68 PRESENT-DAY GARDENING 



be kept in all plantations for the purpose of getting cross- 

 fertilisation of the blossoms. 



It is best to start a mixed plantation in arable or 

 cultivated land that is, standard trees with rows of bush 

 trees between them, the latter being again interplanted, or 

 " middled " as we say in Kent, with red or black Currants, 

 Gooseberries, Raspberries, or Strawberries, for some ten 

 years, by which time the " under fruit " or bushes can be 

 removed. The planting of standards in grass entails ex- 

 pense in providing protection from cattle ; but where it 

 is intended to lay down the orchard eventually to grass 

 (say in ten years), it is not advisable to plant bush trees 

 meanwhile the open land may be cropped with Potatoes or 

 Mangolds, but not corn. 



The largest returns are obtained from mixed planta- 

 tions, and it is seldom that such fail to yield a profit. 

 Should the Apples and Pears not be fruiting that season, the 

 other fruits may succeed, and the needful culture of bushes 

 is a great help to the development of the Pears, Apples, or 

 Plums planted amongst them. 



A mixed plantation is the most expensive at the outset, 

 but it soon yields a good return. Strawberries yield a 

 crop the first year and Currants the second, whilst Apples 

 and Pears, if dwarfs, begin to crop in the third year, or, 

 as standards, in the fifth season. 



Too many Inquiries. We are so often consulted by 

 intending planters who have interviewed gardeners, sales- 

 men, and growers, and whose ideas are therefore so mixed 

 that they do not know where to begin, that we strongly 

 advise all to consult one expert and then go ahead. These 

 inquirers often bother their heads about markets, baskets, 



