FRUIT FARMING 



3364 



FRUiT FARMING 



the varieties are of poor quality, 

 and no care is taken in picking and 

 packing the fruit, much of it is 

 sold at very low prices, greatly to 

 the detriment of good quality 

 British fruit grown on up-to-date 

 fruit farms. 



The magnitude of the area 

 devoted to this type of fruit 

 growing may be gauged from the 

 generally accepted estimate that 

 of no less than 147,401 acres de- 

 voted to apple and pear growing 

 in England and Wales alone, 

 100,000 acres consist of farm 

 orchards in greater or less state 

 of dilapidation and decaj'. The 

 rate at which these orchards are 

 disappearing may be estimated 

 from the board of agriculture re- 

 turns of the area devoted to apples 

 and pears in the counties already 

 mentioned. In 1910 there were 

 114,810 acres, in 1919 there were 

 only 87,310 acres, a reduction of 

 27,500 acres or 24 per cent, of the 

 original area. 



Intensive Method 



The intensive method is practised 

 on holdings devoted mainly to the 

 production of fruit. On these fruit 

 farms the percentage of land 

 devoted to fruit is always high. 

 Generally speaking, however, the 

 individual holdings are small, and 

 range from 2-50 acres, though 

 some reach 200-500 acres. On 

 these specialised fruit holdings 

 apples, plums, pears, and cherries, 

 which are known as the " top " 

 fruits, and strawberries, rasp- 

 berries, gooseberries, red, black, 

 and white currants, and nuts, 

 technically known as the soft or 

 bush fruits, are either grown 

 separately or in combination. 



Apples may be grown as cordons, 

 bush-shaped trees, half standards or 

 standards on cultivated ground, or 

 as standards in grass. Where bulk 

 is required, and quality is less 

 important, the trees are grown 

 much larger either as half standards 

 or standards. Pears are grown on a 

 similar basis, but with plums half 

 standards and standards are the 

 more usual shapes, and as a general 

 rule the land is kept cultivated. 

 Cherries, on the other hand, thrive 

 best in grass. In the most intensive 

 forms of culture the " bush " 

 fruits are interplanted amongst the 

 " top " fruits whilst the latter are 

 young. All the bush fruits require 

 cultivated land. 



This intensive form of fruit 

 growing on a large scale is of 

 comparatively recent date. A few 

 gardens, scattered around large 

 towns, have been in existence for 

 several hundred years, but with 

 these exceptions the extension of 

 fruit growing on these lines only 

 became possible with the advent 



of rapid rail and road transport. 

 Thus, at first, gardens were only 

 found round London in those parts 

 of Kent, Middlesex, and Essex 

 within easy horse-cartage distance 

 of the central markets. Now, how- 

 ever, gardens are to be found 

 throughout Kent, Worcestershire, 

 Cambridgeshire, etc. 



British methods of intensive 

 culture are quite as up-to-date as 

 those to be found in Continental 

 countries, in the British colonies, 

 and in the U.S.A., while in certain 

 respects, with regard to fungus and 

 insect pest control, the choice of 

 fruit tree stocks, etc., in particular, 

 Great Britain leads the way. 

 British methods of marketing and 

 distribution are not carried out, 

 however, in a manner befitting the 

 quality of the fruit produced. As 

 regards marketing there is still no 

 combination amongst growers or 

 salesmen insisting on certain 

 standards. This is largely due to 

 the fact that the home grower, 

 unlike the colonial or foreign 

 grower, has his market at his door. 

 Fruit Areas of England 



There are roughly three main 

 areas in which intensive fruit grow- 

 ing is practised on a large scale : 



(a) Throughout Kent and ex- 

 tending into Middlesex, Surrey, 

 Sussex, and Essex. Here certain 

 areas specialise in certain kinds of 

 fruit. Thus, around Faversham 

 and Sittingbourne cherries are the 

 chief fruit ; around Maidstone in 

 Mid Kent, apples, plums, and cob- 

 nuts ; around Sandwich in East 

 Kent, early strawberries and early 

 gooseberries. 



(b) Cambridgeshire, extending 

 into Norfolk, Lincolnshire, and 

 Huntingdonshire, on the flat fen- 

 land around Wisbech, Spalding, 

 and St. Ives. Here apples, plums, 

 gooseberries, and strawberries are 

 the chief crops. 



(c) Worcestershire, in the Vale 

 of Evesham, around Pershore and 

 Evesham, is the largest area de- 

 voted to plum growing. 



Besides these, there are numer- 

 ous other smaller areas which are 

 rapidly extending. For example, 

 in the Tamar Valley the earliest 

 strawberries and green goose- 

 berries are grown. Around Cheddar 

 in Somerset, and between South- 

 ampton and Portsmouth in Hamp- 

 hire, are hundreds of acres devoted 

 to early strawberries. From all 

 these areas special fast trains are 

 run during the fruit season. 



In Herefordshire, around Here- 

 ford, Ross, and Ledbury, growers 

 specialise in apples for general 

 dessert and culinary purposes, and 

 in strawberries and black currants 

 for jam. In Norfolk, between 

 Norwich and the coast is an area 



specialising in apples, raspberries, 

 and black currants, and many 

 other smaller districts scattered 

 throughout the country might be 

 mentioned. Generally speaking, 

 however, commercial fruit growing 

 is situated S. of a line drawn from 

 the mouth of the Humber on the E. 

 to the mouth of the Mersey on the 

 W. Above this line the climatic 

 conditions are not sufficiently 

 favourable, though the Blairgowrie 

 (Perthshire) district in Scotland 

 probably produces as much as 

 half the tonnage of raspberries pro- 

 duced on the whole of the area 

 devoted to this particular fruit in 

 England and Wales. 



In Ireland commercial fruit 



growing is mainly confined to 



apples and black currants in a 



small area in co. Armagh, Ulster. 



Import and Home Produce 



The home industry in apple 

 growing has not increased as 

 rapidly as the taste of the public 

 for apples, a taste that can be 

 gauged by the rapid increase in 

 the quantity of apples imported 

 annually. This desire for apples 

 has been due in large measure to 

 the enterprise and advertising 

 capacity of those dealing with 

 imported fruit. It must be remem- 

 bered, however, that imported 

 apples came into this country in 

 very large quantities, whilst the 

 bulk of first-class culinary and 

 dessert apples produced in this 

 country was extremely small. This 

 was before intensive fruit growing 

 commenced to extend rapidly. 

 Gradually, however, as the pro- 

 ductive area in these islands has 

 extended more and more, imported 

 fruit has been replaced. 



The intensive grower of this fruit 

 is faced with the same difficulties 

 which are being experienced by all 

 industries. Costs have risen rapidly 

 and in greater ratio to the prices 

 obtained for the fruit. It seems 

 certain, therefore, that several of 

 the methods now practised, which 

 were profitable when labour was 

 cheaper, will have to be dispensed 

 with. In fact, in future, cultivated 

 plantations closely interplanted 

 with " soft " fruit will have to give 

 way to plantations more easily 

 cultivated or grass orchards. 



The position with regard to 

 plums, cherries, and the " soft " 

 fruits (gooseberries, currants, and 

 strawberries) is somewhat differ- 

 ent. These are of a much more 

 perishable nature than apples. The 

 effects of high costs of production 

 are, therefore, felt even more 

 acutely, but besides this there is 

 always the possibility of severe 

 foreign competition from France, 

 Holland, or Germany, whence 

 transport is rapid. 



