356 BRITISH HUSBANDRY. [Ch. XXXI. 



of farm-orchards are neglected. As to tlie mode in wliich they liave 

 been laid out, an evident want of judsinient must have ])revailed in the 

 original planters of many of them, wliich ought to be avoided ; for, how- 

 ever desirable it may be to have them as near as possible to the dwelling, 

 yet, if the situation be unfavourable, another should be chosen, and the 

 trees should be at such distances as to afford room for the circulation of the 

 air, as well as to admit the influence of the sun's rays upon the ground, 

 both for the benefit of the roots and for the absorption of all superfluous 

 moisture. These remarks, it must, however, be admitted, will only strictly 

 bear on those orchards vvliich are partly intended for profit ; for they are 

 convenient as inclosures near the dwelling-house, both as ornament and 

 shelter, as well as for the weaning of young calves and the care of weakly 

 lambs. 



SOIL AND SITUATION. 



In the formation of an orchard, it should, therefore, be placed in a 

 situation which is neither too elevated nor too low ; for fruit-trees thrive 

 better in moderately high and open spots, than in those situated in a dell. 

 It should, therefore, not be either naturally or artificially too much 

 sheltered ; for if protected from the prevailing winds, the higher it is 

 situated the less liable will it be to be injured by frost in the spring and 

 early part of the summer ; but it should be placed, if possible, on the 

 southern or south-eastern slope of a gently rising ground. If, however, 

 a low and sheltered situation can be found, with a northern or north- 

 eastern aspect, it has been asserted by an experienced orchardist, that, " as 

 the blossoms will later unfold themselves, so will they be less liable to 

 blast in the spring, than on a southern aspect; and such he has known to 

 answer well for both cider and table fruits." Yet he admits " that the 

 apples grown facing the south, and the cider produced from such apples, 

 are higher flavoured than when produced from the north*." It should be 

 well fenced with both hedge and ditch, to form both a protection against 

 intruders, and to guard the young plants from the effects of wind. 



The soil should be either naturally good, or made so by artificial ad- 

 mixtures of different qualities, so as to be neither too stiff nor too wet, 

 and of sufficient depth. Respecting the nature of the land, it is, indeed, 

 stated, in the " Transactions of the London Horticultural Society," that 

 •' in sandy soils the apple-tree will ripen its fruit earlier and more completely 

 than in stiffer land ; but it will not last so long. It requires from five to 

 twelve or thirteen years to bring it to maturity ; the pear from twelve to 

 eighteen ; and the soil should be just sufficiently rich to encourage a mode- 

 rate degree of growth, without stimulating the plant to premature exertion, 

 which always induces disease. The soil of an old garden is, therefore, pecu- 

 liarly destruclivet;" yet that of a hop-ground is, in Herefordshire, regarded 

 as peculiarly appropriate ;{;. 



In Herefordshire the planters formerly thought that good cider could 

 only be produced from light sandy land ; and Philips tells the farmer to 



" Look where full-eared sheaves of rye 



Grow wavy oii the tilth : that soil 

 Select for apples."' 



Now, however, the ground best adapted to most kinds of apples is found 



* Survey of Cornwall, p. 97. 



I Trans, of the London Hort. Soc, vol. i,, p. 39. Survey of Herefordshire, p. 77 ; 

 of Cornwall, p. 96 ; of Devon, p. 238. 

 \ Herefordshire Rep., p. 83. 



