§ Mr. Peter Freemanasked the Minister of Agriculture the number of fruit trees of each variety of fruit and the percentage increase that is being provided by nurseries in this country; and the numbers and variety for which provision has been made for imports from abroad.
§ Mr. T. Williams, pursuant to his reply [OFFICIAL REPORT, 3rd March, 1947; Vol. 59, col. 25], supplied the following statement
The full details asked for in the Question are not available but on the basis of the returns under the Ministry's certification scheme for apple and plum rootstocks it is estimated that the following stocks have been set out in nurseries for grafting and budding in 1947: Apples, 1000,000; Plums, 300,000. These figures are exclusive of stocks still in the stool beds, which are known to have been planted in very large numbers to meet future demands.