THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



231 



some of our Kent orchards. Here we have ia the 

 centre, between the rows of apple-trees, filberts and 

 black currants planted. This land is regularly culti- 

 vated by the fork, and yard-manure is applied occasion- 

 ally ; but the chief dependence is upon frequent stirring 

 of the soil. The trees are kept nicely pruned, and the 

 wood which is allowed to remain is profitable and fruit- 

 ful. I have seen crops raised under this system worth 

 more than the freehold value of the land j}ro'lucing 

 them. Although this is a system which cannot be car- 

 ried out in the West with equal profit, still it affords us 

 an example from which we may derive some useful hints. 

 At the least, such a system, compared with the neglected 

 condition of many West of England orchards, shows a 

 contrast as striking as any within the limits of agricul- 

 tural operations. In the former we have the orchard 

 managed with the care of a garden : scarcely a useless 

 branch to be seen, and the soil clean and free from weeds. 

 In the latter we see trees crowded with dead 

 branches, and covered with moss and blight, presenting 

 the appearance of a forgotten piece of woodland, rather 

 than trees preserved for the production of fruit. 



In gathering the fruit from orchards, the first step is 

 to pick up the icindfalls ; and these are heaped separate 

 from other fruit, because, being unripe, they produce 

 cider of very harsh character. This being done, the 

 gathering of the general crop is commenced. There are 

 one or two points to be borne in mind in gathering 

 the crop, as the quantity of the cider depends upon their 

 being attended to. 



The weather should be dry ; and the cooler it is the 

 better, provided it does not freeze the fruit. The longer 

 the fruit will hang upon the tree the cooler will the 

 weather be, in all probability. The fruit should be 

 allowed to become as i-ipe as possible, and, when it 

 reaches this stage of maturity, the sooner the apples are 

 collected the better. Most persons have women picking 

 up the fruit as it falls; others send a man, who, with 

 the aid of a long and rather stiff rod, furnished at the 

 top with a small hook, gently shakes the branches, 

 whilst the women gather up the fruit at once, and either 

 put it in heaps in the orchard, or send them away in 

 carts. In doing this, great care should be taken not to 

 damage the fruit-spurs by the use of heavy and unwieldy 

 poles. The careful cider-maker will have his fruit 

 frequently gathered and removed under cover with as 

 little delay as possible, so as to allow them to hoard and 

 become mellow where they will be safe from the washing 

 rain. He will also be careful in the assortment of his 

 fruit, separating apples of marked difference in colours, 

 and not using them until mellowed. 



The yellow apples will generally become ready 

 first, then yellow and red, and, after these, the red ; 

 whilst the red and green will be later, and the green the 

 last. Being separated in this manner according to 

 colours, these heaps are again to be noticed as regards 

 their mellowness. It will not, however, do to grind all 

 of one sort alone ; for, as I have before said, the 

 Aee;7tM(/ c7(«r«c^er ofj the cider depends upon the pre- 

 sence of the juice of our harsher varieties. The two 

 former may generally be worked together, viz., the 



yellow fruit with the yellow and red, whilst the red and 

 the red and green will go together ; but the green should 

 be kept to itself. In this way we gain the advantage of 

 selection by colours, which gives a juice less liable to 

 excessive fermentation, without the disadvantage of a 

 want of power to keep. 



I have strictly confined my remarks in this essay to 

 the production of fruit ; and I feel convinced that the 

 West of England possesses in the apple a fruit capable 

 of far more profitable growth than has yet been accom- 

 plished, and especially by the manufacture of the fruit 

 into cider. 



THICK AND THIx^J SOWING. 



Sir, — There ia a great horror amongst farmers of thin sow- 

 ing. If by chance the plant misses, or ia eaten, great is the 

 outcry. But how is it we never hear anything of the losses 

 arising from thick sowing ? Simply because one is visible, 

 the other invisible. I will venture to assert that for every 

 pound lost by thin sowing there are ten lost from thick sowing. 



The money lost this season, owing to thick sowing, amounts 

 in the barley crop to— I might venture to say — tens or hun- 

 dreds of thousands of pounds. I will point out one instance 

 out of many within my knowledge. 



One farmer drilled 2^ bushels per acre on a clay bottom 

 soil, and got an excellent crop, with a good sample, which sold 

 for 403. per qr. His neighbour, who persisted in his old 

 quantity of 4 bushels per acre, got 3 sacks less per acre, and 

 ISs. less per qr. 



I could multiply this case by thousands. The fact is that, 

 with our modern process of drilling and high farming, every 

 seed vegetates and branches considerably. In a season like 

 the past, we get, by thick sowing, a close, dense, top-heavy 

 crop, weak below : no air circulates beneath it : down it goes 

 prematurely, and you have as a result a mass of soft, light, 

 frothy straw, and lean miserable undeveloped kernels. Ten 

 to one but much of your young clovers are destroyed by ths 

 want of air and light. This remark applies equally to oats and 

 to wheat. 



If a landlord added 5s. to 7a. per acre to his rent, great 

 would be the grumbiiag; and yet many a farmer throws away 

 with complacency a buahel'or two of seed per acre, destroying 

 thereby a large portion of his return. I hear occasionally of 

 absurd quantities of seed sown. So long as I can get 11 

 quartets of oats from 2 bushels, and 5 to 6 quarters of wheat 

 from 1 bushel, and a good crop of barley from 6 to 7 peeks, I 

 am content to be pitied by the thick sowers. 



I do not mean to lay down one general rule for all soils and 

 climates ; but I si>y, try and compare various quantities, which 

 ia easily done on a small scale, and arrive at your own con- 

 clusions, as I have done. Taking the country generally, I am 

 sure that there is ample room for amendment in this respect. 



I think Mr. Caird in his Times'' reports estimated the yield 

 aa 11 for 1 : on my farm it is 44 for 1 in oats and wheat. I 

 will always make a polite bow to any farmer who tells me that 

 he has tried, for a series of years, comparative quantities, and 

 has chosen that which paid him best. 



I am quite sure we get more weight of straw from moderate 

 than from thick sowing. I remember showing an Oxfordshire 

 farmer a piece of oats dibbled at 1 bushel per acre. He said, 

 " You have much more straw than I have, although I sow 5 

 bushels per acre." It is curious that farmers, who are so care- 

 ful about singling out their turnips, should so overcrowd their 

 corn crops. J hope my agricultural friends will excuse this 

 gentle '' touch up," especially as I sincerely wish them all 

 many happy and prosperous years. — Yours faithfully, 



Tiptree Hall. J. J. Mechi. 



