r

OF THE

UNIVERSITY

OF

FRUIT FARMING FOR PROFIT

BY

GEORGE BUNYARD, V.M.H.

JFrnit JFarming far flrnfit

(REVISED TO 1911)

A practical treatise embracing chapters
on all the most profitable Fruits, with

DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUCCESSFUL

COMMERCIAL CULTURE ON THE

KENT SYSTEM

. . BY . .

GEORGE BUNYARD,

V. M. H.,

Chairman of the Fruit Committee, Royal Horticultural Society, and
Member of Council ;

Expert at Chisivick and Edinboro' Fruit Conferences ;

Master of the Fruiterers' Company of London, 1906 ; &c., <&c,

(For 50 years Manager of the Maidstone Nurseries) .

SIXTH EDITION.

JHaitrstotte :
VIVISH & BAKER, GENERAL PRINTERS, 28, KING STREET.

PRICE 2s. 60. ; OR FREE BY POST 2s. 9o.

COPYRIGHT. — ENTERED AT STATIONERS HALL.]

•-'/

^

CONTENTS.

Chapter. Page.

Introductory Remarks 1

I. Choice of Situation — Soil — Shelter 11

II. Cultivation and Manuring 16

III. Setting-out and Planting 23

IV. Pruning in Commercial Fruit Culture 34

V. Apples— Table and Kitchen 56

VI. ,, For Profit— R.H.S. Paper 67

VII. Plums, Damsons and Bullaces 74

VIII. Pears 79

IX. Cherries 83

X. Walnuts and Chestnuts 87

XI. Gooseberries 88

XII. Red and Black Currants 91

XIII. Kent Cob Nuts and Filberts 93

XIV. Strawberries and R.H.S. Paper 95

XV. Rhubarb 107

XVI. Raspberries 108

XVII. Extra Fruits— Grapes, Peaches, Figs, etc 110

XVIII. Purchase of Trees, and Propagation 117

XIX. Prices of Trees, Bushes, and Plants 122

XX. Packing for Market 126

XXI. Gathering and Storing 136

XXII. Profits and Expenses 140

XXIII. Insects, Diseases, and Enemies 148

XXIV. Future of Fruit Growing and Market Weights 180

XXV. Labelling and Fruit Naming 196

XXVI. The R.H.S. Fruit Conference & Lord Onslow's Committee. 198

XXVII. Summary of Year's Work 202

Appendix 218

Supplement 222

M5755G8

INDEX TO ADVERTISERS.

Page.

" The Kentish Express and Ashford News " i.

The Insect and other allied Pests— Their Prevention and

Treatment— Fred. V. Theobald, M.A ii.

Insecticides— Corry & Co. , Ltd iii.

Victa Tree Grease — Howard Chapman iv.

Abol Fruit Tree Wash— E. A. White, Ltd v.

Woburn Bordeaux Paste, etc. — Walter Voss & Co., Ltd vi.

Fruit Tree Primers — Coppin & Sons vii.

Spraying Machinery — Drake & Fletcher viii.

Reliable Salesmen : —

G. J. Bedford- -Champion Bros. — R. Thurlow & Sons ix.-x.

Fruit Growers' Specialities — G. Mence Smith xi.

Kent Insurance Company xi.

The Alpha Sprayer xii.

" South Eastern Gazette " xiii.

' ' Kent Messenger & Maidstone Telegraph " xiii.

Vermorel's Eclair Knapsack Sprayers — Cooper, Pegler & Co xiv.

Bee Hives, etc.— C. T. Overton & Sons xv.

Fruit Exhibitions .' xvi.

,, Trees — George Bunyard & Co., Ltd xvii.

Tools and Insecticides xviii.

Fruit Farming Adviser xix.

Literature . . xx.

PREFACE

TO THE SIXTH EDITION,

TN preparing another edition of this book, I have
again to record remarkable progress in the Fruit
industry throughout Britain. Old ideas are giving
way rapidly to modern systems, and although the
main points of my first edition in 1881 are still
reliable, we have recently learnt so much that is
valuable and of practical importance, that the present
edition is entirely revised, so as to bring it up to
date in every particular.

The new facts brought out by the interesting
Conference held by the Royal Horticultural Society,
and the important conclusions arrived at by the
Parliamentary Enquiry or Commission, instituted by
Lord Onslow, before which I had the honour of being
summoned, are herein enumerated.

The published Journals relating to these meetings
are well worth study by all interested in fruit culture.
(For notes see Chapter XXVI.)

The steady demand for this little brochure continues,
and, the last edition being exhausted, I have en-
deavoured to bring together the latest information
available in the present work, and have carefully
revised and reduced the lists of sorts and given fuller
hints on spraying and insect pests than before. The

importance ot some operations has induced me to
repeat them again and again, that they may not
escape notice.

I offer this new edition to that generous public, who
have shown their appreciation of my former endeavours
to help on the better culture of hardy fruit in these
Islands, and to inculcate such modes of treatment as
shall enable British growers not only to hold their
own, but to compete favourably with imports from
abroad.

GEORGE BUNYARD, V.M.H.

The Royal Nurseries,

Maidstone, Kent.

INTRODUCTION.

CRITICS may still ask u Do you not think that
fruit culture will be overdone ? and in view of
blights, spring- frosts, and occasional gluts of produce,
are you still justified in advising an extension of the
industry ? "

The author's reply is, that, living as he does in the
greatest fruit-growing County, and being in touch with
the largest growers elsewhere, he is still perfectly
convinced that there is room for extension, but on
modern lines. He would advocate the " Kentish
system," which may be stated briefly as intelligent
fruit cultivation, as distinguished from the old system
of fruit planting at hazard. One fact alone will
answer all pessimists. It is this : the largest growers -
keen, hardworking, business men, who would be the
first to feel lessening demand or the fall of prices
below a paying scale — are yearly and constantly
enlarging their acreage ; and as they number their
soft fruit produce by tons, and hard fruits by thousands
of bushels, their action furnishes a complete reply.

But new growers must approach the business on
modern methods— paying attention to the smallest
details ; cultivating those kinds that by name command
market value ; adopting the best system of grading,
and endeavour to build up a reputation for honest
packing and high quality ; growing but few kinds

and doing them well.
B

2 FRUIT FARMING

One incident will suffice to bring out the author's
meaning. He visited a Scottish market, which was
well attended by buyers, where the custom is for
apples to be packed in one cwt. barrels. The inferior
lots were first offered, and in many cases " turn 'em
out" came from the crowd. This cry was justified;
as bruised and under-sized fruits were mixed with
good examples, and consequently sold at low prices.
Then the auctioneer shouted " now we come to A.
and B/s fruit — you all know about that ! " Bidding
at once became brisk, and from these growers, fruit of
the same varieties in many cases fetched three times
as much as the first lots offered. This shows the
advantage of quality and honesty. Had the growers
of the inferior fruits sorted out the small and badly
formed apples, and only marketed the best, they
would have realized more money for them than they
did for a bulk perhaps one third larger. A. and B.'s
plantation is well known to the author, and every
care is there given the year through to spraying,
manuring, pruning and thinning the crops, so that
they always secure the finest quality, while the trees
being dwarfs, no ladders are needed for gathering ;
the fruit being within a man's reach for all necessary
attention. The plantation consists of Apples, Pears
and Plums, and the yearly average shows a good
return for outlay ; quality in a scarce year making up
by high prices for deficiency in the crop.

Tariff Reform. — A reference to the Board of Trade
figures will show the enormous sums Britain pays
for imported foreign fruit, valued at over ten million
pounds, half of which could be grown in Britain ;
regarding these imports, the author is not alone in

FOR PROFIT. 3

thinking the time has come when more consideration
should be shewn to our home growers, and the
taxation of the country be relieved by the imposition
of a customs duty on all and every kind of fruit or
vegetables imported from abroad, except supplies from
our own Colonies. It is argued that such imports
keep alive the public taste for fruits, and enable many
country retail shops to tide over those months when
our native fruits are not in season. This may be
true ; but, as growers well know, the higher prices
they used to realise for early or very late produce
are now seldom reached, and a small duty would not
be felt by the consumer, while such an import duty
must place our home growers in a more favourable
position. Directly Strawberries, Cherries, Black Currants
and Gooseberries reach our markets in quantity from
abroad, prices drop, and seldom rise again, and it is
the same with Plums and Apples. For example,
Rivers' early black Cherries used to fetch 7/6 per
peck of i2-lb. ; in 1909, with a moderate crop, they
only made 3/6. In Pears we may never be able to
compete with French and Belgian produce, as their
climate is more generally favourable for this fruit ;
but on the other hand, clean well-grown British Pears
always make good prices, and all walls and buildings
might be utilised to grow the finest varieties. Some
wall-grown Doyenne du Cornice Pears, made up to
12/0 doz. wholesale in 1909 and 1910, and other good
sorts in proportion.

The culture of fruit, when carried out on a proper
basis, can be depended upon to pay, but there must
be (i) careful preparation of the soil ; (2) choice of the
best market sorts, and of clean well-grown trees

4 FRUIT FARMING

and bushes to start with ; (3) active supervision and
intelligent culture ; (4) business arrangements as to
the sale of produce ; these four items are essential
before planters can command success, and the aim
of this volume is to give such plain and practical
directions as a life experience alone can dictate, to
enable amateurs or beginners to start fairly in this
industry ; while it is hoped that even experienced
growers may find some hints to their advantage in
these pages.

The author recommends the Kentish system as the
best for results. He has studied fruit culture in many
counties, but he can say, without contradiction, that
where the Kent system has been faithfully carried
out, failure is very rare, while numerous letters of
thanks prove that the simple directions herein given
are ample for success, if mixed with a due proportion
of common sense.

Market gardening in vegetables has been advocated
as a paying industry, and occasionally good profits
are made ; but it is far better to combine this with
fruit culture, as the high cultivation necessary for good
vegetables is a grand basis for fruit culture, more
especially for Raspberries, Strawberries and bush
fruits. Vegetable growing however is precarious, and
unless markets are readily available, or the farm is near
a city or town, for the double purpose of obtaining
cheap manure and the sale of produce, it will be well
to proceed in that direction with caution. It is only
the very best vegetables that sell for good prices.

The extraordinary development of jam making has
placed good wholesome preserves within the reach of
the poorest, thus largely replacing the use of margarine

FOR PROFIT. 5

and low class butters ; and as all British fruit is
greatly superior to that grown on the Continent, an
opening for export purposes in a preserved state should
be developed ; a vast quantity is used on the steam
ships trading to the tropics, America, etc., while
jam not infrequently is a part of a soldier's food in
campaigns.

The Fruit Commission, whilst generally recommend-
ing the making of jam and bottled fruits, specially
urges the inspection of all soft fruits and pulped fruit
imported from the Continent, as much of this arrives
in a condition unfit for human food. It is satisfactory
to learn that many tons have been condemned and
destroyed. No amount of heat or " doctoring " can
make wholesome preserves of fermented fruits, The
marking of jams made from foreign fruit was also
emphasized.

A wholesome fruit mixture is compounded with
prepared pulp composed of the cheaper Apples and
Pears, mixed with a proportion of Raspberries, Currants,
or Plums, which can thus be sold at a very low
price.

It was thought that district jam factories would pay,
but the venture has not been a success. It appears
to be essential that factories should be situated in a
fruit district, while at the same time water carriage
for bottles and jars (as they are liable to breakage on
rails through shunting, etc.), combined with a central
railway service to all parts for redistribution, should
be available. For that purpose London, Manchester,
Liverpool, Glasgow, etc., seem to take the lead, their
ports being available for Belgian glass and sugar.

6 FRUIT FARMING

By dint of perseverance some provincial firms
command a first-class connection, although their
factories are not central, but it is to the high quality
and purity of their jams, jellies and bottled fruits that
their well earned success is greatly due ; while in
winter and spring they make sweets, candied peel, etc.,
to keep their plant in order.

The Exhibitions of Bottled Fruit, held by the Royal
Horticultural Society, has stimulated this industry,
and several private people have made it a paying
home industry.

The railway companies are now helping the fruit
industry by special rates, properly ventilated cars and
through trains, as well as by the sale of boxes for
small parcels, which they carry at low rates, enabling
small growers to work up a private connection ; for
example, the South Eastern and Chatham have
adopted the system introduced some years ago with
much success by the Great Eastern Railway Company,
of conveying market garden and farm produce at low
rates between the various stations. The conditions
are (i) the produce shall be packed in boxes on sale
at the different stations, or similar ones ; (2) the
boxes shall be secured by nails and not by rope or
cord ; (3) the produce shall be conveyed at owner's
risk) and the carriage be prepaid, and (4) no box shall
be of greater weight than 6olb.

Provided these conditions are fulfilled the produce
will be conveyed at a reduced charge of 4d. for every
2olb, and id. for every additional 5lb. or any part
thereof up to 6olb, including delivery within the usual
limits from all stations. The boxes, which are
intended for use once only, to avoid expenses of

FOR PROFIT. 7

return conveyance as empties, are sold at the stations
at prices ranging from ijd. to 5d. The adoption of
this system should be of immense advantage to fruit
growers and consumers

HOME ORCHARDS.— Beyond culture for profit we
would strongly advocate that every farm house should
possess a selection of useful fruit trees for supplying
its own household, preferably a spot near the house
and in plantation rather than orchard form, when the
trees gain in size the surplus fruit would probably
pay for all expenses of culture and rent. — (See diagram
in Chapter III. on " setting out.")

A WORD FOR BEGINNERS. — It frequently happens
that those about to begin the culture of fruit are
confounded by the mass of information they collect,
and we would advise them to consult but one good
authority ', and act upon such advice ; and further, as a
plantation will not at once produce crops, any
information as to marketing, and places of disposal
need not be considered until required, as at starting
all energy is needed to ensure careful planting, and
keeping the land clean and in good working order;
but proximity to a railway is desirable, though many
Kent growers send five to seven miles to a station
daily.

Looked at socially, fruit growing is a very important
gain for the labouring classes. Girls and women do a
great portion of the picking, thus supplementing the
wages earned by the men and boys of a family.
Many widows with families thus keep themselves in
Kent, assisted by the hopping and the work among
the hops ; and except in wet weather, when of course
little can be picked, it is not laborious work, and is

8 FRUIT FARMING

much liked by the women, who for the most part are
paid by the day, or by the half-sieve or tally.

Another point is the winter work among plantations
and orchards. In Kent many persons go round and
prune trees by the " great " (or contract), such earn
good wages, thus giving an intelligent man an
advantage over less energetic labourers ; and the
digging, which is done per acre, enables a strong and
willing hand to earn more than ordinary pay; while
the winter packing is work for many, and where fruit
is stored, wet days can be utilised in looking it over.
Again, basket making can easily be learnt, and would
afford employment at their homes for old couples,
those who could not work otherwise ; in fact this might
be done at the workhouse; while osiers could be
grown on wet land that is now desolate. Where Cob
Nuts are cultivated there will annually be suckers or
wands which are suitable for basket-making, always
remembering to put by some of the best "wands" for
packing. Some markets prefer fruit packed in hundred-
weight barrels, and others in boxes — this is treated
further on. Fruit growing cannot fail in some degree
to check the exodus to our colonies of some of our
best farm workmen, and prove a boon to those who
find a large family a burden in this country.

It is further a matter of national importance to keep
the young men in the villages, to prevent that over-
crowding in the towns which has such a serious effect
on their physique, as the army returns show that the
best and hardiest soldiers and sailors are recruited
from country born lads.

In this book each kind of fruit is treated in a
separate chapter, and although more varieties might be

FOR PROFIT. 9

added, the grower for profit must confine himself to a
few recognised kinds. He can experiment in his private
garden, planting as many as he chooses, selecting those
that promise well, or which suit his soil and markets,
for further extensions. It is so frequently remarked
that we have " far too many kinds," that it need not
be enlarged upon here. The few mentioned in this
treatise are only a selection from 800 kinds cultivated
in the Maidstone nurseries. If any great breadth is
planted, a variety must be selected, otherwise the
crop cannot possibly be gathered (more especially in
the case of plums, which have a limited season) ; but
this has its advantages, the possessor of a mixed
orchard is rarely without fruit, and a great hit is
often made in this way. Recent observations prove
that it is necessary to intermix varieties to obtain
cross fertilization of the blossom, and to this fact may
be attributed the loss of crop where large quantities of
one kind are massed. In this case the evil may be
counteracted by grafting one tree in 20 with another
variety which blossoms at the same period. In new
plantations not more than three rows of one variety
should be planted together. In our Allington nurseries
we rarely fail to get a general crop, because of the
great number of sorts grown. This fact of non-fertility
has been proved by large blocks of one variety being-
found to fruit only on the outsides, or where they
approach the proximity of a different sort. Each
select list is supplemented by extra kinds, while we
only recommend those within our knowledge, which
have been proved by us for years.

Further useful tabulated information is given in the
excellent fruit catalogues issued, and that sent out

10 FRUIT FARMING

by my firm is considered one of the best and most
reliable.*

When planters begin to see results, they should
avoid hastily heading down for re-grafting, or changing
sorts too often ; having done their best, they should
not make alterations on the basis of one or two years'
crops, but wait with faith and patience, gaining
experience over a series of years before destroying
any kind on a chance of bettering their selection.

The secret of success in fruit growing may be
summed up in a very few words : — " Grow few sorts ;
keep the trees well pruned, and thin the boughs ;
manure freely and intelligently ; and pack carefully."
These four axioms thoroughly carried out will in a
year or two more than double proceeds from Fruit
growing carried on in a slovenly manner.

GEORGE BUNYARD, V.M.H.

The Royal Nurseries,

Maidstoney September, 1911.

* Illustrated Catalogue of hardy Fruits, with descriptive notes, prices, and much
useful information, etc., post free, 6 stamps.

FOR PROFIT. I I

CHAPTER I.

SOIL — SITUATION — SHELTER.

SOIL. — Remarks on this must of necessity be general,
as the superficial geology of an acre is often of quite
opposite formations. If the soil is good all fruits will
succeed, though possibly some may do too well ; if
poor, it can be enriched ; if unsuitable for one crop,
it may do for another ; taking worst soil first, the
limestone or the chalk^ with only a surface layer of
mould above it. This is manifestly unsuitable for
Pears and Apples, Plums will succeed for a short time
only, Damsons will not thrive, and Cherries may do
for a time, the only crops that can be recommended
are Strawberries, Cob Nuts, and possibly Morella
Cherries on dwarf trees. If the loam on top be fairly
deep, Gooseberries and Currants may succeed, but
experiment in a small way before speculating. If the
chalk overlies gravel, planters will be pretty much in
the same state, but if the chalk is mixed on the
surface with deep brick earth, then Plums will come
in, and Cherries grow luxuriantly, but be careful with
Apples and Pears until proved. As a guide in selecting
a fruit site, give a look at neighbouring crops and to
trees in gardens, and take note of those that flourish.
In a surface gravel over sand there is a risk from
drought, possibly such land will be happy in a wet
time, but although some orchards on this formation
are known, it is not recommended. In sandy soil

12 FRUIT FARMING

where there is brick earth below or even a loamy
gravel, Red Currants will thrive, but will require
manuring frequently. Most of the land around Maid-
stone is on the lower greensand, and suitable for all
kinds of fruit ; Plums do well; Apples are good, but
the fruit is not so firm as from trees on heavier lands ;
all small fruits flourish ; while where the rock is very
near to the surface, Cob Nuts succeed admirably. The
flinty lands of East Kent, where the soil is rather
heavy, grow fine Cherries and Apples, but for general
fruit nothing can be better than the very deep brick
earth that is found in the valley from Chatham to
Canterbury, where Pears grow clear in the skin, and
take on a good colour, many kinds succeeding there
on open trees, which require a wall in colder soils.
AJ1 bush fruit is perhaps better grown in that district
than any other ; while the Cherries of Newington,
Sittingbourne, and Teynham are the finest in the
market, the trees attaining enormous dimensions
Leaving this fruitful part for the heavy lands in the
Weald of Kent, where there is a more or less loamy
soil resting on the clay, we find some of our finest
Apple orchards, the weight and colour of the fruit
being remarkable, while here and there Cherries
succeed admirably, and on the higher land Plums and
Damsons are well grown. Even where the soil is so
heavy, and the moisture so abundant that the trees
are mossy and unhealthy, the land being in grass,
regularly grazed with pigs or sheep, which are fed on
cake or fodder, very fine fruit is grown, and much
more might be done by thinning the boughs, and
clearing the trees from moss. The stone shattery
land in the neighbourhood of Orpington, and the

FOR PROFIT. 13

Grays, where it overlays and mixes with the gravel,
is remarkably suitable for Pears, Apples, Plums,
Raspberries, Currants, Gooseberries and Strawberries.
Land that is wet, but is not flooded, will grow Black
Currants, but other fruits are not at home in such
places. Land with an inclination to the south-west,
or west, is preferred. The Boughton, Linton, Chart,
and Sutton Hills are clothed with fruit, and are
among our best Kent plantations, while the wet land
about Mereworth is well fitted for Cob Nuts and Apples,
and the drier portions for Plums. This fact thus
stares us in the face — that with care and proper
drainage fruit can be grown, and in many cases well
grown, in soils that a casual examination would
condemn ; and as fruit succeeds in gardens while it
fails in the orchards in the same soils, it appears in
many cases to be only a matter of cultivation. It is
certain that very much poor agricultural land will
grow good fruit (excepting uplands and poor pastures)
which could be brought round into fruit culture at a
great expense. A proof of cultivation making fruit
succeed in unlikely situations is often seen in Kent,
where poor thin woodland is brought into cultivation.
The Allington nurseries of my firm were all very poor
woodland, and yet the soil there produces the very
best of trees, and prize fruit. When orchards are
started among hops, careful cultivation makes such
land very suitable for fruit, where in time the hops
are grubbed and the land laid to grass. It has been
noticed that where Elm trees and nettles succeed
orchard fruit flourishes. Although we have only
alluded to the Kent soils, our remarks are applicable
to all parts of Britain, where similar condition^ prevail ;

14 FRUIT FARMING

our intention is to give planters hints as to the kinds
of fruit likely to suit their soils.

SITUATION. — Avoid planting in land unduly exposed
to north, east or west winds, unless shelter belts are
intended to be planted. Soil that is naturally drained
is even preferable to land that requires artificial
drainage. Avoid planting close to a river, stream or
lake, although fruit is seen frequently doing well in
such places, Apples even hanging over the water ; but
evening mists, rising from damp places, fall on the
blossom, which being frozen early in the morning by
spring frosts, produce fatal results. Bush fruits and
Strawberries do not need shelter so much as orchard
fruits.

Where prevailing winds are from the plantation to
the water, such orchards may escape ; but if you desire
to plant, let there be a belt of alder, ash or willow,
to separate fruit trees from the water. A little further
away, Cherries, Pears and Apples will succeed, as
there is generally a fine deep loam in such situations,
and trees grow to a great size. Again, bleak hills
and uplands are to be avoided, although the southern
side may be tried, and in Kent there are some fine
plantations of Cob Nuts, Damsons, and under fruit, in
such unlikely places, which give good returns as the
rent is low, but strong manure must be freely
supplied.

The writer has been particularly interested in the
fine examples of Apples received from Armagh in
Ireland, from Cornwall and other outside quarters,
proving that many more centres of production could
be utilized. The red lands of Hereford and Worcester
produce fine fruit. In wind swept counties the valleys
are often very productive.

FOR PROFIT. 15

Of the importance of shelter too much cannot be
said. Existing hedges should be allowed to grow up
to 10 feet, and if necessary, some quickly growing
trees, as Huntingdon Elm, Poplar, or Beech, with
Larch, and Scotch Fir, should be planted a few years
before the fruit is started. A big orchard can take
care of itself, and the hedges may be lowered when
the young trees get up. It is now the fashion, and a
good one, to plant bush and Czar Plums, Damsons,
Capiaumont or Chalk Pears, with the upright growing
Mayduke Cherries, round the outsides of newly made
orchards and plantations ; these break the force of
winds and screen the other trees, and they often fruit
heavily, and thus give a profitable return.

1 6 FRUIT FARMING

CHAPTER II.

CULTIVATION— MAN URE.

PREPARATION OF LAND.— A point that must be well
considered is the thorough working and preparing the
soil before planting, not trusting to after cultivation
when the trees are planted ; it is infinitely easier and
cheaper to cultivate open land than to do so after the
trees are set. Manure heavily for Strawberries and
bush fruits ; steam cultivate or double-plough ordinary
soil, but trench stony ground thoroughly 2 feet deep;
the stone found in trenching will partly pay for
labour. With a clay subsoil it is not advisable to
trench, the trees are better fed by manure on the
surface.

ORCHARDS. — TREES ON GRASS.— Starting a fresh
orchard, to be in time laid to grass. In Kent this is
generally done among hops, but if it is intended to
plant an arable field, let the trees be put in at regular
distances, that the ground may be afterwards worked
in the usual way with horses and ploughs, such an
orchard can be cropped between the trees with potatoes,
mangold, turnips, or any crop except corn. In plant-
ing trees on grass, holes should be dug ijft. or 2ft.
deep and 3ft. over. (See also chapter on planting).

No fruit orchards in grass should be left for hay,
the growth of tall grass is very detrimental to newly
planted trees ; always take care to give young standard
trees a 6ft. circle round the stems, free from crop or
weeds, this space must be kept clean and be regularly

FOR PROFIT. 17

hoed for six years. If an orchard is of Cherries you
must not get too close with the plough after the second
year, as they root on the surface ; but with Apples,
Plums and Pears you can continue horse work for
some years, until the trees are of sufficient size and
girth to be safe from attacks by sheep, when the land
may be laid to permanent pasture, either by sowing
in September or April, having previously made a good
friable surface. Leaving out for the present the method
of putting a cradle to each tree, which can be done
afterwards if the land is wanted for a sheep and cattle
run, the tree stems can be protected by a few boughs,
or better, by an inch-mesh wire netting, which should
be firmly attached to two stakes so that the animals
cannot move it when rubbing themselves. In Kent
we use the blackthorn or whitethorn bushes, which
we obtain when cutting underwood ; but even then
sheep will be tiresome and apt to bark the trees when
keep is low ; they must always be watched. Horses
or adult cattle should not be turned in, as they do
great damage to young orchards. (See Protection).

FRUIT PLANTATIONS. — The cultivation here differs
from orchards. These must be dug annually before
Christmas, and require the first prong hoeing in
March, and further plate hoeing afterwards once or
twice in summer to keep down weeds. There is no
objection to horse or donkey work here with a small
and light "nidget" or "Planet junior'' machine on
the surface; but all digging should be completed before
February. It may happen that land which is dug
before Christmas will produce a crop of chickweed or
summer weeds quite early in spring, this is an
indication of good land, and it may be advisable to

1 8 FRUIT FARMING

defer the digging till February, but it is of great
benefit to have plantations roughly dug in time for
the winter frosts and snow to mellow the surface. In
all cases digging should be performed with a spud, as
it is important not to sever or injure the surface roots,
and therefore the digging must not be too close to
the trees or bushes, any weeds there can be skimmed
oif and be put underground.

HOEING. — The hoe is a far more important factor in
fruit cultivation than is generally supposed. Many
successful growers on light soils are discarding deep
winter or spring digging with a heavy spud, for
exclusive cultivation with the hoe. It is an acknow-
ledged fact that the surface roots of a tree gain
through hoe cultivation fuller advantage from stimulant
manure and greater benefit from sunshine warmth,
and thus become more fruitful.

In dry times, too, it is absolutely necessary to keep
a fine surface tilth, as this alone will prevent evaporation
and consequent harm from excessive drought. It
becomes more manifest that surface cultivation, often
repeated, is a dependable sheet anchor for the fruit
grower, and that it will carry him through dry seasons
and bad weather better than anything else. This is
fully recognised and energetically practised by the
most successful growers.

MANURE. — Orchard standards do not require any
manure if the trees grow kindly and start regularly.
If however they cease to make new growth, or the
foliage is pale and unhealthy, a surfacing of half-
rotten stable or cow dung round the stem will be
required, say 6ft. wide, which should be applied in
December and be turned in just under the surface (if

FOR PROFIT. 19

arable) in February, or be left upon the surface if the
trees are in grass. In plantations the rule is to manure
once in two or three years as requisite; some plantations
may not require it for years, others where the soil is
naturally poor for fruit trees and bushes, can be
advantageously dressed yearly, the manure being
placed on the land in winter, being dug in at once
before its virtue is lost. In certain cases it is
preferable to dig early, laying manure on the surface
afterwards, as in light soils, with a wet winter, much
of the nutriment from farm manure may be lost.
This of course does not apply to shoddy, wool waste,
rags, fur clips, etc., which are valuable stimulants for
the purpose but decompose less rapidly. The advantage
of these portable manures is the readiness with which
they can be placed on the land ; being in bags, one
can be dropped here and there, to be opened and
spread out before the diggers. Other manures used
are sprats from the coast, London dung, road scrapings*
and parings, the latter, when mixened with farm yard
manure and sweetened with lime, is very useful ; 20
to 30 tons per acre is a good dressing for bush fruits.
The quantity of artificial manures used varies from
one to two tons of the lighter kinds to the acre ;
sprats and powerful artificial manures, 5 to 10 cwt.
It is sound policy to arrange the plantation so that
each quarter may in turn have a share, thus spreading
the cost over a number of years. Where the farm is
in the neighbourhood of rivers, cheap freights of dung
can sometimes be secured from the cities and towns,
which can be stored for use, but it is better to purchase
it so that it can be used at once. No doubt, on

Road scrapings must not be used where the roads are tarred.

20 FRUIT FARMING

heavily cropped trees, liquid manure proves very
advantageous, but it is difficult of application except
in orchards ; where however it can be arranged, it is
doubly beneficial, applied in a wet time in the winter.
In old. orchards, well fed pigs, or sheep and lambs fed
with oil cake upon the land, are a great stimulant to
free growth, and consequently good fruit.

OLD ORCHARDS.— After the trees have been cleared
of inside spray branches, the trees benefit greatly by
a winter dressing of manure round each tree ; but
this must be placed at least 3ft. from the stem, and
extend 6ft. further out in order to come in contact
with the feeding roots. The manure may be from the
stable yard, or, on light lands, Kainit ; on clay soils,
soot and guano.

A great help towards success in raising young trees
is to impart all the vigour possible during the months
of May and June, thus securing strong wood to
become fully grown and ripened by the autumn. To
attain this end, manure should be applied not later
than December. It then has time to get thoroughly
into the soil, and is available for the young roots to
draw on when starting into spring growth; at the
same time, strong manure should not come in direct
contact with the roots, but filter to them through the
natural soil.

Here we must add a word of caution to those who
have the opportunity of using a large quantity of
manure when starting a plantation. Having been
frequently called in to see trees which had started
exceedingly well, and then collapsed, we traced the
failure entirely to the too free use of stimulants, which,
acting on the roots, forced the tree into an over

FOR PROFIT. 21

luxuriant growth, and such wood had become frozen,
being unripe when winter sets in (especially Plums
and certain sorts of Apples), and bough after bough
has died off, and canker induced.

This is only too apparent when a severe October frost
follows a wet u growing" summer. Plum plantations
after being attacked by caterpillar, make a late
autumnal growth, which suifers severely. In Apples
the same thing takes place, mildew also sets in, and
following the leaf-stalk to the eyes of the shoots,
forms canker, which eats into the boughs, and in a
few years changes a thriving plantation into a miserable
lot of cripples which cannot recover. The better plan
is first to see how trees succeed without manure, which,
on a moderately rich soil or old pasture, they may do
for years, such growth will be well matured and able
to resist our inclement winters, unripened wood being
the cause of so many trees missing a crop. Even if
they blossom in profusion the vital organs of the
flowers are not in a perfect state ; and especially with
Plums, some years may elapse before the trees become
fertile. When a plantation shows signs of weakness
in the pale colour of its foliage, or the stunted growth
of the season, apply a liberal dressing ; but even then,
except in plantations where a top and bottom crop is
gathered, do not use too strong manure. Where
Apple or Pear trees carry heavy crops it may be put
on the surface in June or July, and the rain will
carry it to the roots and perfect the crop, besides
assisting the tree to fruit the next season.

STRAWBERRIES.— Immediately the fruit is gathered,
the space between the rows must be horse hoed or
ploughed, to prevent the runners from striking. If

22 FRUIT FARMING

they are plentiful, it will be necessary to remove them
with a small sickle ; remove also any old or decayed
foliage, the object being to develop strong young
leaves. If it is convenient, manure may then be got
on, but it is better placed in September or October,
or in fact any time up till March. If the soil is wet,
the rows are struck between with the plough, leaving
an open furrow, which raises the crowns safely out
of the risk of frost or water-logging. Established
Strawberries should be kept clear of weeds, and be
hoed once before they come to bloom ; and if they
cannot be conveniently horse hoed, hand hoeing will
answer the purpose equally well. They should be
mulched early in May with short barley straw, i.e.,
supposing they have not been mulched with long
manure in spring; if that has been done, the virtue
will have washed in, and the straw remaining on the
surface will keep the fruit clean.

GOOSEBERRIES AND CURRANTS.— These should be
manured as soon as the trees are winter pruned, and
where good well made dung is not available, artificial
manures are valuable, changing the kinds used year
by year. Fish guano may be used, as well as the
stimulants before named. Some growers even mulch
the bushes with stable dung after the first picking
of green berries. This improves the quality of later
green pickings, and gives greater size to the ripe
berries.

FOR PROFIT. 23

CHAPTER III.

SETTING OUT AND PLANTING.— PRACTICAL HINTS ON
PLANTING, ETC.

The following four half-acre plans, will show at a
glance the best methods of " setting out," so arranged
that pony or horse-hoes can be used the greatest
length to save hand labour in hoeing.

No. i is a plantation of " top " standard or half-
standard trees with Currants or Gooseberries beneath
at 5 feet apart ; on rich land it would be better to
place them 6 feet apart.

No. 2 is a Cherry orchard, which, to produce an
early return, is usually 4< middled " with Plums or the
weaker growing Apples ; generally, by the time the
Cherries are sufficiently grown, the supplementary
trees have paid their way, and may be removed with
advantage— leaving the entire orchard in Cherries.

No. 3 is the most profitable form of plantation.
The bush or pyramid trees being on the paradise
stock for Apples, or on quince for Pears — with
Gooseberries or Currants between — the latter to be
ultimately removed when the bush trees require the
room. A growth of this description must be wired
all round the hedges and gates, to keep out hares
and rabbits.

No. 4 is a typical home orchard, for the supply of
a family.

PLAN No. 1.

vi,''Vr

4 • T w

•y . , 'tof . ' .
•T- „ • ,'T- . -.

* °> xU/' *

* v y &

to V* I Of

TV <»

• . • . *

W» "tv ^

90 » W// <V

* * „ * T * *

PLANTATION. — Standards or Half-Standards at 15ft. ;
Bushes at 5ft. apart.

193 Trees and about 1300 Bushes per acre.

PLAN No. 2.

(W

t

f

r

t

T
t

t
t .r

t t

t T

t. t

sip

t

t

t

tr ^
lk«> USD

t t t t t t t

ORCHARD.

Cherries 30ft. apart, with Plums or Apples between.
48 Cherries and 134 Pluuis per acre.

26

PLAN No. 3.

"v W

4» ^ .41*

yj,

PLANTATION.

Pyramid or Bush Apples 12ft. apart, with Soft Fruit at 6ft.
300 Bush Trees and 820 Currants, etc., per acre.

PLAN No. 4.

.8* > u

\V »
»/ Ib

»;

V)

<u; v UD w

*i • •

W 1 I W> «/

T ' ! T * ! T s : f s
t • I { * * * « *

u> •» • * ly »

w vi f ;

T' * ~ M "" ; \\i// * *

ir ii/

*» V I il/ V I IB *

9 ™

v I A • : w :

5 5 1 ; ; T ;

:il V V W 1i «i/

tjj ly ty if 'i/ "» vi)
'8 ; ^ iv .» v^ il/
{ v T itf " T i

w * I X f w "y u' ii'

w w «* ,|/ll » ![ V/ * » "' \l/
' V u ' v « * '[' ii/
«"/ ^' <u, if vW^/ ^ N' \U// * * W 0

*.,u. -, ,„, .u, „„ I (o; I y ! * " * * ? ?, *

^v^"- - ^ iu; »^ u/> « ^ I i 4^' 5 J^*
* » r T * T * * i •* T "

Vt' c I ui> <u/ ,u/ <M/ (U/ " it ^ ''/ w n/ •/ vj|

•i!^ w «tf «P ^ w 0 u^ V v; J f ii/ Hi

itM* «^/ -. *^ . JvS^ ; ; 4^ I

t •] (// / W » ftf

ul » I Q> tt» I u; w I uy ni'

" ? w i !!/ * * " * ll>

*^ - *\M » ~ty <» ! ^ ; ; ^ *

iiT ^ ov 1 ^ ^ ) w j I • « I X

. J V 4 » J *

iU w -^^ ^^1 i' ¥ I I k> 'I

* *i U/ I Jl u/ I ^V

*; w *" °* " * * ^ J J

*"""T::T:!r!lt!:f:

VI J » >/ « « * Ij *
w tn w w to | 1 ^ ^ * if "' ^

^ - - ^ w I ty I i ty l * ^ !,';
T « v f .. i i i » « ; I vi

*)r

HOME PLANTATION. — Standard Apples or Plums 18ft., with Bushes,

or Raspberries and Strawberries between.

13'J Standard Trees and about 200 Gooseberries, 2000 Strawberries, and
500 Raspberries per acre.

28 FRUIT FARMING

Care of Trees received in frost. — Should any trees
ordered come to hand during frost or snow, they may
(without unpacking-) be placed in a warm cellar or
frost-proof house till the return of suitable weather
for planting, and will then take no harm. Trees
should not be allowed to have their roots dried by
the wind or sun during the planting. In planting,
the small fibres should be well spread out, and the
coarse roots be slightly shortened with a sharp knife,
and any roots injured in lifting should be cut away,
by holding the root in the left hand, and making a
clean cut from the underside. In rich soil, no manure
need be put in contact with the roots at planting
time, but a thin mulching on the surface (about 3~ft.
circle round the stem) will be very beneficial if applied
at planting time or in the spring. The root fibres
should be well enveloped in fine soil, and the tree be
staked at once for standard orchard trees. The soil
should be made quite firm in planting, but the
surface should be of loose soil. Two upright stakes
are preferable to a single one, or three may be placed
at an angle. These stakes should be of ash, chestnut,
oak, or bamboo. Never plant trees deeply, it is safer
to err at the other extreme. If the soil is wet, plant
on the surface, and make a mound over the roots of
the tree. Should the soil be poor; some well decayed
manure should be mixed with it at planting time.

To save expense, fruit trees are frequently planted
in holes, which of course is the only plan on grass,
but the cultivator would be amply repaid by having all
land intended for plantations either steam cultivated
or trenched. In the case of holes dug in a wet soil,
they become so many traps for the water ; and if the

FOR FKOFIT. 2g

soil is not particularly good the roots do not penetrate
beyond the original hole, and trees come to grief in a
few years. On light lands dig" out a round hole
3 feet over, and about i£ to 2 feet deep, break up
the bottom with a mattock, make a little mound in
the centre of the hole, then place the tree upon this ;
if the roots then reach beyond the circle, a cut with
the spade is made to receive them ; the tree is then
lifted out and the hole is then levelled to such
a height that when the tree is replaced (the mark
place where the stem has been on the ground level
before) is four inches below the level, then throw some
fine soil upon the roots ; the tree should then be
shaken up arid down to settle the soil round the
lower roots, the upper roots are then lifted by hand,
again spread out, more soil is added, the tree is again
slightly shaken, and the collar mark allowed to
remain two inches above the level, fine soil is shovelled
in, this should then be trodden down firmly,
beginning at the outside edge of the hole, and
finishing in the centre, using great care not to bruise?
the roots. The hole is then neatly filled in, and the
collar will generally be found a little above the level,
but after the winter settling this will not be noticed.
These remarks refer to standard, half-standard, arid
bush or pyramidal trees. In a few years this original
hole may be extended by digging round it, to assist
the trees to make fresh roots if they do not grow
satisfactorily. For Currants and other bush fruit so
much care is not required, but in no case should the
roots be deeply buried.

There are three ways of applying manure when
planting, two being wrong. The first and worst

30 FRUIT FARMING

method is to place it at the bottom of the hole.
This starts the trees into growth for a short time, but
as soon as the roots are through the layer of manure
and strike the subsoil, unhealthiness is bound to
set in. The second wrong way is to put too thick a
surface layer round the tree stem after planting. As
rains come, the action of water filtering through
manure, renders the land hard and unkindly, and if
left so it will in time become so caked as to throw
off the summer rains, leaving the young tree to perish
of drought. The right way is to almost finish plant-
ing without manure, leaving the hole wanting three
inches of soil to raise it to proper height ; then apply
two inches of well-rotted farmyard manure, covering
this with one inch of soil. In this way nutriment is
given gradually to the roots ; the natural moisture in
the soil is sufficient to allow the roots to benefit by
it, even in dry weather ; and instead of making the
surface hard and cakey, it renders it beautifully
friable, and will materially assist working the hoes to
keep down weeds in the following summer.

Bearing in mind that the surface fibres are those that
nourish fruit, it is advisable that these be encouraged.
The chief mischief accruing to young trees arises
from too deep planting, and striking of the larger
roots into a badly drained or unsuitable subsoil,
causing canker, and apparently healthy trees may die
back wholesale. In a mild winter the sap scarcely
leaves the tree, when the branches being charged
with moisture, a severe and sudden frost ruptures the
cellular tissue, and perhaps the damage is not seen
until some months after, when the points of the shoots
die back, and even main branches split ; such trees

FOR PROFIT. 31

then make a mass of small shoots from the main
branches, which should be thinned out in August, or
the result will be more disastrous. It is hoped that
we may not often experience a zero winter's tempera-
ture. It is not surprising that under such circumstances
fruit trees should suffer, when Poplars, Hazel, Elms,
and Chestnuts are crippled.

MARKET TREES REQUIRED PER ACRE.

1210 at 6-ft. apart, for Pyramid Pears on Quince stocks,

or Apples on Paradise stocks
(where the trees are to be thin-
ned to i2-ft. in a few years).

1742 ,, 5 -ft. ,, ,, Lancashire Lad Gooseberries.

1 2 10 ,, 6-ft. ,, ,, Gooseberries and Red Currants.
680 ,, 8-ft. ,, ,, Black Currants. Some growers

now plant on the six years'
system— 6-ft. between the rows
and 3 -ft. from tree to tree,
destroying the trees if they
take the " Big-bud " or become
unfruitful.

302 ,, i2-ft. ,, „ Permanent Bush or Pyramid

Trees and Cob Nuts.

193 „ i5-ft. ,, ,, Standard Plums, Damsons, May

Duke or Kentish Red Cherries.

132 ,, 1 8-ft. „ „ ditto.

108 ,, 20-ft. ,, ,, Apples, Pears, etc., as Standards.

75 ,, 24-ft. ,, ,, ditto, or the moderate growing
Cherries.

48 ,, 3o-ft. ,, ,, Strong growing Cherries, where
pastured underneath.

36 ,, 40-ft. ,, „ Strong Cherries, or the largest
spreading Apples.

Strawberries for market require (about) at i-ft. 43,000,
ij-ft. 19,350, 2-ft. 11,000 per acre. In the foot planting
the alternate plants are ploughed up the second and
third year, leaving the plantation 2-ft. apart each way.

32 FRUIT FARMING

In forming Orchards, the several distances that trees
are planted will be found in the foregoing table.
Orchards are best in square fields, as long narrow
plots of Cherries are difficult to tend to keep off
birds. If Cherries are selected, the distance being
great, the intermediate space may be filled either with
the early fruiting Apples and Pears of moderate or
upright growth, or Plums and Damsons, which can
be removed when the Cherries require the space.
Cherries are best on grass land. The same remark as
to distance holds good as regards the larger growing
Apples and Pears ; and there is one matter to which
particular attention is called, viz., the very different
rate at which trees progress. Unless this is borne in
mind at planting, some parts of the orchard will be
over-crowded, and others will be too thin, If an
entire Apple or Pear orchard is required, the rows
should be alternated. Some are widely spreading
trees, others take a conical form : thus, if a row of a
kind be planted, the orchard presents that even and
regular appearance which allows the sun full play.
To assist planters, the growth of each kind is stated
in the lists of varieties. Experience further teaches
us that large blocks of one kind do not fruit freely,
because cross fertilization with another kind is
absolutely essential to fertility.

Strawberries are planted with a dibble, a flat one
being preferable ; they must be well closed at the
base of the roots, or they are liable to be lifted by
frost. March is considered the best month to do the
work, but the plants must be ordered, as most growers
clean off their Strawberry lands and kill all the young
plants as soon as the fruit is gathered, and they may

FOR PROFIT. 33

not have plants left in March. The land used for
these must be cleaned, and heavily manured previously.
Care should in all cases be taken to plant the lines
straight, as it facilitates horse work.

Avoid contract planting, of which the following is a
sample : — We had to take in hand an orchard in East
Kent that had failed, and on removing the dead trees
we found that in order to make a sightly job, the
planter had sunk the tall trees deeply in the ground
to make the heads come level-, he literally dug graves
for them. The trees were a bad lot to start with,
being all heights and sizes. — Contract for holeing if
you wish, fixing the area and depth they are to be
made. As regards the time for planting : for all fruits
November is undoubtedly the best month, as there is
yet a little sap in the trees, which, on returning to
the roots, assists in giving the tree a start, and helps
to heal root wounds from lifting, the tree is thus placed
in the best possible position for success. On the other
hand, planting may be done all through the winter in
open weather, starting in November, and as late as
March, the main point being to secure the ground in
good working order ; and if much planting is to be
done, valuable time will be saved by having stakes,
yarns, hay bands, etc., ready for use. Soft fruits
(Currants, Gooseberries, etc.), may even be planted the
end of October, and it is surprising what roots these
mike before Christmas if they can be settled thus
early. For further particulars see Chapter IV.

D

34 FRUIT FARMING

CHAPTER IV.

PRUNING IN COMMERCIAL FRUIT CULTURE.

A Paper read at the Rochester Farmers' Club by
Air. George Bunyard, V.M.H. (revised).

The Object of Pruning. — This operation is designed
to assist nature in the production of superior fruit ;
which, by reducing the quantity of fruiting spurs and
excess branches, enables the tree to concentrate its
vital energy on a fewer number of buds, to their better
individual development. Further than this, a skilful
pruner leaves all fruit buds in the best possible position
to catch the sun and air, with a view of obtaining not
only increased size in the fruit, but to ensure that
high colour and perfect ripeness which such exposure
alone can produce. All growers know that fruit from
the inside of a tree is not so highly developed or
coloured as that from the outside. Thus a careful
man will operate with a view to create a natural
balance between roots and branch, so that each tree may
produce a yearly crop, and not, as when left unpruned,
a heavy crop in one year and none the next, because
the tree requires a year's rest to recover itself. A story
is told that the owner of a small garden had two
standard apples that produced a heavy crop every
other year, and my grandfather advised him to cut
oif the blossom from one at flowering time, after which
he had a crop every year. The exhaustion of a tree

FOR FROFIT. 35

by an overcrop is emphasized by the fact that most
early fruits (whether Apples, Pears, or Plums) are as
a rule more regular bearers than later kinds, because
the tree has time to recover its lost power between
the gathering of the crop and the fall of the leaf,
when nature's repose comes on. Evidently, therefore,
it is on these lines that rational pruning should be
done.

In dealing with this subject from a grower's point
of view, we are naturally at once met with the cost
of the operation, and it is here that we are at a
disadvantage compared with the cheap labour of the
Continent ; but I would suggest that growers should
teach their sons to look after this most interesting
operation, and I am sure they would enjoy it, as I did
looking after our orchard some years ago. . The next
point is: — How to go to work. I can remind you that,
in dealing with some fruits, growers are already on
the right track as cultivators, but I want to see the
system extended. Take, for example, your Red Currants
and Gooseberries after pruining ; a novice would at
once say you had ruined them entirely, whereas you
know by experience that your berries are twice as
large as when the trees are unpruned, and your
Currants, too, are larger in the berry and longer in
the bunch, while, in some cases, you summer-prune
as well, to let in the sun to ripen the wood. If this
pays in the case of the small soft fruits, it will also
pay in the case of the harder " top " fruit ; and you
all know too well that it is the best samples from
reputed growers which command the highest price ;
under-sized fruits and spotted samples really bring
down the value of an entire crop. In a warm summer

36 FRUIT FARMING

on trees or bushes thus treated, your fruit would be
super-excellent ; and in a wet or cold season, what
you produced would be much larger and clearer in the
skin than from neglected trees. Again, in the case of
Raspberries, you cut off 2 to 4 feet of the canes,
certainly to save staking on the one hand, but also
because you get much larger cones, and jam makers
do not like Raspberries that are all seeds, as they
must be if left uncut. In neglected gardens, Gooseberries
are not one-fourth the size of those from properly
pruned plantations. The most forcible example is that
of the Cob Nut as pruned in Kent. The tree appears
a miserable object after the cutter has done his work,
but as the result proves, a better crop and far larger
nuts are produced than on trees not pruned ; in fact,
if allowed to grow as they like the nuts are but a
trifle larger than those called Barcelona in the shops.

Again, why is wall fruit so much finer than that from
the open r Because such trees must be pruned to keep
them in position, and moreover, the spurs are always (in
properly cared-for gardens) thinned out and naturally
all face one way to catch the sun, and have the
additional benefit of the radiation of heat from the
wall to assist in the ripening of the wood.

Having given you, perhaps, too much theory, I will
now proceed to indicate how I would recommend the
pruning to be done on young trees, say standard and
half-standard Pears and Apples. In planting, all that
is necessary is to cut off any injured roots, and then
to shorten back slightly the lower anchor-like roots,
taking care to cut in closely the tap root, as well as
those that have a distinctly downward tendency, always
cutting from the under side. Pears have fewer roots

FOR PROFIT. 37

than Apples, and must not be cut so severely. The
tree should then have its head examined, the planter
holding it so that he can, as it were, look it in the
face on a line with the trunk. He will then see at a
glance if there are more shoots than are required to
form a symmetrical head, by preference he retains 3,
5, or 7 shoots, placed at equal distances, like the
spokes of a wheel. I mean if we get seven, so much
the better, but it is, for the purpose of foundation,
preferable to have even three at a regular distance
between each other, than to have four or five, the
balance of which is uneven. All surplus shoots must
be cut clean away, and the rest should not be cut or
tipped. After a summer's growth (in February by
preference, avoiding frosty weather), this head is to be
cut back rather severely, leaving, say five or six eyes
at the base, but cutting so that the end bud is left
pointing outwards at the extremity. From this cutting
several shoots will issue, and in July the pruner
should go over his trees and cut back (leaving only
one inch of wood) those that are in the middle of the
tree, preserving at their full length all those that form
a head like an inverted umbrella. The following
February these are again shortened ; but this time
allow about six inches of the new wood, and continue
the operation for a few years, leaving 9 to 12 inches
for extension ; the trees will begin to bear on the old
wood in the third year. Keep the centre of the trees
thinned out winter and summer, and do not allow too
many shoots to encumber the tree, but prune so that
all main branches hang free and do not cross each
other. Possibly, in a few more years, some branches
may be cut away with advantage, as there will be

38 FRUIT FARMING

stronger ones taking the lead, which, provided they are
in proper places, may be allowed to go ahead. I
consider this severe pruning necessary at first, because
some Apples and Pears, if left uncut, form a mass of
fruit buds, come into bearing, and never afterwards
get beyond a mop- sized head. Some plums have the
same tendency.

Siding. — Feathered trees and young half-standards
are greatly assisted in strength and vigour, if some of
the side shoots on the main stem are left on for a
few years.

Caution. — A word against the treatment generally
meted out to young trees, both bush fruits and
standards, in the matter of pruning. Given a tree of
say two or three years' growth that has made a good
start in life, your average cutter will prune it just the
same, that is to say he will cut rather more than
half the current year's shoots away for the first three
or four years of its existence. In this way the tree is
certainly kept healthy, but it practically does nothing
more than make wood, and far too much of that, so
year by year the cutter has more superflous wood to
take out, and this treatment forces the tree to make
renewed efforts at wood growing. If the young tree,
instead of being cut so hard— (the hard cutting is
necessary for two years, but no longer) — is allowed to
carry a much greater length of its year's growth, say
two-thirds in place of a quarter, it will at once
commence forming bloom-buds, and the year following
will probably bear a little fruit. At the same time, if
treated well in the matter of manure, it will also
make plenty of new growth to continue building up
the foundation of a good tree. The foregoing is what

FOR PROFIT. 3Q

one might describe as advice for general treatment,
but it must be remembered that no two varieties of
fruit have quite similar habits, and the grower must
exercise discretion to a great extent in their manage-
ment. For instance, Apples like Lane's Prince Albert,
Stirling Castle, etc., are such prolific croppers that
unless they are heavily pruned every year they make
no new wood growth. On the other hand Bramley's,
Newton Wonder, etc., make such vigorous shoots that
it is best, as soon as a tree has shaped out a little,
to cease cutting it altogether, merely regulating the
growth by removing superflous branches. The pruner
must himself learn to distinguish between sorts and
the treatment they require, for it is just the care
bestowed in matters of this kind that makes for
success.

With Plums (from the nature of their roots) if
planting is completed before Christmas, they may be
pruned the first season of planting, but if planted after
that time it is better to allow them to wait one year.
Their after attention is the same as that advised for
Pears and Apples, but as they grow more freely, they
need not be cut back so severely, as they form a head
rapidly.

In planting Cherries^ I strongly advise planters to
let them stand the first year without cutting at all,
excepting the roots, as advised for apples. In the
following February cut the heads back as required,
after which, the less " knifing " done on them the
better, merely removing the crossing boughs.

The management of Bush or Feathered Trees on the
Crab stock will be the same as advised for standards,
having regard to the form of tree desired, but as they

40 FRUIT FARMING

are more protected from the wind, and the crop can
be thinned, they may in pruning carry longer shoots
than standards. Apples upon the Paradise stock may
be cut back the first season if planted early. In all
cases prune the roots as advised on the previous
pages. Much controversy has arisen as to the wisdom
of pruning or not, the first year of planting, but I am
convinced that the system here advocated is the best
for orchard and plantation work, where every tree
cannot have that special attention which can be given
in a garden.

In Soft Fruits^ the prevailing custom of cutting them
hard the first year cannot be improved upon ; but in
case of late planting (say February or March) the
resulting shoots are so thin and sappy that it may be
best to let them stand a year to establish themselves
before pruning. It is most desirable that they should
be planted before December, as in that case the
rootlets push and get a firm hold of the soil before
winter sets in. In planting Raspberries for market,
they must be shortened, before planting, to about
2 feet.

Old Trees. — \ now come to a more important point
in pruning^ namely, that of old and neglected trees,
which are far too prevalent, and where faggots must
be taken out to make any impression on the mass of
useless wood they contain. In dealing with such
examples, one need be very careful, for it is well
known that where large boughs are sawn off, the
remaining end of the bough will sometimes rot away
and decay, and in that case the tree suffers loss by
heavy-laden boughs giving way at a weak spot. I am
of opinion that it would be well not to cut these so

FOR PROFIT. 41

close to the main stems and branches as is usually
done, but about 6 inches from the stem, and that after
the saw has been used, the surface should be planed
over and the edges be rounded and smoothed with a
knife, so that new bark can creep over and cover the
wound.

All Old Orchards have trees with holes in them — the
favourite nesting places of the starling and torn-tit.
The wood decays, and the woodpecker first starts the
aperture by searching for its food, and other birds
take the opportunity to nest where they can readily
make room in the soft spongy wood. All shoots sawn
off over half-an-inch across should be rounded in the
way indicated, and I strongly recommend that this
pruning should be done as soon as the fruit is gathered,
as the bark then makes some progress to cover the
wound the same season, and the air being dry, the
exposed wound hardens (so to speak heals) more than
in the winter ; and moreover, the shoots that are dead
and leafless can be detected much more readily than
when the leaf falls. I must repeat that all this severe
pruning should be done in the long days of summer
or autumn. Especially should all broken and split
boughs be removed from Plums where injured by
ladders or an over-crop.

I have heard of trees being severely injured by being
pruned in a heavy frost, when the men could not work
on the land, but I cannot say that it is always so.

In pruning these " old stagers," it is not advisable
to tip the branches, as the most lively wood, which
draws the sap up freely, is on the points, and they
nourish the tree.

42 FRUIT FARMING

The next point which I think worth a trial on a
large scale is the thinning of fruit spurs on old trees.
I submit a fruiting branch of the old Yorkshire Apple,
the " Cockpit " (a free bearer, but too small for profit
here). When these trees bear, I have half the fruit
taken off, but although that makes the fruit finer I
am now thinning the spurs so that they may be larger
still, and I am persuaded that if half the spurs were
taken from our old orchard trees, which is easy work
with a tool like the one I am using (see page 46), we
should get much finer fruit, and these spurs if cut
about an inch from the stem, would in some cases
throw out other spurs, which in time would enable us
to prune out those left in the former cutting, and thus
we should have perpetual youth on the head of an
ancient body. Pears are most profuse in the way they
spur, and some kinds bear so freely that they are not
inaptly said to crop "like ropes of onions." In the
case of Plums it is the same. The " Diamond " would
bear more freely if half its spurs were taken out ; and
the " Victoria," under this treatment, would not be so
liable to break as it does from carrying such heavy
crops. "Jefferson" again is a mass of spurs; in fact,
even in winter, an expert can tell the names of
leafless trees by the form of the spurs, and the way
they set on the branches.

In removing what I may term surplus spurs, those
found on the undersides of the branches are of little
value ; and if I say, negatively, that the pruner should
retain all spurs in the best positions, and remove the
rest, you will get an idea how to work. The Crittenden
or Cluster Damson is one which makes a mass of
thorny spurs; these require thinning, as, if left too

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thickly on the boughs, the fruit is very small, and you
will have noticed that trees from suckers are much
more inclined to thorn than those budded, which take
more of the Plum nature, and they are much more
liable to Aphis blight when the heads are crowded.
The King Pippin and Manx Codlin Apples, for
example, are very fruitful trees, and I know that those
who prune them on the spur system, and shorten all
the young growths, defy the inevitable canker which
affects these sorts. These closely pruned trees grow
marvellous fruit, which sells at a price that pays for
extra labour expended.

I can scarcely leave the subject of pruning without
reference to the Kentish Cob Nut, which requires
more pruning than any other fruit. Our Kent men
use Say nor' s Sheath Knives, No. 185, for this work.

When received from the growers, Cob trees have a
small head upon a steim of 12 to 15 inches, this stem
is intentional, so that the ground beneath the bush
may be the more readily kept free from weeds and be
dug. They are planted as received, and must be
allowed to grow for one year, when they should be
cut hard in, to make them throw out vigorous shoots
from the base of the head to form the future tree ;
this is done by annually cutting, so that the next
terminal shoot is made from an under bud, which in
course of time makes a tree formed like a washing
basin. I note the best shaped trees have started with
six to be doubled to twelve main branches, from these
a set of spurs or shoots are given off, on which the
nuts are produced, and the trees should be so managed,
that at the end of 100 years old they should be 15 or
20 feet across the top, but not higher than 5^ feet

44 FRUIT FARMING

from the ground. From the central portion of the
main boughs a number of strong yearling shoots will
be given off, which in Kent are called " wands."
These are taken out in September, or partially so, for
packing the autumn fruit, and in winter the rest are
broken out, and either sold for flower sticks or basket
making, or reserved to pack soft fruit the next season.
The male or catkin blossoms are produced in February
and March most freely at the upper part of the trees,
and should be allowed to remain long enough before
pruning to fertilize the minute red pistillate or female
flowers, which are produced on the smaller boughs ;
should the weather be very still and warm it would
pay to tap the boughs with a stick, to make the
pollen fly. In the winter pruning, the spurs are
thinned; old wood is removed and the stronger growths
shortened and thinned, leaving the trees regularly
balanced on all sides, and with free play for the air
and sun among the branches, remembering that the
foliage is large on pruned trees. If time permits
in July and August, it is a great help to the strength
of the tree to break the stronger shoots off the upper
boughs with the finger and thumb (a sharp twist
being all that is required), this plumps up the buds
below the fracture, assists in ripening up the wood ;
this is found better than cutting, as the broken
surface allows some sap to exude, which prevents the
formation of a secondary growth, which would weaken
the bush and be of no value to produce nuts. In
winter pruning these broken ends are smoothly severed
with a sharp knife. A careful pruner will proceed so
that there is always abundance of fresh young wood
in his Cobs, and when a twig shows signs of age, he

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45

prunes so that a fresh young one shall succeed it in
the next year's cutting, so that worn out twigs are
never seen in ancient trees. Suckers from the roots
should be hoed off in growth or in winter be severed
with a sharp spade, and if well rooted some may be
reserved to make future plants.

Some fair nuts are produced on trees 10 to 12 feet
high, which have their spurs shortened in the same
way as Espalier Apples, gaining a few inches of upward
extension yearly at the top. It is worth consideration
whether existing copses and covers could not advan-
tageously be planted with these Nuts. The trees over
head need not be removed ; as in Kent, Apples, Pears
and Plums frequently form a dense cover over Cob
Nuts, and yet they produce, but naturally not so freely
as those in more open quarters. A Photograph of a
Kent Cob Nut 8 years old, summer and winter

Winter£aspect of Cob Nut before Pruning.

46 FRUIT FARMING

pruned, will give an idea of form, etc. In this example
the longer top shoots will require pruning back to
four eyes, and the side spray on the branches should
be thinned where too thickly placed.

Further information bearing on these subjects is given
under the heading of planting, and in the chapters on
the several fruits. For digging, Parkes' 4 and 5 prong
cast -steel forks for light land, and spuds of 3 prongs
for heavy work, are used ; the latter, as sold by
ironmongers, are not well made, the local blacksmiths
generally turn them out stronger.

In Continental works on fruit culture much
stress is laid on the tools used, and I have
brought up a lew which we find useful as
labour -savers, and they are so simple that
they explain themselves.

1. Coppin's tree pruner, avoiding the use
of ladders in young trees ; made from 6 to
10 feet long. — (See advertisement).

2. American lightning saw, with teeth on
both sides, very easy and rapid in its work ;
capital for green wood.

3. Aubert's secateurs. — See illustration. The
best make. No springs to get out of order.

4. Samples of Saynor's clasp knives, Nos.
189, JQO, and sheath knives, 185.

RED CURRANTS are greatly improved by summer
pruning in August, shortening the small inner shoots,
and leaving two or three the full length at the end of
each bough to take away the sap. They then form a
mass of fruit buds, and the fruit hangs as thickly as
possible. The winter pruning here being merely to
shorten the long shoots (left from the summer) to three

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or four inches, or less if the tree has gained its full
size, care being taken to get the boughs well above
the ground to prevent the fruit being spoiled by the
soil washed in the rains.

BLACK CURRANTS require to be heavily pruned,
and the work should be so arranged that old wood is
cut away every year, as, if allowed to grow tall, the
crop being mostly on the points of the shoots, causes
the branches to break off, whereas if the trees are
kept low in the way indicated, there is always young
wood, and the only care required is to thin this out,
removing weakly and ill-placed shoots, retaining the
strongest and best — those with prominent buds. Black
Currants are best cut back to four eyes the first year
of planting, and Red Currants the same.

GOOSEBERRIES should be pruned hard for a year or
two. If allowed to bear too freely when young, the
bushes become stunted and checked, and do not recover
for a time. If planted early, they may be cut back
before planting, and are then easier to set. The
object in pruning Gooseberries is to raise the main
branches off the ground, otherwise the fruit gets dirty,
and to cut in such a way that the tree forms some
stout young wood every year ; preference being given
to those shoots that stand up with an outward bend.
The fruit of recently planted trees would be better
gathered green the first year, as the tree has then a
chance to recover itself the same season. Gooseberries
are usually grown on a leg (a stem of 6 to 8 inches),
as the land can be more readily cleaned, and it keeps
the fruit from the soil, but some planters prefer them
without a leg, as there is then a chance of re-making
a tree if branches are broken off; especially the
Lancashire Lad variety.

48 FRUIT FARMING

RASPBERRIES are generally too little pruned ; the
forests of cane which the best grounds produce would
pay for thinning as soon as the crop is gathered ; and
at the same time the old canes that have fruited
should be removed, to assist those that are to crop the
following year, and in February or earlier, the canes
should be shortened to about 4 feet long, according
to the strength of the cane, the object being to leave
as much as the cane can support without assistance,
as they are not staked in fields. Some growers gather
the shoots at the top with yarn, which prevents the
canes bearing down under the weight of foliage and
fruit, which may happen in showery weather. Where
Raspberries are grown for sale in punnets, it pays to
leave the canes longer, and arch them over, tying
them in a continuous line. One grower states that by
tipping back the points of the summer growth on
young canes in August, he increased his crop to three
tons per acre. The land should be cleaned as directed
for Strawberries.

Early in August, Apple trees, especially those from
five to ten years old, will pay well for attention. The
Americans understand a good many of these matters
quite as well as we do, and they always have their
trees thinned out in August or immediately after the
fruit is picked ; this system is strongly advocated and
practised in the Allington Nurseries of my firm. The
correct plan is to thin out the superfluous central
wood so as to admit all the light and air possible to
ripen the main branches. If pruned too early in the
year, the trees make a second shoot, which does harm.
The month of August is the best time for this
" summer pruning." It is immaterial whether the fruit

FOR PROFIT. 4Q

is picked or not, only it is an awkward job if the tree
is heavily laden. Only those shoots should be cut
away that would have to be removed in winter
pruning, and the pruner should leave shoots with
three or four leaves on the pruned shoots next the
main branch. This makes a small spur that will in
all probability throw one or two bloom buds in future.
The leading shoots should be left their full length,
but if very long they can have i to ij feet cut off
their ends. Trees that are planted in hops benefit
very much from this treatment. The shade of the
hops, and generally too rank a growth, tend to develop
an abundance of long sappy wood, which left to itself,
cannot ripen sufficiently to withstand frost. If, after
thinning, the remaining shoots look too weak and
bending, it is a good plan to cut 9 inches off their
ends in a fortnight's time, just before the hops are
picked. This prevents them from being damaged by
sudden exposure to the wind.

The most useful work on Pruning we know is
Udale's (see literature page end of book). It is nicely
illustrated and gives careful instructions.

E

50 FRUIT FARMING

Extract from " The Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society,"
March, 1910.

THE PHYSIOLOGY OP PRUNING, by my son,
E. A. BUNYARD, F.R.H.S.

" To students in this case I would recommend a study
of plant physiology or plant functions as the only sure
basis upon which a knowledge of correct pruning
can be founded. A short consideration of the vital
processes of plants will, I think, demonstrate how
much the pruner may learn from the physiologist. . . .
Then follows a lucid explanation of the functions of
sap, leaves and roots, and their elaboration— which
are too long to include here.

We may now consider how this supply of sugar and
starch in the sap is drawn upon for the nourishment
of fresh growths. The most convenient example ot
this is the development of the bud. The buds are
developed in the axils of the leaves, and an examination
of a strong shoot in winter will reveal a certain
difference between the buds situated on different parts
-ef the shoot. The buds at the base will be seen to
be very small, while those midway up the shoot are
conspicuous and are covered with a downy felt. The
latter are fruit buds. Higher up the shoot the buds
again decrease in size, except perhaps the terminal
bud of the shoot, which may be a fruit bud again.
The shoot can therefore be divided into three dintinct
parts : dormant buds at base, fruit buds at the centre,
and above ihese the wood buds, viz., those which will
produce only fresh branches and no fruit. It may be
asked : What is the cause of the difference of these
buds ? It is entirely a question of development.

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Given a sufficient food-supply all buds will develop
into fruit buds, but a deficiency results in either
dormant or growth buds only. Bearing" in mind what
has been said about the importance of light, it will
be seen that this factor alone will account for the
whole difference of the buds shown on the shoot.
The dormant buds at the base were nourished by
leaves which were to a certain extent shaded by those
above and therefore not so capable of forming food-
products. The leaves above these are the most
favourably situated and are produced at a period of
maximum sunshine (midsummer), and their activity is
therefore the greatest. The leaves higher still are
borne on the second or autumn growth, during
which weather conditions are not so favourable and
consequently only wood buds are produced. The leaves
at the extreme end of the shoot are, however, in an
excellent position and, moreover, are in a rosette,
which results in many leaves supplying* all their food
to one bud, and the result is frequently a terminal
fruit bud.

In varieties of great vigour and with a large leaf-
surface the activity of one season is often sufficient to
produce a fruit bud when it is very favourably placed.
The formation of fruit buds and spurs in varieties of
less vigour and of buds less well situated as to light
and air is a matter of two seasons. Let us assume
that the shoot above referred to is unpruned, and
follow the development of the different buds the
following season. The dormant buds at the base of
the shoot will remain unaltered. The fruit buds will
produce their blossoms and a supply of leaves which
will feed the ensuing fruit. The wood buds above

52 FRUIT FARMING

these, however, may take one of two courses. If the
supply of sap be plentiful they will develop into
moderate shoots. If, on the other hand, the supply
be inadequate, each bud will produce a rosette of five
leaves which will nourish a fruit bud in their midst
exactly as did the terminal bud of last season, and
this bud will of course produce fruit the next season.

If pruning is done in the winter, the results of
cutting to the different buds will naturally vary greatly.
When the shoot is cut down to the dormant buds at
the base the result is that the roots being capable of
supplying the entire shoot with sap will concentrate
on one or two buds the amount intended for the whole
shoot. These buds, thus stimulated, will commence
a very strong growth, and this is of course the reason
that hard pruning encourages strong growth.

If the branch is cut down to a fruit bud the result
will be that these will develop into spurs, a develop-
ment which we will briefly consider. A spur is a
dwarf branch. If we imagine that the spaces between
the leaves on a normal shoot were elastic and that it
were possible to extend or close the shoot like a
telescope, we shall see how this applies. When
extended on the branch, the leaves are, let us say,
one inch apart. When we push in the branch the
leaves will naturally be quite close together and have
an appearance exactly similar to that of a spur, the
terminal fruit bud having its rosette of leaves. The
spur is then an unextended branch, and the rugged
appearance of its bark is merely due to the leaf scars
being quite close together. Each of these leaves will
produce in their axils a small bud which will, according
to circumstances, remain dormant, or in time develop

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into another spur exactly as on the extended branch
considered above.

We may now briefly refer to the case of the shoot
should the tree be moved. This means in effect that
the roots will be damaged, that new roots will have
to be made from the foodstuffs stored in the stem and
coarse roots. But this is a slow process, and until
the old root system is entirely replaced it means that
the branches will have to go short of their usual
supply of sap. The effect upon them will be marked.
No strong growth will be made, and even if cut back
to the dormant bud a weak shoot only will result.
If the branch is unpruned the shoots will put forth
their flowers, but lacking sufficient sap, fruit will
probably not set, and if it does there will be a lack
of nourishment and consequently small, undersized
fruit. The leaves will be small for the same reason,
and the result will be that the supply of food material
that is made — not being used up in the production of
growth, will all be used in making fruit buds.

Thus we see how it is that root-pruning will throw
a tree into fruit by allowing the elaborated (organic)
sap to predominate over the crude (inorganic). This
puts the whole question of fruitfulness into a nutshell.
Predominance of root sap means growth ; predominance
of leaf sap, fruit.

This is illustrated in another way. It is often said
that canker causes a tree to fruit. It is not, of course,
the disease that causes this, but merely that the
elaborated sap on its way to stems and roots is
stopped by the damaged bark and held up in the
branch. The buds therefore get an abnormal supply
of food material which aids their development into

54 FRUIT FARMING

fruit buds. The ancient practice of bark-ringing is
based on the same principle, as is also that of
wassailing the apple trees. Readers of Philpotts'
" Children of the Mist" will remember the "wassailing"
of the Devonshire orchard described therein. The
ceremony of discharging guns at the trees had no
doubt the practical result of causing many wounds in
which canker would establish itself and thus check
the downward sap flow, and thus the fruitfulness
which was believed to follow this ceremony would be
capable of a simple explanation. Another well-known
practice, that of bending down a branch to make it
more fruitful, also owes its success to the fact that it
would be more difficult for the elaborated sap to flow
out of the branch into the stem and thence to the
roots.

All fruit-growers will know how freely the middle
portion of a fan-trained tree will grow compared with
the side branches which are parallel to the ground.
This is due to the fact that the straighter the passage
the quicker the flow of sap. The centre branches
take more than their share of root sap, and the
freedom with which the elaborated product flows back
to the root prevents those strong branches attaining
the fruitfulness of those situated at the sides.

Other examples might be given, but enough has
been said to illustrate the point and to show how a
knowledge of physiology may be of value to the
pruner. It is manifestly impossible in the short space
of a lecture to more than roughly sketch these
possibilities.

In the different conditions in which the pruner finds
his subjects, in their varying constitutions and habits,

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it is evident that mere dogmatic rules for pruning
cannot suffice. A knowledge of the principles of plant
growth will place him on a sure foundation from
whence he can estimate the value of rules and their
exceptions, and will lead him to approach his work
in the spirit which is expressed in the motto of our
sister Society, * Practice with Science ! '

Before concluding this chapter, we would give a
general invitation to all contemplating Fruit culture
to visit our Allington Nurseries, to see the various
modes of fancy training and pruning; such practical
examples will be found most useful to Amateurs, who
are often rather confused by technical terms which are
new to them, and much can be learnt in a few hours.
The months of August and September are the best
for such a visit — for route's consult G. B. & Co.'s Fruit
Catalogue.

FRUIT FARMING

CHAPTER V.

APPLES.

In Kent, where hops are grown, the oasthouses afford
capital places for storing Apples, being airy, dark, and
cool. It is common for Apples in these stores to keep
three months after their usual season ; but the Market
Fruit Farmer may not have such
conveniences at hand, we therefore
divide our notice of this valuable fruit
into two divisions— first, Apples that
can be marketed direct from the tree,
and secondly, those that pay for
storing. The former method has
many advantages, and on the whole
pays best. The bruising in gathering
and storing, the loss by rotten fruit,
and the double operation of picking
and packing is perhaps rarely re-
couped by the higher price obtained
for stored Apples. Where Apples are
stored, the straw used to protect the
fruit from frost being clean, can be
utilized elsewhere afterwards.

BUSH APPLE,

2 years old,
on Paradise Stock.

EARLY DESSERT APPLES, to sell direct from the tree,
in their order of ripening : —

i . Beauty of Bath — Very early, a free cropper, which
sells at a good price. A moderate grower. Fruit flat,
with bright scarlet colour, speckled white. Mid-July.

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57

2. Mr. Gladstone — very fine, good regular bearer,
of rather pendulous medium growth. Fruit with a
bright crimson-scarlet skin, rich aroma. Should be
sent to market before the fruits are fully ripe, or it
bruises in transit, and then only realises a small
price. July — August.

3. Lady Sudeley — A grand September fruit, of
brilliant colour, rich aroma, growth spreading, fruiting
at the points — a splendid variety which succeeds well
both North and South ; sells best in boxes. Trees
pay for spur pruning, when they bear freely all over
the head.

4. Worcester Pearmain — Of upright growth, a free
cropper, fruit of medium size, conical, very handsome,
with a bright crimson cheek. This has become the
best paying Autumn Apple, and is a great favourite
in the markets. September.

No. 6.— Ben's Bed.

58 FRUIT FARMING

5. James Grieve — Growth free, but compact; an
early seedling from Cox's Orange raised at Edinboro'.
A regular bearer, fruit handsome ; sells well, as it
comes for use when Dessert Apples are scarce. Sep-
tember— early October.

6. Ben's Red (see illustration) — Growth short-jointed
and compact— may be called a late Quarrenden — but
a sure bearer and altogether more reliable ; selling
very freely in the market ; fruit bronzy-red-flat.
September and October.

7. Ingestre, or Summer Golden Pippin — Tree
pendulous, and on that account most suitable for
plantations ; a great cropper, soon coming into bearing,
fruit small, clear primrose yellow, a favourite "costers"
Apple, generally brings many shillings more per
bushel than others ; fine on dwarf Paradise trees.
End September.

8. Duchess Favourite — Forms a close upright tree ;
fruit small, brilliant scarlet, a valuable fruit to
market before King of Pippins ; sells freely. Early
September.

CULINARY APPLES, to sell direct from the trees: —

9. White Transparent — Growth upright, free. The
earliest kitchen Apple, fruit medium sized, pale cream
colour, of taking appearance, a very free bearer which
succeeds both near the sea and inland ; good as a
dwarf on Paradise. End July and August.

10. Early Victoria — Growth compact, an enormous
bearer and the best early yellow Codlin. Grown
extensively at Wisbech as Emneth's Early ; fruit
above medium size. August or early September.

FOR PROFIT.

59

ii. Early Julian — Tree vigorous but not large, a
tremendous cropper, fruit very pale and clear, one of
the best early Kitchen Apples ; on half-standards or
dwarfs. August.

BUSH APPLE on Paradise Stock. — Three years unpruned. Though
pretty to look at, such a tree is started badly, and the stock is exposed
whereas it should be 3-in. underground.

60 FRUIT FARMING

12. Lord Grosvenor — Very compact grower, suited
for plantation and orchard ; fruit conical, whitish
yellow, produced in bunches, so that it requires
thinning ; succeeds in lands where Lord Suffield
fails. This Apple pays for high culture and comes to
profit quicker than any. September.

13. Grenadier — A great improvement on Keswick
Codlin, a free bearer, of upright growth, fruit flat and
angular, greenish yellow, tree hardy and robust.
Stores well, and grows to a large size on bushes.
September.

14. Stirling Castle — This bears too freely to form
a standard, but is valuable for a plantation. Fruit
shining greenish yellow, of perfect globular shape,
never fails to bear, and requires severe thinning ;
compact grower, can be planted 8-ft. apart. August —
September.

15. Warner's King — a monster, bearing freely ; tree
vigorous and spreading, of very distinct growth, fruit
flat oblate, smooth and clear, greenish yellow, requires
warm soil. End September.

The whole of these Apples succeed as pyramids or
bushes on the Paradise stock, and produce very freely.
Such dwarf trees are worthy of extensive cultivation,
the fruit comes particularly handsome ; after the
first few years the trees require but little pruning, all
that is needed being to regulate their growth. When
heavily cropped, mulch the trees freely the end of
May with long fresh straw manure In planting
these Apples upon the Paradise stock, it is important
to get them upon the '• broad-leaved Paradise," and
to plant them so that the junction of stock and
scion is 3-in. below the surface of the soil. They
should be planted i2-ft. apart.

FOR PROFIT. 6 1

All Apples require thinning early in August, such
thinnings will pay for the labour, while the crop left
on the trees benefits greatly by this operation, and
developes to greater perfection.

We now come to what may be termed the better class
Apples, for storing, i.e., those that will pay for such
attention. In a scarce year many of these may also
be marketed from the trees to advantage.

DESSERT APPLES that are recommended for storing,
in their order of ripening : —

1 6. King Pippin — A great bearer, and a favourite in
the markets. This requires storing till of a rich golden
colour, and if the summer has been fine, it assumes a
red cheek, which makes it very acceptable. Fruit
small to medium. Although this close upright tree is
very liable to canker, it bears freely, and is one of
the best for warm, dry, stony soils. Early October.

17. Allington Pippin — Growth free and compact.
This desirable Apple was introduced by my firm, and
proves to be a sterling kind ; the fruit closely
resembles Cox's Orange, but is larger, cleaner, and
handsomer in appearance, while the tree is a better
bearer and more suited than Cox's for a Northern
climate and cold districts ; often first class in flavour,
a splendid bearer in any form. November. (See
illustration].

1 8. Cox's Orange — The finest dessert Apple. Prefers
a warm situation, and then crops heavily, and the fruit
takes a fine colour. It is a nice size for dessert, and
having a Ribston flavour is much fancied. It does not
succeed in cold damp places, although when fruited
there it is superior in quality to those grown in
lighter soil. Fruit with a bronzy red cheek, shaded

62 FRUIT FARMING

to yellow. It makes a nice small standard, and is at
its best in plantations upon the Paradise stock. The
larger fruits sell at a high price in boxes of 12 or 24.
During the past cold seasons Cox's has failed in many
places, and it is not advisable to plant any number until
it is found the soil suits it. November — December.

No. 17. — Allington Pippin.

19. Blenheim Orange — Although mainly a culinary
Apple, small sized fruits are very acceptable for table
use, and frequently make long prices. The tree
grows very widely, and requires room, and when old,
assumes a pendulous habit, and then is a good bearer,
but is slow in coming into fruit. November — January.

FOR PROFIT. 63

20. Gascoyne's Scarlet — Remarkable for its great
beauty ; after being laid up for a few days it turns
yellow on shaded side, and its wonderful scarlet cheek
gives it a striking appearance. It is sweet and agree-
able, makes a large tree, and crops most profusely
when the tree gains size. November.

21. Christmas Pearmain — Growth free, compact, and
very short jointed ; fruit yellow, russety, with bright
colour, enormous bearer ; introduced by my firm. A
variety which can be grown where King Pippin fails ;
a nice size for market, travelling well. November —
December.

22. Baumann's Reinette — A capital cropper, making
a neat upright tree. Takes a crimson colour, and fruits
in clusters ; very handsome ; keeps well till February ;
fine as a dwarf on Paradise. December.

Several Seedlings have been raised from Cox's
Orange, such as Coronation, Charles Ross, the
Houblon, St. Everard and William Crump. Their
value for market is not yet appraised, but they may
prove useful for Garden culture. Houblon and William
Crump are most promising.

CULINARY APPLES FOR STORING, in their order or
ripening : —

23. Peasgood's Nonsuch— A remarkably fine large
fruit, of handsome appearance, cropping every other
year, of free spreading growth, succeeding as a standard
or on Paradise. Market as soon as well coloured, in
boxes ; apt to canker. Early October.

24. Lord Derby — This has become very popular ;
the tree grows upright and bears freely, annually; green
when gathered, turning to a most beautiful yellow ;
good for cool soils. A local grower secured 3,000

64 FRUIT FARMING

bushels in the short year 1909, and marketed them
from the tree direct at a good price ; large prices
have been made at orchard auctions. October —
December.

25. Bismarck — Tree compact and pendulous. This
never fails to crop heavily, and the large fruits sell
equally well from the tree or stored. Best in a warm
soil in the South ; it does not colour well in the
Midlands. November, keeping till January.

26. Norfolk Beauty — Growth free and branching, a
valuable Apple, bearing freely in many parts, of
splendid cooking quality, fruits globular, very large,
pale yellow, very fine, keeping well until Christmas ;
tree requires to be well pruned as it makes much
thin wood.

27. Royal Jubilee— Introduced by my firm, of a rich
golden yellow, keeping till January, or may be sold
from the tree direct; a great bearer; tree compact,
medium size ; blossoms late, and so can be planted
in districts liable to late frosts ; while by its late
leafage it escapes the winter moth.

28. Tower of Glamis — Tree spreading; a valuable
orchard kind ; fruit large and heavy ; a good regular
bearer when 10 years old; vigorous. November —
January.

29. Alfriston — Tree compact and hardy in growth,
good as orchard or bush tree ; stores well ; fruit large.
January.

30. Lane's Prince Albert — Wonderful for crop and
beauty, keeping well till March ; best as a plantation
tree. The finest large late Apple for Dwarf trees.

" It is the heavier and later fruits which suffer most by Autumn gales, and therefore
such kinds are better in a sheltered orchard." — Year's Work.

FOR PROFIT. 65

31. Annie Elizabeth —Growth upright and sturdy;
a fine standard tree in heavy soils ; keeps firm and is
fit for sale in March ; fruit conical and firm.

32. Newton Wonder — This grand Apple is specially
recommended ; it forms a very large Orchard tree and
a fertile bush ; fruit even, heavy, and as good a
cooker as Wellington, which it entirely supersedes.
November — February .

33. — Bramley's Seedling — Of most robust habit, fine
for orchard standard, one of the best of recent years ;
fruit large, freely produced, and keeping well till May ;
does not bear till the tree gains age ; grand also as
a pruned bush ; preferable to Wellington ; is now a
leading sort, especially for cold soils, and sells well
in market. February— March.

The following are very promising, but we must not
extend the list too far. Some growers plant these in
quantity, but it is not advisable for beginners to
experiment, the most reliable 33 are already named : —
Sandringham, Edward the Seventh, and Byford Wonder
for Kitchen sorts ; and in Desserts, Langley Pippin
(early), Ross Nonpariel (Oct.), for late keeping, Duke
of Devonshire, Rosemary Russet, Sanspareil, and the
Cox's Orange Seedlings on page 63.

The whole of these Apples succeed as Pyramids or
free Bushes on the Paradise stock, and are worthy of
extensive cultivation in that form, planted at i2-ft. apart.

It is a significant fact that many of our best and
most careful growers have for some years planted large
quantities of Apples, as they feel that the foreigner has
no chance against home produce ; and it may be
mentioned that they thin the fruits, and mulch when a
good crop sets, and do all they can to improve the
quality. The importance of these operations is the
reason of their being here insisted on repeatedly. We
F

66 FRUIT FARMING

have always maintained that this should be done ;
with improved culture we shall produce better fruits ;
and there is but little doubt that the general public
will soon learn to discriminate between the bright
but dry and often flavourless American kinds and
fresh home grown English Apples. None of the
foreign Apples cook like those home grown.

GEORGE BUNYARD & Co.'s FRUIT ROOM.— A supply
of Apples can be kept for ten months in a properly
constructed Fruit Room. Among the Collections which
were exhibited at the Temple Shows, London, in May
(and for which the firm have gained many Silver
Cups) September Apples were staged in good condition.
The main point in preserving fruits is to allow ample
time for them to become thoroughly ripened before
gathering, and then to store the fruit at an even
temperature ; the natural earth is by far the best floor,
if kept damp. We can send photographs of this Fruit
Room, with printed description, as a guide to intending
builders, on receipt of 2/6. Our Allington Fruit House
is merely a match-boarded shed, thickly thatched, and
it answers the purpose admirably, and has been much
commended by visitors, and those who have followed
our directions in building similar structures have been
most successful in storing fruit in a sound condition
over a long period.

The enormous importations of Apples from Tasmania,
California, Canada and America, compete very unfairly
with British grown fruit ; some allege that they enable
many shops to keep open all the year, and thus help
the trade. Doubtless the careful manner in which they
are packed enable grocers to handle them, but growers
are now planting early sorts and very late cookers,
and thus clearing out before these come to hand.

FOR PROFIT. 67

CHAPTER VI.

APPLES FOR PROFIT.

A Paper read at the Chiswick Apple and Pear Conference, 1885,
By Mr. George Bunyard, V.M.H.

The commercial growth of Apples for market is, I
fear, too frequently entered upon hap-hazard, because
many start in the enterprise without sound information.
Beginners fight shy of the growers of trees for sale,
under the unfair notion that they recommend those
kinds of which they hold a stock ; or they procure the
"tip" from salesmen in the various markets, who, as
far as they can (and in good faith), give them the
names of the kinds that sell well ; fruits, so to speak,
which dispose of themselves by their names or
appearance. Many choice Apples, however, produce
but a small crop, or are so long in coming to a state
of profitable production that planters get discouraged ;
other kinds may be recommended which are very
slow growers or rarely make good orchard trees, and
thus land is not fully utilized. As the markets are
supplied from a large area, salesmen have but a general
idea of the suitability of sorts to a district, and hence
much valuable time may be lost. I venture to give a
few hints as to the formation of a profitable Apple
orchard, or plantation, where the return shall be
speedy, and yet in the future, for half a century, shall
maintain good results. The first operation is the

68 FRUIT FARMING

procuring of suitable land. In a district where little
fruit is grown, an idea can often be gained from the
growth of the few fruit trees in cottage gardens, and
orchards near gentlemen's seats. If Apple trees show
a kindly and clean growth, with an absence of lichens
and canker, and if Elm trees flourish, it will so far be
favourable. Exposure to prevailing winds is to be
avoided either by shelter planting, or, better still, by
taking advantage of existing woods and hedges, and
a slope to the south or west is to be preferred ; but
in order to secure a permanent orchard care must be
taken to have the land deeply cultivated, or possessing
naturally a rich soil, otherwise a few years of fertility
may only be the precursor of decay and disappointment.

Having settled on a suitable position, the tenant or
purchaser proceeds to put the land in order for planting,
either by steam cultivation or by thorough digging or
trenching — the latter, though expensive at the start, is
of permanent benefit. This operation is best done
before the frosts sets in, that the land may settle, and
become purified and sweetened by exposure. The
ground should then be set out, and standard trees, on
the crab or free stock, of the before-mentioned sorts,
planted 24-ft. apart; requiring 75 to an acre.

For list of best sorts see previous list — Nos. 1 to 33.

So far for the top crop, the space between being
utilised by placing three, two or three year old dwarf
trees, between each standard, others at six feet apart
in the entire rows, which, less 75 for standards, will
be 1,135 Per acre, until the plantation is filled up.
These dwarfs will produce the best fruit from trees
on the Paradise or surface rooting stock, and may
consist of those previously named.

FOR PROFIT. 69

In six years' time, the two trees immediately beneath
the standards can be transferred to other land, and
will, if removed with care, in October or early in
November^ suffer little from lifting, and in the second
year after will produce heavy crops. After the sixth
season the orchard would be left with a permanent
crop of Dwarf and Standard Apples at i2-ft. apart.
The Dwarfs at some future time might be cut away.
When the Standards are established and strong, the
land should be laid to grass, and thus fodder for
sheep keep, and a top crop of Apples could be secured
annually. Until the Dwarf trees cover the land,
Potatoes may be grown between the rows, or Lily of
the Valley, Violets, Wallflowers, or Daffodils. But if'
land is cheap, the space may remain without crop,<
and the roots will benefit greatly from the run of all
the land. Weeds must be kept down. Where Standards
only are planted no corn crop must be taken, but
soft fruits may be placed between them for some years.
The plantation should be dug in December or January,
each year, and be kn6cked over and stirred with a
prong hoe in March.

Oxen and horses should not be allowed in young
orchards. Shelter can be quickly obtained by planting
outside rows of Damsons or Bush Plums (the latter a
Kent sort) with Crawford or Hessell Pears as an
inner line, at 12 -ft. apart, and this screen would pay
its way. If desired, Plums could be placed between
the Apple standards, and Gooseberries and Currants,
omitting the dwarf Apples. If the land is properly
prepared, Apples should need no manure for some
years, as the use of stimulants while the trees are
young is prejudicial, inducing a sappy un ripened

70 FRUIT FARMING

growth, which lays the tree open to damage by frost.
When trees are carrying a heavy crop, mulching may
be carried out in June, or liquid manure can be used
with advantage in the growing time, or Fish Guano,
Blood Manure, or Peruvian Guano, at 5 cwt. to the
acre, placed round the trees and afterwards hoed in.
Such a plantation as described would commence to
bring a return from the Dwarf Apples in two years,
and the fruit, with a little care in thinning, would
command a ready sale, because when grown in this
manner it is cleaner in appearance and much larger
in size than that from old trees. In three or four
years the Standards would commence to fruit, and a
larger return would annually be made, and if properly
managed, at the end of fourteen years, the crop would
buy the fee simple of the land outright.

In order to make the highest price, all fruits should
be " graded," to an even sample throughout, be correctly
named, and packed carefully, so that the baskets open
clean and bright at the market* In the case of choice
dessert kinds it pays well to pack them in light
boxes, holding two dozen. In fact, we should take a
leaf out of the French books, and put up our produce
in an attractive form. The pruning in February or
March is of the simplest. No Apples should be pruned
the first year of planting ; for the first three years
commence to form the Standard trees by taking out
all the inner wood to attain a bowl shape, and cut
back the young growth to four or six eyes, to a bud
pointing outward ; the fourth or fifth year shorten the
wood of the current year to six or twelve inches, and

* " If wo could only ensure a full year of such perfect fruit as I have seen at a few farms
in Mid Kent, the Americans might whistle for any good they could get by sending in theirs.
It is the scarcity of best stuff that drives buyers to foreign produce." — Year's Work,

FOR PROFIT. 71

keep the centres clear; and after that time let them
grow as they like, merely shortening1 the tips to
procure an evenly balanced head, and taking out any
crossing growths. The Dwarfs can be cut in to form
pyramids or basins, as desired, for two years, and
after that be allowed to grow freely. Other matters,
such as securing the limbs in a heavy crop, and
staking the Standards, will have to be attended to,
and the stakes must be removed from the Standards
in the winter as soon as the trees can do without
support, as the ties are apt to cut into the bark and
produce canker; they should be freshly tied each
year.

For Apple growing, land need not be contiguous to
a railway station, as they will travel well if carefully
packed. Storing enables a grower to realise a high
price at a time when good Apples are scarce. Where
proper stores, such as the hop oasts of Kent, do not
exist, a frost-proof shed will do ; and if care is taken
to store only sound fruit, a thick covering of straw
will effectually exclude frost, and keep the fruit plump
and heavy. Should 1,200 trees bear half-a-gallon each,
at three years old, the crop would be about 75 bushels
per acre, which, at 4$. nett (carriage and salemen's
charges deducted) would give a return of ^15 per
acre ; at five years, one gallon each would double the
produce ; and so on. When the top and bottom crop
come to pick, an average of half-a-bushel per tree (it
is rare for every tree to bear the same year), would
give a possible return of ^120 per acre. The risk of
loss by wind is small with Dwarf trees, and the cost
of picking is less than in Standards, and they can be
readily thinned and attended to. Large as these sums
appear, they have often been exceeded.

72 FRUIT FARMING

A word as to old existing Orchards. My text is —
" Woodman, spare that tree." If such old trees are
properly thinned in the boughs, and freely manured,
in two years they would either be producing good
fruit, or if cider Apples, they would so benefit from
the improved culture that they should pay for re-
grafting with superior kinds. I believe much may be
done in this way, as the roots soon respond to generous
treatment, and the foundation of success rests upon
them. Suitable kinds for grafting old trees would be —
Lane's Prince Albert, Lord Derby, and Bramley's, or
the smaller dessert Apples, such as Duchess Favourite,
Yellow Ingestre or Worcester Pearmain.

APPLES ON PARADISE STOCKS.

In some counties there is yet a prejudice against
the use of the Paradise Stock for Dwarf Apples,
because, probably in such early trials the trees were
some cheap stuff worked on the French Paradise,
which is a starving stock, and the trees upon it
die after a few years of fertility, or never make
lucrative bushes. But the value of Apples on the
broad-leaved Paradise Stocks is well known in Kent,
and they are extensively planted. They possess the
manifest advantage over trees on the Crab, or Free
Stock, because from the nature of their surface roots,
they commence to bear the second year after planting
(and even give some Apples the first year), and being
Dwarf trees preferably trained in basin shape, they
are readily thinned, easily summer or winter pruned,
more under obversation for insect pests, remedies can
be much more readily supplied, they carry fruit of
larger size, clearer in the skin than Standard trees,

FOR PROFIT. 73

and from their root power, with refraction from the
heated soil in summer, the wood becomes riper, and
thus they often fruit freely when Standards fail. At
the same time a large number can be planted per
acre (302 at 1 2-ft. apart) so that with, say, six or
eight varieties, it is very rare even in scarce years
that there is a failure. The best varieties are noted,
Nos. i to 33 in previous chapter, and when planted
in alternate rows for the purpose of perfect cross
fertilization, annual crops can be counted upon. We
have grand old examples of trees on Paradise in our
Nurseries, and their life promises to be quite as
prolonged as Apples worked on Crab Stocks. Failure
sometimes occurs because the trees are planted too
" fleet," exposing the stock to the air. These and
Pears on Quince should always have the junction of
stock and scion 3 -in. below the surface, otherwise the
stock growth is restricted and the growth is checked.
The same remarks apply to Pears on the Quince
Stocks — both as to fertility, quality, and culture ; for
sorts see Chapter VIII.

74 FRUIT FARMING

CHAPTER VII.

PLUMS.

Plums are, after Apples, the next most important
crop. As these so soon produce a return, they are
planted in great numbers year by year. No doubt
fancy prices which the last generation made may
not again be reached, but a fair margin of profit will
be left. Plums can be planted as close as i5~ft.
apart, therefore a plantation soon pays expenses ; and
when Damsons are included, the return is reached in
a few years. Standards are largely grown, but Half-
standards find increasing favour, and where the
plantation form is adopted, they form a good shelter
in the earlier stages, and the stems can be run up by
removing the lower branches. We append a list of
almost certain cropping kinds, with a short description
of each variety.

PLUMS FOR PROFIT.

1 . Rivers' Prolific — The best early kind ; seldom
fails to produce. It is a weak grower, and never
makes a big tree ; perhaps better as a plantation
kind, but there is nothing yet equal to it as a first
early sort. Fruit small, purple. End July.

2. The Czar — Early, bearing in clusters, and carrying
a fine bloom ; a very free grower. Fruit purplish red,
round. Makes a fine upright tree, and on that account
valuable for plantations, as it does not obstruct the
sun ; succeeds where others fail. Mid-August.

FOR PROFIT. 75

3. Victoria — The best all round Plum ; it is not a
sufficiently sturdy grower to carry its heavy crops, the
wood being very brittle, and consequently the tree
never gains the size of others, and therefore requires
severe pruning for a few years to encourage sturdy
growth. Fruit pink, oval ; a market favourite. August.

4. Belle de Louvain — Growth very free and upright,
bears regularly very large oval purple fruit ; handsome
and quite first class. End August.

5. Jefferson's Gage — The most prolific of the class;
growth upright and sturdy ; fruit large, egg shaped,
yellow and green with red spots. August.

6. Old Greengage — Not a certain bearer, but yet so
valuable, that where it "hits" the lucky possessors
have a fortune. It is well grown in some counties,
and appears to do best on grass lands. Every large
growth should have a proportion of Gages. Tree
small.

7. Kent Bush or Waterloo— One of the best for
market. Very strong and hardy, and produces fruit
all over the tree, and seldom breaks with its burden ;
its skin is tough and it travels well. This is a favourite
Jam Plum, and trees can produce 20 bushels each.
Fruit round, dull red to black. September.

8. Pond's Seedling — Fine as a late September kind,
never heavily cropped, but the fruit is immense, and
always sells at a long price, as the buyers can punnet
the fruit, and get as much as 3d. each retail. Must
be kept pruned while young. Fruit red oval.

9. Monarch — A grand October purple kind, of
sturdy upright growth ; a most valuable sort.

10. President — A very large deep purple Plum,
most promising for a late crop ; free in growth and
superior to Monarch in size.

76 FRUIT FARMING

ii. Wyedale — Tree upright, growth vigorous; fruit
red, produced late in October; a valuable hardy late
kind.

Gage Plums — This class are not regular bearers, and
although they make a good price, may be omitted,
unless a large acreage is planted. The following have
done admirably in our plantation : Denniston's Superb
Early, Oullin's Golden Gage, Early Transparent Gage,
Golden Drop, Comte d' Althan's Red Gage, Late Orange,
Reine Claude de Bavay, and White Magnum Bonum.
When the latter come large and fine, it is better to
gather them before they are dead ripe, and send them
to market in boxes — one layer in each box.

Mirabelle Plums — These cherry Plums are grown
largely on the Continent, but often fail here because
they blossom so early. In sheltered positions on
the South and West Coast they fruit profusely. There
are both red and yellow kinds. Grafted trees should
be purchased, as seedlings are not reliable.
DAMSONS AND PRUNES.

These are extensively planted, and are valuable for
banks and exposed places. The Kent Cluster is a
good tree as a protection from gales on the outsides
of plantations, and where the ground on both sides of
the field is in one person's holding, they may be
advantageously planted in the hedges, and a quantity
of fruit taken where larger trees would be an objection.
The sides of roads or near footpaths should be avoided.
All Damsons are valuable for preserving, and are
largely used for wine making and dyeing. The only
kinds recommended for extensive cultivation are: —

Bradley's King — This makes a close tree, bears
most profusely, and is certainly the best of the class ;
fruit very rich in flavour; leaves small.

FOR PROFIT. 77

Frogmore Damson— Free grower, resembling a Plum,
good cropper, large, and very luscious in flavour,
ripening earlier than others.

The Cheshire or Shropshire
Damson (see illustration). Much
confusion exists as to this. The
one grown at Maidstone is that
called the Pruant Plum in Covent
Garden, and makes a large flat
weeping tree. The fruit is very
large for a Damson, oval and of rich flavour, and,
provided the branches of the trees are kept well
thinned, crops regularly; often hangs till end of
October. Trees of this kind, if left to themselves,
become unfruitful from the mere overcrowding of the
branches. Unless fully ripe it does not cook well.

The Kentish Cluster (Farleigh, or Crittenden). The
profusion of fruit this produces can scarcely be credited,
and so large is the growth that it is customary in
estimating a crop to treat them by the ton. One
local grower took 3,000 bushels in one (scarce) year,
and made 145. per bushel of them. The trees require
to be hard pruned in for a few years until a head is
formed, otherwise, before there is sufficient branch
strength the first heavy crop breaks the boughs, and the
tree is disfigured for life. They soon form symmetrical
heads and are most beautiful in flower, and still more
so when laden with their rich violet fruit. Bushes or
Half-standards are recommended for exposed places ;
Standards for orchards. Budded trees are less liable
to blight than those from suckers.

The Mereweather — Introduced 1909; fruit as large
as Rivers' Prolific Plum, produced in dense clusters ;

7 8 FRUIT FARMING

rapid grower. At present the trees are expensive,
but will come to ordinary price in a few years.

The Hereford Prune Damson — This is a large-fruited
one, but not so big as Cheshire. The tree is slender
in the wood, and of an upright growth, with small
pointed leaves much curled. It bears well if thinned
out as recommended above.

White Damson — The tree grows freely and produces
rich oval orange fruit late in the season, which sell
well in market, and make a delicious preserve. (This
is not a Bullace).

Burbank's Giant Prune — An American novelty,
which will prove of value for a late crop. It resembles
Pond's Seedling, and is of Plum size, bears freely,
and the tree is robust and branching. It hangs a
long time on the tree and travels well.

The Damascene of Worcester does not seem to
flourish out of that county.

BULLACE

Are similar in habit to Damsons. The greenish
yellow round fruit is produced very late, and occasion-
ally brings good prices. The "Shepherds" is the
only one worth culture.

Veitch's Black Bullace — This novelty is as remark-
able in bearing as the Farleigh Damson, and from its
lateness (October and November) will prove of value.

FOR PROFIT. 79

CHAPTER VIII.

PEARS.

Market Pears must be divided into two classes, as
few kinds can be profitably grown as standards for
market sale.

ORCHARD MARKET PEARS, arranged according to
their season, that can be sold from the tree . —

1. Doyenne Summer— Is the earliest Pear, very
small, but freely produced. The tree grows vigorously
on Pear stock, or when grafted on old trees. July.

2. Chalk, or Crawford — One of the best. From its
ample foliage sometimes used as a screen in plantations.
This Pear has no quality but sweetness, but it bears
regularly ; and from the fruit being culled early the
tree recovers itself, and so fruits annually. Moderate
compact growth. August.

3. Jargonelle— Growth rather pendulous, but with
care in pruning a good tree can be formed. Too well-
known to need remark ; it sells well. August and
September.

4. Hessle (Hazel of the Markets) — Tree moderate in
growth, pendulous. Requires to be well thinned in
the branches, and produces fruit in long festoons, in
the greatest profusion. It is of a mealy nature, and
travels well, hence it is a capital market Pear, and
pays both grower and retailer. September.

5. Dr. Jules Guyot — Like Williams in shape and
colour ; a profuse bearer, and very hardy and productive.
Growth compact ; very fine on dwarf trees upon the

80 FRUIT FARMING

Quince, when it should be planted 6-ft. apart ; selling
well put up in boxes. September.

6. Williams — This is a Pear that Londoners delight
in. It grows to a large upright tree, and as a rule pays
well. The branches should be shortened while the tree
is young, otherwise when laden at the points, the tree
44 thrashes" off its fruit. Fine on Quince in plantation
from September.

7. Petite Marguerite — A very sweet round Pear from
America ; fruits profusely, and makes a well shaped
orchard tree, or a bush on Quince. September.

8. Beurre Capiaumont — An upright grower, bearing
its long thin brown russety fruit in profusion. Very
compact and sturdy tree. October.

9. Fertility (Rivers') — Very prolific ; in the style of
Capiaumont ; free grower ; excellent. October.

10. Red Robin — Growth bushy and compact; fruits
with a bright red cheek; flavour sweet and juicy. This
variety is cultivated near Norwich, and sells freely in
market. October.

1 1 . Doyenne Boussoch — Forms a sturdy standard
and bears profusely and regularly ; fruit large and
handsome.

Pears for Baking are receiving more attention ; the
best for this purpose on Standards are Catillac, Vicar
of Winkneld, Verulam or Black Jack, and Winter
Windsor.

DWARF PEARS ON QUINCE STOCKS.

Where the soil is rich and deep, and the climate
suitable, the following grand Pears should be grown
as free pyramids on the Quince, and when the trees
bear a full crop they should be heavily mulched in
May and be afterwards watered with liquid manure,

FOR PROFIT. 8 1

be carefully thinned and laid open to the sun.; by
removing excess foliage, etc. In planting, thesa the
junction of scion and stock must be 3-in. below the
surface. For sale in boxes by the dozen :—

1 2. Souvenir du Congres — Very large and handsome,
free bearer, (best on Pear stock). September.

13 and 14. Dr. Guyot and Williams — Previously
described.

15. Beurre Bosc (Calebasse of the Markets) — Rich
russety brown; long; succeeds as a standard in good
soils on Pear stock only. November.

1 6. Clapp's Favourite— A pretty fruit bearing fairly,
well-grown examples make good prices. September.

17. Beurre Jean Van Geert — Medium sized, sweet.;
most profuse bearer, has a bright red cheek, which
adds to its market value. October— November.

1 8. Conference — A handsome russety long Pear,
very fertile and of excellent flavour ; be careful to
market before ripe. October.

19. Doyenne Boussoch — See u.

20. Doyenne du Cornice—The best Pear; this has
now a market name and sells at the highest price ;
it is best on a wall, but grand fruit can be secured
on dwarf trees. November.

2 i . Beurre Alex. Lucas —Very large clear greenish
yellow, of sweet and pleasant flavour, and a good
bearer. Very fine.

22. Durondeau — Large, bronzy red, very fertile and
handsome. October.

23. Emile d'Heyst — profuse bearer, medium size,
first-class flavour, and very prolific both on Pear and
Quince ; can be planted 8-ft. apart.

82 FRUIT FARMING

24. Fondante de Thirriot — A little known but excel-
lent sweet kind, large and fertile. November.

25. Louise Bonne of Jersey — Remarkably handsome,
rich and juicy. Early October.

26. Marguerite Marillat — Immense; a very hand-
some fruit ; tree upright, somewhat unequal in growth,
but very fertile ; plant 8-ft. apart. End September.

27. Pitmaston Duchess — The best large market Pear.
This grand variety is found to succeed well on Pear
or Quince, and also when grafted on other kinds.
It bears the largest size fruit, which, on ripening in
October, become a beautiful yellow colour ; has attained
a high position on the markets ; Kent growers have
made large sums by their crops. Flavour sometimes
fine, but always passable, and it travels well. October
and November.

Pears require careful storage in a cool dark place.
No better fruit can be found for training against walls
or on the buildings than the kinds named, to which
may (for walls) be added Beurre Diel, Glou Morceau,
Beurre Hardy, Easter Beurre, and Marie Louise.
Well trained trees are an ornament to any dwelling
house, and all these bring good prices, as much as
405. per bushel ; 45. per dozen being realised for
finest examples. Christmas Pears are not profitable
to store.

FOR PROFIT. 83

CHAPTER IX.

CHERRIES.

Cherries as tall standards are mostly grown on grass,
with sufficiently long stems to allow horses or cattle
to graze without injury to the lower branches, and
are cultivated to perfection in Kent, Bucks and
Worcester. Very profitable also are plantations of the
Kentish and Morello on pyramids, which, after the
first two years, only require regulating, and bear most
profusely. The famous Grant's Morello Cherry Brandy
(manufactured here), and which, apart from its qualities
as a beverage, is also a fine medicine in cases of
diarrhoea and dysentry, is not made from the
Morellos such as grow on walls, but from a local wild
Morello, and in the Canterbury district is found in
most cottage gardens.

Apropos of birds, the Cherry's great enemies. — It is
of no use, in looking for profit, to plant a few Cherries,
as they cost more " to keep " than the farmer can
afford ; and for the same reason it is better to plant
a number of one kind, alternated with a distinct sort,
but where several sorts are grown the season is
lengthened out ; one man and a gun can keep many
acres ; and bearing in mind that other trees can be
planted between them, and produce a return before the
Cherries pay their way, it would be well to plant freely,
as no fruit sells better. Some idea of the value of
Cherry Orchards can be had from the figures given
in Chapter XXII, on Profits.

84 FRUIT FARMING

WHITE HEART OR B1GARREAU CHERRIES.

1. Frogmore Bigarreau — A valuable early kind ; free
grower; profuse bearer.

2. Bigarreau, Kent, or Amber Heart — Well known
as the finest for general crop ; makes a large tree.

3. Napoleon Bigarreau— Valuable to succeed No. 2 ;
a free grower and good cropper, being large and late,
it makes good prices.

4. Florence, or Wellington — Very large and late,
hanging well on the tree. These are generally kept
back as long as possible, and often realise 305. a
bushel, sent up in peck baskets.

BLACK HEART CHERRIES.

5. Rivers' Early — A very fine sort, now extensively
planted ; the earliest black ; a good cropper and
grower. This has become an established favourite ;
it requires pruning the first five years to get the
branches erect, being naturally a pendant grower.

6. Knight's Early Black— A free bearing sort of
splendid flavour.

7. Black Heart — A fine old favourite, ripening
early ; very hardy.

8. Black Eagle — Very large shining fruit of excellent
flavour ; travels well ; free grower.

9. Waterloo— Extra fine flavour ; does not crack in
wet weather, and hangs for a long time fit for market.

10. Black Tartarian or Circassian — Strong grower,
producing enormous fruit; about the latest to pick.

11. Windsor — A hardy American variety that pro-
duces very freely ; growth compact ; fruit reddish black.

There are many local sorts and some new ones that
we think will prove useful, but many prove synonymous
with older kinds.

FOR PROFIT 85

DUKE CHERRIES.

These are not much grown for market, as they
ripen early, and have such tender skins that the birds
play havoc with the crop, which moreover does not
come to gather all at one time. Where a warm spot
will admit, a few might be tried, as they sometimes
pay well. All are close upright growers. In France
they are called " English/'

12. May Duke— Upright growth ; bright red fruit. '

13. Royal Duke — Large and fine.

14. Archduke — Large shining blackish-red fruit.

15. Late Duke — Crops freely, and comes quite late ;
good.

RED AND MORELLO CHERRIES.

1 6 and 17. Kentish or English, and Flemish — Are
very similar, and form compact and pretty trees.
They always make a good price, and are good nurses
to plant on the outsides of orchards. They are not
much for dessert, but invaluable for jam making or
drying, and bear freely about every other year. These
are the Montmorency Cherries of France.

1 8. Morello — Is worth growing as a standard, and
bears freely, and produces very fine fruit, while as
bushes they are most lucrative.

Before dismissing Cherries, we cannot but remark that
many empty walls about the farm and farm buildings
on the shady side, that will not do for Pears and Plums,
could be advantageously planted with Morello Cherries.
Such fruit can be netted, and if sent up neatly packed
two layers in a box, bring 6d. to is. per lb., sometimes
more. After all it is these little matters that tell up,
and trees cost little to keep in order; pruning once a
year being all that is necessary.

86 FRUIT FARMING

The Grass in Cherry Orchards should never be mown
for hay but be closely grazed, and cattle should be
freely fed with corn and cake ; the trees will well
repay any outlay upon them. A local grower states
that he fatted three lots of sheep per annum in his
orchards upon this plan, and then sold the ripe
Cherries for ,£1,000.

I am persuaded that a great per centage of our
Cherry Orchards are not sufficiently manured.

FOR PROFIT. 87

CHAPTER X.

WALNUTS AND CHESTNUTS.

What place do these find in the market for profit ?
some will say at once.

WALNUTS are not so long in coming into bearing
as many imagine, and are well worth attention, at
any rate at landlords' hands. The green fruit always
commands a price for pickling, and in this way the
trees want no minding. Possibly the " husks " or
skins of the ripe nuts may be used for dyeing as well
as catsup ; and the ripe nuts are among the most
generally appreciated of table fruits. Again, as timber
trees they are not to be despised, and as the time
may be far distant when our " spears are beat into
pruning hooks " the wood will always command a
price for rifle and gun stocks. In America there is
already a wail from the furniture maker that walnut
wood is scarce, and no doubt the recent fashion for
furniture, other than in mahogany, will not die out
for many years. Walnut is among the best now used.

SWEET CHESTNUTS are less valuable ; still they are
worth planting in parks for their splendid foliage and
general appearance, and the nuts are always useful
for cattle food ; the largest can be sent to market, and
the small ones be used for cattle feed or be sold or
planted for seed.

Nurserymen can supply both these in large trees,
which, provided they have been properly prepared,
move well. They require staking at once on planting.

SS FRUIT FARMING

CHAPTER XI.

HUSH OR SOFT TRUITS.

Having dealt with frees we now reach those very
important fruits, at once the cheapest to buy, the
quickest to repay for labour, and the easiest to manage.
We must first take

GOOSEBERRIES, — An all important crop. It is a good
policy not to have all one's eggs in one basket, and
with this fruit we have two possible markets. They
can be gathered green, and in many respects this is
the best ; as the trees benefit and strengthen for the
next crop, and no trouble is caused in keeping them
from birds, and picking is over before Currants are
coloured. On the other hand, if Cherries are a failure,
ripo Gooseberries sell well, the best (for ripe fruit)
being the Yellow Rough, Lancashire Lad, and
Warrington. These " ripe " berries must be marketed
when only slightly coloured, or they will not travel
without smashing.

Gooseberry A/Mtv.— This so called American pest
has appeared now all over Britain, in spite of the
action of the Hoard of Trade. It must have a serious
effect on the planting of Gooseberries. The growers
of plants cannot possibly guarantee freedom, as the
spores travel a long distance, and new plantations
may become affected, even where the bushes were
free when sent out. The disease is worse in such cold
wet seasons as 1909-10, and a cycle of warm years
may possibly stamp it out.

8g

It is best at the first picking (green) to gather the
berries nearest the ground, next to gather the outsides,
and thin the central fruits before the final clearing;
many go over the bushes 8 to 12 times.

The larger berries do not travel so well when ripe,
though Whinham's and Crown Mob are very handsome,
taking fruit. There are but few kinds needed.

1. Whitesmith, White Swan, or Velvet, for picking1

early green.

2. Early Sulphur, or Yellow Rough, for early ripe

berries.

3. Warrington, for late red berries, or under trees.

4. Rifleman, red, form large; bushes.

5. Crown Hob, red, best in Devon and Cornwall.

6. Lancashire Lad, red, close; grower, heavy bearer.

7. Whinham's Industry, makes large; upright bushes,

and is equally valuable; for green or red berries;
produces a heavy crop ; the growth being
upright, Bullfinches do not take out the buds so
readily as in others.

8. Keepsake, remarkable for its earliness ; the raiser

frequently sends the first fruit to London markets,
and has made as much as 52s. per bushel, and
^120 per acre of this kind.

9. May Duke;, or Hank of England, a variety which

is the earliest to pick in a green state, when
high prices can be made. The ripe fruits are
deep port wine red.

Keen's Seedling, Dobson's, and Superb are similar
to Warrington, but have larger berries, and produce
most abundantly.

QO FRUIT FARMING

No. 4 makes the largest bush ; 3 and 6 grow close
to the ground, and can be planted 5 -ft. apart. Nos.
4, 5, and 6 produce the largest berries ; but one with
another, nine better varieties cannot be found, although
we have tested 150 sorts.

LANCASHIRE PRIZE GOOSEBERRIES as a rule are not
strong growers, and trees cannot be sold so cheaply
as the above, but they are worth notice for sale in
punnets, when their large size commands a price.
No doubt many of these will pay to grow where the
Gooseberry succeeds, and the demand for them in
punnets in the London shops is yearly increasing.

Among the best for this purpose are : —

GREEN.
Ocean
Telegraph
Shiner

BED.
Crown Bob
Lancashire Lad
Speedwell

WHITE.
Alma
Antagonist
Lancer

YELLOW.
Gunner
High Sheriff
Keepsake
Leveller
Ringer
Sandwich Yellow

Avoid planting the Ironmonger, Scotch Red Rough,
and White Shiner, as they are too small for market.
In many cases high prices are made for Gosseberries
green ; and if a warm corner can be found, Keepsake
or Whitesmith should be planted, and a little assistance
be given in liquid manure, if the season is dry ; as
well as a shelter from cold winds, say about g-ft.
high — such as is used for sheltering hops. A few
bushels at 245. to 305. are well worth the trouble.
Gooseberries require a rich well-manured soil. Strong
nitrogenous food is to their liking, but unfortunately
those who are the best cultivators suffer most from
the American mildew. Fish Guano and the Sheppey
Meat Manure are about the best ; where near the coast
Seaweed answers admirably, and Sprats are excellent.

FOR FROFIT. 91

CHAPTER XII.

CURRANTS.

BLACK CURRANTS. — This fruit is heavily planted,
and about which controversy is always at work as to
sorts. There is none yet produced equal to the
Boskoop ; but as some kinds succeed where others fail,
it would be better to plant a proportion of each. No
other fruit produces an equal return per acre, year by
year, and they can be grown on damp soils. (See
special note on the dreaded Black Currant mite, under
Insect Pests).

i. — Boskoop Giant — This is much more vigorous
and larger in berry than others, and has quite taken
the lead, as it produces the largest berries in fine
bunches, being more readily picked than any others,
and is less liable to attacks from the mite ; blossoms
late and yet comes early to pick.

2. Lee's Prolific — The sweetest, and the second best
in all points. Hardier than others.

3. French Black — A very profuse bearer, forming a
compact bush.

The Black Naples has quite gone out of cultivation.
Some yet prefer the old Red Bud and the Champion.

WHITE CURRANTS are but little grown ; they sell
well in punnets. Versailles is the largest; White
Dutch the best flavoured.

RED CURRANTS. — Here again there is confusion as
to sorts — our great doctors cannot agree — so we adopt
their local Kentish names. Treated in the way

Q 2 FRUIT FARMING

referred to in " Pruning," these produce heavily, and
rank in profit very close to " Blacks," as they can be
grown on sandy and light land, where the latter would
not succeed. They fetch the best price when gathered
scarcely ripe, even with green berries on the ends of
the bunches.

4. Scotch Red, Cherry, or Knight's Early — Growth
upright, berries large, bunch short, first-rate.

5. — New Red Dutch, Chiswick Red — Medium season,
grows freely, and makes a large open bush, is a profuse
bearer ; dark crimson.

6. Raby Castle — Makes a large bush, and produces
fine deep red berries ; late.

7. Fay's Prolific is of the Versailles race, and
produces very large sweet fruit, but the shoots are
liable to break off the stem. We find Comet and
Walker's Mammoth to be the same as this.

The above are the only kinds recommended for
market growth.

FOR PROFIT. 93

CHAPTER XIII.

KENT COB NUTS AND FILBERTS.

We figure a Kent Cob Nut, as
prepared to form a basin-shaped
tree. In some counties these a
allowed to grow as they please ;
but freely pruned trees produce
the largest and best nuts. The
little leg or stem is useful, as it
allows the weeds to be cleared
away from the under branches.

These are a special Kentish
culture, and the mode of
pruning is previously described
(in Rochester Paper.) There are frequently upland
soils which, to use a common expression, grow stones —
loose shattery soil, with a mixture of tentative loam —
here they flourish, and although like other things they
may do better elsewhere, they there produce a very
profitable return ; the only objection to their culture
is the time they take to come into full bearing, though
the vacant space between the Nuts can be filled with
Strawberries, Currants and Gooseberries, and a full
return obtained before the Nuts pay their way, which
would be in about five or six years. In such bleak
situations they could be " topped " by planting standard
Plums and Damsons— the one helping to shelter the
other ; but in that case the standards should not be
planted too thickly — say 48 to an acre. In better soils
Pears and Apples can be grown above them, as is

Q4 FRUIT FARMING

frequently done. Cherries must not be planted, as the
winter digging which Nuts require does not suit them.
There are but few kinds.

1 . The Lambert Filbert, or Kentish Cob, is the best ;
it grows more vigorously, the crop being nearly double
that from others. The Nut is very large, thick shelled,
and usually produced in bunches of 3 or 4 (though in
a bad season many single and double Nuts are found),
even up to 7 or 8 ; the husk is large and shows the
Nut. In Kent many are grown among or near hops,
and must then be picked green before the hop-pickers
arrive ; sometimes causing a glut in the market.
When gathered they are best heaped up on a floor
2 -ft. thick to harvest ; they are turned over from time
to time to prevent mould ; though they do not require
to be quite dry, otherwise the kernel shrinks ; generally
fetch highest prices about ten days before Christmas.
For home use Nuts are better kept in jars or tubs, a
little salt being sprinkled in, which keeps them damp,
when they come out full and eat crisp to the last.

2. Kent Filbert — Better flavoured, but not such a
good cropping Nut as the Cob, and cannot be recom-
mended for extensive culture.

3. Cosford— A round Nut, of very nice flavour. Very
free bearer, but from its thin shell it is liable to be
appropriated by the squirrels, mice, and rats. It is,
however, to be considered on one particular point,
viz., the profusion of male catkins it produces, thereby
fertilizing others to advantage.

4. Prolific Frizzled Filbert — A very free bearer,
producing handsome bunches of well-flavoured nuts,
often 15 in a cluster, long before others are ripe.

5. Pearson's Prolific Cob— Small but free bearing
variety, like No. 3, valuable for its catkins.

For particulars of culture see Chapter IV.

FOR PROFIT. 95

CHAPTER XIV.

STRAWBERRIES.

This fruit is so universally appreciated that it will
probably never be over-planted ; its only drawback is
cold and dismal weather occurring in the ripening
season, causing a shrinkage in demand and low prices;
it makes such a delicious preserve, and from its sweet-
ness and flavour is amenable to "treatment" by the
preservers, is always in great demand for Jam ; while
the large northern towns take enormous quantities
either in punnets or peck baskets in a loose form for
preserves. There are a great number of kinds, but the
following will keep up a good supply in succession : —

EARLY.

1. Royal Sovereign — A remarkable kind, which
completely eclipses all others for the first crops. It
is robust in growth, free in cropping, and altogether
A i for market sale. It bears very fine large scarlet
fruits, and continues to crop over a long season.

2. Garibaldi, Stirling Castle, or Vicomtesse de
Thury — A first early kind, which produces freely
moderately-sized fruit ; and from its copious foliage
the early bloom is protected from the spring frosts.
Fruit bright shining dark red ; fine for preserving or
bottling, but of no value for punnets.

MEDIUM SEASON.

3. Sir J. Paxton — Very bright shining red, of good
size, and one that travels well. It .grows freely, with
good constitution, and is the best for general main
crop.

g6 FRUIT FARMING

4. Fillbasket — An enormous bearer of fine flavour,
fruit rather pale and long. This has done well in our
Kent fields.

LATE.

5. Givon's Late Prolific — Fruit very large; as it
commences to ripen when Paxton's are done, this will
prove of great value when better known, as it resists
the scorching July sun better than any other, and its
ample foliage protects the fruit, which is of a deep
red colour and fine flavour.

Givon's Late Prolific.

If the land is very suitable for Strawberries, the old
" British Queen " may be tried, though " Dr. Hogg" is
a better form of it ; but as a rule, except where a first-
class trade is done, "Queens" do not pay. Planters
should be very chary of planting new kinds, as so
many fail to come up to market standards, though of
value in gardens.

FOR PROFIT. 97

In reference to this matter, many recent introductions
crop freely and produce very large berries, but they
are too soft to travel, and in a wet season like 1909
they are useless. The growers find nothing more
reliable than Royal Sovereign and Sir J. Paxton.

Strawberry crops are amongst the most profitable,
and no plant better repays for careful cultivation. Fresh
plantations should be made every year, as unless under
exceptionally favourable conditions, they cease to be
profitable after five years, and a portion should be
destroyed annually. After a few years' rest, the land
can again be used for the same purpose. Pasture
land is apt to contain wireworm, and is therefore to
be avoided for Strawberry cultivation, unless after an
intermediate crop of potatoes or corn. In light land
the Cockchafer grub is very troublesome, a royalty
being placed on the perfect insects (May Bugs),
growers paying so much per dozen for its destruction.
The presence of the larvae is shewn by the Strawberry
foliage drooping. The large white grubs will be found
at the root, on lifting the plant.

Special notes on packing see Chapter XX.

98 FRUIT FARMING

THE MARKET CULTURE OF STRAWBERRIES.

An extract from a Paper read before the Royal Horticultural
Society, 1889, corrected to date.

My friend, the late Mr. Barren, has given you a full
and complete history, and named the best in all the
families of garden Strawberries. I have therefore only
to deal with their culture on a large scale for marketing,
or for the manufacture of jam. The Strawberry is a
very perishable fruit, and even in a few hours that
elapse before it is put upon the market, its freshness,
piquancy of taste, and bright appearance, have more
or less departed, in consequence of the packing and
jolting in transit. This is unavoidable ; and although
many growers send the fruit direct to market in their
own vans, still this liability to damage has the effect
of reducing the selection of kinds that will travel to a
few varieties, thus excluding some of the best in
flavour, from profitable market culture, as appearance
is a great factor from a paying point of view, I have
visited the Kent plantations in full bearing, and can
state from experience that fruit grown in the open is
far superior to any that is produced in closed-in
gardens, obviously because the sun from its earliest
morning awakening to the fading beams of its western
rays is full on the plants the whole day. These
conditions cannot be expected in walled gardens, or
in places surrounded by trees. A full play of air and
warm winds tends to ripen and flavour the fruit more
than is generally expected. To proceed, the largest

FOR PROFIT. Q()

district for Strawberries is probably that near St. Mary
Cray and Swanley, in Kent, where the culture assumes
enormous proportions. I note in the visit of the Lord
Mayor to the district lately, that one grower is said
to have as many as 2,000 acres, and that, besides 300
tons of fresh fruit sent to Liverpool, he made 60 tons
of jam per week. — (Gardeners' Chronicle).

There are many others who do an equally extensive
trade in that locality, and the reason for this is pro-
bably : because formerly in that district there was much
poor woodland, which the tenants were allowed to
grub and bring into fruit culture at a nominal rent,
which would be eminently suitable for the purpose,
as deep steam cultivation, upheaval of the roots, etc.,
would form a good fresh natural basis, combined with
the humus of the soil, upon which to start new planta-
tions of Strawberries ; the cheapness of London manure,
and its ready means of transit by rail, have also aided
culture, and of course the same rails (S.E., Orpington,
and C. and D., Swanley) could take the fruit to market,
while the distance from Covent Garden and the Borough
London Markets, and other centres of distribution, was
not too great to allow of road carriage, though many
prefer to send their own vans ready loaded to the
local station, and forward them by rail, transferring
them with their own horses from the terminus direct
to the salesmen, but of late years by motor lorries.
The soil of the " Cray " district is eminently suitable
for fruit culture, being light, and more or less mixed
with stones and flints ; but the main secret of success
is the heavy manuring given to the land with every
crop, and the intelligent culture bestowed. Sir Joseph
Paxton is still a favourite sort, and it possesses all

100 FRUIT FARMING

requisite qualities for the purpose, being a handsome
glossy fruit, of good firm substance, a great bearer,
and a hardy free grower, with good foliage and stout
footstalks to keep the fruit off the ground. Stirling
Castle (or Vicomtesse de Thury) is also grown, and a
few Eleanor and Elton Pine for later crops. Since
this paper was written, Royal Sovereign has been
introduced, and is the best for early crop ; but
Monarch is also a favourite where it succeeds, though
often blind under garden culture. Other novelties are
the Laxton, Fillbasket, Bedford Champion, etc.

The usual proceeding is to place the finest and best
fruit into i-lb. punnets, and later on, when the price
falls, into i2-lb. peck baskets, which are made with
necks slightly smaller than the body, so that they do
not require covering when sent by rail, but pack one
on another, and the fruit is thus sent in special trains
to Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, etc., in better
condition than would be expected. The punnets are
put into cases made to hold 24 or 48, or into light
open boxes with handles at each end; some cover the
layers of punnets with cabbage leaves to keep them
cool. A large sale is also effected in handled-chip
baskets holding 3 and 6-lb. each.

In recent years, the " King " or giant fruits are
sent to market in special punnets, and being the very
largest berries they obtain a high price, and are
neatly furnished with fresh leaves.

Planting. — The plants are set in the fields in straight
rows, 32 inches wide, the plants being 16 inches apart ;
such a plantation lasts from four to seven years
in good bearing, according to the soil or the seasons.
The hot seasons, by encouraging red spider, con-
siderably weaken the plants, and make gaps in

FOR PROFIT. 10 1

the rows, and severe frosts after a wet time will
sometimes kill them. New fields are planted at the
end of September, but if dry weather then prevents,
planting is best deferred till March, as the winter
frosts draw the roots out of the ground if not
established. It would pay growers to have a reserve
of some thousands of pot plants, to replace failures in
the first planting.

Picking lasts from four to five weeks, the pickers
being paid by metal tally for each peck picked, to be
turned into cash, or goods at the local shop, as they
require it. The pickers are generally housed on the
farm in lodges erected for the purpose. A marked
improvement in the care for their welfare has been
manifested in late years, and, although their condition
is a happy one in fine weather, compared with their
crowded life in towns, it must be very trying in wet
seasons, as they have to be out by three o'clock in
the morning to secure the first supplies for the early
trains. They are, however, generally cheerful and
willing ; the fact that each one can earn a fair wage
by diligence and activity stimulates them to work with
a will. My informant states that the largest day's
picking at Cray was about 6,000 pecks, of i2-lb.
each. At Swanley Station 80 tons was the largest
quantity forwarded in one day — i.e., 15,600 pecks.

After treatment. — As soon as the crop is gathered,
the side runners are removed with a bagging hook ;
the straw used in mulching is also removed ; the land
is then broken up between the rows with a horse hoe
and cleared from weeds. Any manure necessary would
be put on when the runners are removed, to stimulate
the formation of stout crowns. Digging is objected to.

102 FRUIT FARMING

The rows of plants are then moulded up with a light
plougn on each side to keep the crowns warm and
dry in mid-winter; any excess of rain draining into
the furrows.

Mulching is done about the first week in June, clean
barley straw being used at the rate of about ij tons
per acre.

This is the Kent plan. At Sandwich (Kent) the
finest British Queens are grown, and the culture there
differs in wider planting, possibly because of deeper
soil, while four years are considered long enough to
keep a bearing crop on the land. The one year's
plants (those set September to March previous) have
the flowers picked off by hand the first year, to
strengthen the stools, and in all cases the land is
kept scrupulously clean from weeds.

Manure. — Rich farm-yard manure is preferred, as
much as 60 tons to the acre ; shoddy and soot are
used, the latter tending to keep down slugs, while it
is recommended as a spring* stimulant.

As is well-known, the Aberdeen Strawberries come
in after the Southern fruit is over, and they grow many
more kinds : Vicomtesse de Thury, Black Prince,
King of the Earlies, for the first crops ; and Myatt's
Improved, Rivers' Eliza, Paxton, President, Duke of
Edinboro' and Keen's Seedling, with British Queen
for main crop. They are planted 30 by 15 inches
apart, and three years is considered the limit of a
paying crop, but on deep or very highly manured
soil, as much as eight years. By the use of both
early and late sorts the picking is extended to eight
weeks. Planting so far north is necessarily deferred
till April. The between alleys are lightly dug during

FOR PROFIT. 103

spare time in winter ; the greater rainfall in the North
doubtless settles the soil in that district, and thus
what would be a wrong practice elsewhere, is a success
in Scotland.

In the Evesham district, the general practice is to
plant 30 by 18 inches, and to retain a plantation four
or five years. Sir Charles Napier and Paxton are grown
for punnet work, and Stirling Castle and the old Scarlet
Carolina Pine or Grove End for jam ; the latter, although
small, making the best preserve, the fruit keeping its
whole condition and colour. In recent years, Royal
Sovereign has taken the lead, and heavy crops of
The Laxton, Climax, etc., are grown, but Royal
Sovereign is the best all round berry. The picking
lasts about five weeks, and planting is done in early
autumn and spring. After the crop is gathered, the
runners and spare foliage are removed by bagging
hooks, and the mulch taken off. Hoeing is then done
by hand or horses, and the plantations are left till
the spring.

Cornwall supplies the first market Strawberries ;
Alice Maud is their best early ; President, Paxton and
Royal Sovereign for main crop (but the Southampton
and Botley growers have lately been quite as early
producers). President carries badly, and is used for
home markets. The Cornish plant is closer than
others — 20 by 14 inches for Alice Maud, and 26 by 16
inches for others. From the nature of the soil, possibly,
and in consequence of copious manuring and more
frequent rains, the Cornish beds last as long as fifteen
years. This greatly adds to profit. A friend there
picks 100 tons a day. When it is considered that no
jam is made, this represents a large quantity of pound

104 FRUIT FARMING

baskets. The picking lasts four weeks. New planta-
tions are made in September, following a crop of early
potatoes if possible. A feature in my informant's
notes deserves mention. He keeps his hands on the
farm all the year round, the winter months being
utilized in making punnets, for which he has invented
labour-saving machines. To sum up the various
reports, the first point that strikes me is the few kinds
grown ; but the public are very conservative, and new
kinds are not popular in the market.

The Southampton, Botley, and Swanwick districts
are extensive growers of early Strawberries. The
culture differs in some respects from that in Kent.
They take special pains to hand lay the early runners,
and plant them out as soon as possible, and in this
manner they secure an earlier crop and larger berries,
some five days in advance of permanent field beds.
I am informed that no less than one and a half millions
of baskets were sent from one station, over 118,000 in a
day. Special trains are supplied by the London & S.W.
and Great Western Railways, which carry the
fruit all over the kingdom, via Willesden, 22 boxes
being reckoned as one ton. In the above districts
the small holder has a great opportunity, and the
Swanwick and District Fruit Growers' Association has
320 members, who by combination help each other,
and are able to bring pressure on the carriers to their
mutual benefit. They confine their sorts to Royal
Sovereign, The Laxton, and Leader. The latter,
though not a first-class berry, gives enormous crops
and late fruits. Late varieties do not pay, and Paxton
has almost died out in the district. This special
culture is made feasible from the fact that they do not

FOR PROFIT. 105

get those severe frosts which in other parts might lift
Autumn planted Strawberries.

The Sir Joseph Paxton has been the most reliable
sort for the Kent growers, but it has (with others)
deteriorated, because of the new plants being taken
from worn out fields which have borne heavy crops,
and, to remedy this, I suggest that a special acreage
be well manured and the plants be put out 3 -ft. apart
as early as possible. Then the flowers should all be
cut off the first year; this will enable the stools to
send out vigorous stolons, and form extra strong
runners in the spaces around the plants. Further, it
would be a good plan for growers to make arrange-
ments for friends at a distance to cultivate in this
way, and make an exchange, as it is found that such
renewals are very beneficial, and give fresh vigour to
the plants.

In our own private culture we find the following
most productive and reliable, and for home sale or
garden culture I think the selection cannot be
improved : —

EARLY. President (Green's) Givon's Late

Black Prince Louis Gauthier (white) Laxton's Latest

Royal Sovereign John Powell, or Goliath President Loubet

Vicomtesse de Thury, Countess Waterloo

or Garibaldi Dr. Hogg

MAIN CROP. Reward PRESERVING.

Fillbasket LATE. Vicomtesse de Thury

Sir Joseph Paxton Eleanor, or Oxonian Grove End Scarlet

British Queen Filbert Pine

The Autumnal fruiting sorts — Continuity and Antoine
de Padoue will become indispensable for private garden
use.

Preparation of Laud. — In order to insure success,
deep culture and heavy manuring are necessary, and
this should be applied before the crop is planted, as it

106 FRUIT FARMING

cannot afterwards be done so readily. I should prefer
to mulch with long manure, but it cannot always be
had in sufficient quantity. There is no doubt that
such strawy horse dung, turned once, and applied
early in May, greatly assists the plants in making
foliage, strengthening the blossom, and increasing the
size of the berries. Where a substitute for rotten
manure is required we have found bone dust and soot
very suitable.

In conclusion, I would mention that market growers
are trying new kinds, and a few years will probably
see more early and late kinds in cultivation. This,
with fields in varying aspects, should add ten to
fourteen days to the strawberry season, which is all
too short at present. Many recent novelties are very
large, but so soft and hollow that they travel badly,
and are useless in a wet or moist season. Spraying
with sulphur in early June will prevent mould in
foliage and fruit.

FOR PROFIT. 107

CHAPTER XV.

RHUBARB.

This is grown to a great extent near London, and
is a paying crop. The land should be good, and the
soil deep. The black soil of market-garden grounds
near the Thames, and the sea and its effluents seem
to suit Rhubarb admirably. Now that it is used later
in the season for wine and for jam, its culture may
probably pay for extension. Early Rhubarb is to be
recommended (preference being given to that of a
good red colour), as when gooseberries make their
appearance the price falls.

The forcing of Rhubarb for the London Markets is
a great industry in Middlesex and some of the
Northern towns.

1. Daw's Champion— This is far the best and earliest,
and the stalks are of a rich colour, whether forced or
in the open ground. Highly recommended.

2. Hawke's Champagne— A sturdy grower, starting
early ; of good flavour and rich colour.

3. Johnstone's St. Martin's, or Linnceus — Early, very
fine flavour. Not so acid as many, and worthy of
extensive cultivation.

Paragon is also a good early.

4. Victoria — A very strong growing kind, which
comes in well after the others, and where it is sold
by the ton, helps to make up weight.

The crowns are planted about 4-ft. apart, the land
being previously heavily manured, and early in April
some light litter is scattered over each stool.

108 FRUIT FARMING

CHAPTER XVI.

RED RASPBERRIES.

Where markets are at hand these are most profitable,
as they require less attention than any other crop.
As the picked fruit very readily ferments, it must be
marketed as soon as possible after picking. Large sums
have been made of this fruit ; the seasons rendering it,
however, a speculative crop— for if too wet, the fruit
rots on the canes ; while if dry, hundredweights are
only found where tons were expected. On the other
hand prices of course rule high in a scarce season,
and a very fair average may be grown. Some sorts
are favourites in certain localities, but dwarf kinds
seem to be preferred, as they do not require stakes;
but taller ones are most productive when bent over
and tied.

1. Superlative — Is a kind that supersedes all others.
We first distributed it in 1888. Fruit enormous, hardy,
and of fine quality, with very stout canes ; a continuous
cropper. This now takes the first place for market
sale, either in punnets or tubs. It makes the highest
prices and produces three times more fruit than others,
and succeeds everywhere we have supplied it.

2. Red Antwerp — Is one of the best; fruit large,
sweet and firm.

3. Semper Fidelis — A fine late kind, finds favour
with growers, as it cooks a bright colour; it ripens
fourteen days after the others and produces heavily;
but it grows up to y-ft. tall, and must be planted
widely apart.

FOR PROFIT. 109

4. Profusion — A sport from the Red Antwerp; fruit
large, separating freely from the core.

There are now many varieties grown, but the above
are the most reliable.

Hornet is finding much favour, as it weighs heavier
than other kinds. Wisbech Perfection has bright
carmine fruit.

White-fruited Raspberries may pay for local or
punnet sale, the best are Large White, and Yellow
Antwerp.

HO FRUIT FARMING

CHAPTER XVII.

EXTRA FRUITS.

We have now glanced at those market fruits most
usually cultivated, but, before dismissing the subject,
we would make some remarks on others that are
grown less frequently, and which might in some cases
be cultivated with profit. No one can see the laborious
efforts of the vine growers on the Continent, with
their miles of terraced hillsides where a lodgment is
effected for their favourite fruit by sheer labour, with-
out thinking that there are many wild places in
England where not only Grapes, but Figs, and possibly
Peaches could be grown in quantity in the open. In
Devonshire and the South there are many wild places,
where, with protection from winds, much useless rocky
land could be utilized, and old disused quarries, gravel
pits, and sand-holes be made luxuriant ; while pond
banks and damp situations could be planted with
Quinces. These sell well, and a taste for them is
growing. Quince marmalade is a very acceptable
relish ; and a few trees about the farm-yard and duck
pond would not only be lovely in flower, but produce
fine fruit.

i. GRAPES.— The White Sweetwater and Gamay Noir
with the old Black Cluster and Brandt are generally
very acceptable, and would be more so were they
better cultivated and the bunches and berries thinned
out. They would then ripen, and have larger berries.
Reine Olga is also a fine out-door grape, with tawny

FOR PROFIT. 1 I I

berries. Many old buildings and sheds are made
picturesque by a covering of vines ; and in the case
of quarries, etc., they could, perhaps, be made to hang
over the edges on wooden frames, if the soil was not
sufficiently deep to plant them below ; the large south
or west gables of houses, barns, etc., could be filled
with vines, and if the situation was very good, Miller's
Burgundy and Black Hambro' could be tried, as well
as the White Muscadine, Chasselas Vibert, Frontignan,
and other hardy white Grapes. Under glass, if they
can be well done, Grapes may pay, but the importation
of fruit from the Channel Islands and the Continent
has brought down the price of hot-house fruit produced
in this country by one half; and further, so many
gentlemen's gardeners have orders to sell their surplus
crop, that the amateur has little chance of competing
with them ; though if the handy man about the garden,
or, as sometimes happens, one of the family take a
pleasure in looking after such things, they may be
grown to advantage, but we should prefer to sell the
crop at a price to a dealer, and let him take the risk.
The high shop prices choice Grapes realize in our
large cities and towns, and the low figure they make
wholesale, is a most dismal outlook for growers just
starting ; and as those princes of culture, the market
florists, have now taken up the growth of late Grapes
by the acre, in their usual energetic manner, this
matter must be thoroughly weighed before investing
in " glass."

2. PEACHES, NECTARINES, AND APRICOTS. —These
require so much care on walls, and the spring climate
has for several years been so against them, that they
cannot be recommended for open wall culture at a

112 FRUIT FARMING

profit; as when a crop is taken it may be general,
and prices consequently low. We have found the
large growing kinds, such as Dymond, Sea Eagle,
Thos. Rivers, Barrington, and Princess of Wales, the
best. Among Nectarines, Early Rivers, Cardinal,
Lord Napier, Dryden, and Elruge, white fleshed, and
Humboldt and Rivers' Orange, yellow fleshed, are
the best. The Orchard House system of culture gives
better results. Here with partial heat, or even without
it, good crops are taken, and when water is abundant
for syringing, they can be well grown. We would
prefer, however, to have both Peaches and Nectarines
trained flatly, 18 inches under the glass; and if
attention is paid to thinning the shoots and fruit,
wonderful examples are produced The best results
are obtained from trees planted out, and the marvellous
i8-oz. fruit grown at Bexley have astonished all
growers ; size and colour are two qualities to be
aimed at. Remember always to send Peaches to
market before they are fully ripe. (See Chapter on
Packing). As before alluded to, we are inclined to
think early Peaches might be grown on bushes in
favourable spots, in the open air; especially where
there is a mixture of chalk in the soil ; probably, if
for a few years trained to a sandstone bank or rock,
and then allowed to grow naturally, merely thinning
the boughs, a result might be obtained. The same
remarks apply to Apricots, but the Orange and Breda
only should be experimented on. Nothing is more
injurious to these Stone Fruits than high cultivation
in outside trees, as we generally get a wet time after
the first growth is completed, and they then make
fresh growth, which our short English summers prevent

FOR PROFIT. 113

from becoming ripe enough to resist the rigours of
winter. Probably a covering, such as is used for vine
borders, would obviate this, by throwing off excess of
moisture from the roots. In all cases the soil must
be firm, and no stimulants should be used till the
fruit is set ; always water very freely.

FiGS are like Tomatoes and Oysters, a taste for
them has to be acquired, and when a person begins
to like, becomes greedily fond of them. In many
parts of Kent they grow well on Bushes or Standards,
notably on the Ramsgate coast on the chalk, or land
where there is but little depth of soil, and only require
a partial thinning of the branches annually, while
along the Southern and Western coasts of Britain
they flourish and make trees. They delight in a dry
corner; the hardiest are the Brown Turkey and
Marseilles, but Osborn's Prolific and others might be
tried. The Brunswick gives very large fruits, up to
|-lb., but it is a shy bearer. When Fig trees are
heavily cropped, a free use of liquid manure in a dry
season will assist the fruit into size. As in most
large gardens a fig-house is now the rule, there will
probably soon be a demand for a cheaper class of
fruit ; none is more acceptable on the breakfast table.
Good Figs were making, wholesale, 123. per dozen in
May, in London.

A very interesting account of the Fig Orchards in
Sussex appeared in the "Garden," May loth, 1890,
from which we extract the following notes : — " The
best kind for open air culture is the Brown Turkey,
and the trees are allowed to grow naturally without
pruning, and among them is one said to have been

planted by Thomas a Becket, which has barely
K

114 FRUIT FARMING

survived, being struck by lightning in 1885. They
prefer a gravelly subsoil, and lime rubbish and similar
materials are added as a dressing to the rich surface
loam. Just before ripening, the Figs are placed into
bags, to protect them from birds, otherwise they are
sure to be spoiled. The larger trees have stakes and
cross pieces to keep the boughs from the ground, and
so greatly are they now appreciated that they sell for
as much each as they formerly fetched per dozen."
Chalk rubbish appears to form a good foundation for
their roots to work in, and no doubt the introduction
of broken bricks, stones, cinders, etc., would keep the
trees from making too gross shoots, and enable them
to ripen their wood.

MULBERRIES. — These are seldom seen in market,
they so soon spoil after picking. So far as we know
no use has yet been made of them as a preserve.
They may become useful in dyeing, the stains being
very intense.

BLACKBERRIES. — One of our most delicious fruits as
a preserve — in fact, with cream, quite an exotic dish
is produced ; but these are generally suffered to grow
wild. Many stony banks, probably the heaps of refuse
from quarries, chalk works, lead works, etc., might be
planted with them to advantage. The jam-maker who
first had a stock would be able>.to command a large
price, after the flavour became known. Blackberry
jelly and jam have yielded good returns. They are
also cultivated in Kent. The selected British one is
very fine, but the American varieties have failed to
succeed in this climate. The cut-leaved kind, or
Parsley-leaved, is very productive and free in growth.
Many sides of railways, roads, etc., would grow these

FOR PROFIT. I 1 5

well. Can be propagated by cuttings made from the
roots and long shoots.

THE LOGAN BERRY is a gain in this direction. It
is a very free grower and it bears enormously, and
can be cultivated where the Raspberry fails. It is
best planted in rows, 8-ft. apart, the plants being set
i5-ft. apart, to be trained on a trellis about 5-ft. tall.
It throws up very stout shoots from the base of the
stool, which should at first be tied to the lower part
of the trellis, right and left, and as soon as the old
canes have fruited, they must be cut away, when these
new shoots should be trained to fill the trellis, being
tied firmly with stout yarn, and about i-ft. of the
ends should be cut off.

Logan Berries are getting known in market, and
make about 4d. a pound, and are among the best
bottled fruit. The Cut-leaved Blackberry should be
grown in the same way, and makes 3d. a pound.

QUINCES might be planted as before alluded to.
Cheap trees of these as two year old cuttings could
be at first planted, or half-standards. They require no
pruning for some years ; merely thin the branches.
The best kinds are the Pear-shaped and Portugal,
both large-fruited varieties.

MEDLARS. — We have sold trees of these for market.
The large-fruited Dutch kind forms a flat-headed tree,
and the Royal an upright tree ; the former is the best
for market. As the green fruit is quite uneatable,
they could be planted in the hedgerows ; and those
who are expert could graft them on the whitethorn
already there, but to save time they should be
purchased from a nursery. They are marketed in
quarter sieves and in punnets, are reputed to produce
a fair return, and are becoming greatly sought after,
both for dessert and jelly.

I 1 6 FRUIT FARMING

BILBERRIES, CRANBERRIES, AND WATERCRESSES are
crops which those having especially suitable damp
places could cultivate ; and even the Heath could be
grown for broom-making with advantage ; but these
matters are rather outside the range of the present
little work.

TOMATOES are on the border-land between fruit and
vegetables, and are a paying crop under glass culture.
Many excellent manuals are to be had on this subject.
Catch crops in the open are sometimes very lucrative —
a friend made ^40 from a quarter of an acre — but the
disease has to be reckoned with, and a fine warm
summer is indispensable ; in cold years they prove a
failure.

FOR PROFIT. 117

CHAPTER XVIII.

PURCHASE OF TREES. — PROPAGATION.

Pears, Apples, Plums, and Cherries may be purchased
of any reliable nurseryman ; and we may here say that
we do not advise propagation by amateurs — for this
reason — we never yet saw any home-grown trees
equal to those produced by professionals ; because
there is a certain modus, which only experience can
impart, often depending on very minute matters which
a long treatise would scarcely give an amateur an
idea of, and much dexterity of operation, and expert
discrimination in choice of stocks is required — and
this especially in the case of Plums, where there are
seven or eight distinct stocks used. There is further
the previous preparation and transplanting of stocks,
that we at once pass over the subject of propagation
in these fruits.

PROPAGATION — PRACTICAL FRUIT CHARTS. — During
the author's Mastership of the Worshipful Company
of Fruiterers, a set of five charts were prepared by
his daughter from original sketches, showing the
various operations of planting, pruning, budding,
grafting, cutting, and layering. These charts with a
handbook of plain directions were published by the
Company for teaching Horticulture in our Elementary
Schools and County Council centres, they will be
found of the utmost value for beginners in Fruit
Culture — demonstrating the various operations, as they
do in such a practical form. They can be obtained

Il8 FRUIT FARMING

for 2/6 each chart (if one only) or the set of five for
6/- nett, with the handbook. They have been warmly
welcomed by the County Council Lecturers and the
Gardening Press. Purchasers have to pay carriage,
the charts being of large size, mounted on card-board
and eyeletted for hanging up, they are too large for
post. They can be supplied from The Royal Nurseries,
Maidstone.

In selecting trees, preference should be given to
those having a clean bark and free growth ; indications
of healthy active roots ; really one of the most important
points. Much stress is sometimes laid on getting trees
from a soil which is relatively poorer than the one
about to be planted, but we have never seen Maidstone
trees fail even in the poorest of soils, or as far north
as Orkney or in the more genial counties of Devon
or Cornwall. Our results are not produced so much
by manure as by frequent hoeing, and cultivation of
the soil, inducing roots to develop to a remarkable
degree ; and other nurserymen seem to work on very
similar lines.*

If Standards or Half-standards of Pears, Apples, or
Plums are required, they should be of an uniform
height in the stem, and two to four year old trees should
be preferred, as their roots are more at home, and young
trees start more freely than those which are older and
have to recover themselves before they can make pro-
gress. Many two years' feathered (unformed pyramids)
are now planted ; these can either be allowed to form
Pyramids or Half-standards, as required, and are

* " I think it most important to buy good trees. Deal with a reliable firm and have
the best. It may look a little expensive at first cost, but when one is spending freely on
the land— and fruit planting entails spending freely if properly done— it is of the
greatest importance to plant good trees, that one may rely upon to be true to name. "
Year's Work.

FOR PROFIT. I 1 9

cheaper to purchase than trimmed trees. Such are
eminently suitable for plantation work ; the lower
boughs are removed as the bush fruits planted among
them rise in height, and extra strength is given to
the stem of the tree if some side shoots are left on
for a few years.

Dwarf trees may be either maidens or cut-backs,
two years are preferred, and are of course the cheapest
form of tree; but cheapness is only a relative expression,
and is a matter which frequently leads the buyer
astray, as some trees of the same age and description,
on paper, are worth double the value of others, and a
good tree is always the cheapest in the end. Although
ill-grown trees may in careful hands be recovered,
they are better left alone. See that Plums have no
split in the stem, and no gummy places, and that
Cherries have no wounds in the stem, and are not too
crowded in the head. Pears and Apples should be
free from canker in the stems, and have that bright
shining bark which betokens well ripened wood. On
the other hand, if buyers deal direct with a respect-
able Nurseryman, who is a grower of these things,
and one who has a reputation to maintain (and not a
middle-man), they will be as well served as if they
selected their trees.

BUSH FRUITS. — Currants and Gooseberries are so
much alike in growth, that in purchasing it is better
to specify a minimum number of shoots, or buy by
sample at per 100, and ask the seller to have them
tied up in small bundles (not too many in one).
Raspberries are none the worse if only two feet high ;
fibrous roots being the great desideratum.

120 FRUIT FARMING

TRUE TO KIND. — A word as to getting trees true
to name : — Nurserymen are but mortal, and when it
is considered that many hundreds of varieties are
grown, the wonder is that so few mistakes occur.
If, when you go into a Nursery, you see the tallies
or number pegs systematically arranged, you may be
sure that the proprietors and foremen are careful
people. Where the pegs are partly rotten, tumbled
down, or illegible (which happens in soils that do not
grow trees freely, and where they remain a long time
on the ground], it would be a better plan to mark
your trees while the leaf is on. Mistakes rarely occur
in market trees, because they are grown in large quarters
of a kind, but in garden sorts, where perhaps the fore-
man has not opportunities of selecting grafts, mistakes
may be innocently propagated. Strawberries for
market are readily selected, as purchasers can satisfy
themselves by seeing them in fruit or foliage, or by
asking for samples of plants.

PROPAGATION. — Now as to propagation of Bush
fruits : — The stronger shoots left from pruning are
selected and cut to the length of 6-in. in Black
Currants, and 8 to g-in. in Gooseberries and Red
Currants, and where the latter are preferred on a leg
or short stem, the eyes (buds) are removed at the base,
leaving four or five at the top, and the cuttings are
either inserted by pushing them into the soil, which
has been previously prepared, or by making a trench,
and laying them in regularly, 6-in. apart, taking care
to have the earth at the base firmly trodden down ;
any spare corner of land can thus be utilized (if a
little shaded, all the better), and success will in a
great measure depend upon the season, a dry spring

FOR PROFIT. 121

being fatal. The cuttings require pushing down again
if they lift from the expansion of the soil after a
heavy frost ; the surface soil should be kept open by
using a small hoe between the rows to prevent undue
evaporation. October and November are good months
to begin, and in that case the cuttings can be selected
before the bushes are finally pruned ; after that time
it is better to defer placing them till the winter frosts
are over, though wet days, when the men cannot
work on the land, may be utilized by making cuttings,
the shoots having been previously taken off and laid
in sand or light earth, the cuttings, after making,
being returned to the soil, in rows (not in bundles,
which get dry in the centre), until required. Where
large plantations are grown, some bushes are always
wanted for replacing, and if any surplus remains they
can be sold. Raspberries are increased by lifting the
canes that spawn up away from the main stool.

If any amateur wishes to try grafting and budding,
it can be done either by purchasing a few stocks,
which must have a year's growth in their quarters
before they are fit to graft, but they can be budded
in August, or by grafting on established trees,
recollecting that old trees of Plums graft badly, and
if such trees exist of sorts that are not required, they
should preferably be cut back and budded on the
young wood in August.

122 FRUIT FARMING

CHAPTER XIX.

PRICES OF MARKET TREES.

These vary in value from year to year, and as in
other commodities, from relation of demand to supply.
Plums are generally the least expensive. Standard
Orchard Trees of all sorts range from £6 los. to £8
per 100, or from i8s. to £i is. per dozen. Half-
standards from ^4 to £6 per 100. Two years feathered
from ^3 155. to £5. One to three year Dwarfs from
£3 to £5. Bushes or Pyramids from £4 to £10 per
100, the latter often being the cheapest, as they are
large fruiting trees, 4 to 6 years old. Two -year-old
Bushes of Apples on Paradise stocks or Pears on
Quince stocks are the favourite ages for market
planting. The prices of Wall trees and others may
be found in Nursery Catalogues. One-year-old or
maiden trees are not recommended, they are cheaper,
but the saving of time when older trees are purchased,
outweighs the prime costs. Bush soft fruit ranges from
i os. to £i 55. per 100; Currants being the cheapest.
Sometimes these may be had of neighbours at a cheap
rate ; but these prices refer to Nurserymen's rates.
Raspberries from i8s. to £2 per 1,000. Cob Nuts
^i IDS. to £2 IDS. per 100.

The best plan is to write to a Nurseryman, fully
stating wants, asking for a price including delivery.
Package is a sore point with buyers, as they object

FOR PROFIT 123

to pay for this necessary but costly material. We
advise all buyers to insist on proper packages, and in
cases of trees in bundles — where not enough for a truck-
load — have them matted as well. Where quantities
of trees are sent in trucks, straw protection should be
freely used, or bracken where it is plentiful. Purchasers
should recollect that most Nurseries are near cities
or towns, where such things as litter and straw are
expensive, though of no great value to a country
farmer.

A few illustrations of Market Trees are given. The
Standards of Kent have 5^ to 6-ft. stems, and in
Worcester and Hereford up to 5 -ft. In the North and
Midlands, the stems are 3^ to 4j-ft.

No. i.— A Kent Standard
Tree ; the stem being 5 to 6-ft.
long. Kent Half-standards are
similar trees with the stem 4 to

4i-ft-

Standards are generally used
for grass orchards or for planta-
tions as top trees.

No. 5 is a formed Fruiting
Pyramidal Tree. In some Nur-
series Nos. 8 to 1 1 are sold as
such at a cheap rate ; as these
(2 years) have not been pruned
or cut for the purpose, any
observer will see that real
" Pyramids " (as No. 5), which
would be 4 or 5 years old,
cannot be sold for the same
price, and the former are found NO. i.

I24

FRUIT FARMING

in practice after a few years to
assume the letter V, instead of
the proper form, like letter A,
which is best adapted to catch
all the sun's rays.

Bushes are preferable for
plantations, and are trained the
same shape as the illustration
of Cob Nut (Chapter IV.), and
are started in the shape of
No. 7.

No. 5.

Apples on "Paradise," and Pears on "Quince," do
not grow so freely as on other stocks, and can be
planted at 12 -ft. permanently.

In market culture, root pruning is not necessary.

No. 7 No. 8. No. 9.

8 and 9 are Apples, 2 years unpruned, called
feathered trees, and are given to show how varied is

FOR PROFIT.

125

the growth ; 7 is a 2 years Apple on Paradise, cut
back to form a basin like bush, the form in which
thousands are now planted, to train in open bush or
free pyramidal form ; 8, Cox's Orange ; 9, Worcester
Pearmairi. By removing the lower branches after a
year's growth they also serve for Half- standards.
10 and ii are Plums of two years old.

No. 10. No. 11. No. 12.

Damsons generally bush out freely. These 2-year
Plums are often planted in exposed situations, as
they are not so affected by the winds as Standards,
the lower branches can be removed as the under
fruit (Gooseberries and Currants) rise in height ; the
side branches of all trees may be left on for a few
years, as they assist in forming a stout body to the
tree.

No. 12 is a Gooseberry without a leg. This form
of market tree is preferred by many growers, as the
bush can be renewed if any branches break off.

126

FRUIT FARMING

CHAPTER XX.

PACKAGE OF FRUIT FOR SALE.

GRADING FRUIT. — This matter should have most
careful attention from growers, as it is of vital
importance. All kinds of hard fruit pay well for
sorting, and when graded and marketed as firsts,
seconds, and thirds, will make frequently 50 per cent,
more than the same fruit sent to market unsorted.

In large growths it would pay producers to register
a special " brand " name on a distinctly colored paper,
and thus secure a reputation for quality and honest
packing. The printing of the paper after the first
cost of a wood block would be a small charge, and a
half sheet could be placed on the surface after the
usual packing paper had been bent over the top of
the basket, something in this style : —

The corners being turned into the basket rim.

FOR PROFIT. 127

When a reputation has once been built up for high
quality, it not unfrequently happens that the produce
is all booked, even before it reaches the markets, at
a price considerably above the rates of the day.

The packing and grading of Apples is a matter of
the most serious import for the future of the British
Fruit Trade. Success or failure rests largely upon the
capability of growers to adapt themselves to the more
modern methods of marketing, and the realization
that the growing of the fruit is but one-third of the
battle, and the infinitely more difficult question of
selling must be met and overcome. A bushel of bad
fruit costs more to pick, and as much to market as
an equal quantity of first-class sample. Packing in
branded boxes would enable a reputation to be built
up and secure a new opening for sale, namely, that
of the wholesale grocers, who will be only too glad to
buy English fruit if packed in a manner that they
can handle. The packing must be attractive, the fruit
uniform in quality and size, and the grower who
fulfils these conditions should, in a few years, be able
to deal direct with the wholesale grocers, thus saving
the intermediate profits which now press so hardly
upon him.

The Author was much interested in inspecting an
Institution called the Hereford Co-operative Fruit
Grading Company, Limited, it has been now in
operation for two years, and is increasing in favour
with growers. All fruit is sold by weight and is well
packed and branded as Ai or qualities 1-2-3. This
work is done by women, and the cost appears about
3/- per cwt. to the growers, who must be subscribers
of 5/- a year, and are bound to deliver their entire
produce. This fruit is all box packed.

128 FRUIT FARMING

One grower who makes a speciality of choice
Apples (Cox's Orange) finds a ready sale for them in
boxes holding 18, 24, or 36, which are sold at the
same price, and average about five pounds in weight,
the 1 8 being the finest selected fruit. This culture
can even be undertaken by private people, ladies or
gentlemen, as a paying hobby, and no doubt our
large growers will also take up such a profitable
system of sale, as in that way they can realise double
or treble the market value of bushel packages. See
previous remarks as to cross fertilization, page g.

A new and improved card-board punnet has been
patented ; its chief value consists in its having a little
wire handle, so that on opening the cases, which hold
12 or more punnets, the fruit can be got at easily
without handling.

It is the custom to pack all hard fruit for Covent
Garden, or other London Markets, in baskets called
" halves " (half-sieves), which hold, nominally, four
gallons. Large Apples should be put into sieves,
but dessert kinds sell better in " halves." * '* I should
like to give a warning against the practice of putting
large cooking apples in half-sieves. This is very
generally done, but is by no means a good plan. A
* half of large Apples does not contain more than
three or four layers, and in the packing, loading, and
general knocking about the basket gets before reaching
its final destination, the bottom layer becomes bruised,
while the top layer suffers in the same way from the
pressure of packing sticks, or possibly from the gentle
railway porter's hob-nail boots when he is dancing on
the baskets to make them fit into the railway truck.

* From Year's Work.

FOR PROFIT. I2Q

The result is that there is only one, or at most, two
layers, that arrive at their destination in good order.
If the same fruit were packed in bushel or cwt. barrels,
the bruising is necessarily much less, and thus sells
better. Dessert Apples are best packed in half-sieves,
or in boxes."

Soft fruit for London Markets must of necessity be
sent in baskets, as they give some air ; in boxes such
fruit would heat in transit. They are made up to a
regular weight thus : — 24~lb. Currants ; 24-lb. Goose-
berries, if ripe, 2o-lb ; special very early green berries
are best marketed in pecks of i2-lb.; Cherries and
Plums, 2.}.-lb. ; the baskets being extra weight. In
other counties they are sold by the " pot," and by
other methods. A "half" is a circular flat basket,
io inches high, and 13 inches over inside. In packing
all soft fruit a cheap paper is used, called " Fruit
Paper," (Double Smallhand), costing, wholesale, 1/6
to 3/- per ream for " whitey-brown," and 3/9 for blue
paper; but newspapers can be utilized. The sides of
the basket and the base are lined with paper, and
half a sheet projects over the sides sufficiently to allow
the two ends to lie over one another when turned
back, to screen the top fruit and keep it clean ; some
litter, either pea haulm, rough hay, straw, or mixed
litter from field sides, is then placed over the paper,
the whole secured by two sticks, pointed at the ends,
which are stuck into the upper rounds of the baskets
below the rim in the form of a cross; these sticks
rise a little above the level of the fruit, and protect
it from the weight of other baskets, while the bottom
of the "half" being rather hollow, they pack firmly
one on the other. It is the opinion of many growers
L

130 FRUIT FARMING

that cheap wooden boxes, not returnable, must
eventually come into use. This plan was approved at
the Fruit Conference, but the smaller buyers (costers,
etc.) cling to the old custom.

In making up soft fruits care should be taken to
pick out the leaves, also that the samples are made
fairly even, as if a quantity of one growth is " pitched"
in the market, and the buyer happens to open baskets
below the sample, the average value of the lot is
lowered at once. Any bruised and speckled Plums
should be thrown out, special care should be taken in
packing Apples and Pears ; to make the bulk as even
as possible, it pays to exclude all inferior examples.
Cherries are packed in the same way as small fruit,
very choice or early fruit being sent in quarter-sieves
(pecks). In the case of Morellos, they sell best in
small shallow boxes, two layers only being placed in
each, and the nett weight of the fruit should be put
inside each box on a piece of paper. All salesmen
will supply baskets and boxes, and this mode is
recommended, as the loss, if growers find their own,
is heavy ; there seems to be no recovering any that
are once missed. Care must be taken to get a large
number ready before picking commences, and to keep
up a home supply, otherwise picking may be delayed
for a day or two in a critical time. Strawberries are,
when large, packed in flat or upright chip punnets,
holding J-lb. or i-lb, which the salesmen supply at a
cheap rate (5/- to 8/- per gross). If the punnets are
lined with fresh strawberry leaves, it gives the fruit
a better appearance. The "King" Strawberries — the
first extra sized fruit make good prices in punnets of
12 fruits, and later on baskets of four and six pounds,

FOR PROFIT.

with handles, are much sought after. The new chip
fruit baskets are finding favour, and are very cheap.
(See illustration}. Refer to Chapter XIV. for fuller
Strawberry information.

The Patent Chip Punnets.

These can be purchased wholesale of Messrs. Osman
and Co., 132, Commercial Street, London, E.G., or
through any seedsman ; also suitable crates to hold
24 or 48 pound baskets.

Main crop Strawberries are picked with stalks, in
baskets made for the purpose, with tops bending over,
called " rim pecks," in the form of a gallon stone bottle,
which hold i2-lb. ; and in this case they are not
covered with paper. Later on they are sent with or
without stalks to the " boilers," in barrels holding about
56 -Ib. It is important to throw out any mis-shaped or
unripe fruit, as appearance is everything in punnet
Strawberries. The punnets before alluded to are
again packed in large square hampers, or flat boxes
with handles, secured from depredation. Choice Apples,
Pears, or Plums pay to market in peck baskets or
boxes, when there is a short crop.

Raspberries are " tubbed," special tubs being made
for them, to weigh about a quarter cwt. Women pick
the fruit, slipping it off the cores into small wooden
or galvanized pails, which must be kept clean. Fruit

132 FRUIT FARMING

pickers earn from i/- to i/g per day, and even more
where they are paid by the punnet, but the better
plan with small growths is to pay by day work,
pickers then take more pains in gathering". Extra
fine Raspberries, especially " Superlative," pay hand-
somely in flat punnets of J-lb. or i-lb. each; lined
with leaves neatly before the fruit is placed in
them. In the case of Raspberries and Strawberries,
the baskets are all brought to a central lodge,
where the foreman, after weighing, gives a tin
ticket for every measure brought in. Orchard
fruit is gathered by men and women ; Nuts by both ;
soft fruit by both, and children. When Apples are
sold by the ton for jam pulp, they are sometimes sent
in American oil-cake casks, or flour barrels, and also
in sacks. Care should always be taken to send good
weight, avoiding the annoyance of " shorts " and loss
of price, which is out of all proportion to the possible
value of the tare deducted. Nuts used to be sold by
the ioo-lb., but now they are sold by the cvvt. or ton.
They are sent up in sieves (8 gallons), or, when
harvested, in bags, they are sold in the husks (not
shelled out). The following, taken from the Gardeners'
Chronicle, will be useful: —

PACKING PEACHES AND NECTARINES. — Mr. Coleman
says " I will now lay down a few rules to be observed
by beginners. Always have a good store of dry moss
in stock, the best and cheapest of all packing materials.
(Soft wood wool is now generally substituted for moss).
If properly beaten and prepared, it is soft, elastic,

and never heats in the boxes. Avoid the use of bran

>

as it has a tendency to sink in bulk when shaken on
the journey; the Peaches become loose, and as a

FOR PROFIT. 133

matter of course, separate from the packing, and arrive
in a bruised and worthless condition. Never use
wadding (the worst of all packing materials for soft
perishable fruit), as it absorbs moisture, becomes hard,
and heats on the journey. Avoid large boxes ; those
24-in. by i4-in., and 4-in. deep inside measure, are
suitable for 20 to 24 fine fruit. Always have the lids
in one piece, nail slightly, and cord two or more
boxes together. Place the direction label, printed
" Fruit with care," on the top — " To be met at the
terminus, this side up." I once heard of a porter who
walked into a shop in the Central Row, Covent
Garden, carrying a box with cards both on the top
and sides. Puzzled by his instructions he informed
the fruiterer that he had given each of the cards a
turn upwards on his journey from the station, and
hoped he had succeeded in carrying out the sender's
directions. Gather fruit in very closely before the
end of the week, and, unless specially ordered, never
send away later than Friday morning. When Peaches
appear sufficiently advanced for sending away, but
yet their hold is too firm to admit of their being
plucked from the tree without injury by the pressure
of the fingers ; take a piece of wadding in the left
hand, with which the Peach is firmly grasped, then
by using a pair of finely-pointed grape scissors with
the right hand, they can be detached without bruising.
Each fruit should be placed in a piece of tissue paper
nine inches square, and be laid in a shallow box or
flat basket containing a good bed of moss. When
gathering (which should always be performed early in
the morning) is finished, proceed to the packing room
and prepare the boxes by lining the sides and ends

134 FRUIT FARMING

with paper, allowing the half of each sheet to hang
over the sides for turning over the top when all is
finished ; then place a good layer of moss or soft wood
wool evenly over the bottom, slightly tilt one end, and
commence by folding the fruit in the squares of paper
on which they are resting. Shake a little loose moss
along the lower end of the box, and place the first
Peach in one corner. Keep it in its place with the left
hand, follow with more moss and fruit, never with-
drawing the left hand until the box is full. Each
Peach will then be resting in a soft nest, say an inch
from the bottom, and about the same distance apart.
Continue to introduce packing until every fruit is
quite firm in its place, then turn back the paper over
the whole, leaving room for half an inch of moss
between the covering paper and the lid. Owing to
the lightness of the lid, a little judgment will be
needed in placing the last layer, as safety in transit
depends upon the degree of tightness secured by
pressing down the lid without bruising the fruit ; nail
slightly, and always cord well. In the case of large
or long Peaches, lay them on their sides to prevent
their tops being bruised.

PACKING GRAPES.— W. W. W. finds the best way to
pack grapes for market is to place them in small
baskets, holding from 8-lb. to io-lb., first lining the
basket with a little paper (no wood wool is required),
then placing the bunches close together, their stalks
being tied round the outside, and finally putting this
basket into a larger one, known to salesmen as flats.
This does away with the handling of fruit by salesmen,
and consequently they are exposed for sale in the shop
windows with as good a bloom as when cut from the

FOR FROFIT. 135

vine. They then realise much better prices, and the
extra cost of carriage is very little.

GOOSEBERRIES now appear in the shops in upright
punnets ; giant fruits of Gooseberries are produced by
liberal cultivation and by early thinning, and when
well coloured in either red, white or green varieties,
make good prices ; they must not be too ripe. No
doubt this extra care and labour is well repaid, and
we feel sure that the railway station refreshment stalls
would find it to their advantage to have small card-
board trays of fruit ready. Travellers do not care
to pay i/- or 2/6 for a basket of fruit of one kind,
but they would, I imagine, pay 6d. or i/- readily for
a nice assortment of fruit in a handy paper or chip
basket. Very neat paper pulp baskets can now be
purchased at a low price in various sizes.

136 FRUIT FARMING

CHAPTER XXI.

STORING AND GATHERING.

This part of the fruit-grower's business is quite the
most important operation in his yearly round, and
yet it is one that is oftentimes, one may say generally,
done in a slipshod way. Good fruit that has been
allowed to hang on the trees and become well coloured
and ripened will not stand being gathered in sack-
pockets — as usual— to be afterwards ruthlessly shot
out into a heap.

Forwarding Apples.— It is a good plan to gather a
portion of one's growth of King Pippins, to heap
them fairly thick to induce rapid colouring, and thus
get them fit to market before the general run of
"Kings" are ready. There is always a good opening
for coloury examples of this Apple in October. An
open lodge, or any temporary protection in the orchard
serves as well for this purpose as a good building, as
the fruit must all be sold before there is any risk of
harm from frosts. It is not necessary to take such
elaborate care of King Pippins gathered in this way
for a rapid colouring as should be meted out to
Wellingtons and Blenheims. They take less harm
from the gathering sack process, and can be laid in
a heap straight from the trees without being examined
for maggoty and diseased specimens. Apples should
be heaped thickly, say three or four feet in the centre,
have no covering on the top in order to allow the
heat *' sweat" room to evaporate, have good roof

FOR PROFIT. 137

protection so that no rain injures them, and not too
much air. In this way Apples will soon set up a rapid
heat, and in about three weeks from the lime of laying
down will be ready for market, and will probably
realise quite as much money per bushel as the later
more carefully-handed gatherings. It should be quite
understood that I do not advocate the foregoing
method if fruit is meant to be stored for any length
of time. Lammas, Chalk, Hessle, and early Pears
can be forwarded in the same manner.

Gathering. — The sack or flap pockets so generally
used should be discarded when gathering the best
fruit, and a handled basket, such as is used for cherry
picking be substituted ; three gallons will be found a
handy size. This basket must be lined with a piece
of old sacking or some similar soft substance, and
have a hook attached with which to hang it on the
ladder, or a limb of the tree. The first fruits picked
should be carefully placed by hand in the base of the
basket, not dropped in, and throughout the whole
operation the picker should take care his basket is
never violently jolted about, or, in fact, nothing done
to bruise the fruits. When full, the small baskets
should be emptied into bushel or half-bushel sieves ;
the Apples being carefully run through the hands, not
roughly shot into the sieves. With Wellingtons
especially, every Apple should be separately handled
in transferring them.

For conveying fruit to the main store, a spring van
must be used ; a little loose litter in the bottom will
save bruising in transit. In the store a good bed of
clean wheat straw — none other is good enough for the
purpose — should be laid on the floor, care being taken

138 FRUIT FARMING

to put an extra thickness wherever there is the least
sign of a draught that might admit frost later on.
Everything depends on the next step. Sufficient pains
are seldom taken to lay down the fruit properly. The
prevailing practice is to bring the basket straight into
the store and tip the Apples as gently as may be into
a heap on the bed. This treatment is wrong. The
proper way is to have women ready at the heap ; the
baskets should be brought to them and the fruit be
handed out, every Apple being examined. The sound
ones should be put in the main heap, and all faulty
ones be laid in a separate place. This may seem
costly, but it can be done for considerably under
a penny a bushel, which choice fruit will repay in
shillings. Treated in this way the minimum of waste
is incurred, and the heap of sound fruit will keep
much longer than if mixed as gathered, as one rotten
fruit will spoil all those that touch it.

A dark place is best for storing Apples, the ground
floor being preferable to one raised, although much
excellent fruit has been laid upon the upper oast-
house floors in Kent. For keeping till after Christmas
the fruit must not be laid thickly, two to two-and-a-
half feet being ample. The thicker the heap the
sooner the sweating' stage is reached ; Apples cannot
survive this process. On no account should the fruit
be covered till one is compelled to protect it from
frost. Wellington Apples are the most liable to take
harm from careless handling, and at the same time
they are one of the most valuable for February sale.
But Bramley's and Newton Wonder, being more hardy
trees, are fast superseding Wellingtons, as they cook
as well.

FOR PROFIT. 139

Pears must be laid out on a floor singly, in this way
they show when ripe for market. It is better to pack
a week before they become quite fit.

Nuts. — It is essential to gather Cob Nuts in a dry
condition. If wet when taken to the store the husks
mildew and lose that bright bronzy colour so notice-
able in a good sample, and are of course less saleable
in consequence.

For the first week or so after being placed in store,
Cob Nuts require constant watching to prevent heating.
When laid too thickly, or if picked too green, they will be
certain to heat. It can be easily ascertained whether
heating has commenced by running the hand into the
lump. If so, the nuts should be turned over and
moved at once, and, if possible, spread over a larger
surface. If once allowed to heat, all condition and
colour in the husks is lost, and they lose weight
also.

140 FRUIT FARMING

CHAPTER XXII.

PROBABLE PROFITS AND EXPENSES.
Regarding this important subject, it is best to
strictly confine ourselves to facts. At the outset we
must observe that a sober view should be taken of the
matter, although fabulous prices are occasionally made,
the seasons for two or three years may prove adverse,
and actual loss may be incurred, which means that
some loose capital is necessary. The most certain return
is doubtless produced from a mixed plantation of
Gooseberries, Currants, Raspberries, Plums and Apples,
with part Pears and Cherries. After many notes taken
on the subject, ^25 to £30 per acre may be relied on as
an average nett profit of a plantation of this kind
when in full bearing ; if Standards only on grass,
about £10 to ^15 per acre. In this case the grass is
of course fed off by Sheep, and would probably pay
rent without the fruit. Where soft Bush Fruit only
is grown, the profits vary from £15 to ^25 per acre,
on an average crop. Where a large variety of fruit
is planted, entire failure is very rare indeed ; and as
before stated, the average price when sold by auction
is very regular, as higher prices in a scarce year
compensate for deficient quantity.f

t IMPORTANT RECORD FRUIT SALE AT PADDOCK WOOD.— Mr. W. R. Torapsett held his
30th Annual Sale of hard fruit at the Railway Hotel, Paddock Wood, on August 9th, 185)9,
and there was a very large attendance, all London markets being represented, as well as
local fruit merchants and buyers. The sale comprised excellent produce on 502 acres,
consisting of Apples, Pears, Plums, Damsons, and Nuts. The lots embraced the young,
extensive, and exceptionally well cultivated orchards belonging to Mr. Isaac Reader,
whose fruit alone fetched no le.«s a sum than £2,300, and then one splendid lot remained
unsold, the reserve price not being realised. The total amount reached at this sale was
about £7,000, and it is consequently a record and important one as concerning the fruit-
growing world. — Local Paper.

FOR PROFIT. 141

In 1910, sixteen acres of Apples sold for ^1,000,
on the trees. The crop was short that season, but
other orchards made good prices.

CHERRIES are a special crop in Kent, being mostly
sold by auction on the trees when immature; an
exact nett return can be given. In this case the
seller takes the entire proceeds of the sale, less the
Auctioneer's 5 per cent, commission. An average
spread over many years give the returns of an
established orchard at about £20 per acre. A young
plantation at 48 trees to the acre, would, the first few
years of bearing, make 2s. to 55. per tree, and after
that the produce would be greater year by year. An
orchard of 24 acres, for which we supplied the trees,
was sold at 20 years old for ^300, which shows a
good profit for capital invested ; and this orchard will
continue to improve for 30 years. In 1890, 42 acres
on this farm sold for ^630 with half a crop, and in
after years up to ^1,500.

Cherries from abroad are very inferior samples, and
we need not fear competition in this fruit. Orchards
in Worcester and Gloucester sell for a much larger
sum. The average price of White and Black Cherries
has risen considerably the past 20 years, and all who
have suitable land would find them a profitable
investment.

COBNUTS AND FILBERTS. — A ton or even more is
occasionally grown per acre, but an average yield
may be set at about 10 cwt. ; lately 2 to 2\ tons have
been grown in good years. Prices range from 3d. to
6d. per lb., according to supply. In some years 3/-
per lb. has been reached. A crop gives about ^15
per acre nett, allowing for Apples, etc., over them.

142 FRUIT FARMING

The best crops are obtained where they are not
crowded by over-head trees, and as stated before,
many stony banks, steep declivities, and poor hazel
woodland would pay to plant with Kent Cob Nuts.
In some years they pay best to send up in the green
state, as there is a demand for the Ocean steamers,
and they seldom come into competition with foreign
nuts, except at Christmas time, before which season
they should all be sold.

GOOSEBERRIES. — Where these succeed, as in the Fen
district, where they reach the height of 5-ft., enormous
crops are grown, and if the plantations are heavily
manured in winter and even then further assisted in
April with a top dressing (when the crop warrants
the expense), the returns are enormous ; taking an
average, the nett profit appears to range from £20 to
£25 per acre. Mr. Wright, in his Prize Essay, names
i/- as the produce of each tree; and the Journal of
Horticulture says that one whole district gave a return
of £jo to ;£ioo per acre. During the season of 1890,
as the Cherry and Plum crop were slack, the growers
gathered green all the fruit at the base of the bushes,
which was likely to be damaged by dirt washed up
by storms, and at once surface-mulched their planta-
tions, and brought off a crop of enormous ripe berries,
which grew out to their utmost size ; in this way the
crop was trebled in bulk. Growers should always pick
the bushes over three or four times. Where the
mulching is done early, the bushes are capable of a
full crop the following season.

BLACK CURRANTS. — In demand for jam, jelly, and
lozenge making, and occasionally, from special reasons,

FOR PROFIT. 143

prices run up to unusual figure, as in 1882 — 25/- per
bushel of 48-lb. The average yield is about 2 tons to
the acre, aud the price from 5/- to 8/- per 24-lb.

RED CURRANTS are occasionally most productive ;
the average crop is set at 2 tons to the acre, say £21
nett per acre. A four acre plot produced in one
instance nearly five tons to the acre ; but as they are
very susceptible to frost, and run oif very freely in
drought, the former estimate should be considered.

STRAWBERRIES are fully treated on in a previous
chapter ; occasionally they have been known to make
^150 per acre.

RASPBERRIES. — We have not been able to get any
details as to the average return per acre of these, but
the price varies from ^13 per ton. In some cases
these are grown among other fruits, and therefore
an approximate return only can be obtained ; but in
a plantation entirely of Raspberries, i J tons per acre
would be fair average, and give a profit of ^20 per
acre.

APPLES. — Where an orchard is composed entirely of
Apples, on grass, they rarely fail to produce a fair
return, and occasionally a fortune. Near Ashford, one
grower cleared ^600 nett from 20 acres, and at another
spot a grower sold his whole growth to a firm in the
Midlands at 3/6 per bushel, merely put on the rails
in the buyer's own baskets. In this case the crop was
6,000 bushels, being but a portion of the Fruit grown
on the farm. We have in Chapter VI. dealt with a
modern Apple plantation, and as the public taste is
leaning to Apples in all forms, they are likely to
remain a most sound investment. Authorities quote

144 FRUIT FARMING

about £15 as the average produce per acre. It is a
matter worth noting that the price of Apples has
steadily increased since more attention has been paid
to their culture, the highest prices are realized for
clean fruit from young and vigorous trees, and the
improved sorts now available. These figures can be
doubled where Dwarf trees on Paradise stock are planted
1 2 -ft. apart.

PEARS would bulk rather more than Apples, when
the orchard trees gained size, as they frequently crop
very heavily, and from bushes on Quince double the
profits of orchard grown fruit can be secured.

PLUMS generally sell well. In 1880 the Plum crop
was generally large, yet very good prices were realized ;
though large quantities were sent from abroad, the
importations had nearly come to an end before the
English crop was ripe. The average price per bushel
would be about 4/6 to 6/- nett, and the cultivation of
Plums with Damsons may give rather a heavier yearly
return, as they are more certain croppers, say ^15 to
£20 per acre.

FANCY PRICES. — In our own experience about this
locality, some very heavy crops have been taken.
The following are rather startling examples: — In Black
Currants, near Rainham, the produce averaged a guinea
a rod, or /Ji6o per acre. We have ourselves grown a
similar crop. In the West of England 2\ acres
produced nine tons; 72o-lb. of fruit have been gathered
from one prune Damson in the same locality. Apples
producing from 20 to 30 bushels each are not un-
common. The foregoing figures relate to orchards and
plantations in full bearing.

FOR PROFIT. 145

EXPECTED PICKING. — When does fruit begin to pay ?
A freshly made mixed plantation would begin to
produce the second year, and become remunerative by
the fourth or fifth year ; gradually increasing in value.
An orchard of standard fruit would produce little until
the fifth year, when it would begin to pay ; but if on
grass, in the meanwhile there would not be any direct
loss; but we strongly advise that young orchards
(except Cherries), should be raised in arable land, and
the intermediate space cultivated, as before described
(always avoiding grain crops) thus paying rent until
the top crop is sufficiently advanced to allow the land
to be laid into grass. One advantage of planting on
grass should not be overlooked. During the apple and
pear season we are frequently visited by heavy gales ;
the fruit, which is thus torn from the boughs, falling on
grass is much less injured than in a plantation where
it gets dirty and bruised ; and in most years pays
well for picking up, being marketed as u Drops."
Prompt measures are necessary, as presuming others
to have suffered from a similar cause, it is those who
are first in the market that get the best price. While
on this subject let us observe that it is not advisable
to turn in horses and cattle when the ground is covered
by fallen fruit leaves. Sometimes the heavy crops of
Victoria and other large Plums may pay to thin and
send up green, but a few should be sent up first to
feel the market. All Apples and Pears pay well for
thinning in the early stages of growth, and the
"thinnings," if over the size of a racket ball, pay for
the labour incurred.

M

146 FRUIT FARMING

COST OF PLANTING AND MAINTENANCE.— Much de-
pends here on the kind of plantation or orchard laid
down to fruit. In starting an orchard, there is only the
holeing, planting, and staking to be done, consequently
the cost can be readily calculated ; the price of trees
being included at £12 per acre for 48 trees, and in
proportion for a larger number ; but as previously
stated, it would pay to trench the land, or cultivate it
both ways by steam. If this were more attended to,
complaints would not be so general as to trees standing
still after a few years' satisfactory progress ; few
planters are aware how far the roots travel in search
of suitable food.

The cost of preparing land for soft Bush Fruit or
Strawberry culture is about £20 per acre; or, if
trenched, ^10 more.

The Capital required to carry on a Fruit Farm varies
from £10 to £22 per acre.

Through the kindness of Mr. Cecil Hooper, who has
gone into ways and means thoroughly in the Swanley
district, I am enabled to give notes of cost, crop, etc.,
which may be useful to planters. The following Table
gives concise information of approximate returns. The
life of a Cherry tree is longer than Apples or Pears
of the large growing kinds ; and the author considers
the life of dwarf Apples on Paradise stocks, Pears and
Plums, will be quite as long as Standards, as trees
in the Nurseries of 50 years old, Apples on Paradise
and Quince stocks, are still vigorous and productive.

FOR PROFIT.

147

•sjj

i .£j

fl'S'S fl

Jj

2 §

d

I*

A

£E

3 "s § ^

__, 3

.2 §

'C "^

*•* §

toE *

^1

|I|^

11

^1

*i

||

6£^

o «

w a
p-l

0

&

Years.

Year.

Year.

Tons.

£ s. d.

£ s. d.

£

Strawberry ....

4

2nd

3rd

2| to 4

21 0 0

42 0 0

24

Raspberry ....

12

3rd

6th

2 to 3

28 0 0

70 0 0

20

Gooseberry

12

3rd

7th

3

8 10 0

25 0 0

10

Red Currant. . .

15

3rd

7th

2

15 0 0

30 0 0

12

Black Currant. .

15

3rd

7th

3to4

25 0 0

75 0 0

15

Plum (staiid'rd)

40

6th

15th

5

16 0 0

80 0 0

Cherry ,,

100

8th

25th

4

15 0 0

60 0 0

±f\

Apple

75

5th

15th

5

10 0 0

50 0 0

TO

Pear ,,

100

12th

30th

2

10 0 0

20 0 0

Apple (dwarf)..
Pear ' „

50
50

3rd
5th

12th
10th

8
5

10 0 0
10 0 0

80 0 0
50 0 0

35

Plum „

50

5th

12th

7

16 0 0

112 0 0

Morellos ,,

20

2nd

10th

3

24 0 0

72 0 0

OMISSION. — In reference to cross - pollination of
blossom, the importance of keeping Bees in fruit
plantations was left out. Their honey also adds to
their value as fertilizers.

P.S. — While this matter was in type, the Author was
attending the great Fruit Conference at Hexham,
Northumberland. Very interesting papers were
read and discussed, and an arrangement has
been made for our firm to supply the full
reports, which will be of great service to planters
in the Northern Counties and Scotland, at i/i
each, post free.

148 FRUIT FARMING

CHAPTER XXIII.

DISEASES AND PESTS OF FRUIT TREES, ETC.,
AND THEIR REMEDIES.

In compiling these few notes upon some of the
more common Plant Diseases, the Author wishes to
emphasize the fact that, useful as he trusts they may
prove to many, some knowledge of the conditions
necessary to ensure health is far more important.

By way of preface, therefore, a few notes upon
these subjects are appended : —

" Take care of the roots and the tree will take care
of itself," will be a useful motto for all interested in
Fruit Culture. However favourable the conditions may
be above ground, it is useless to expect success if the
soil is not in a healthy and suitably porous state for
root growth.

Wounds of all kinds offer an easy entrance for spores,
and should be at once smoothly pared down round the
edges and painted with Blight Cure (No. i). This
will in Apples for example, prevent the spores of
canker, and the American Blight (No. i) from gaining
a foothold from which it may be difficult to dislodge
them. Winter spraying should be considered as quite
an indispensable part of garden routine and will kill
thousands of larvae eggs, insects wintering under the
crevices of the bark as well as fungus spores. It
cannot be too strongly emphasized that cleanliness in
culture is absolutely essential to the health of trees.

FOR PROFIT. 149

Rotting1 fruit on the ground, and dead twigs in the
tree aid the spreading of disease, and the production
of small weakly shoots, caused by over abundance of
ill regulated growth in the tree, are a direct invita-
tion to wandering spores to establish themselves as
permanent residents. Before treating of the various
diseases under the different species, we give a few
notes and remedies for troubles which are common
to all fruit trees.

A healthy tree will not be subject to serious diseases
or insect pests which visit the strong and weak alike :
upon the former they are but troublesome, but upon
the latter, dangerous. Fungoid diseases are the most
serious with which the cultivator has to deal, but they
seldom attack vigorous-growing subjects. Cold winds,
damp situations, cause a check to growth, and give
the floating fungoid spores their chance, being always
more or less prevalent in the air. If it is found
impossible to remove the existing bad conditions of
water-logged soil or position, remove the trees else-
where or destroy them.

A yearly winter painting of all trees will destroy
thousands of insects harbouring beneath the bark.
This practice, coupled with healthy roots, should free
the fruit growers from half the ills to which their trees
are heir. Mr. Massee, the great authority on fungoid
diseases, considers timely spraying should make these
troubles impossible, as they are all amenable to
treatment.

ANTS. — These are frequently very troublesome in
Fruit Houses. If scalding water is placed in their
holes copiously at intervals, it will kill them. If they
cannot be got at in this way, beer and treacle set in

150 FRUIT FARMING

glazed flat saucers, with a piece of stick for them to
run up, will kill them in thousands, and oil in phials
is a safe remedy. We fear to recommend arsenic
compounds on account of their dangerous nature.

GREEN FLY, APHIS OR WHITE LICE. — The Aphis
are perhaps the most difficult pests with which the
fruit grower has to deal, and in young trees the
damage they cause is serious.

The recent work of Professor Theobald upon these
insects establishes the fact that there are three
principal species which infest the Apple.

The Permanent Apple Aphis, as its name implies,
feeds entirely upon the Apple ; the two other species,
the Rose Aphis and the Blossom and Stem Aphis,
migrate in the summer to other plants, returning to
the Apple in late autumn. These Aphis are quite
distinct from the species found on the Damson,
Plum, Cherry, Currant, etc. In all these cases the
eggs are laid on the wood in the autumn, and no
wash is yet known which will kill these eggs. Remedies
having lime as their basis succeed in sealing up the
young in the egg, but not in killing them.

The vulnerable periods at which these insects may
be best dealt with are when they hatch out in April
and May. And again for the autumn brood, washing
with soft soap and Quassia, Abol or McDougall's
wash, should be undertaken the very first moment
any insects are seen. The fact that there are but
few should not lead the grower to consider it a
slight attack, and unworthy of the expense of
thorough washing. These " stem "-mothers and their
progeny will increase by millions in an incredibly
short time, and when the leaves curl up, the trees will

FOR PROFIT. 151

need four or five washings instead of one, if done at
first spring sight of the insects, even repeated spray-
ings will not effect a complete cure owing to the great
difficulty of spraying the fluid into the curled foliage.

The second vulnerable period is in the autumn.
Owing to the migratory habit above referred to, it is
often noticed that an orchard suffering severely may
be in a few days entirely free, though no washing
has been done. Growers must be on the watch in
the autumn for the return of these Aphis for their
egg laying. The leaves will not then be curled, and
spraying at this time, especially in the case of the
Apple Aphides, must be carried out with vigour. It
must also be done in the case of non-migratory species,
again in autumn, as the prevention of egg laying,
which begins about September, will mean a clean
orchard the following year.

FAILURE OF FRUIT TREES TO CROP.— There are
many reasons why trees fail to bear fruit, the principal
of which are as follows : — When trees bloom, but set
no fruit, spring frosts may be suspected, or an insect
or fungoid attack may destroy the young fruit — see
for Pears, the Midge ; Apples, the Apple Sucker and
Weevils ; for Acid Cherries, the Brown Rot.

When no bloom is present, the failure may be due
to lack of fruit buds through too strong a vegetative
growth (see Root pruning), or to birds having, in
winter, destroyed the buds. Plums and Gooseberries
frequently fail from this cause, and the remedy is
obvious. If the birds cannot be destroyed, lime-
washing the trees may keep them off, and for low
bushes, black thread spun from twig to twig will
frighten them by entangling their feet and wings.

152 FRUIT FARMING

BIRDS. — The worst enemy among this tribe is the
Bullfinch ; his attention to the buds of Greengages and
other good Plums, Apples, Pears and Gooseberries are
to be guarded against. It is to be deplored that such
beautiful birds must be shot, but that is the only way
of checking their depredations, as they are bold to a
degree. It has been suggested that they should be
trapped, as they are very silly birds, and could be taken
readily in a trap cage ; they soon make tame pets,
and a market can be found for them alive at about
3d. each ; probably the bird stuffers would take them
dead. He is also, with the Sparrow, a constant visitor
to both Currant and Gooseberry bushes ; and although
lime and soot applied to the bushes when they are
damp will check both, still the gun is to be used
with care, as a bad shot will do more harm in a
minute than the birds do in a week. As a rule the
soft-billed summer birds — The Cuckoo, and especially
Whitethroats, Blackcaps, Warblers, with our home-
dwelling Hedge Sparrows, Tomtits, Thrushes, and Black-
birds do a great deal of good, and should not be
annihilated, though their numbers have largely increased
of late, because of the mild winters experienced, but all
growers' men are seldom without a gun to keep them in
bounds. It is very annoying to have fruit spoilt by
Tits, or by larger birds, yet on the whole they do a
vast amount of good, and were they destroyed entirely
we should soon see an enormous growth of caterpillars
and similar pests, as frequently reported from the
Continent. It is a good plan to plant common Sun-
flowers in fruit gardens ; many birds are then attracted
from the fruit, as they richly enjoy the oily seeds. The
Sparrow is troublesome at all times, and must be

FOR FROFIT. 153

ruthlessly destroyed in the egg or otherwise. It may
be useful to give the summary of the report by Mr.
J. H. Gurney, who, in conjunction with Colonel Russell,
examined the contents of nearly seven hundred house
Sparrows of various ages : '* It may be said that about
75 per cent, of an adult Sparrow's food during its life
is corn of some kind. The remaining 25 per cent,
may be roughly divided as follows : — Seeds of weeds,
10 per cent.; green peas, 4 per cent.; beetles, 3 per
cent. ; caterpillars, 2 per cent. ; insects which fly, i
per cent. ; other things, 5 per cent. In young Sparrows
not more than 40 per cent, is corn ; while about 40
per cent, consists of caterpillars, and 10 per cent, of
small beetles."

SPARROW TRAPS. — We have caught great numbers
in the traps of Messrs. Gilbertson & Page ; we find
best results (when near towns) if the trap is baited
with sopped bread. In the country corn will answer
better.

The Cherry is a very favourite fruit, and Fieldfares,
Starlings, Missell Thrushes, Hawfinches, and other less
common birds then make their appearance. We have
found dive's Scares (imitation tin Hawks) sold by the
ironmongers very effective. They are suspended by
a string, and if the eyes are punched out they appear
to act better ; but like other scares the birds get
used to them if they remain in one place. They are
most effective when suspended on a string from one
tall tree to another, and can be shifted from place to
place on the same string. The Cuckoo is a friend
who should be thrice welcome ; his attentions to the
gooseberry caterpillar are most effective ; he appears to
be the only bird to tackle these loathsome sawfly

154 FRUIT FARMING

larvae, and being a hungry bird he requires a quantity
to make a dinner; therefore, if Cuckoos are noticed in
the plantations, they should be encouraged, and the
gun laid aside for a time. It is a beautiful sight to see
a nest of long-tailed Tits, with the parent birds, flitting
from tree to tree in the winter, examining every cavity,
every loose piece of bark and cranny, for the pupae of
moths and the eggs of other insects ; how regularly they
work, and how cheerfully they flit from twig to twig.
Not less to be encouraged are the other members of this
family, the large and small Blue-tits, Tree Creepers,
Nut Hatches, Whitethroats, Chiff-chaff, Garden War-
blers, and Blackcaps are great scavengers in the
summer season, and should never be destroyed, or their
eggs taken. The Chaffinch is not mischievous, as far
as we know. Starlings must be kept from the Cherries
in summer, at other times they are useful. Rooks
do much damage by settling on bushes and breaking
young branches with their unwieldy bodies, especially
among Gooseberries and young Plum trees.

FOWLS should be largely kept on Fruit Farms, and
partially starved to make them voracious, and be
tamed so that they follow the digging and pick out
the insects and pupae in the winter ; and they will
eat many millions of caterpillars, which can be dis-
lodged by tapping the trees in summer, especially in
Nut plantations. The stick used for this should be
covered with sacking or carpet to prevent bruising
the boughs.

SPRING FROSTS. — After a spell of fine warm weather
during the blossoming season, a rapid change may
take place on a shift of wind, and severe frosts
play havoc with the blossom or embryo fruits. In

FOR PROFIT. 155

order to obviate this, the American and Canadian
Orchadists have very successfully introduced smother
fires, either made from the refuse prunings, weeds,
etc., on the land, or better still, by the use of the
Colorado Orchard Heaters, which give out more heat
than a bonfire, are inexpensive to work, and can be
quickly set going. The inventors say one man can
light an acre in three minutes. They require no
further attention, being self-feeding, and clean them-
selves. They burn for four hours with i5lb. of
ordinary coal, this time being as a rule sufficient to
ward off the fatal early morning frosts, but they can
be charged with more coal to last double the time.
In the bonfires the smoke spreads like a cloud, and
thus raises the temperature and prevents the sun
striking the blossom when frozen. An interesting
trial took place at Hounslow. Fifty Colorado Heaters
were started at about 25 feet apart, covering an acre
of trees. The temperature was taken at 7 -ft. from
the ground, and from 6.20 to 10.20. The outside
thermometer gave 32 degrees (freezing point), while
the Heaters raised the area operated on to 35, 36
and 40 degrees, thus saving the crop. The cost of
these Heaters is 2/- each for 100, and cheaper for
quantities of 300 — being at 1/6 each.

They have been tried by several large fruit growers
with success, and there is no doubt that fruit crops
have been saved by their use.

In smother fires the direction of the wind must be
considered, and the annual prunings and weeds might
be saved for the purpose of these bonfires, but if
not used, we strongly recommend all rubbish and
prunings to be burnt, as such rubbish only harbors
insects and pests of all kinds.

156 FRUIT FARMING

MILDEW. — Apples, Pears and other fruit trees are
liable to this in summer, and it appears as a white
powdery substance upon the surface of leaves and
shoots. Apples and Pears may be sprayed with
Medela, No. 18, and this can also be used for Currants
or Gooseberries, but Cherries, Peaches, Nectarines and
Apricots should be sprayed with the copper carbonate
as advised for shot hole fungus, which see. Mildew in
Strawberries can be checked by the application of
sulphur — this must be done early, before the fruit swells.
In vineries the best method is sulphur wetted and
rubbed on the pipes, sufficient heat being maintained to
raise the fumes.

Moss ON FRUIT TREES. — The presence of this shows
a want of vitality in the trees. It can be readily got
rid of by a winter dressing of unslaked lime and
soot, also salt and water — 2 ozs. to a gallon — and a
mulching of stimulant manure to the soil will prevent
its appearance again, and start fresh growth in the
tree.

RABBITS AND HARES. — These are very destructive
to the stems of young fruit trees, more especially
Apples, and all trees must at once, on being planted,
be protected by a covering of small-meshed galvanized
wire netting— taking care to get it strong enough to
keep out the sheep's noses— and secure it with wire.
The best for that purpose is that called 17 guage, i in.
or i J in. mesh. The protectors should be 9 in. or i foot
wide, and 3 feet or more long, these are now made
entire, and are much stronger than pieces cut from
a roll of wire. Made separately, and galvanized after
making, they cost about 4d. to 6d. each. They will last
until the trees expand and take up the space. If two

FOR PROFIT. 157

stakes are used to a tree, the wire should be fastened
to them. The wires should be sunk a few inches under
the surface, and not to be less than 3 ft. high. The
greatest injury is done in winter, when a fall of snow
shuts off the rabbits' usual supply of food. Plantations
of dwarf Apples and Pears should have the hedges
wired round as well as the gates.

RED SPIDER. — All Fruit Trees seem liable to this
pest, which makes itself evident by the foliage losing
its green colour, and in Peaches and Nectarines
assuming a greyish tinge. On Vines it can be cured
by placing sulphur on the hot water pipes, and
syringing the foliage freely with tepid water the next
day, if the fruit is not too advanced. Trees in the
open can be syringed with the compound named for
Aphides, of various strengths, washing with tepid clear
water afterwards. The spider attacks the underside
of the foliage, and it is therefore necessary to keep
the syringe low down, as unless the leaves are well
saturated the minute insects escape. In dry spring
weather, Gooseberries are often taken with it before
the foliage is developed. Timely attention will save
the crop, which would otherwise fall from want of
nourishment. For Field Crops — 4 Ib. Liver of Sulphur,
4 Ib. Soft Soap, to 100 gallons of water, is a good
wash.

ROOT PRUNING. — The lack of proper balance between
root and branch growth is the cause of strong barren
shoots, and this vegetative vigour must be checked by
lifting the tree in autumn or winter and cutting hard
back all gross roots. Encouragement to the fibrous
roots to keep on the surface is given by mulching of
manure, but no Standard trees should be root pruned.

158 FRUIT FARMING

RATS may be trapped or killed by the new Virus,
but Field Mice are not so easily taken ; a good cat
will make herself useful in the plantations. Foxes
sometimes do damage also.

RUBBISH. —Always burn at once all prunings of Fruit
Trees and Bushes, and the rubbish quarter and faggot
stacks should be at some distance from the Fruit
Trees, as they harbour all kinds of insect pests. A
constant fire should be kept going to burn all fruit
trimmings, hedge cuttings, etc.

SQUIRRELS are tiresome among Nuts. There is no
remedy but shooting them, and although it may appear
cruel thus to treat one of our most beautiful animals,
they are most destructive, and travel miles from the
fir-topped hills to the Cob and Filbert plantations,
coming quite close to towns, although such shy animals.

WASPS do considerable harm among fruit. A liberal
price should be paid for Queens in the spring and
nests in the autumn, which can be readily destroyed
by inserting rags, dipped in Cyanide of Potassium, in
their entrances — it is a poison, and requires care in use.

WEEVILS. — When foliage or bark is eaten at the
edges, or the young buds are eaten out, and no
enemy appears by daylight, it is probable that trees
are attacked by Weevils, which work at night. The
trees should be quietly approached with a lantern, a
white cloth be placed under them, then shake the
Weevils gently into the cloth ; collect and destroy
them in boiling water. A small coppery day Weevil
also does mischief, and should be similarly dealt with.
It has been found efficacious to lay old sacking flat on
the soil, stamped down ; this being warm, the weevils
lie in it, and from time to time it can be lifted, and the
insects collected by shaking it.

FOR PROFIT. 159

WINTER DRESSING. —Should Fruit Trees be infested
in Summer with insect pests of any sort, it is advisable
that they should be carefully dressed, while leafless,
with Gishurst Compound, or better still, our Blight
Cure. This kills the hibernating insects and scale,
cleans the bark, and promotes a healthy growth. In
fact no garden should be without a can of it always
at hand. The Caustic Soda remedy is very efficacious,
and should be applied freely in severe cases. Great
care is required, in application, to keep the wash
from contact with the skin, eyes, mouth, and clothes,
as it is very powerful and burning. (See 3.)

DISEASES OF APPLES.

AMERICAN BLIGHT (Woolly Afihis).—This is very
injurious to Apples, and makes itself known by a
white woolly substance in the cracks of the bark and
in the leaf axils, or wounds in the bark. It can be
quickly got rid of on old trees, by rubbing in our
Blight Cure (No. i), which has proved of great value;
this can also be used for syringing all kinds of Trees
and Roses, for Aphis Blight. Colonel Lantour says —
" I am pleased to tell you your American Blight
Cure has been quite successful ; after a third time,
no more to be seen." We have found it also very
effectual for cleaning Vines and Fruit Trees in winter.
For slight attacks, vinegar or methylated spirit may
be used. See also under Canker.

CANKER. — This fungus (Nectria ditissima) is un-
fortunately only too well known by the dying back
of the bark in patches which often extend entirely
round the branch and cause its death. The affected
parts must be cut clean away and be at once dressed

160 FRUIT FARMING

with our Blight Cure, and fresh growth encouraged
by a good surface mulch over the roots, and it can
often be remedied by root pruning, and bringing the
roots out of a cold subsoil. It cannot be too much
emphasised that this fungus can only enter the tree
through a wound, therefore all abrasions of the bark
must at once be trimmed smooth and dressed with
an antiseptic, such as Blight Cure (No. i). Gunshot
wounds, damage from ladders, and blows from the
hoe or spade, make an opportunity which is seldom
refused by this ubiquitous pest. See also Scab. As
this fungus also attacks forest trees, such as Oak,
Ash, Maple, Lime, etc., any affected trees near the
fruit garden should be treated as above to minimise
the risk of further infection. The Black Scab and
Spot on fruit and foliage leads to Canker if unchecked.

CODLIN MOTH. — This troublesome insect lays its
eggs upon the young Apples when about i inch
long, and from the egg a small maggot bores its
way into the core of the fruit, leaving its excreta
at the eye of the Apple, which drops off prematurely.
These drops must be cleared away at once and burnt
to destroy the chrysalids. Dress the tree with Blight
Cure during winter to kill any larvae which may be
hibernating there. Blue Tits and poultry do much
good service by devouring the larvae.

GOAT MOTH AND LEOPARD MOTH. — In the stems
and branches of Fruit Trees a patch like sawdust
may often be observed with a dripping of golden
sap. This indicates that the caterpillars of the above
are at work, eating their way into the pith of the Tree ;
a twisted wire should be inserted, as far as possible,
when the yellow larvae may be withdrawn, and the

FOR PROFIT. l6l

hole should be stopped up. The Moth lays its eggs
in a likely spot, and on hatching, the young at once
eat their way to the centre until they turn to chrysalids.

GREEN FLY (Aphis or Lice) on Plums, and the Red
Fly on Pears and Apples, can be treated as for Black
Fly at half the strength, or in the place of tobacco,
4oz. of quassia chips can be used with the soft soap.
For Peaches and Nectarines the mixture requires
well diluting, as the young growth is very tender,
and two or three weak applications are preferable to
one strong one, which will often bring off the foliage.
It is best to do the work, if possible, in the evening,
and syringe early next day with clear tepid water, to
clean the foliage. Other Mixtures are Nos. i, 2, 4,
5, 6, 7. A late brood of Aphis often appears in
September ; these should be carefully destroyed to
prevent increase in early Spring.

SCALE. — When Trees of Apples and Pears appear
to be greyish in the stems, this is caused by
innumerable Mussel scale insects which adhere to
the bark and quickly stop the healthy expansive
growth of the tree. They may be checked by timely
application of Blight Cure No. i. Pears and Plums
on walls are very liable to scale, also trees suffering
from poverty of soil.

SCAB OR BLACK SPOT. — This disease (Fusicladium
dendriticum), which shows itself in disfiguring brown
spots and cracks on the fruit, and also as brown
spots both on the leaves and the bark, is the most
serious fungoid pest the Apple grower has to deal
with. It is often disregarded until it has reached
its most serious stage in which the young wood is
covered with minute ruptures or pustules, and when

N

1 62 FRUIT FARMING

this occurs, strong measures must at once be taken
if the tree is to be saved. The affected shoots must
be cut off and burned, and the tree be thoroughly
sprayed with Bordeaux Mixture, or more simply, a
wash made of one pound Sulphate of Copper to 25
gallons of water. The surrounding trees and soil
should also receive the spraying to destroy the resting
spores. (See end of List). For the spots on leaves
and fruits, spraying with Bordeaux Mixture when the
fruits are just set, and again a week or two later will
keep this down ; but it is dangerous to spray when
the fruit is full grown. There are many other fungi
which cause spots on Apple leaves, but the above
method applies to all. Root pruning as advised
above under Canker, will be found effectual in many
cases.

THE APPLE SUCKER (Psylla Mali}.— This pest is
very prevalent in some localities, and causes wide-
spread damage to the blossom and occasionally young
wood growth. A marked sign of its attack is the
hanging of dead brown blossoms. The eggs of this
aphis-like insect are laid in the autumn on the buds
and in the crevices of the bark, from which they
hatch out in April, and at once bore into the buds
where they devour the young half-formed flowers.
Cures recommended for winter treatment — Lime, ij
cwt. ; Salt, 40 Ib. ; Water, 100 gallons. Slake the
lime in water, in which the salt has already been
dissolved, and strain off through sacking or a fine
sieve. The wash is then ready for use. It must be
kept well stirred while being used. This wash has
the effect of preventing the young larvae from escaping
by sealing them up while in the egg. To kill the

FOR PROFIT. 163

developed insect, a wash containing nicotine is much
recommended, and could be used on a small scale ;
but its cost for extensive washings would be pro-
hibitive. Action is being taken to get de-naturalised
tobacco and nicotine at a cheap rate.

CATERPILLAR.— Moths which lay their eggs on
Fruit Trees, and the Caterpillars of which feed in
spring upon the young foliage, are of many kinds,
and are known roughly as " Winter Moths." They
may be divided into two classes, those with winged
females, and those like bugs without wings. The
winged class are hard to deal with. They may be
attracted by light, and a bottle trap of sweet liquid
or treacle and beer will catch very many. Owing to
the difference in the time of their hatching out these
methods are not very satisfactory, and it is usual to
deal with them in the Caterpillar state with arsenical
washes as detailed below. The wingless female class
are easier to combat, as they are trapped by grease
bands placed round the stem of the tree, which catch
the females ascending to lay their eggs. The chief
member of this class is the Winter Moth (Cheimatobia
brumatai ; and the bands must be in working order
for this pest by October ist. Waterproofed paper of
a tough nature is used, and a good grease (see Chapman's
advt.) should be spread in a narrow band, say three
inches wide, thickly rather than a wide thin layer.
The bands must be constantly looked over, and if they
are drying up, replenished with fresh material at
once. The March Moth is the latest of this class,
and the bands must therefore be kept going till mid-
March, when this pest is prevalent. About mid-April
the freshly-hatched Caterpillars may be found curled

164 FRUIT FARMING

up in the young foliage, when the arsenical spray
must be used. A convenient formula is as follows : —

Arsenate of Soda (pure) . . 3! ozs.
Acetate of Lead . . . . 7 ,,

Water . . . . . . . . 10 gallons.

Mix the Salts and dissolve in clear water, adding i-lb.
of treacle. Spray with a fine spray, and stop as soon
the leaves drip. The preparation known as Swift's
Paste is convenient, but our experiments lead us so
far to prefer the home-made article. The paste
requires merely mixing with water.

The extremely dangerous nature of this wash must
be constantly impressed upon the workmen. No man
with a small wound on his hands or elsewhere should
be allowed to spray with it, and a wash with strong
soap is necessary before the workman takes food, and
its use should as far as possible be avoided, as an
overdose continued many years may quite possibly
kill the trees outright. All live stock and chicken
must be excluded for two months from feeding beneath
the arsenate sprayed trees, as many cases of death of
sheep, etc., are reported from the dropping of the
spray in grass orchards.

In view of these remarks, it is hardly necessary to
reiterate the need for careful and constant attention to
grease banding as being a safer and most efficient way
of dealing with these pests.

Another good plan is to tie old sacking or straw
round the tree, about two feet from the soil, in April.
Many chrysalids will be found therein later, and the
bands should be collected in October and burnt before
the greasing is done.

FOR PROFIT. 1 65

CHERRY.

BROWN ROT OF CHERRIES. — This disease is rather
prevalent in many districts, and is sh6wn by a sudden
withering of the young shoot just after flowering, and
the presence of dead twigs in the tree. It attacks
principally Kentish, Morello and Flemish Cherries, and
is caused by the attack of a fungus, Monilia fructigena.
The sudden death of the shoots is often attributed to
frost, but a close examination will demonstrate the
presence of fungus on the flowers in grey powdery
masses. Remedy — Take out in autumn all dead wood
and burn it, and spray in spring with Bordeaux
Mixture, ist — just before the flowers open, 2nd —
directly the fruit is set. In pruning remove all whippy
or sappy shoots.

BLACK FLY ON CHERRIES is very injurious, and
should have attention as soon as the leaf shows curl
and harbours any fly. If local, sprinkle with tobacco
dust and syringe next day, and repeat again in three
days time. If general, wash with 2 ozs. of strong tobacco
steeped with i oz. of soft soap in 2 gallons of hot
water, syringe well under the leaves in a warm state,
or with Nos. i, 2, 4, 5. If the growth is long enough,
dipping is more effectual, and economizes the liquid,
while sometimes the shoots affected can be removed
entire.

CHERRY LEAF SCORCH (Gnomoma erythrystoma). —
This disease is prevalent in many orchards, and is
recognised by the affected leaves still hanging on the
tree in winter, and presenting a black blotched
appearance. These leaves serve to distribute the
disease next season, so they should be gathered and

1 66 FRUIT FARMING

burnt, or the next crop will be affected. Spraying
twice with Bordeaux Mixture in the spring is an
effective remedy, ist — before the flowers open, and
2nd — soon after they have fallen. In gardens where
gathering of leaves is feasible, this will prove a sure
prevention of its further appearance, as the spores
remain only in the leaves, which must be burnt.

COB NUTS AND FILBERTS.

BIG BUD IN NUTS is caused by a mite very similar
to that which attacks the Black Currant, and the
treatment recommended for this should be tried for
Nuts.

CURRANTS.

BIG BUD. — For this, the most serious disease of
the Black Currant, there are now two methods of
prevention, both of which have been practically tested,
and have given completely satisfactory results. They
all rest on the fact that as the buds open in March
and April, the mites leave them and pass along the
branch to the new buds forming in the axils of the
leaves. This is then their vulnerable period. The
methods proposed are as follows : —

No. i. To spray v/ith soft soap and quassia at
the end of March, following it with two or
more sprayings in April and one in May.
No. 2. To dust with unslacked lime and flowers
of sulphur at the same times as recommended
above.

FIG.

FiG DISEASE. — Shoots attacked with Phoma ciner-
ascens, a fungus which attacks the bark, softens it,
and ultimately kills it. The best plan is to cut off

FOR PROFIT. 167

the shoots as soon as they exhibit any signs of the
disease (most evident in the autumn), cutting well
below the part affected by fungus. Burning the
shoots at this stage prevents spores being formed to
scatter and attack fresh plants.

GOOSEBERRY.

GOOSEBERRY CATERPILLAR. — The presence of this
pest is soon observed ; when appearing in isolated
spots the larvae can be picked off by hand. If a large
area is affected, a dusting with Hellebore powder will
kill them at once, but as this is poison the fruit must
be washed before use. A suggested remedy is to
sprinkle fresh tan on the ground. The smell arising
from this is said to stupefy the insects, which fall to
the ground, and they can then be swept up. The tan
must not be left on the ground when the fruit is
picked, as it forms a nidus for fungi.

AMERICAN GOOSEBERRY MILDEW (Spherotheca Mors
Uv<z.} — This disease has lately occupied much public
attention, and it is without doubt in certain localities
and under favourable conditions a serious pest. The
felt-like spots on the shoots in winter caused by the
adhering mycelium can only be seen by very close
observation. If any brown spots are seen they should
be teased with a pin, and if they are the true mildew
it will come away from the bark, showing the light
brown skin below. If it is only the result of injury
it will not come away cleanly from the bark. These
brown patches show in summer as white patches on the
shoots and foliage which give them a silvery glistening
appearance, an infallible sign of the presence of this
disease. REMEDY — All affected parts should be at once
cut off and burned, and the tree washed with Liver of

1 68 FRUIT FARMING

Sulphur, J oz. to i gallon of water. In bad attacks of
this disease the shoots are much dwarfed and distorted,
and the fruit occasionally covered with rusty patches.
Preventative measures are as usual the best, and by
keeping the trees well pruned, cutting out weak
shoots and growing the trees in an open and dry
position, the soil being well cultivated, the grower
should keep clear of the disease altogether. It appears
most generally where Gooseberries are grown under
tall trees— which exclude the sun, and notably it appears
during a wet time and muggy weather in September.
As it appears on the points of the shoots, they can
be cut off and burnt; but this is now a disease which
has to be notified to local County Councils by law.

NECTARINES AND PEACHES.

APHIS. — See under Apple.

LEAF CURL OR BLISTER IN PEACHES AND NEC-
TARINES.— This is caused by fungus, which appears
when the young growth is checked by cold winds ;
the affected leaves should be removed and burnt.
The twisted leaves form convenient nesting places for
aphides, which should be kept down by the washes
already named. On the return of warm weather the
Trees will put forth healthy shoots, and every care
should be taken to encourage the strong growths.
Foliage under glass is aflected when cold draughts
play on it, root pruning one side of the roots yearly
checks it. We offer a certain remedy, called Medela
(Latin "a cure"), invented by our Mr. F. Buss, which
should first be used in February, then again when
the buds swell, and again before the buds fully open
(No. 1 8).

FOR PROFIT.

169

TESTIMONIALS.

HILDENBOROUGH. — " Your prepara-
tion has been most effectual. We
sprayed our Trees all over with it
aiid have not a blistered leaf, al-
though previously we had several
trees completely ruined by blister.
Now all trees are completely cured
and carry good crops. I also tried
it on a Rose that is always mil-
dewed, and so far it is free also."

CHEVENING, KENT. — " I am more
than pleased with your Medela, as
although I was only able to give
the trees one dressing, all those on
which I used it are making healthy
growth, quite free from blister, while
one tree in another position, which
I quite overlooked, is a mass of
blistered leaves. As our Peach and
Nectarine trees have suffered from
this disease for a number of years, I
look on your Medela as a boon, and
congratulate you on its discovery."

AND MANY OTHERS.

SCALE. — This occurs chiefly on Trees under glass,
and should be treated with a solution as for Apples
at half strength.

SHOT HOLE FUNGUS (Cercospora circumcissa). — This
shows first as small round patches dotted over the
leaves of a light yellow colour. The patches eventually
drop out, leaving a small round hole with a red edge.
It does but little harm beyond limiting the available
leaf space, and can be easily treated by spraying
with Ammoniaical Solution of Copper Carbonate just
as the leaves are expanding, and repeating twice
after. Bordeaux Mixture must not be used, as it
will burn off the leaves. A wash of half-an-ounce
of Sulphate of Potash to one gallon of water is said
to cure this attack.

1 70 FRUIT FARMING

SILVER LEAF ATTACK ON PLUMS, PEACHES AND
OTHER STONE FRUITS.— The leaves of affected Trees
turn silvery green, and the branches die back. As
trees become affected in both dry and damp soils,
and in both rich nitrogenous and poor soils, it would
not appear to arise from the roots. There is no
remedy for this disease, which is caused by a physical
separation between the upper and under cuticles of
the leaf; affected Trees should be destroyed, and all
tools used must be thoroughly cleaned, as it is said
to be transferred from one subject to another by
pruning. Our Nurseries are very free from it.

PEARS.

BLISTER ON LEAVES is caused by a minute but
destructive mite, which in early spring attacks the
young foliage, raising pustules in which they lay
their eggs, when a second brood is soon developed.
Medela (No. 18) will be found most efficient for this,
and should be sprayed on twice in February and
March before the leaves open.

PEAR FRUIT MIDGE. — This has increased consider-
ably of late years. After the clusters of fruit have set
some abnormally large pearlets will be observed ; on
cutting these open a colony of small white larvae are
noticed. The parent insect lays eggs in the blossom,
and as the fruit develops they are safely enclosed.
The only remedy is to pick off the affected fruit at
an early stage, before the new larvae escape, and
burn them ; if the surface soil beneath the trees is
removed and burnt, it destroys the larvae which
harbour there, and Kainit has been recommended as
a surface dressing at 4 ozs. to square yard on arable
land, useless on grass.

FOR PROFIT. 171

CRACKED AND SPOTTED FRUITS, see Black Scab,
under Apples. Pears are more liable to this when
shaded by Trees, if planted too thickly, or if too
crowded by branches.

SCAB. — See treatment as for this under Apple.

PEAR SLUG. — A small, slimy black slug-like insect
which attacks Pear leaves and frequently those of the
Cherry, Hawthorn, etc. Lime or Hellebore dusted on
the leaves by means of a sulphurator is recommended,
choosing the early morning when the leaves are wet.

RASPBERRY.

BEETLE (By fur us tomentosus]. — This beetle attacks
the fruits when in the larval stage, and causes the
fruit to become deformed and shrivelled. The diseased
fruits should be gathered quite early when only half
developed, and burned, and the beetles can be caught
upon tarred boards or be shaken into cloths when
they are laying eggs on the flower buds in May.
Vaporite might be dibbed into the soil, or Kainit
dressed upon the surface to kill the young pupae in
the soil. The constant cultivation of the soil by
exposing the larvae to the weather, and attacks from
birds will be of the utmost value. The Logan Berry
also frequently suffers from this beetle.

STRAWBERRY.

This fruit is not troubled much by fungoid pests,
and the shot hole fungus and rust can be dealt with
as advised in Peaches and Nectarines ; and mildew —
by dusting with sulphur, an early dressing with soot
or lime will check slugs.

172 FRUIT FARMING

HOW TO MAKE BORDEAUX MIXTURE.
This mixture, so invaluable for all fungoid diseases,
has recently been the subject of chemical investiga-
tion, and one result has been that a much simplified
method of preparation has been worked out, which
greatly increases, on the one hand, its fungicidal
properties, and on the other, entirely prevents the
absence of those small particles of lime which formed
when made in the old way, which were a source of
trouble in the syringe and sprayers. To make 100
gallons take 6-lb. 6J-ozs. of pure crystallised copper
sulphate, and dissolve it in a wooden or earthenware
tub containing two or three gallons of water. It
should be suspended in a rough bag or sack to assist
rapid dissolution ; then take some 5-lb. of good quick
chalk lime, slake it with a little water, and put it
into a tub containing 120 gallons of water. Stir two
or three times, and leave it to settle till the water is
quite clear. Now run off 86 gallons of the clear
liquid, and mix it thoroughly with the copper sulphate
as made above. The mixture must now be tested.
Place a few drops of potassium ferrocyanide in a
white saucer, and drop into this some of the clear
liquid obtained after the Bordeaux Mixture has been
allowed to settle. Any red or brown coloration
indicates that there is copper in solution, and a little
more lime water must then be added to the mixture,
and the test repeated until no change of colour is
observed. But it cannot be too much emphasised
that every extra gallon of lime water added beyond
that necessary means so much loss of efficiency.
This method of preparing Bordeaux Mixture makes a
slightly stronger wash than the old method, and to

FOR PROFIT. 173

make it to the proper strength, after testing, the
quantity should be made up to 100 gallons with
water, i.e., i.[ gallons. A ready-made powder,
" Vermorite," which only requires dissolving in water,
and which makes an efficient Bordeaux Mixture, can
be supplied. In the recent spraying discussion at the
Royal Horticultural Society's Hall, much emphasis
was laid on the Bordeaux Mixture being prepared on
the spot and under careful supervision — any careless-
ness of proportion or staleness of the mixture tends
to make it useless. We recommend also Voss' prepara-
tions (see advt.}, and " Woburn Paste," see No. 6a,
which is ready for immediate use. To clean the
hands after using Bordeaux, add a little vinegar
to the water.

LIST OF INSECTICIDES SOLD BY G. B. & Co., LTD.

s. d.

i Bunyard's Safe Cure for American Blight on
Apple Trees ( Woolly Aphis ; A . Lanigera}. —
This pest has from old Orchards found its
way into private gardens. It requires care
to eradicate ; hitherto the remedies have
often been as harmful as the disease,
paraffin, etc., eating into the Trees and
causing death to young examples. The
above is a perfect and effective remedy.
We offer it in bottles with a brush to
apply the same, iod. and 1/4, or post
free, 1/4 and i/io, and confidently recom-
mend it to all growers. It is poisonous,
and care must be used in storing and
applying it. The cure is useful for Aphis
and all other Insect Blights, but it requires
to be diluted according to directions.
J-gallon tins, 3/0 ; i gallon tins 5/0 ; and
5 gallon drums . . . . . . ..176

174 FRUIT FARMING

s. d.

2 McDougall's Garden Insecticide. — An efficient

wash for spraying Fruit Trees and for
Aphis . . . . . . pints, i/o ; quarts i 9

3 Campbell's Caustic Wash. — For winter dress-

ing Fruit Trees, Moss, Insects and Eggs.
In cans, gd., sufficient to make 10 gallons
of liquid . . . . larger, 3/0 and 5 6

This is very powerful, and requires care in
application, as it spoils clothes, and is
dangerous on the hands, eyes and face.
Rubber Gloves for use when applying the
same . . . . . . . . per pair 7 6

4 White's Abol. — Non-poisonous but absolutely

destructive to Mould or Mildew, Red Spider,
Aphis or Fly, Caterpillars, Jumpers, etc.,
and every form of insect injurious to plants.
In cans — pints, 1/6 ; quarts, 2/6 ; ^-gallons,

4/0; gallons, 7/6; 3 gallons 18 o

5 Quassia Chips, add 4 ounces to a gallon of

hot water for Green Fly, Plant Aphides,
etc. ; add a little soft soap, and dip the
plants if possible . . . . . .per Ib. o 6

6 Nicotine Soap, a safe remedy for Mealy Bug,

Scale, etc. . . . . . . jars, i/o and 2 6

6#Woburn Bordeaux Paste, a convenient form,

ready for use .. .. 5-lb., 4/- ; io-lb., 7 o

7 Gishurst's Compound for Winter dressing

Trees, and for killing Aphides, Scale,
Thrip, and American Blight

In boxes, i/- and 3 o

7#The "XL All" preparations. — The law now
allows us to sell them under restrictions.
The Insecticide cures and kills all pests.

i pt, 2/0; i qt., 3/6; 4-gallon drum.. 40 o
This can be diluted free. See directions.

8 Beetlecute, for destroying Beetles, Cock-

roaches and Ants . . per tin, 6d., i/o and 2 6

FOR PROFIT. 175

s. d.

9 Campbell's Patent Sulphur Vaporiser. — An
apparatus designed to vaporise Sulphur in
Greenhouses, to kill Red Spider and fungoid
diseases affecting Roses, Vines, Cucumbers,
Tomatoes, Chrysanthemums, etc., without
danger of the Sulphur taking fire, or dis-
figurement of Fruit or Foliage. No. i, for
Greenhouses up to 5,000 cubic feet, 10/0 ;
No. 2, up to 10,000 cubic feet . . . . 16 o

10 Tobacco Rag, genuine, for fumigating

i4-lb. at 1/3 per Ib. ; per lb., i 4

1 1 Tobacco Powder for Aphis on Peaches, etc.

in tins, i/o and 2 6

12 Sulphur and Tobacco Dust Distributors,

" Patent Duplex " . . each 2/0, 2/6 and 3 6

13 Sulphur, " Brown/5 for Winter dressing

per lb. o 8

14 - - "Yellow," for Hot Water Pipes, Red

Spider, Mildew, etc. . . . . . .per lb. o 8

15 Hellebore Powder, finely ground . . ,, 06

1 6 Banding Grease, specially prepared for the pre-

vention of the Winter Moth on Fruit Trees
per cwt., 25/0; 56-lb., 12/6; 28-lb., 7/6; y-lb. 2 6
i cwt. drums, 2/6 ; J cwt., i 6 ; 28-lb., gd.
not returnable.

i 7 Grease-Proof Paper, for using with the Grease,

8-ins. deep, i-lb.=9O-ft. . . . .per lb. o 8

1 8 Medela — a cure for curl in Peach and Nectarine

foliage and mildew in Roses,

in drums — i-gallon, 2/6 ; gallon, 5/0 ;

2-gallon, 8 o

19 Treelime, a capital remedy for Winter Moth, as

it can be applied direct to the tree bark
without injury, and remains sticky for a long
time .. Drums, i o/o and 1 8/0; casks, 30 o

20 Lead Arsenate for Spring Caterpillars

i76

FRUIT FARMING

LITERATURE OF FRUIT PESTS.

The Pamphlets issued by the Board of Agriculture
are not even now well enough known to fruit growers,
and we strongly recommend these handy leaflets on
" Insects injurious to Fruit Trees, and Fungoid Pests,"
priced at id. each.

The Board of Trade issue special leaflets upon all

fruit pests. They can be had free on application to

the Secretary, Board of Agriculture, 4, Whitehall
Place, London, S.W.

i Black Currant Mite.
4 Caterpillars and
Winter Moth.
12 Gooseberry Saw Fly.

Gooseberry Mildew.
15 Apple Blossom
Weevil.

34 Woolly Aphis

(American) Blight.
41 Red Spider.
53 Pear Midge.
56 Canker Fungus.
62 Pear Slug (Saw Fly).
69 Tent Caterpillars.

86 Brown Rot.

87 Fungoid Diseases.
107 Mussel Scale.

1 6 Apple Sucker.
20 Magpie Moth.

25 Cockchafers.

26 Codlin Moth.

For a thorough and detailed account or all Insect
Pests, the recent volume published by Professor
Theobald, " Insect Pests of Fruit," is an invaluable
work, and deals in the most exhaustive way with all
pests caused by insects. The price, £i ios., may be
considered high for a book, but it should rather be
regarded as a fee paid for the most expert advice
obtainable in this country, advice which is always
available and given in the most practical form. This
work has entirely superseded all previous books on
this subject (see advt.].

FOR PROFIT. 177

Highly recommended also is the little work, " Fruit
Trees and their Enemies," by Spencer Pickering and
F. V. Theobald. Price 1/9, post free.

WORKS ON FRUIT CULTURE, AS SUPPLIED BY
G. B. & Co., LTD., Post Free.

The Standard Book. — " The Fruit Garden." — This
work contains about 400 illustrations, and practical
information of every kind relating to Garden Fruit
Culture, Insects, etc. By George Bunyard, V.M.H.,
and Owen Thomas, V.M.H. In one Volume. u The
best and most important yet published." Reduced
price now, i3/- nett.

Bunyard's Modern Fruit and Rose Culture, revised
and enlarged. The set embraces : — Hints for the
culture of Apricots, Peaches and Nectarines,
Pears, Apples and Plums for Villa Gardens ;
Cordon and Candelabra Trees ; Strawberries in
the open, and for forcing ; and the management
of Orchard-house Trees, hints on Root -pruning,
Rose Culture, etc. — 1/6 post free.

Royal Horticultural Society's Rules for Judging Fruit,
Vegetables and Flowers, 1/7.

Grapes and Vine Culture, by the late A. F. Barron.
New Edition of this standard work, 5/6.

A Year's Work on a Kentish Fruit Farm. — A first-
class practical work by a large grower, 6d. post free.

Fruits for Cottagers. — R.H.S. revised pamphlet,
containing valuable and simple hints for culture,
of profitable sorts, etc., each 2d., or six for 7d.

Profitable Fruit Growing, by J. Wright (the Prize
Essay of the Fruiterers' Company], 6th edition,

1/2. "

o

178 FRUIT FARMING

How to Make a Fruit Room on G. B. & Co.'s Plan,

with two Photographs and full instructions, 2/6

post free.
Udale's Handy Book on Pruning, 1/4 post free ; a

good practical work. We agree with his ideas,

except as to pruning the first year.

NEW FRUIT CHARTS.

The Fruiterers' Company of London, of which our
Mr. G. Bunyard was Master in 1906, have published
a set of five charts illustrating Planting, Pruning,
Budding, Grafting and Layering, which combined
with a handbook for instructions, may be had
free by rail for 6/0, beautifully got up and
mounted on cardboard, purchasers paying cost
of carriage. Favourably noticed by the Press.
These charts were drawn by Miss Lorna Bunyard,
supervised by Mr. George Bunyard, and slides
can be supplied for Lantern Lectures at 10/0
a set. A large number have been sold for
County Council and School Lectures.

ROSE CULTURE.

National Rose Society's Descriptive Catalogue, 2/2 ;
also Hints on Rose Culture, 1/2.

R. E. West's " How to Grow Exhibition Roses," i/o.

Roses. "England's National .Flower." — Mr. G. B.
has written a practical little manual with descrip-
tions of Roses, grouped in families for special
purposes, illustrated by photographs taken specially
for this work by Mr. E. A. Bunyard. It contains
hints for culture, and will be specially valuable
for Amateurs who are often at sea with a
catalogue that contains hundreds of varieties.
3/9 post free. Favourably reviewed by all Papers.

FOR PROFIT. 179

Rev. A. Foster - Melliar's Book of the Rose. —
" Practical, and a treat to read." 6/6.

HARDY TREES, &c.

Handbook of Hardy Trees, Flowering Shrubs, Conifers,
and Evergreens. — 160 Pages, 50 Illustrations; full
of useful hints ; with English and Latin names.
By George Bunyard, v.M.H. Post free 3/9, of
the Publishers, George Bunyard & Co , Ltd.,
Maidstone.

l8o FRUIT FARMING

CHAPTER XXIV.

FRUIT GROWING IN THE FUTURE.

Extract from a Paper read by Mr. George Bunyard
before the Society of Arts.

Without in any way venturing to prophecy, we have
seen enough of the success attained by the best fruit
growers to outline in some degree the probable course
of commercial success in the future, for it is to the
newly planted orchards, where the sorts are of the
best for their special purposes, and where clean cul-
tivation obtains, that we must look for our chief supplies
in time to come. In America and Canada they
consider 15 ye,ars the average life of a paying orchard ;
the trees are then destroyed, a fresh plantation being
started to come into bearing order before the older
one is destroyed. In this country 40 years may be
considered as the outside limit of a Plum orchard,
50 for Apples, 60 for Pears, and 80 for Cherries, and
by that time the available nutriment in the soil may
be considered to be exhausted by the standing trees,
though with liberal surface manuring they may
continue fruitful for many more years. Apples, Pears
and Cherries are the longest lived.

It will therefore be well, before that time expires,
to provide other growths to replace orchards that
are exhausted. This may appear to many a drastic
proposal, but the stimulating manures now given tend
to strong sappy growth, therefore I think I have not
over stated the probable paying life of Trees, Again

FOR PROFIT. I 8 1

the public is fast being educated to distinguish between
good and inferior fruits, and growers will find their
future profit to lie in producing examples of the finest
sorts from young trees, preferably dwarf Apples on
Paradise, or Pears on Quince Stocks.

At present, colour is the marked factor in Apples
more than quality, red and yellow being chosen for
dessert, and green and golden for kitchen sorts, and
expert observers will notice that this excludes many
of our best flavoured fruits, which being russety, or of
a nondescript appearance, do not sell on the market
boards, though where quality is asked for they cannot
long remain unknown. We may look also to improved
methods of packing to secure higher prices. Instead
of the half-sieve (four gallons) and the sieve (bushel)
baskets, choice fruit should be boxed and placed in
punnets and suitable packages, so that on reaching
its destination it need not be again handled in
serving purchasers. Many advocate a non-returnable
wooden box, such as is used for oranges. A start has
been made with ripe Gooseberries, White Currants,
and Raspberries in punnets, and good prices result.
The best Strawberries are of course marketed in
i-lb. and i-lb reputed punnets. I think also that the
use of artificial manures suitable for special soils
and crops, must engage the attention of growers in the
future. It is evident, that from the use of kainit, soot,
fish guano, basic slag, and rich portable manures
the fertility of the land must be increased and
retained, while with such manures, the crop of weeds
which so often follows the use of stable manure may
be avoided. There is another way in which growers
should copy American producers, and that is by

1 82 FRUIT FARMING

planting large bulks of one sort of either Plums, Apples,
or Pears, but so intermixed that cross fertilization is
provided for, so that day by day market buyers can
make sure of a supply of the same article. The
wisdom of this is seen in the fact that when a
retailer gets an Apple that suits his customers, and
they have taken a fancy to it, the supply is often gone ;
and he buys another sort, which has to be tried
before the public will take to it freely ; whereas if a
salesman was able to say " I shall have this sort for
14 days or so," the retailer could better gauge his wants
and suit his customers. This also applies to Plums,
and in fact to all fruits. As I have before stated, all
old and worn-out orchards must be destroyed, as their
produce is so inferior that it causes the price of
better class fruits to fall, for I feel confident, that
with the vast quantity of improved sorts which the
Nurserymen of the present time have distributed,
there will soon be no paying market for inferior
fruit. The fruit of the future again must be carefully
gathered, evenly sorted, well stored, and honestly
packed ; those growers, whose character is known on
the market, can always make the best prices, and
any sharp practices in the way of mixing sorts and
topping-up always recoil on the sender.

In reference to the storage of fruit. I exhibited
photographs of our Allington fruit room, which has
enabled Apples in fine condition to be set up the
latter days of May. I do not pretend that such
erections are necessary for market fruit growers, as in
Kent we have ready-made rooms in the abundant
hop oasts and stores of the county, and many contend
that fruit marketed direct from the trees pays best ;

FOR PROFIT. 183

but the same principle can be observed even in exist-
ing stores, which is — simply gather the fruit with
care, store only perfect examples, keep the fruit in
the dark, and never let the stores be too dry, or
allow frost to enter. Cultivators must also test new
and improved varieties, and when found to suit their
soil, embark in them largely. Many will not plant
less than 300 of any variety. I am not hopeful of
the progress of evaporated (dried) and crystalised fruit
in this country, nor do I think that apple rings are
likely to pay the producer.

It must be remembered that the Prunes of the
Continent are really partially dried and prepared on
the trees, in consequence of greater sunshine ; and in
such drying experiments as I have witnessed, even
our large Plums come out of the ordeal — to use a
common expression — all skin and bone.

Growers, too, must look further afield for market
outlets, and I feel that the system of sending such
huge bulks to London markets, only to be transhipped
to other cities and towns, is doomed. Our largest
growers pack their fruit, to suit distant markecs, in
baskets, barrels, or cases, as the particular district
affects, and send it direct from their local stations
instead of to London first, and thus make the best
prices. It is obvious to all that there is neither time
nor space in the large London markets to deal with
the vast quantity that is sent there in busy seasons.

These remarks, however, are in no way intended to
disparage London markets or London salesmen who
do their very best for clients ; but the course indicated
may save those gluts of produce in the London market,
and prevent lowest prices. London will always be

1 84 FRUIT FARMING

well supplied, and can consume a vast quantity, but
producers on either a large or small scale will find it
pay best to send the finest only for London sale. It
is manifestly unfair to send the best only to distant
markets, and the inferior to London, because the
carriage is less, for it is a known fact that (as a rule)
London buyers always give higher prices for selected
fruit than provincial markets can realise. There is a
growing demand for fruit jellies, flavourings, temperance
drinks, jams, preserved and bottled fruits, and further
developments of these industries are to be looked for,
not only in a trade sense, but in private families, as
the process is now so simple with the new and im-
proved automatic bottles. Already a large demand is
springing up for English fruit in Canada and South
Africa. I have not touched on the culture of fruit
under glass, because it is not within the scope of this
paper. The most prosperous branch of this culture is
no doubt the growth of Peaches and Nectarines. But
we yet require more time to know what effect the
maintenance and repair of the comparatively flimsy
glass structures of the market growers may amount to,
before we can consider the matter tested to an issue.
Tomato growing is really properly treated as a vegetable
industry, though on the border land between a fruit
and a vegetable.

It will be observed that I take an optimistic future
view of the industry of fruit culture. Quite agreed.
And I can go further, and say that no grower who
has entered on the matter in a business way has ever
failed to make a profit, naturally largest where most
care is taken. Cases of failure are known, but they
can be traced to a want of ordinary business acumen

FOR PROFIT. 185

and are often the result of following false leaders, or
the development of a fad.

The Kent system of Tenure as between Landlord and
Tenant, — The rule about Mid-Kent is for the landlord
to pay for such permanent orchard trees as the tenant
elects to plant. Some landlords also further allow a
sum for planting and staking. Having first arranged
with the agent or steward, the tenant is bound to plant,
protect, and keep in order all such permanent trees.
But if the tenant makes a plantation, he furnishes all
the soft fruit bushes, Raspberry canes and plants
necessary, at his own expense, and at the expiration
of his tenancy he has no claim on the landlord for
his outlay. This is a simple matter, and has worked
well when the tenancy is 14 years or more; but if a
tenant dies, or leaves before the expiration of his lease,
the bushes are valued to the incoming tenant as tenant
right ; or the landlord pays for them, and gets the
sum from the new tenant, or should he be unable to
do so at once, an extra rent is charged to cover the
landlord's outlay. The passing of the Market
Gardeners' Act, 1895, placed tenants who have planted
in the past on a firmer footing, as under it the out-
going tenant can claim compensation for his outlay
(before 1895); which is assessed by valuation if tenant
and landlord are unable to agree as to terms.

It frequently occurs that valuers' estimates* differ
widely, and a third man, as arbitrator, has to be
consulted. I think in all cases a proper understanding
should be arrived at on entering into a tenancy, and
from experience I believe nearly all landlords and

* See Mr. Cecil Hoopers's paper on "Some Principles in Valuing Fruit Plantations,"
published by "Country Gentleman's Association," 25, St. James' Street, London, S.W.,
(3d. post free.

1 86 FRUIT FARMING

agents are ready to meet the wishes of a tenant
possessing capital and energy. In order, however,
to guard against an unfair advantage being taken by
an improving tenant, it is customary on many estates
for the words " under no circumstances shall this
tenancy be considered as a market garden" are in-
serted in most leases (under recent Acts this cannot
now be done). In other cases where the tenant
finds the trees and plants, it is not unusual for an
agreement to be made whereby the tenant at the end
of his term receives a capitalised sum equal to —
years' purchase on the increased letting value of the
holdings, to be then determined by agreement or
valuation. In my opinion the Act would have been
improved if a definite number of years had been fixed
under which compensation could be claimed, as bush
fruits are practically useless after 10 to 15 years,
Plums begin to decline after 25 years, and Apples
after 40 years; but under a 14 years' lease a tenant
should have reaped his profit on all outlay, except
perhaps on a Cherry orchard. Undoubtedly the best
plan is for the tenant to be a freeholder.

TABLE OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES FOR LONDON
MARKETS.

In order to arrive at a better understanding as to
weights and measures for the marketing of fruit, a
Conference of the Potato and Fruit Trades' Association
and the National Federation was held, and the
following standard, uniform, nett weight packages, to
be known as '• The National Federation Standard
Weights," was agreed to : —

FOR PROFIT. 187

Pecks or
Pots. i-Pots. i-Sieves. Strikes.

Cherries 72-lb. 36-lb. 24-lb. i2-lb.

Plums (all kinds) . . . . 72 ,, 36 ,, 28 ,, 14 ,,

Currants (Black, Red or

White) 24 „ 12 „

Gooseberries 28 ,, 14 „

Strawberries and Rasp-
berries (Galls, and
Chips 5-lb.) .... 12 ,,

Tomatoes (English and Channel Islands) Handle
baskets, Chips and Strikes, i2-lb. ; -|-Chips, 6-lb.

Apples and Pears must be sold by declared and
guaranteed nett weight, owing to the various
samples, kinds, qualities and packages.

Fruit NOT packed in the above uniform weights
should be sold by ascertained nett weight, declared at
time of sale.

Should the declared weight be questioned, the average
weight of FIVE packages out of every 50 packages,
or part of 50 packages, in each consignment should
be taken, and should be considered the average weight
of the consignment.

In case of dispute, the goods should be weighed,
and weight certified by an independent authority, the
person challenging the weight paying the weighing
charge.

DISCUSSION.

Mr. W. W. BERRY said it had given him great
pleasure to listen to this paper, and he might say that
on this subject Mr. Bunyard was a prophet, not with-
out honour, even in his own country, and the tenant
farmers and landlords of Kent would always be grateful
to him for the pioneer work he had done, for the

1 88 FRUIT FARMING

advice he had given, and for the indomitable per-
severance with which he had carried out his experiments
over many years. The question of selection and
packing of fruit was all important. If he had 100
bushels of Apples, he would rather send off 60 per
cent, of the best, even if he had to throw away the
other 40 per cent., but that was not at all necessary.
If you picked out the very best, say 20 per cent., and
packed them carefully in boxes, and then took a further
40 or 50 per cent, and packed them carefully in baskets,
the returns from these two sections would be greater
than from the whole 100 bushels marketed in a careless
way ; there would be a saving in carriage, in packing,
and in other ways, and you would still have 30 to 40
per cent, of sound fruit to deal with, which you could
dispose of to the ** smasher," as the jam maker or
cider maker was termed, at a fairly remunerative
price. The same thing would apply to every kind of
fruit. Another improvement was the steam cultivation
of the land, not only in clearing old woodlands, but
even on some of the best land in Kent, where he
would not think of planting fruit trees without first
thoroughly ploughing it arid stirring the subsoil by
steam. He recently broke up 14 acres, first ploughing
it 9 to 12 inches deep by steam, and then following
the furrows with a powerful steel implement to break
up the subsoil, being careful not to bring the subsoil
to the top, but thoroughly breaking it up from 21 to
24 inches deep. The whole cost was not more than
£2 per acre, if you hired the implements, and that
was quite saved in the cost of planting. Artificial
manure was another important point. Any farmer or
fruit grower could now be supplied with exactly the

FOR PROFIT. 189

manure his land or crop required, and at a moderate
price— either prepared bones, guano, or some of the
phosphatic manures which had been referred to. One
of the principal reasons for which he would recommend
these things in preference to farm-yard manure, was
the economy of application. Apart from the question
of weeds, which was very serious, especially with
manure from London, the expense of hauling 20 or
25 tons of farm-yard manure on to an acre of fruit
land, first getting it to the plantation, and then
spreading it amongst the fruit bushes, was enormous,
whereas if you had a suitably-prepared manure, with
the proper quantity of potash, phosphates, and ammonia,
it would all go in a one-horse cart and be carried
out and sown broadcast on the land for three or four
shillings. On a large scale, that saving alone would
mean a good living for the fruit grower. With regard
to foreign competition, there had been complaints for
25 years, but he thought the time had come to admit
that the British fruit grower was largely dependent
on foreign and colonial produce. In the old days a
small quantity of fruit could be sold during the
season ; there was a shop here and there, and fruit
was very dear, and when any unusually large
quantity was sent to market there was no one to
distribute it. The season then only lasted three or
four months, but now we had choice fruit all the year
round. There were hundreds of shops, stores, and
barrows — fruit was constantly put before the public,
who were thus educated to the consumption of it, and
insisted on having it, and thus the fruit grower was
far better off than he would have been without foreign
supplies. Reference had been made to the advantage

I QO FRUIT FARMING

of fruit and hop growing in keeping labourers on the
soil, which was a matter in which he took great
interest. Things were looking up a little in every
branch of agriculture, and they wanted more labourers
than they did a few years ago, but they could not get
them. They were often in great straits for men to do
a little extra work which they knew would pay for
doing. If you went away from the most prosperous
districts, up into the hilly and barren parts, you will
find only one in three, or one in six of the cottages
occupied, but down where fruit and hops were grown,
and near the towns, there was an enormous dearth of
labour. Instead of getting the assistance they used
to have from the hill country, when there was any
extra work, they could not now find it. In the
villages where fruit growing was carried on, there
was work during the winter in pruning, manuring,
digging, making new plantations, and so on, and he
was paying ^1,000 in wages now, where ^100 was
paid when he was young ; and a cottage could not be
got for love or money, though five miles away there
were empty houses, because there was no work for
the men to do. The Kent fruit industry, therefore,
was a grand thing, and it must be the same in many
other counties. Fruit was becoming more and more
popular every day ; it had never been overdone yet,
except in 1886, when there was the biggest all-round
crop of fruit ever known, while at that time the
system of distribution had not developed in proportion.
There might be a crop now three times as big as
that, and it would all go to market, and the public
would get the benefit of it. Enormous quantities of
hot-house Grapes and Tomatoes were now produced in

FOR PROFIT. 191

this country. Mr. George Munro had given evidence
before a Parliamentary Committee that in one year
he had sold 700 tons of English-grown hot-house
Grapes, in addition to those from the Channel Islands,
and more than 1,000 tons of Tomatoes.

Mr. J. ASHBEE (Manager, Covent Garden Market)
said it was perfectly true, as the last speaker had
said, that it was much better to keep inferior fruit
out of the market altogether, than to put it in with
the better class. He had repeatedly seen the sale of
good Apples entirely spoiled because certain growers
thought that they could get the better of the public
by putting inferior ones in with them. There were
two distinct classes of buyers ; the man who bought
the best and gave the best prices, and the man who
bought the worst and only paid the lowest price. If
you sent a mixed lot, the good man would not look
at it, and consequently the lower-class buyer must
have it, and he would only take it at his own price,
and thus the grower often did not realise the cost
of carnage, simply through carelessness and stupidity
in packing his goods. Foreign competition in fruit
was like foreign competition in everything else —
cereals, hay, straw, eggs, butter, cheese, or poultry.
Foreign fruit could not be kept out of the market,
and it answered a very useful purpose. No doubt, it
had stimulated the public taste ; the more fruit people
ate, the more they liked it. He had often wondered
what our forefathers did for fruit ; the people, generally,
could have had hardly any. He could remember the time
when the only thing you could get in winter was an
Orange. The Colonies were making great strides in
this direction. Cape Colony had recently come to the

1 92 FRUIT FARMING

fore, and within a decade would be sending fruit here
which would be a surprise to many -people. But it
would come in when English fruit was over. When
English Grapes were finished, there would be a good
opening for Grapes from the Cape. Men had gone to
the Cape from California, who were laying down
hundreds of acres of fruit land, and they would be
sending thousands of packages before many years.
But it would do no harm to English fruit, which was
equal to anything in the world when well grown and
properly sent to market.

Mr. E. D. TILL thanked Sir Owen Burne for his
remarks on Mr. Bunyard's reference to cider-making,
and he remembered that when Mr. Radcliffe-Cooke
read a paper on cider before the Society, the Chair-
man, Sir W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, was also sympathetic
on the same subject. He would like to state his own
experience. In 1895 there w£s an abnormal crop of
Apples in Kent, and he urged the Technical Education
Committee of the Kent County Council to make ex-
periments, with a view to instructing Kentish people
as to cider-making. They declined, but as a glut
crop is not too frequent, he urged two Scotchmen,
farmers at Swanley, to get an expert from Hereford,
erect a press, and as Apples were plentiful they made
5,000 gallons that season. In a " glut " year liquid
storage is the best way of saving a crop and relieving
a glutted market of fruit. Something like 40,000
gallons have been made at Swanley since that experi-
ment, and it is commercially successful. There is no
difficulty in selling it. It contains a low per-centage
of alcohol, 2\ and 3 per cent., and although cider
from Kent fruit is different in character from that of

FOR PROFIT. 193

the West country, it is not deficient in fine quality
and flavour. As to keeping properties, he had been
lately drinking good cider, made in 1895-1896 from
local fruit. In the Weald of Kent they have lost the
true art of cider-making ; they put sugar in it, which
is a great mistake. The French were paying more
and more attention to the manufacture of cider.
Mr. Radcliffe-Cooke had said he knew nothing for
agriculturists which offered such an unlimited and
profitable field as cider-making. Mr. Cooke's advocacy
of cider, and specially in the interests of his own county,
Hereford, had led to his being called the " great
De-£/'^r-atum." He would like to say that Mr. Bunyard
had not referred to poultry keeping in orchards, but
he thought it was a valuable and profitable adjunct,
and he might mention that the production of poultry
and eggs was now equal in value to our British
wheat crop, and still admitted of immense extension.
Mr. D. LOUIS said the washing of fruit trees with
poisonous materials had been practised for the last
50 years, and it was constantly done in France and
elsewhere, as well as in England. He did not know
of any recorded case in which any accident had arisen
therefrom. In connection with artificial manures, he
was pleased to hear Mr. Berry's remarks ; he had
been advocating it in Kent for some years, both
because it was more efficient, and on account of the
saving in carriage. But these things were adjuncts,
not substitutes entirely for farmyard manure, and it
was necessary that the right material should be applied
at the right time and in the right way, otherwise it
might be injurious. He lately had an interesting
example of that on some thin soil in South Kent, just
P

1 94 FRUIT FARMING

over the chalk. It had been dressed persistently with
superphosphate, with very bad results ; but when he
saw the character of the vegetation he recognised that
the soil was acid, and advised the use of basic phos-
phate. That was put down, and the result was an
entire change in the appearance of the place.

Mr. BUNYARD, in reply, said he strongly recom-
mended that all new orchards should be raised on
arable land, excepting Cherries, for which he could
not advise that course. It was true they did well
under it, but if there came a severe frost — anything
like 24° below freezing — the trees would be completely
spoiled ; and not only that, but where the ground was
very well manured, the Cherry trees ran away altogether.
He was called in to advise at a place in Gloucester-
shire, where they had manured the trees highly, and
they made enormous growth, 6 feet in a year, but
after a hard frost the trees were completely spoiled.
To farm a good Cherry orchard, you must let it go on
very slowly. With regard to renovation of old orchards,
if you possessed good sorts, by all means go in for
it, but it was useless to take the trouble if the variety
of fruit was not good enough to pay for it.

CIDER AND PERRY are only made in Kent for home
consumption ; recently, however, as before named, a
Company at Swanley, Kent, have started the industry ;
but in the Cider districts it appears that raw Cider
sells readily at from i/- to 1/4 per gallon. It may
probably be worth while to use our better fruits, and
make a first-class Cider. Messrs. Gaymer of Attle-
borough, Norfolk, we believe, have adopted this plan,
and their Cider is very much liked. There is no doubt
that the special Normandy Cider fruits, which are

FOR PROFIT. IQ5

practically free from acids, are the most suitable.
This has been specially recognised by the National
Cider Institute at Longashton, Bristol, and they have
propagated a quantity of the best recognised varieties
for distribution amongst the growers, and beyond this
their expert analyses and reports on the local Apples
and the Cider made from them. There is no reason why
Somerset, Devonshire and Hereford should have the
manufacture in their hands entirely. Cider is very
wholesome, and is especially refreshing, and would to
many constitutions be better than other drinkables at
four to ten times the price. Through the exertions of
Mr. Radcliffe-Cooke, M.P. for Hereford, a great impetus
has been given to Cider making ; and the Cider works
of Messrs. Bulmer, of Hereford, are a notable example
of well directed scientific knowledge, combined with
commercial activity, and they well deserve the success
attained.

196 FRUIT FARMING

CHAPTER XXV.

LABELLING TREES AND NAMING FRUIT.

Tallies attached to trees when first sent from a
nursery are soon lost : and many forms of permanent
labels are now in use. To our minds nothing is
better than to make a plan of the plantation, and
insert the names on the plan, as labels get loose and
are lost ; and on the other hand, the wire to which
they are attached, unless very frequently shifted, cuts into
the tree stems and forms a wound. On wall trees, we
have seen a good label made of lead, which has the
name in full punched on with steel letters ; this is
hung on the stems and secured by a gentle pressure,
the lead bending with the growth of the tree. If
labels like this were used, they could be hung on the
stakes in the earlier stages of the tree, and attached
to the branches afterwards. This labelling is most
important where trial trees are planted ; and if the
name is in full, much loss of time is avoided, as in
the case of numbers the reference books are not
always at hand, nor can the managing man always
be found when he is wanted. A plantation, properly
named, has a double interest and value. We think an
eyelet hole, similar to that used in a lace-up boot,
could be let into the lead, and in that case it could
be fastened to the stakes by a large-headed felt nail.
The Imperishable Labels made by Pinches are decidedly
the best, and are now in universal use.

FOR PROFIT. 197

Owing to neglect in keeping a record of sorts when
plantations are first made, George Bunyard & Co.
are inundated with specimens sent for naming. The
Firm are quite willing to do their best, but as it
entails much loss of time at a busy season, they ask
that not more than a dozen sorts should be sent at
one time, and they would esteem an enclosed fee of
i/-, which they hand to the Gardening Charities.

JQ8 FRUIT FARMING

CHAPTER XXVI.

NOTES ON THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY'S
CONFERENCE ON FRUIT FARMING.

This was a very important gathering, held on October
loth to 1 2th, 1906, and much useful information was
then brought out in the various papers read and dis-
cussed. We propose to touch on the principal points,
and refer our readers to the Journal of the Society,
Vol. 30, April, 1906, 3/6, for full details (Office, Vincent
Square, Westminster, S.W.).

FOREIGN COMPETITION. —The Lecturers again empha-
sised the importance of growing the best varieties in
quantity, careful grading and packing, and fancy box
packing for choice fruits, in order to compete with
imported fruit. The work of the Irish Department of
Agriculture was outlined by Mr. Harper, and his
recommendations are worth reading. They establish
a system of grading which is indicated by letters A
to C, and a standard of weight as against the accepted
English measures — give full instructions as to gathering,
packing, disposal, etc. The growers, retailers, and
users have all benefited by the new system, and it is
greatly to be wished that a more uniform practice
could be enforced by law in our home fruit trade.

Other interesting points came up in the first day's
meeting. Most able papers were given by Professor
Theobald, of Wye College, on "Insect Pests," with
very full details and lists of insecticides, and Mr. F.

FOR PROFIT.

Smith, who is reputed to be the best Kent fruit
grower, also related his experience, and gave lists of
remedies. Mr. Massie followed on the same subject,
and Mr. Warburton gave an interesting sketch on
" The Life History of the Black Currant Mite."

The subject of " Land Tenure " was dealt with by
Mr. Cecil Hooper and others, and his paper is a
valuable contribution to our knowledge on the subject,
but too long to be properly dealt with here.

October 12th was occupied in the discussion of
Railway Grievances. Taken as a whole, the remedies
proposed are most reasonable, and it was argued that
if the Owner's Risk Rate could be abolished, and a
reasonable Company's Rate substituted, the fruit
industry would be greatly helped.

The final meeting was devoted to a discussion upon
the formation of Government Experimental Fruit
Farms in various parts of the country. The author
ventured to say that he did not see the need of such
institutions, as the chief fruit tree nurseries in the
kingdom already had their trial grounds, and were
always willing to give every information to enquirers,
and further, the Horticultural Press were doing a great
work in advising the public on all matters relating
to fruit culture, as well as the Fruiterers' Company
and the County Council Lecturers.

We have merely touched on these subjects, and
advise those interested to get the report, either from
the Royal Horticultural Society, or by joining the
Fruit Growers' Federation, when a copy will be
supplied to them. The Secretary is Mr. A. Miskin,
Royal Horticultural Hall, Vincent Square, West-
minster, S.W.

200 FRUIT FARMING

The Departmental Committee of the Board of Agri-
culture has issued a voluminous report, which may be
obtained from the Office, Whitehall, London, S.W.,
or, in a condensed form, from the Royal Horticultural
Society, Vol. 29, Part 4, at i5/-.

Beyond the statistics of the fruit acreage in the
different counties, the progress of the industry, the
benefit of fruit on the national health and sobriety,
the question of the industry being overdone was
emphatically denied by many of the speakers, the
increased employment provided by the growth of fruit,
the raising of the tone of the labourers in fruit
districts, in consequence of the intelligence necessary
for success, a glance at the chief fruit districts, the
differences and drawbacks, the still insufficient know-
ledge, notwithstanding the County Council Lectures,
the many works on Pomology, and the efforts of the
chief Society (the Royal Horticultural), land tenure,
taxation grievances, railway troubles, foreign competi-
tion, the insufficient inspection of imported fruit, pulp
and jam, the labour difficulty, distribution troubles,
bird and insect ravages, bee keeping, in all, a com-
prehensive threshing out of the entire subject, can be
found in the report, which all interested in fruit
culture should study.

Following up this report, a very large gathering
waited on Earl Carrington to urge the adoption of
several pressing matters arising therefrom. Want of
funds was naturally pleaded by the noble lord (then
Minister of Agriculture), but he was impressed by the
fact that the gathering represented no less than 20
very important Societies, and promised his attention
and sympathy. The deputation was ably introduced

FOR PROFIT. 201

by Mr. A. Griffith Boscawen, who, as a native of
Kent, and Chairman of the Departmental Committee,
has rendered great service to the fruit industry.

In October, 1910, a most interesting and instructive
Conference on Fruit Culture was held at Hexham, N.B.
The papers read were most valuable for cultivators in
the Northern Counties and Scotland. The Author
was present and can give a very favourable report on
the local fruit exhibited.

202 FRUIT FARMING

CHAPTER XXVII.

SUMMARY OF A YEAR'S WORKING ON A FRUIT FARM.

The following reminder may be of use to beginners.
The several subjects are treated in the body of the
book, and should be referred to for further information.

Skilled Labour. — We have found the better-class
young agricultural hand, who takes an interest in
Fruit culture, readily picks up the necessary know-
ledge ; and as wages in the fruit districts are high
for experienced men, we advise growers to raise up
their own people ; a slight advance on the wages of
of the district will generally ensure good active
men, and avoid local friction caused by importing
44 strangers."

The work to be done may vary from year to year —
as the seasons are early or late — but taken generally,
the operations come due about the specified time given.

JANUARY. — Apples that are in the store should be
carefully looked over, and those that are not keeping
well should be at once sorted over, and the sound
fruit be marketed. Best prices will be made by
sending regularly, rather than by saving up for a
Saturday's market.

Work in the Plantations. — Get on with carting
manure on the land for digging in. Complete the
planting of all Bushes and Trees not already put in
position, and stake and wire the Standards to protect
from cattle, if in Orchards.

FOR FROFIT. 203

Winter Pruning can be done in mild weather on
the Top Crops, deferring the cutting of Bush Fruits
till last. Keep an eye on Bullfinches and Sparrows,
and destroy all you can.

Hedges and Shelters. — Fill up gaps in hedges and
wind-shelters. Poplars can be cut in to thicken the
growth of the past summer shoots. Cob Nuts may
be pruned this month. (See Chapter IV.)

FEBRUARY. — As Canadian and American Apples
will now be arriving in large quantities, it will be
well to market all fruit in store. Only send the best
to distant markets, the " seconds " sell better to local
buyers. At this season large kitchen Apples make
good prices, as the American fruits do not cook well.
Bram ley's is now the favourite late Apple for
cooking.

Orchards and Plantations. — The work is very similar
to that of January, and digging should be completed
as soon as possible. Towards the middle of the month,
those large trees which are to be grafted, should be
headed down, and the grafts to be put upon them
should be procured, and be heeled in a shady place
two thirds of their lengths below ground, in bundles
of 30 to 40, properly labelled.

Cob Nuts will now be in blossom, and the long
catkins will open and diffuse their pollen. It pays to
go over them in dry weather, tapping them with a
stick wrapped round with flannel to scatter this pollen
more freely to induce fertility.

This is a good month to dress fruit trees for Pear
Midge, Moth-eggs, etc., with Caustic Wash.

MARCH. — Newly-planted trees will now pay for a
mulching on the surface of half-long litter, to prevent

204 FRUIT FARMING

the sun drying the surface and injuring the upper
roots. It is best to hoe over the surface round the
trees before applying this mulch.

Raspberries should now be cut back, and all winter-
pruning be completed as soon as possible.

Orchards and Plantations. — By this month all digging
and planting should be finished, and any new trees
of Plums and Damsons, planted carefully before
Christmas, may now be headed back. But all other
trees should have a year's growth before they are
pruned.

Insect Life will now be reviving, and all prunings,
bark-scrapings, rubbish, and hedge-cuttings, etc.,
should be collected for burning.

New Strawberry Fields should be planted this month.
Every care must be taken to get a good friable
surface on the land (see Chapter XIV.)

Orchard Trees should again be greased to catch the
spring species of moths that will now be hatching, and
ascending the trees. It must be remembered that
each female insect lays thousands of eggs. All the
spraying apparatus should be overhauled and put in
order, and materials for summer use should be procured,
as when the first buds begin to swell spraying should
be started.

Where the ground is rough, after the winter digging,
a dry time should be chosen to set men in the planta-
tions with Canterbury 3-prong hoes to knock over the
clods, and to make a friable season, to prevent the
soil drying too rapidly later on.

Gooseberry Plots should be examined, and if any of
the early formed leaves appear rusty this is caused
by red spider, and washing should be done at once,

FOR PROFIT. 205

taking care to keep the spray well under the bushes
and leaves. These minute insects require a small
pocket-lens to locate them. They spread and increase
so rapidly that the earliest possible attention should
be given them.

Towards the end of the month Plum and Damson
Trees will be showing blossom, and Apples and Pears
be opening their buds. Careful watching for insects
will ensure timely washing. Newly hatched caterpillars
are so much easier to kill than when older.

Grafting is best done in March ; the younger trees
should be first done, the old trees headed back in
February, in which the flow of sap is less active, being
left until the last.

APRIL. — Continue to wash all trees attacked by
insects, especially curled up leaves in Plums and
Cherries, or their extension growth will be crippled ;
if the points of the shoots can be spared, they may
be cut off and burnt at once, with the aphides upon
them.

If heavy rains have u caked " the surface of planta-
tions, it will pay to break them up with the pony
hoe, or by hand hoe labour. This will kill seedling
weeds, render the after cultivation easier, and prevent
that evaporation of moisture which goes on where
land is hard and unmoved.

Fruits will now be blossoming all round, and great
damage is often done by early frosts. These cannot
be prevented ; but smother-fires, so arranged that their
smoke travels across the plantation, will often be of
service. It is generally admitted that well cultivated
orchards and plantations suffer less than "half done"

206 FRUIT FARMING

lands, because healthy and early leafage affords pro-
tection, and upright growing varieties, as a rule,
suffer less than pendant sorts. Colorado orchard
smokers are referred to elsewhere.

Weeds will now be growing, aided by April showers,
and should be vigorously kept down.

The final hoeing of Strawberries, before the straw
is put on, should be completed this month.

MAY. — Gooseberries will be the first crop to send to
market in the third or last week of May. Fancy
prices can be made by picking over the bushes and
selecting the largest only. The next picking should
be those berries that are near the ground, following
with the outsides, and finishing with the centre of the
bushes. If, however, prices are good, it may pay to
clear the bushes at the second picking.

Should Cherries and Plums promise a short crop, a
portion of the crop of Gooseberries may be left for
selling in a ripe state. The red ones sell best.

Strawberries will want "strawing" early in the
month. Barley straw answers the purpose, being
cheap, but wheat straw is best. If done quite early,
say mid-April, there is no objection to long straw
dung from the stables, as the rain, sun and air purify
it before the berries are ripe, and the manure stimu-
lates growth.

Apple Blossom will now be abundant, and the Apple
sucker fly grub may necessitate spraying, and a late
crop of winter moth larvae may also be in evidence ;
a thorough spraying, as soon as the petals of the
blossoms fall, will be advisable in plantation that
have been injured in the past year; the check to

FOR PROFIT. 207

growth caused by cold nights and frosts induces the
growth of insect pests, and extra attention is required
at this period.

Weeds must be kept down, and even where there
are but few, the hoe will be of great service in
keeping the surface tilth.

Towards the end of May, where trees are promising
a heavy crop, a mulching of long fresh straw manure
will help the roots to carry a crop to a good size.
It is of little use clor>e to the stems, and should be in
a circle 6-ft. wide, at 3-ft. from the main stems to
stimulate the feeding roots. Where established trees
are on grass, liquid manure or well rotted dung are
best.

Should Dry Weather set in, the soil round newly
planted trees should be stirred and well pulverised, in
case the soil may cake and crack, and some short
manure on the surface afterwards will be helpful (if not
already placed there). And if a spell of drought sets
in, young trees that show signs of distress may be
watered, giving each a full dose, as dribbles are
worse than nothing.

Buds upon young stocks that make a growth of 9
inches from the stocks should now be tied to the stock
for safety.

Grafts put on old trees last March will now require
the bands to be loosened, and the pug or wax to be
removed. A stick should be placed to tie the new
growths to, to prevent winds blowing them out before
they are well set on their stocks. This is specially
needed when the grafts are on old trees that make
vigorous growth ; these young shoots may be shortened
in August by removing 12 or 18 inches from the
points to prevent their breaking- out at the graft.

208 FRUIT FARMING

JUNE. — Strawberries will be coming to pick this
month, and Chapter XIV. on them should be read.
As with other fruits, care in picking and packing
pays well ; and above all things, a large supply of
baskets must be previously got in hand,

Green Gooseberries will now be good, and should be
sent to market regularly ; not keeping back for a glut
for Saturday's market.

The Aphis Fly in Plums and Damsons should be
searched for in the early stages of attack, to check
their increase, and where only on the tips of the
shoots, dipping is economical. Zinc handbowls are
useful for this work. The brown Aphis on Apple
shoots should also be sprayed for, before the foliage
curls.

Surface mulch the roots of those fruit trees which
are carrying heavy crops, if not already done (see
May).

A few early Cherries may be ready at the end of
the month. They should not be sent until fairly
coloured, and the same applies to early Red and
Black Currants.

The Whitesmith, Berry s Kent and Pale Gooseberries
should be marketed green, as they do not pay to sell
ripe so well as red ones. Ripe berries must be sent
to market before they are fully fit, or they may
burst in transit, and cause a loss in value. They
should be hard when gathered, even if half coloured.

Continue to hoe young Strawberry plantations set in
March, and keep down the weeds.

JULY. — The Main Crops of Strawberries will be ready
the early part of July ; Red Currants and Blacks
are also coming ready. " Reds " pay to send, even

FOR PROFIT. 209

before the bunches are all coloured, for tarts. But for
jelly and jam making the fruit must be ripe. In pack-
ing, keep out all leaves, and pack full weight.

Raspberries will pay in punnets as soon as Straw-
berries begin to fail, as will good samples of ripe
Gooseberries. Raspberries in tubs must be sent off
as soon after gathering as possible, or they ferment
in transit ; by passenger trains would be best. Where
fruit is picked by piecework, the pickers, in their
hurry, are not careful to make an even sample, or
take care to prevent smashing of currants, etc. It is
best to pay by the day and well overlook the pickers.
Slack hands need not be kept on. The fruit bottlers
prefer to have Raspberries delivered in.ilb. punnets,
as this soft fruit smashes in bulk, and when carefully
picked it keeps whole in the bottles and sells better.
Contracts for this delivery with the bottlers is
advisable.

In the last weeks in July, some of the Early Cooking
Apples will be growing out, and where the trees are
heavily cropped, it will pay to thin out the largest
fruits for market, even if the prices realised only pay
for the labour, the trees benefit, and will be enabled
to perfect the rest of their crop.

Hoe Young Strawberry Plantations for next year's
crop, and keep the surface free from weeds and stones.
The work of removing the straw from the old straw-
berry fields, and running the broadshare plough between
the rows will be needed as soon as the fruit is all
picked, and can be better done before the corn harvest
work begins. The Strawberry runners are cut off at
the same time. Keep down aphis blight as before.
Q

210 FRUIT FARMING

AUGUST. — The fruits for Bank Holiday folk will be
ripe Gooseberries, early Pears, and in early seasons a
few Juneating and Gladstone Apples. Lammas and
Chalk Pears, if gathered a week previously and heaped,
will take on a little colour and ripeness, and thus sell
better.

Continue to thin Apples where the trees need it.
Early Dessert Apples should be coloured before they
are marketed.

The Summer Pruning of Red Currants and removing
of superfluous inner shoots of Peary Apple, and Plums
on trees planted 2 to 7 years will be very beneficial,
useless shoots being cut back to four leaves, to let in
sun and air to ripen the wood.

The Budding of P hints on young stock should be done
the first week in August, following with Pears and
concluding with Apples. In some districts, perhaps the
stocks are fit even the last week in July.

Blights. — If aphis blight has been well attended to,
there should be but little now left to be killed, but if
hot dry weather sets in, the American woolly aphis
blight on Apples should be attended to (see Chapter
XXIII).

Rivers' Prolific and Czar Plums will now be coming
on. It is a mistake to let them be fully ripe before
they are sent to market. Now that soft fruits are
past, early kitchen Apples are wanted for tarts, and
they often pay to send before they are fully fit, and
it helps the trees to go over them 3 or 4 times,
especially those grown as bushes on the Paradise
stock. In some years green fruits of Victoria Plums
pay to market ; any way, a few should be tried, as
fully cropped trees are assisted by the thinning, and

FOR PROFIT. 2 I I

are less liable to break down under the weight of the
crop. Towards the end of the month other Plums
will be coming" ripe.

Cob Nut Bushes are benefitted by having the strong
centre leading shoots broken back and left hanging,
at the end of August, to plump up the buds below
the break. It is better not to cut them.

If in consequence of the heavy manurings on young
Strawberry fields, weeds still keep appearing, they
must be kept down ; also all coarse weeds in old
plantations should be pulled.

SEPTEMBER. — Pears and Apples will be the main
crops for market. Again we repeat the warning, only
to send the best to market, selling the " seconds "
locally. Pack honestly, and endeavour to get a name
in your special market. Fine samples of Williams ',
Dr. Guyot, or other Pears pay to market in boxes.

The main crops of Plums and Damsons will be
marketed this month. Cob Nuts and Filberts may now
be gathered in a green state, and often pay well to
sell in this condition ; they should have the husks
brown at the tips. A trial consignment is advised to
test prices before the whole crop is gathered. Large
green cooking Apples often sell well when Plums are
past. It frequently happens at this season we get
heavy gales which blow off Apples and Pears ; it
only pays to pick up the very best fruits for market
at once, delay will often cause the seller a loss, as
there may be a glut in the markets ; a local sale
may probably pay best.

Pruning. — Summer pruning (as in August) can still
be continued ; and even old trees where the crops
are gathered should have their boughs and surplus

2 I 2 FRUIT FARMING

inner shoots removed. All dead leafless wood can be
better seen and taken out while foliage is on the
tree. Extra long shoots upon young trees may be
shortened by removing 12 to 18 inches.

OCTOBER. — During this month buyers who are think-
ing of planting should visit the Nurseries and see the
stock growing, as a much better idea of sorts, growth,
and healthfulness can be formed, than when the trees
are dormant ; and in many cases fruiting trees can be
seen, and also up-to-date kinds, which a planter would
do well to plant in preference to some older sorts.

Apples like King of Pippins, Summer Golden
Pippins, Colonel Vaughan, etc., that are stored for a
short time to colour, may be gathered in (read
Chapter XXI. on " Picking and Storing "). Later on
Blenheim Orange and other sorts will be fit. Nearly
all the market Pears will be fit to store this month.

Strawberries. — Where the land is properly prepared,
they may be field-planted this month, and become
sufficiently rooted to withstand frost lifting in the
winter, but if not done in September, planting is better
deferred until March. But purchasers should secure
their plants now, as they may not be able to find
them in March, because growers clear their beds.

The Snags or Stockends of Grafted or Budded Dwarf
Trees may be cut off this month ; they are easier to
cut out when the sap is up, and the wound grows
over a little before winter.

If time can be spared now, it will pay to go over
the Raspberry Plantations, cut out the old canes that
have fruited, and pull up useless, sappy canes to let
in air and moisture to ripen the standing canes for
the next season's crop ; some tip the best canes back.

FOR PROFIT. 213

The Main Crop of Apples will now require gather-
ing ; but do not hurry the work, as the few fruits that
first drop may be maggoty, and perfect maturity
is needful when Apples are stored a long time. They
should always be stored dry. If prices are fairly
good, they may perhaps pay well to market from the
tree ; but Bramley's Seedling, Lord Derby, Newton
Wonder, Wellington, will pay to lay in; while Cox's
Orange, and choice desserts also will repay any extra
trouble. Choice Pears must be laid singly. All
stored fruit must be looked over on wet days, and
all rotten examples removed before they spoil the
sound fruit touching them.

The Main Crop of Nuts will now be ready to gather
i'see notes, Chapter XIII).

As before stated, when a Developed Tree has been
cleared of fruit, the Pruner should at once attend to
the thinning of the branches and spurs, and old trees
are greatly benefitted by a dressing of kainit, 5~cwt.
per acre. In the future, only best fruit will command
a price. If this pruning is done now while the days
are comparatively long, it will pay well for attention,
and wounds heal somewhat before winter sets in.

Red and Black Currants may be pruned now, but
Gooseberries will be better left till February, as the
Bullfinches are apt to thin the buds too much where
the trees are reduced by early pruning. Where Big
Bud exists in Black Currants it can be plainly seen
when the leaf falls, and the buds should all be care-
fully picked oif and burnt straight away.

This is the month for the Hardy Fruit Shows, and
they are most interesting ; but the grower for market
must be cautious, and not be led away by size, colour

214 FRUIT FARMING

and appearance only. Naturally growers put up the
brightest and largest ; these are not always the best
for profit, and beginners would do better to visit the
Nurseries, and see their stores, and stick to a com-
paratively few kinds for profitable sale.

All Land intended for Gooseberries and Currants
should be thoroughly prepared and well manured, as
these bushes may be planted the end of October or
early in November.

Purchasers should, now place their Orders for Trees
and Bushes required for the coming season, and get
wire netting, stakes, etc., ready to support and protect
the trees when planted.

Greasing. — About the middle of October the perfect
insects of the Winter Moth begin to appear, and
grease banding should at once be carried out on
orchard trees (see Chapter XXIII). The grease must
be renewed monthly until March. See that grease
banding is completed by November 5th.

NOVEMBER. — This is the chief planting month.
Plums and Damsons are generally quite fit for re-
moval by the first week in November ; Pears the
second ; and Apples the second or third. In any case
this depends on the weather, a dry October may
prevent lifting ; trees are apt to shrivel in transit if
lifted too early. Full directions for planting are
given in Chapter III. Plant only when the soil is
friable ; in wet times it is best to defer working,
laying the trees by the heels, or well covering the roots
with soil.

Plant Raspberry Canes and all Bush Fruit. Market
fruit as it becomes fit in the stores. Cob Nuts sell
best before Christmas.

FOR PROFIT. 2 1 5

DECEMBER. — Continue planting. Cut down old and
useless trees in frosty weather, and prune over old
established trees not attended to previously. In large
Plantations it may be necessary to start pruning back
young trees. It can be safely done, except in very
frosty weather.

Collect manure for winter spreading, before the
diggers enter the plantations. Early manuring is
good for bush fruits and young trees, but for Orchards
and Plantations of Apples, etc., February is the best
time.

Winter Digging. — When done early the soil derives
great benefit from the action of frost and air, but in
heavily manured lands weeds are apt to become
troublesome, so that many prefer to dig a little later.

Old Orchard Trees. — During the slack time in
November and December, it pays to scrape the loose
bark off old tree stems and branches before the usual
lime-wash is put on. A cloth should be put under
the trees, so that the scrapings can be collected for
burning. The lime-wash will kill eggs and larvae of
many enemies, and make the bark smooth and healthy,
Some soft-soap and soot may be stirred into the
lime-wash, and it should be applied not only to the
stems, but upon the principal limbs. A Good Recipe
is, first slake fresh lime to a paste, and to every
gallon of this add one pint of paraffin, ^lb. of salt,
and ilb. of soft-soap. The soap should be first
dissolved in hot water and then added to the bulk,
stirring all well together. Apply with a tar-brush
on a long handle, or a white-wash brush. The salt
and paraffin make the wash enter all interstices, and
are distasteful to insects. If desired, some soot may
be added, say a quart to 4 gallons of water.

216 FRUIT FARMING

It is a good plan to Market all Apples at least 14
days before Christmas, as at that time, foreign produce
is preferred. About January loth, demand again sets
in for culinary and dessert Apples.

Frosty Weather should be taken advantage of to get
manure out on the land, and thus avoid kneading the
surface, and deep cart ruts that occur when the land
is wet.

Rubbish, of all kinds should be collected in frosty
times and burnt, spreading the ashes among the
manure heaps. Hedges can be repaired also. Finish
re-tying trees to stakes. Old hay-bands should be
removed and burnt, as many insects lodge in them,
and the new tie to stake be made above or below the
former tie.

GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS FOR THE USE OF
BEGINNERS.

Bagging Hook. — A Kentish term for a large kind of
sickle.

Blight. — A general term for all insect attacks.

Bush Out. — A term used to denote lateral growth.

Cut Backs. — Dwarf trees headed back to 18 inches.

Fleet. — A Kentish term for shallow.

Fly. — A general term for aphis blight.

Lay In. — Trees placed in a trench, their roots
being covered with soil to prevent their drying.
Shoots for grafts also.

Maidens. — A nursery term for one year old trees.

Nurses. —Trees planted for protection, either Damsons
or Chalk Pears in Orchards, or belts of quickly grow-
ing Poplar, Scotch Fir, Ash, Chestnut, and Larch Fir.

FOR PROFIT. 217

Punnet.— A chip basket of -^Ib., ilb., or 2lb. capacity.

Pug or Wax. — Materials used to exclude air in
grafting.

Smother Fire. — Rough couch or other grass and
rubbish, that smokes freely and burns slowly.

Snag. — In budding, a piece of the stock lies above
the bud, and this has to be removed by an oblique
cut. In grafts it is a shorter piece of the stock. Its
removal allows the new growth to spread to the
thickness of the parent stock.

Spawn. — Where the stock or plant throws up suckers
from the roots.

Stool. — The mother plant.

Tilth. — The result of harrowing and rolling in farm
crops, to produce a friable surface. A good tilth is
land in a proper condition for planting or sowing
(braid in Scotland).

Topped. — In pruning means the long shoots cut over
and reduced in length. In packing fruit it refers to
the reprehensible practice of placing the finest fruit
on the surface layers of the package and inferior stuff
below. It is wrong in principle and does not pay in
practice.

NOTE. — In consequence of the number of Letters sent
to the Author, asking for Addresses of Makers, Patentees,
etc., of the Appliances recommended in this work,

ADVERTISEMENTS

have been inserted ; therefore, to save trouble, enquirers
will oblige by writing DIRECT TO THE VENDORS.

2l8 FRUIT FARMING

APPENDIX.

Extract from " The Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society,"
March, 1910,

ON PRUNING FRUIT TREES AFTER PLANTING,

BY PERMISSION OF THE WRITER,

J. LANSDELL, F.R.H.S.

u The question of the pruning of fruit trees after
planting is one in which I have taken great interest
for many years.

After making experiments for several years, and
closely observing what others have done, I have come
to the conclusion set forth below as to the best time
to prune newly planted trees.

I believe there is no doubt in the minds of gardeners
that the best time to plant fruit trees is from
the middle of October to the middle of November,
because, by planting at that time, new roots may be
formed before winter, and the soil gets so well settled
down around them that the plants can start into
growth in the spring, under almost equal conditions
with those which have not been removed. Unfor-
tunately, for various reasons, all planting cannot be
done so early in the season.

If young trees such as our nurserymen are in the
habit of sending out are planted at this time, I have
no hesitation in saying that the pruning should be
done the following spring just as the buds show some
signs of moving, which with most trees is about the
end of March. I would never prune in the autumn

FOR PROFIT. 2 1 9

or winter immediately after planting. The reason for
deferring the pruning until spring is that one can
then see whether the buds to which he is pruning are
sound wood buds. Because trees which have been
removed, however short a distance they may have
travelled, are very liable to have some of the outer
buds on the shoots broken or injured, so that they do
not start into such active growth as to make good
leading shoots for future branches.

Possibly, there may be some who do not attach so
much importance to the leaf system on a newly planted
tree as I do ; but it appears to me that the more
leaves a tree has, and the earlier in the season these
are produced, the more active the root will be, and
the balance of the tree will be restored much more
quickly than in one which has but few leaves to
commence with. An unpruned tree produces nearly
all its leaves at the beginning of the season, and
these can at once work for the good of the tree, and
for the formation of roots.

I think it might be taken as a rule that, when a
tree is dug up, and the roots pruned ready for
planting, not more than one-third of the original roots
remain, and that the balance between the roots and
top had been disturbed to that extent. I, as a
gardener, was taught to attempt to restore the balance
by pruning the shoots back after planting, either
immediately after planting, or in the spring before
the leaves burst ; and I believe this theory is generally
taught to other young gardeners. But, I ask, why
restore the balance ? Would it not be better for the
tree to restore its own balance ? From my own
experience it is much better for the tree to do so.

220 FRUIT FARMING

The part we want restored is the roots ; and the tree
will do this more effectively if all the shoots are left
unpruned the first season, so as to give a greater
amount of leaf surface early in the season. The roots
formed under those conditions are fibrous, which is
just the sort desired. I have found that trees which
were left unpruned the first season had many more
fibrous roots than those which were pruned the first
season, when both were lifted and replanted two years
after.

I think we can safely say the balance will be
restored the first season ; then if the shoots are all
cut back to good wood buds, which will probably be
within four or five inches of the base, good strong
growths will be produced, which will lay the founda-
tion for the future branches of the tree, and far
stouter than those on trees pruned the first year of
planting.

For the last ten years I have seen a great number
of fruit trees planted in the Evesham district, and I
should think quite nine-tenths of them have not been
pruned until a year after planting. I have asked some
of the growers to prune a few the first season for
comparison, but in no case have the trees done so
well as those not pruned until a year after planting.
These men judge by results ; and when they have
once proved a system to be best, no amount of
literature will turn them.

I have been looking at some Apple trees this week
which were planted two years ago ; some of them
were planted in November, and the others in February,
and all were pruned back in March of the same
season. Those planted in November produced shoots

FOR PROFIT. 221

from four to six inches long in the first season ; at the
most, only two shoots came out from each shoot cut
back, but they have made fairly good growths this
year. Those planted in February, and pruned in
March following, made scarcely any growth, and not
one has made six inches of growth this season ; they
are only about a third of the size of those planted in
the November previous. There are other trees of the
same variety which were planted at the same times,
and in the same field, but were left unpruned for a
year ; and the growths of these trees this year are
far superior to the best of those pruned the first year
after planting, and there is no doubt about them
making the best trees ; the owner says no one will
ever persuade him to prune again until the trees
have been planted a year.

The system of pruning I have advocated in this
note has been practised for some years, and I have
simply given some of the facts of my experience and
observations with the hope it will be tried by others/'

222 FRUIT FARMING

SUPPLEMENT to FRUIT FARMING.

A very interesting Conference was held at Wye
College, Kent, December, 1910, and the following
points were considered by the authorities worth
notice : —

Great complaints were made as to the failure of
Cox's Orange Apple to bear a satisfactory crop,
possibly owing to the past cold seasons. Many growers
were grubbing them out. This appears premature, as
a cycle of good summers may cause them to do
better. Others said good results had been attained
by grafting Bramley's upon them, and that the
restriction caused Bramley's to bear more or less fruit
every season.

The packing of choice fruit in boxes was strongly
advised, but only for choice dessert fruits, especially
early varieties. It was agreed that too many sorts
had a bad effect on market rates.

Local Societies, for the co-operation of growers to
get lower carriage rates, was advised. In this way
the small man would be on equal terms with the
large growers.

Lord Derby, Lane's Prince Albert, Gladstone, and
Beauty of Bath, were considered safe for all fruit
districts ; but Julian, Lord Grosvenor, Early Victoria,
Stirling Castle, Bismarck, Newton Wonder, Worcester
Pearmain, King Pippin, and Allington Pippin, were
good in many parts. (Bramley's apparently has been
left out by accident in the report ; it should be well
in the first series). In the less known Apples,
Edward the yth, Norfolk Beauty, Hunt's Early and

FOR PROFIT. 223

Hector Macdonald, were quoted as promising. Another
big grower added to the above — Miller's Seedling
(Sept.) James Grieve (Oct.), and quoted figures to
show that a well managed plantation, twelve years
planted, had made a profit of over forty pounds per
acre over a series of years.

A Hereford grower stated that Cox's Orange could
be grown successfully if the trees were summer pruned
in August. Yellow Ingestre was also named as paying
well (the Summer Golden Pippin of Kent).

Attention was called to the damage done to the
blossom and young foliage by Thrips, an application
of Vaporite to the soil was regarded as the only
remedy ; sprayings are of little use.

A new fungoid disease was diagnosed by Professor
Salmon, called " the stem disease of fruit trees/' It
in some way appears to kill the inner bark of the
tree stems and branches, causing the stems to flatten
out and eventually to die. Too rich soil and deep
planting also induce attacks. The Author is, however,
inclined to think that the damage is more likely to
be caused by severe frosts, as the affected trees were
such as grow very freely, and are not always fully
ripened before the early autumn frosts appear.

The same speaker advised caution in spraying with
Bordeaux mixture, some varieties losing all their
leaves after an application. This points to the fact
that it should not be used too strong until a test has
been made on a few trees first.

It will be seen that the Conference mainly agreed
with the practice recommended in " Fruit Farming,"
but the few additional facts were considered worth
recording.

ADVERTISEMENTS.

35,000 WEEKLY

IN PRINTING

THE COUNTY PAPER

THE COUNTY PAPER OF KENT

. . IS . .

J8*toa."

TT has the largest circulation, and no one having
* the interests of his County at heart should miss
buying it.

Everything of an Official character appears in its
columns ; the Farming side is carefully reported, and
every important Sale is sure to be advertised there.

It is the recognised medium for all Kent County
Council Notices, Auctioneers' Announcements, Farm
and Fruit Sales, Estates to be Let and Sold, Situations
Vacant and Servants wanting engagements.

Order your Newsagent to leave you one every week.
ONE PENNY WEEKLY.

HEAD OFFICE:—

94, High Street, ASH FORD, Kent.

ADVERTISEMENTS. il.

The Insect and other Allied Pests

OF

Orchard, Bush & Hothouse Fruits

AND

Their Prevention and Treatment.

BY

FRED. V. THEOBALD, M.A., Etc.

Printed on Art paper ; 566 pages and 326 original illustrations,
mainly from photographs.

Price 30 SHILLINGS.

Published by the Author, WYE COURT, WYE, KENT.
SOME PRESS NOTICES.

"No fruitgrower who means to advance in the profession can afford to be without
this book."— The Fruit Grower.

" No man embarking on fruit growing as a whole can afford to leave a page
unread. The illustrations are extraordinarily numerous, and in many cases beautiful."
The Standard.

" No economic Zoologist nor intelligent gardener can afford to do without this
exce lent volume." — Irish Gardening.

Pour ce qui est des amateurs et des proprietaires de verger, ce levre leur est
indispensable.'' — La Tribune Horticole.

" fro fruit grower can afford to disregard so important and helpful a record."
Gardeners' Chronicle.

" Should prove almost indispensable to the fruit grower."— The Scotsman.

" Should be in the hands of every economic entomologist." — Journal of Economic
Entomology, U.S.A.

" The most comprehensive work on the subject yet published."— Journal of Hortieulture.

111. ADVERTISMENTS.

Important to Gardeners, Hop and Fruit Growers.

"IMIQUAS" K— >

The most successful Non-Poisonous Insecticide of the day.

Its advantages are certain death to all Insect Pests. No possible injury
to the most delicate Plant, Flower or Foliage. It is by far the cheapest
Insecticide known. One pint makes 10 to 12 gallons for Thrip, Black and
Green Fly, etc. , whilst Red Spider, Mealy Bug, and Scale can be thoroughly
eradicated by using " Niquas " about double the strength required for Fly.

It is most successfully used by Orange and other Fruit Growers in the
Colonies, etc.

Prices : Pint, 1/- ; Quart, 1/9 ; ^-Gallon, 3/- ; Gallon, 5/- ;
Kegs, each 5 Gallons, 22/6 ; 10 Gallons, 42/6.

LETHORION IMPROVED METAL

VAPOUR CONE FUMIGATOR

at greatly reduced prices.

Cone No. 3, for a well- secured house of 2,000 to 2,500 cubic feet, 1/- each.
Cone No. 2, for a well-secured house of 1,000 to 2,000 cubic feet, 8d. each.
Cone No. 1, Carbon, for frames of 100 cubic feet, 6d.

STANDEN'S MANURE.

Established 40 years.

Exceeds all others in general fertilizing properties and staying power.
Greatly reduced prices. The smallest quantity applied will give results.

Prices : In Tins, 6d., 1/-, 2/6, 5/6, each ; in strong wooden Kegs, ^-cwo., 7/6 ;
J-cwt., 12/6; 1-cwt., 20/- each. Write for Analysis.

FOWLER'S LAWN SAND.

Non-Poisonous. Introduced 1877.

A certain and effectual destroyer of Daises, Plantains, and Weeds, generally
so troublesome and unsightly on Lawns. Renovator also of old and

decayed Lawns.

All Lawns should be dressed at least twice a year ivith this article, its fertilizing
properties alone being equal, if not superior, to anything at present offered.

r PICGS •

Tins, 1/-, 2/6, 5/- each; Kegs, f-cwt., 8/6; ^-cwt.,16/-; 1-cwt., 30/- each.
To be had from all dealers in Horticultural Sundries throughout the Kingdom

Manufactured by : —

CORR I & Co., Ltd., CHEMICAL WORKS,

Shad Thames, LONDON, S.E,

ADVERTISEMENTS. iv.

Chapman's YICTA Tree Grease

(Very Indispensable Composition To Apply).
Contains all the essentials of a Perfect Fruit Tree Dressing.

The principal distinguishing features of this Grease
are its Quality and Cheapness.

Prices : —

In Bulk, £20 per ton ; 21/6 per cwt. ; 12/- per 56 Ib. ;
6/6 per 28 Ib. Empties not charged for.

. . VICTA . .
GREASE PROOF PAPER,

Cut to size, 30-in. X 6s-in.

In Bulk, 28/- per cwt. Smaller quantities, 3^d. per Ib.
Write for a Free Copy of

"PRACTICAL HINTS on the
GREASE BANDING of FRUIT TREES,"

By HOWARD CHAPMAN,

Inventor of the Lime and Salt Process for Insect Pests.
Sole Maker: —

HOWARD CHAPMAN,

Western Cross Farm,

GREENHITHE, Kent.

ADVERTISEMENTS.

After an Eighteen Months' Test
Proves Unequalled.

The Testimony. _

" I used ' Abol ' during 18 months at Forde Abbey, Chard, Somerset. The marvel is
the way it kills all Aphides. Nothing could be more satisfactory for killing APHIDES,
ON CHERRIES, PLUMS, APRICOTS, etc. I tried it on GOOSEBERRIES and
CURRANTS infested with CATERPILLARS, applying it with force from the ' Abol'
Syringe, and the EFFECT WAS MAGICAL. I consider it THE BEST INSECTICIDE
I_ HAVE USED_pURING MY FORTY YEARS' EXPERIENCE, HAVING TRIED A

GREAT NUMBER.

JOHN CROOK, F.R.H S., F.A.S.,

" Fingest," The Avenue, Camberley, Surrey.

Treatise

D" with full information on " INSECT PESTS AND MILDEW,"
gratis, post free.

" Abol " (W.S.) kills Red Spider, Caterpillars, Mealy Bug, Green and
Black Fly, American Blight, and Mildew on Roses and other Plants.

"Abol" (W.S.) prevents Peach Curl.

Prices: Pint, 1/6; quart, 2/6; ^-gallon, 4/-; gallon, 7/6;
3-gallon drum, 16/-; 5-gallon drum, 27/6;
10-gallon drum, 40/-.

In a small orchard use the "Abol" (patent) Syringe.

THE

Fitted with Drip Preventer.

No. 4, 1x14 in., 8/6. No. 2, 1 x 20 in., 10/6. No. 6, 1| x 20 -in., 14/6.
Bends, "A," 1/6 extra.

Specially recommended by the National Rose Society.

" Spraying is now a Pleasure instead of a Terror."

GEO. MASSE, Esq., V.M.H., F.L.S., Royal Gardens, Ken.
OF ALL SEEDSMEN, IRONMONGERS AND THE STORES.

£ole Proprietors and Manufacturers : —

E. A. WHITE, Ltd., Fruit Growers,

116, BELTRING, PADDOCK WOOD, Kent.

ADVERTISEMENTS.

VI.

INDISPENSABLES TO PROFITABLE FRUIT FARMING.

Woburn Bordeaux Paste (Patent).

A new improved, concentrated, and much cheaper
form of Bordeaux Mixture.

The best remedy for Apple and Pear Scab, Brown
Rot of Fruit, Peach Leaf Curl, Potato Disease, etc.

Full particulars and price on application.

Carlton Arsenate of Lead Paste.

British and Best. The kind that sticks.
Low in price. We are the actual Manufacturers.

Do not be persuaded into buying elsewhere and
paying exorbitant prices.

No brand excels the '' Carlton."

The best remedy for Caterpillar.

>ill«r of Ih. Codlin, Moth

Woburn Tobacco Extract.

The accepted remedy for
Apple Sucker, Aphis 'in-
cluding American Blight),
Thrip, Cuckoo Spit, etc.

Insist on having " Woburn," the original.

s Sucker (Ptylla Mcti). Perfec

American Blight

NOTE. — The above three washes can be mixed together and used at
one spraying, thereby showing a considerable saving in labour.

Voss' Fruit Tree Banding Grease

Remains unexcelled for trapping
the females of the Winter, March
and Mottled Umber Moths, and
preventing Caterpillar.

CHEAPEST AND BEST.

Winter Washes and all Horticultural requirements a speciality.

Full particulars from —

WALTER VOSS & Co., Ltd.,

3b, MILLWALL, LONDON, E.

vii.

ADVERTISEMENTS.

PATENT IMPROVED

TREE PRUNERS.

BY ROYAL LETTERS PATENT.

As used in the Prince of Wales's Gardens at Sandringham, and also in the Public
and Private Parks and Gardens in the United Kingdom and abroad.

The Tree Primers,

And their advantages over others.
1st. — No. 2 is the only Tree Primer
which commences the cut at the top
of branch.

2nd. — By the circular action of the
Blade, a much cleaner cut is obtained.
3rd. — The Spring makes it automatic
in opening, and entirely does away the
inconvenience of having to hold back
the Lever for the same purpose.

4th. — Being made with Hook at the
top, is a great advantage for pruning
branches of an upright growth.
PEICES of No. 2 TREE PRUNERS.

2 ft. pole 4/6 each.

3ft 51-

4ft 5/6

5ft 6/-

6ft 6/6

7ft 71-

8ft 7/6

9ft 8/-

10ft 91-

11 ft 101-

12ft 10/6

Above 12 ft. made to order.
Extra Blades, 1/6 each.
Price Lists Free on application to lending
Ironmongers and Horticultural Sundriesmen,
or Patentees.

The "New Standard" Tree Pruner.

PRICES of COFFIN'S No. 3.

4 ft. pole 4/- each.

6ft. ,, 51- ,,

8ft. ,, 6/- ,,

10ft. ,, 71- ,,

12ft. ,, 8/- ,,

Saws to fit in place of Blade, 3/6 each.
No< 2' Extra Blades, I/- each.

No. 3.

Patentees and Sole Makers —
G. COPPIN & SONS, ADDINGTON, SURREY.

ADVERTISEMENTS. viii.

OF ALL KINDS

For HOPS, FRUIT TREES, BUSH FRUIT,
RUBBER, COFFEE & TEA PLANTATIONS.

OIL ENGINES and PUMPS

For Water Supply, Irrigation and General Estate Work.

Winner^ of:— Both First Prizes at Wisbech. Two Seconds at Gloucester.

Special £50, R.A S.E. Gold Medal, Jamaica, etc., etc.

Makers to all the principal Spray Fluid Manufacturers, including :
Cooper & Nepheus. McDougall Bros. Voss & Co.

The Duke of Bedford's Experimental Farm.
A large number of Agricultural Colleges, County Councils, etc.

Makers of the New .

MISTIFIER Jnr. Spray Nozzle.

DRAKE & FLETCHER,

Engineers, MAIDSTONE.

IX. ADVERTISEMENTS.

ZR.ELT^.IBLIE

LIVERPOOL.

NATIONAL TELEPHONE-ISPS ROYAL.
TELEGRAMS-" WATERCRESS," LIVERPOOL.
POSTAL ADDRESS-IO, QUEEN SQUARE.

10 & 11, Queen Square.
29 & 31, Great Nelson Street.
144, 145 & 146, Wholesale Markets, Cazneau St.

. Bedford,

WHOLESALE SALESMAN OF

Fruits, Flowers, Salads & Vegetables,

Special attention given to English Produce. Account Sales daily
Cheques every Friday.

Charges for Fruits, 5 per cent., and 2d. per Package for Rents.
Use and Carriage of Empties, etc.

Charges for Salads and Flowers, i per cent, ditto.

READY SALE for all GOODS of RELIABLE QUALITY.

We require more Strawberries, Black and Red
Currants, and Raspberries. Should be pleased
to correspond with Growers.

'Prompt Returns & Best Market Prices Guaranteed.

Bankers: THE LONDON CITY & MIDLAND (Market Branch).

ESTABLISHED BY G-. J. BEDFORD, 1881.

ADVERTISEMENTS. X.

CHAMPION BROS.,

FRUIT, PEA AND POTATO SALESMEN,
Borough and Covent Garden Markets,

Receive for SALE all kinds of FRUIT, VEGETABLES and POTATOES,
and Supply BASKETS on application.

References— London Joint Stock Bank, Southwark, S.E,

TERMS ON APPLICATION. CHEQUES WEEKLY.

Telegrams: Telephone:

"THURLOW, SPITALFIELDS, LONDON." No. 9627. LONDON WALL.

ESTABLISHED 1850.

31. Jhurlow & Sons,

Fruit, Pea and Potato Salesmen,
SPITALFIELDS MARKET, LONDON, E.,

Solicit Consignments of

jfruits, potatoes & Vegetables.

Bankers: LONDON CITY & MIDLAND, Shoreditch, E.

LABELS, EMPTIES, etc., ON APPLICATION.

No connection with any person or firm using same name or
any address other than above.

XI. ADVERTISEMENTS.

GEORGE MENCE SMITH

Supplies at Lowest Possible Prices,
ALL FARMERS', HOP & FRUIT GROWERS' SPECIALITIES.

Coir Yarn. Arsenate of Soda.

Raffia. Arsenate of Lead.

Soft Soap. Sulphate of Copper.

Quassia Chips. Caustic Soda.

Quassia Soft Soap. Banding Grease for Trees.

Liver of Sulphur. Banding Paper for Trees.

Grafting Wax. Paints, Oils, Varnishes,
Acetate of Lead. etc., etc.

OIL, COLOUR & GENERAL MERCHANT,

19, High Street, MAIDSTONE, Kent.

Kent
Insurance Company

ESTABLISHED 18O2.
(Now merged in the Royal Insurance Co., Ltd.)

Total Funds - - - £16,630,262.

Income - £5,828,309.

LOCAL CHAIRMAN GEORGE MARSHAM, ESQ.

FIRE DEPARTMENT. -Claims promptly and equitably settled.
LIFE DEPARTMENT. -Large participation in profits.

Personal Accident. Burglary. Workmen's Compensation.
Fidelity Guarantee. Property Owners' Liability. Third Party.
Plate Class. Loss of Profits by Fire, Marine, etc.

Forms and Prospectuses on application to KENT OFFICE,
MAIDSTONE ; or to any of the Company's Representatives.

J. DALBY HOBSON, Local Secretary. EDWIN RUCK, Assistant Secretary.

ADVERTISEMENTS.

Xll.

GOLD MEDAL, after exhaustive trials,
Hexham Fruit Congress, October, 1910.

FIRST AWARD, Middlesex Demonstration.

also

13 other Medals and Diplomas since Sept., 1909.

No other sprayer can be compared with it for efficiency and simplicity ;
no work, no trouble, never gets out of order, no continuous pumping. One
person only required to use any size machine.

Charged with compressed air by means of an ordinary bicycle foot pump.

What the Royal Horticultural Society think of this Sprayer:—

" We consider this to be one of the finest Sprayers on the market."

From R.H.S. Report in Journal, March, 1910.

KING OF SPRAYERS,

3for use in ®rcbarb, (Bar&cn,
greenhouse & Conservatory ,

Can be used for Lime and Whitewash
Spraying, Disinfecting, etc.

The Knapsack, 3| gallons, awarded Gold
Medal and First Diploma as above, complete
with powerful foot pump, 6O/-

no. o.

MADE IN SIX OTHER SIZES, DIFFERENT PATTERNS.

1 quart, 15/- ; 2 quarts, 16/6; 3 quarts, 17/6; 1£ gallons, 47/6;

3^ gallons special Lime and Whitewash Spraying Machine, 58/6 ;
5-gallon Sprayer, suitable for any purpose, 75/-.

Any Tree Spraying Solution or Insect - Killer may be used with
wonderful effect in these machines.

Full particulars and Illustrated Price List on application to —

ALPHA EXTINGUISHER, LTD,,

ROSS, HEREFORDSHIRE.

AGENTS WANTED WHERE NOT REPRESENTED.

Xlll.

ADVERTISEMENTS.

" THE SOUTH EASTERN GAZETTE."

The leading Newspaper, for Farmers and all
interested in the land, in the County of Kent.

Principal Medium for Auctioneers' & Estate Agents' Notices

Regular weekly features include

Special Reports on Markets, the Hop Crop, Fruit prospects, etc.

'THE SOUTH EASTERN GAZETTE"

Published Monday evening for Tuesday, price One Penny.
Post Free, 3s. 3d. half-yearly.

SATURDAY EDITION price One Half-penny.

Proprietors : —

The South Eastern Gazette Newspaper Co., Ltd.,

Head Offices : 56, Week Street, MA1DSTONE.

3famtl\) County paper of Ikent.

"We find that we get more results
from your Paper than from all the
other Kent Papers and we have
tried them all for over -four

years. « Yours faithfully,

"JOHN C. MURDOCH & Co., LTD.,

" F. Proctor, Manager.
"78, Week Street, Maidstone."

(The above letter icas
entirely unsolicited )

Printed on
a 1 2-page
Foster Machine.

Established 51 years

Displayed
Advertisements.

13 insertions 2$. 6d.

per inch
per insertion.

TYPE OR BLOCKS.

There is no Newspaper printed in the County
Town of Kent that can compare with the
CIRCULATION of the " KENT MESSENGER."

HEAD OFFICES: WEEK STREET, MAIDSTONE.

Branch Offices-— 187, Parrock Street, GRAVESEXD ;
Dorset Street, SEVENOAKS ; and 26, Bank Street, ASHFORD.
London Office: 115, FLEET ST. Proprietor : BARHAM PRATT BOORMAN .
FRIDAY & SATURDAY-ONE PENNY. WEDNESDAY-ONE HALF-PENNY.

"Kent Messenger & Gravesend Telegraph & Dartford News."

" Kent Messenger & Sevenoaks Telegraph."

ADVERTISEMENTS.

XIV.

VERMOREL'S KNAPSACK SPRAYERS,

For FRUIT TREES, HOPS, POTATOES, etc.
The BEST and MOST RELIABLE.

V- Have won over 50O FIRST PRIZES and MEDALS.

Has never been beaten in competition,
Recommended by all Authorities,

The "ECLAIR," for liquids,

Gives a very fine, a medium, or
a coarse spray, and is the best dis-
tributor of either thick or thin fluids.

Has a powerful agitator, and

plenty of force behind the spray,

Price— £1 15s. 6d.

LONG TUBES for spraying tall trees.-

(Bamboo Lance, fitted with light copper tubing and tap).
4ft. lOin , 10/6; 6ft. 6in., 12/6; 8ft. 1in., 14/6;
9ft. 9in., 18/6 ; 13ft., 22/6 ; 16ft. 3in., 25/6.

The three largest sizes are in two pieces ; either half can be
used separately by affixing an extra top and nozzle.

The " TORPILLE," for powders.

For dusting powders of every description.
Prices No. 1, 24/6; No 2, 18 -

Double action "Torpille," 33/6.

"VERMORITE," a spraying mixture,

for instantaneous use.

Sole Agents Jor the United Kingdom and the Colonies :—

COOPER, PEGLER & Co.,

24, 26, Christopher Street, Finsbury Square,

LONDON, E.C,

XV.

ADVERTISEMENTS.

C. T. OVERTON & SONS,

CRAWLEY, SUSSEX,

MANUFACTURERS OF .

BEE HIVES AND
BEE APPLIANCES
of every description.

BREEDERS and Importers of Ligurian
Carniolan and English Bees

and Queens.
Stocks and Swarms. See Catalogue.

Lectures & Instruction given in Bee-keeping,

TERMS MODERATE.

Illustrated Catalogue Free to any address.
KINDLY MENTION THIS BOOK.

ADVERTISEMENTS. XVI.

GEORGE BUNYARD&Co.,Ltd.

HAVE BEEN

Awarded many CUPS, GOLD and SILVER MEDALS,
and HUNDREDS OF FIRST PRIZES,

FOR THEIR EXAMPLES OF

Apples, Pears, Cherries, etc.,

At all the FIRST-CLASS COMPETITIONS.

Champion Exhibitors of Hardy Fruits for 26 years.

'"THE above Fruit has been grown by them in their Nurseries,

and Visitors can always see 400 kinds of Apples & Pears

on the Trees or in their Fruit Room, from October to February ;

Peaches and Nectarines, in Orchard Houses — July to October.

Such important practical knowledge of Pomology, gained over
so many years, combined with extensive trials, has made the
Maidstone Nurseries distinguished for selling Fruit Trees
true to name ; healthy and vigorous in growth.

Many Colonial Governments, as well as County Councils
and the trade, have availed themselves of this fact, in order to
get true stock for comparison and propagation.

As far as can be spared, Collections or single examples can be
supplied for County Council educational purposes or comparison,
but not for competition at Exhibitions.

Xvil. ADVERTISEMENTS.

"Kent, the Garden of England."

NEARLY

A MILLION FRUIT TREES,

In 600 SORTS,

TRUE TO NAME, CLEAN AND HEALTHY IN GROWTH,
ARE GROWN ANNUALLY AT

GEORGE BUNYARD & Co.'s

FRUIT TT^EE NURSERIES,
ESTABL.SHED 1796. MAIDSTONE.

SPECIAL ATTENTION is given to PROFITABLE
MARKET SORTS.

Illustrated Descriptive Fruit Catalogue, Post-free Six Stamps.
Market Growers' List, free.

G. B. & Co., Ltd., are also Extensive General Nurserymen, and
will forward the following Lists free :

THE DESCRIPTIVE & CULTURAL CATALOGUE OF STRAWBERRIES.
THE GENERAL TREE &• SHRUB CATALOGUE.
LIST OF HERBACEOUS PLANTS, AQUATICS, etc.
LIST OF HARDY CLIMBERS.
THE DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF ROSES.
DESCRIPTIVE GENERAL SEED & SUNDRIES LIST.
ASPARAGUS — CULTURE &• PRICES.
All these Catalogues are Copyright, and entered at Stationers Hall.

LIBERAL TERMS, FREE CARRIAGE AND DISCOUNT, DISTANCE NO OBJECT,

Everyone contemplating FRUIT FARMING should pay these
Nurseries a visit, and see examples of up-to-date Culture and Pruning.
For Route, see Catalogue.

ADVERTISEMENTS. XV111,

TOOLS, etc., for use in

FRUIT PLANTATIONS,

MAY BE OBTAINED DIRECT FROM

GEORGE BUNYARD & Co., Ltd.

PINCHES' ACME LABELS, practically imperishable, strongly

recommended, any names to order, per whole gross, 20/- ;

per doz., 2/6 ; each 3d. ; post free, to customers' names.
STANDARD TREE PRUNERS (see advertisement page vii).
PRUNING KNIVES (clasp), special Sheffield make, each 2/9 to 3/6.
PRUNING KNIVES (sheath), for Cob Nuts, etc., each 2/6.
SECATEURS FOR PRUNING, 3/6 to 5/6 per pair.
TAM O'SHANTER HONES, for sharpening above, each 6d.
PRUNING SAWS, " American Two-edged Lightning," each 3/6 & 4/6.
KENT HAND BILLS, for lopping, each 3/6.
DIGGING FORKS, cast steel, four prongs, each 4/- and 5/-.
BUNYARD'S SPECIAL PLANTING SPADES, extra strong, strapped,

cast steel, as used in the Nursery, each 6/-.
GALVANIZED WIRE GUARDS, for protecting stems of Standard Trees,

very effective, price per 100, 30/- to 50/-. Better than when

cut from a roll.
PLANET JUNIOR, HORSE, PONY OR DONKEY HOES, very useful, and

much ussd in our Nurseries.
VERMOREL'S KNAPSACK SPRAYERS, and the new English make,

from 36/6 (see advertisement page xiv).
QUASSIA CHIPS in quantity, price on application.
TOBACCO DUST, per cwt, price on application.
HELLEBORE POWDER, 6d. and 8d. per Ib. ; per cwt. on application.
GLOVES, strong leather pruning, per pair,. II- to 1/8.
GREASE SMEAR, for dressing Trees to prevent Winter Moth ;

56 Ib., 12/6 ; cwt. casks, 21/-.

HOWARD CHAPMAN'S GREASE in stock, (see advertisement page iv).
BUNYARD'S AMERICAN BLIGHT AND INSECT CURE, per gallon, 5/- ;

five-gallon drums, 17/6.
BUNYARD'S SPECIFIC for Mildew and Curl on Peach foliage, I/- & 2/6.

XIX. ADVERTISEMENTS.

Warming and Bordering.

Mr. GEORGE BUNYARD, F.R.H.S., V.M.H.,

(Actiny Member of the Chisivick Fruit Congresses ;
Chairman of the Fruit Committee Royal Horticultural Society;
Chairman of the- Edinboro' Apple and Pear Conference ;
For 50 years connected with the Maidstone Nurseries ;
Master of the Fruiterers'' Company, 1906.)

(in Summer, by preference) be willing to
give his services to Noblemen, Land Owners, or
Farmers, who require practical professional assistance or

Advice on Market Fruit Culture
. or the Formation of Modern .
Fruit or Rose Gardens, etc., etc.

Terms on Application to .

THE T^OYAL NURSERIES, MAIDSTONE.

Fruit will be named for Customers and Friends if sent
Carriage Paid, with Stamped Addressed Envelope, but non-
customers and the Trade will be asked for a fee of I/- for every
dozen or less, which will be handed to the Gardening Charities.

ADVERTISEMENTS. XX.

LITERATURE OF FRUIT CULTURE.

The following Works are considered the best on their several subjects,
and may be purchased through any Bookseller, or be posted direct from
GEORGE BUNYARD & Co., LTD., the Royal Nurseries, Maidstone, at
the prices affixed, net.

The notes in parenthesis are the Author's.

The Standard Book.— "The Fruit Garden."— This important work contains
about 400 Illustrations, and practical information of every kind
relating to Fruit Culture, Insects, etc. By GEORGE BUNYARD,
V.M.H., and OWEN THOMAS, V.M.H. In One Volume. " The
best and most important yet published." 13/- net.

Bunyard's Modern Fruit and Rose Culture, for Amateurs.

The set embraces : — Hints for the culture of Apricots, Peaches and
Nectarines, Pears, Apples and Plums for Villa Gardens; Cordon and
Candelabra Trees ; Strawberries in the open, or for forcing : and the
management of Orchard-house Trees, hints on Root-pruning, Rose
Culture, etc. I/- post free.

National Rose Society's Descriptive Catalogue, 2/2; also hints on Rose
Culture.

" England's National Flower."— Mr. G. B. has written a practical little
manual with descriptions of ROSES grouped in families for special
purposes, illustrated by photographs taken specially for this work by
Mr. E. A. BUNYARD. It contains hints for culture, and will be
specially valuable for amateurs who are often at sea with a catalogue
that contains hundreds of varieties. 3/9 post free. Favourably
reviewed by all Papers. See Rose Catalogue.

Rev. A. Foster-Melliar's Book of the Rose, "Practical and a treat to
read." 6/6.

Royal Horticultural Society's Rules for Judging Fruit, Vegetables and
Flowers, 1/9.

Fruits for Cottagers.— R.H.S. pamphlets, containing valuable and simple
hints for culture, of profitable sorts, etc., each 2d., or six for 7d.

How to Build a Fruit Room on G. B. & Co.'s Plan, with two photographs.
2/6 post free.

Vines and Vine Culture, by A. F. BARRON, late Superintendent of the
Royal Horticultural Gardens. 5/6.

(The most complete work yet published ; every detail given.)

Profitable Fruit Growing, by J. WRIGHT. 1/2. Fifth edition revised.

(The Prize Essay of the Fruiterers' Company, 1889. A most practical and
valuable work for small growers, Cottage or Allotment holders, free! y illustrated,
and valuable for its sound teaching. Just the work for distributon among
Cottage Garden Societies, etc.)

A Year's Work on a Kent Fruit Farm. A practical series of capital articles ;
highly recommended. (Copyright). I/-.

Board of Agriculture Leaflets post free as per List, see Chapter XXIII.

Fruiterers' Company Charts, illustrating Budding, Grafting, Layering,
Pruning, etc. ; on cards of large size, mounted, 6/- the set of five ; too
large for post.

The Planter's Handbook of Shrubs and Trees, with list of the mouths
they blossom. 3/9 post free.

VC

f 744