1919 planting season: Whangarei, 15; North Aue:kland, 55; South Auckland, 22; Poverty Bay, 14; Waikato and Bay of Plenty, 5 ; Hawke's Bay, 108; Taranaki, 21 ; Manawatu and Wairarapa, 11 ; Nelson anel Motueka, 80 ; North Canterbury, 120 ; South Canterbury, 13 ; Otago, 30 : total, 494 acres. Outbreak of Fire-blight.- Towards the end of the year an outbreak erf fire-blight disease in fruittrees occurred in the Aucklanel District. Steps were immediately taken to prevent any further Spread of the trouble. A thorough inspection of all on-hards anel nurseries in the affected district was commenced, and all suspicious infections destroyed by burning. The work is proceeding satisfactorily, and it is anticipated the disease' will be successfully checked, Quarantine regulations will be gazetted at an early date.

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