IRISH GARDENING 



VOLUME VIII. 

 No. 93 



Edited by C- F. Ball. 



A MONTHLY JOURNAL DEVOTED TO THE 



ADVANCEMENT OF HORTICULTURE AND 



ARBORICULTURE IN IRELAND 



NOVEMBER 

 J 9'3 



Apples for Profit* 



By Frederick W. Hammond. 



The Editor has asked me to write a short 

 article on the above subject for the November 

 issue of Irish Gardening. As my knowledge 

 of the local conditions attached to fruit growing 

 in Ireland is limited, my remarks will be to a 

 great extent of a general character applicable 

 to almost all localities, and I must leave my 

 readers to apply whatever they may find therein 

 at all useful to their own case and to meet their 

 own local conditions. 



In the consideration of any scheme or project 

 for growing apples for market, the first point 

 which must have attention is the soil in which 

 it is proposed to grow them and the situation 

 and aspect of the particular parcel of land. 



Probably in a great number of cases these 

 points may be fixed — that is to say, that the 

 prospective planter has already a farm or 

 portion of land which he proposes to plant with 

 apples, and it is not a question of the compara- 

 tive suitability of several different sites, but 

 whether or not it is desirable to start apple 

 growing on one definite plot. 



To those hi the hapjiy position of being able 

 to pick and choose, the ideal piece of land should 

 consist of a good sound deep loam ; it should have 

 a good elevation, but not be situated so high on 

 the crown of a hill as to be too much wind- 

 swept, while the tilt of the land should be 

 towards the south or south-west. There should 

 be shelter from the northerly and easterly winds ; 

 but, on the other hand, the plot should not be 

 surrounded even on those sides with woods, or 

 considerable trouble will be found with all sorts 

 of insect and feathered pests. 



II ^re frequently, however, the case occurs, as 

 stated above, that a grower has a particular 

 farm or field which he wishes to plant down 

 with apples, and it is a question as to the 

 advisability or otherwise of such a course. If 

 the land is situated in a hollow as measured by 

 the surrounding country, even though, according 

 to altitude figures, it may be all right, yet frost 



is almost certain to collect on such a situation 

 and cause great danger of loss or, if not so, great 

 expense in combating it. 



Therefore, so far as our present knowledge 

 and experience show, it is not advisable to 

 plant apples in any hollow or at the bottom of 

 any valley where there is not adjoining lower 

 land into which the mists and frosts may collect. 

 Of course, this is exceedingly unfortunate, for 

 it is just in these positions that the best soils are 

 found, being brought there by washing down from 

 the surrounding hilltops ; but, as stated above, 

 under our present conditions and the present 

 cost of frost- fighting, it is inadvisable to plant 

 fruit there. 



Again, bare, exposed hillcrests should never 

 be chosen for planting with apples, or indeed 

 any fruits, for the trees are liable to be thrashed 

 about by the cold winds of spring just when 

 they are blooming, and again by the boisterous 

 equinoctial gales of autumn just when the fruit 

 is maturing and the grower is anticipating his 

 harvest. 



It is also exceedingly unwise to plant on a field 

 sloping towards the north or north-east, for such 

 fields get considerably less of the sun through 

 half the year, from September to March, than 

 do those which are tilted towards the south or 

 south-west ; and, of course, more or less of the 

 sun's rays mean more or less warmth to the soil. 



Having decided upon a piece of ground, the 

 necessary preparation of the land to receive 

 the trees must be taken in hand. In the first 

 place, the drainage must be right, as apple trees 

 constantly standing hi wet, undrained land soon 

 cease to grow, and die. It is advisable that the 

 land drains should be deep, even though they 

 have to be nearer together on that account to 

 thoroughly drain the ground, as there is always 

 the danger of the roots of fruit trees getting into 

 shallow pipe or tile drains and blocking them, 

 with very harmful results. When the drainage 

 is put right the land should either be ploughed 



