December i, 1884.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



461 



root formation, and not only that, but to keep the roots 

 on the surface. For three seasons, therefore, the three 

 acres in question have not been dug, the only implement 

 employed being the hoe. Sedulous hoeiug has been carried 

 out, in order to keep the weeds down, and because a 

 light stirring of the surface soil has a beneficial effect. 

 The idea is by no means to have a hermitically-sealed soil 

 with a baked surface ; but all culture is strictly superficial, 

 to prevent root disturbance. This, of course, nescessitates 

 the application of all manures in the shape of top-dress. 

 ing. None is dug in. No matter in what form it may be, 

 whether farmyard manure, whole bone, bone dust, guano, 

 woollen waste, skin waste, or what not, it must be left 

 to a process of natural absorption of the soil, or to be 

 washed in by rain, or drawn in by the sometime despised 

 but industrious worm. The utility of this latter agent is 

 fully recognised on Yew Tree Farm. Darwin has sufficiently 

 demonstrated its value, and doubtless under the system of 

 surface cultivation the action of worms is doubly useful 

 owing to the way in which they are continually causing 

 minute but important displacements of the soil, and thereby 

 preventing it from caking; while the riddling and boring 

 which they carry on provides a means for the admission 

 of air to the soil, which is probably invaluable. Roots, like 

 other animate thiugs, travel in search of food, and the 

 constant placing of manure on the surface draws and keeps 

 the roots near the ;op. Surface culture, then, combined 

 with the superficial application of manure both tend to that 

 undisturbed root growth, as near daylight as possible, to 

 which Mr. Oroose attaches so much importance. 



An instance of the way in which the manure at the top 

 tends to the growth of fibres, which are sent up by the. 

 main roots to the surface in search of nutriment, was 

 pointed out to us. There is a large plum tree in the 

 cliicken run, and on kicking off a cake of the chicken 

 dung and scratching the surface of the soil, a mass of 

 fine heavy fibres became visible, which had been sent up 

 by the large roots. ~\Ye are aware that there is nothing 

 particularly new in all this, but it will tend to illustrate 

 the lines on which Mr. Oroose is working. 



The main reason for which Mr. Croose objects to any 

 breaking of the roots, such as is unavoidable in digging, 

 appears to be this. Fruit trees, from the time the sap 

 begins to run, require all the nutriment aud encourage- 

 ment they can get. Thus, very soon they begin to flower, 

 then the fruit becomes set, from which time on till the 

 ripening there is a continual process of development. At 

 no stage of this development — from the first budding of the 

 flower to the completion of the ripening — can the feeders 

 of the tree be ruptured and torn without the feeding 

 process, on which the production of the fruit depends, 

 being disturbed ; and the supply of nutriment, canuot be 

 interfered with without the fruit suffering, at whatever 

 stage it may be when the disturbance takes place. It 

 will be said that the digging takes place in the winter, 

 when the life of the tree is dormant. The answer to 

 this is that the vitality of the tree, or some portion of it, 

 has subsequently to be directed to repairing damages, and 

 that while new roots are being formed the tree is suffer- 

 ing for the want of them. By the time these roots are 

 formed, or partially formed, they are again ruthlessly 

 destroyed with the digging " spud." the result being that 

 the tree is dependent largely, if not wholly, upon the 

 lower roots, which go into the subsoil, the richer top soil 

 being left more or less unutilised. This subsoil makes 

 plenty of growth, but does not produce much fruit, and 

 although wood is necessary in any case, it is of course 

 useless to produce it unless it will grow something market- 

 able ; an unfruitful tree will make growth simply because 

 it is unfruitful. The energy of the plant must go some- 

 where — it must be expended in some form — aud failing its 

 direction to fruit, it manifests itself in an abundance of 

 wood and leafage. Mr. Croose, however, goes in for an 

 abundance of wood ; but we shall refer to this again whin 

 we come to say a little about pruning. In the old plant- 

 ation, three years without digging have resulted iu the 

 formation of a complete network or carpet of roots, those 

 of each tree interlacing with their neighbours. On taking 

 small pieci uf earth from between the currant bushes, 

 it presented quite a hairy appearance, through being so 

 full of minute fibres. This state of thiugs would doubtless 

 have been even more marked had the season not been so 



exceptionally dry. 



The practical reader will look with some interest to see 

 what Sir. ( 'roose does in the way of manuring. He is of 

 opinion that the growers as a rule do not pay sufficient 

 attention to keeping up the supply of phosphates, of which 

 there is a large amount in the ash of the fruit and wood. 

 Everybody is alive to the need of a plentiful supply of 

 nitrogen, which if used too freely is apt to make a lot 

 of leaves and growth, while phosphate is more particularly 

 required in the formation of the actual fruit. It is also 

 11 edi 1 for the production of fine flowers. People never 

 think of making a grape border without using bones, and 

 phosphates are just as much required for other fruit as 

 for that of the vine. Iu ordinary farmyard dung, phos- 

 phates and nitrogen are both represented. It has con- 

 sequently a peculiar value in this respect, and for this rea- 

 son Mr. Oroose uses it as far as obtainable. Fur waste, 

 soot, shoddy and waste-product manures contain principally 

 nitrogen, aud have, therefore; only a restricted value. The 

 much-needed phosphates are supplied on Yew Tree Farm 

 mostly in the shape of crushed bones. Bone superphosphate 

 which has been dissolved in vitriol is not in much favour, 

 on the score that it makes the ground very acid. It has 

 the merit of acting very quickly, however, and, for this 

 reason is invaluable in certain cases. Mr. Coorse puts on 

 about a ton of bones, crushed to quarter-inch size per acre. 

 Owing to the slowness with which it dissolves, this is 

 calculated to last for eight years. It is astonishing how 

 the little fibrous roots bore into the pores, so that if you 

 dig out one of the pieces of bone, you can hold it up by 

 the fibres which have attached themselves to it. The pre- 

 sence of these slowly dissolving bones gives a permanent 

 supply of phosphate for the formation of fruit. Nitrogen 

 is supplied by flock dust, skin waste, soot, or Peruvian 

 guano. All manure, as before stated, is placed on the 

 surface, and it disappears quickly. The quarter-inch bones 

 will vanish from sight in one ordinary season. 



Allowing the cost of the bone manure (spread over eight 

 years, and applied at the rate of a ton an acre) to cost 

 £ 1 an acre yearly, the other manures used being the yearly 

 cost for dressing alone to from £9 to £12 an acre, so that 

 in ten years Mr. Oroose would spend considerably over 

 £1,000 in nourishing ten acres of ground. He states as a 

 result of his system that he has been able to produce 

 more fruit and of a finer quality ; and his salesmen in 

 Oovent Garden tell him that they have been able to realize 

 a higher price for his fruit on "this latter account. An- 

 other fact is, that the fruit in his plantation has not fallen 

 off to anything like the extent that has been the case 

 in those around him. A somewhat unexpected result has 

 also been attained in the case of some of the old apple 

 trees. Three old AYellingtons stood together, cankered, 

 lichen-covered, and apparently exhausted; one was cut 

 down, the others were allowed to remain. Under the 

 plentiful application of manure to the surface, a quantity 

 of vigorous new wood has grown out, and the apples, in- 

 stead of being small and cankered, are clean and fine. 

 That this result has been attained by some means other 

 than fresh grafting is self-evident, as the trees with the 

 apples upon them were there to bear testimony at the 

 time of our visit. 



Mr. Oroose does not believe in pruning, except to a very 

 moderate extent. His theory is, that with his style of 

 culture an abundance of wood should be produced. He 

 believes that a free-growing tree— given, we presume, that 

 it is a fairly good sort — is' sure to be fruitful under his 

 system : that is to say that, there being an abundance of 

 root power, with plenty of fruit-forming constituents in 

 the soil, as well as wood and leaf-producing material, the 

 tree will, as a matter of course, succeed in carrying out 

 its natural function of making fruit. In other words, that 

 if all the conditions requisite to the production of fruit 

 are supplied, in the shape of good soil, appropriate nutri- 

 ment and suitable cultivation aud treatment, nature may 

 be trusted to do the rest. 



In concluding our remarks we may say that, under Mr. 

 Croose's plan of surface culture, top dressings (iu which 

 a prominent place is given to the supply of phospl 

 and limited pruning, everything on the place looks remark- 

 ably thriving aud healthy ; nothing seems to be slouched 

 or slurred over, aud order, "heaven's first law," is clearly 

 in the ascendant. 



