PREFACE 



NOTWITHSTANDING all that has been written on the culti- 

 vation of Apples and Pears, it still remains a reproach to 

 us that of the many who possess the necessary means only 

 a few have an intelligent knowledge of the details of culti- 

 vation. With the spread of education in the towns, the 

 public has shown a greater appreciation for fruit as a 

 regular part of the general diet, and the increased demand 

 which has resulted has been met mainly by imports from 

 abroad. The change in the national diet has not proved 

 such a stimulus to home cultivators as might reasonably 

 have been expected, and people who possess every con- 

 venience themselves for cultivating sufficient fruit to satisfy 

 the requirements of the home may be seen cheerfully 

 purchasing Apples, Pears, and other fruits in the nearest 

 market. Consumers are grateful to colonial and other 

 cultivators abroad for the supplies of fruit they send to 

 British markets, because much of this produce arrives early 

 in spring and in summer when British hard fruits are not 

 in season, but we should not be unmindful of the fact that 

 it is our duty to produce in English orchards and gardens 

 the greatest amount of wholesome fruits it is possible for 

 us to obtain. That this view is not entertained universally 

 is sufficiently attested in the waste ground that may be seen 

 around rural dwellings, including bare walls and farm 

 buildings which are capable of providing excellent situa- 

 tions for fruit-trees. 



But beyond the waste of opportunity that arises from 

 lack of planting, there is the common neglect of the 

 trees themselves, at once a misfortune and shame to some 



ivi57560i 



