1G2 THE FLOItlST AND rOMOLOGIST. [July, 



THE FBUIT CROPS IN YORKSHIRE. 



^SO'ufRUTT crops in Yorkshire are, this season, much better than they were 

 (UMp expected to be. All kinds of fruit were last year most abundant, and 



f notwithstanding the heat and drought, much of the fruit was fine. In 

 general, old trees of Apples, Pears, Plums, and Cherries in orchards do 

 not bear good crops of fruit two years consecutively : it is one year an abundance, 

 and the following year a deficiency. These fruits were last year most abundant, 

 and consequently a deficient crop was looked for this year ; but it is not so. No 

 doubt this may be attributed to the hot and dry weather being favourable to the 

 maturation of the wood, and the formation of flower-buds. On light soils fruit trees 

 suffered much last summer, and in such places some crops are consequently light ; 

 but on strong land, where the trees stood the drought uninjured, the crops are 

 better than could have been expected, after the very heavy produce of last year. 



Apricots are an irregular crop : in some places good, in others moderate. 

 Here even on the same wall the crop is irregular ; on some trees the fruit is thin, 

 others have a fair sprinkling, and on a few there were three times too mam- 

 fruit for a crop. I think Apricots will not be much below an average crop. 



Peaches and Nectarines are a good crop on strong soils where the trees stood 

 the drought, but on light soils they are deficient. Here the crop is very good. 

 The trees were protected at night whilst in flower. In some places, where there 

 was no protection given, the crop is equally good. There was a deal of bloom 

 even on trees that suffered last year from the drought, but being weak and 

 imperfect on these, it fell off without setting. 



Pears are a very good crop, both on walls and in the open ground. Here the 

 crop is very fine ; extraordinarily good on some of the standards. 



Plums showed an abundance of blossom, but I think the crop will be thin, — 

 last year it was a very heavy one. The weather, whilst the trees were in flower 

 this season, was much more favourable for setting than it was last year, so that 

 the light crop can be accounted for only through the flowers being weak and im- 

 perfect. Here there are a considerable number of trees, and there will be a good 

 sprinkling of fruit ; but the crop altogether is light. 



Apples are a much better crop everywhere than was expected, as the crop 

 last year was very heavy. On old trees that bore heavily last year there is very 

 little fruit this, but on all vigorous trees that were not then overcropped there is 

 now a fair crop. Here there is a fair crop of fruit on all the young trees, while 

 a few of the old ones that were heavily laden last year have little or no fruit. 

 Should the summer be fine, I have no doubt the fruit will be good. 



Cherries are a most abundant crop everywhere. 



Gooseberries are in most places a thin crop. The sorts that came early into 

 flower suffered a good deal from the cold boisterous weather that prevailed 

 throughout March, but the later sorts are better furnished. Here there is a fair 



