Commercial Fruit Growing 15 



from among the trees and bushes, which would take a little of the charge 

 for rent of land and rates off the account of the fruit plantation. Thus 

 at the third year the position is: 



Tenant's Investment on Fruit Plantation. Tenant's Return. 



35 per acre. Nil. 



Landlord's Investment on Fruit Plantation. Landlord's Return. 



7, 18s. 9d. per acre. 1. 



How does the tenant stand at the tenth and subsequent years, when 

 all the fruit rents have grown to their full stature? 



s. d. 



Rent of land 2 10 per acre. 



160 fruit trees 340 



1000 bushes 300 



Total annual rent ... ... 8 14 



This, plus the preservation of foxes, hares, rabbits, &c., makes as good 

 an example of the "heads I win and tails you lose" sort of arrangement 

 as could well be imagined. 



The cost of the trees and bushes forms so small a part of the expense 

 of making a fruit plantation that it would not be generous of the landlord 

 to give them, if he expects the tenant in return to waive his right of 

 compensation in respect of them. [w. G. L.] 



5. PREPARATION OF THE LAND 

 FOR FRUIT TREES 



Having selected the site and concluded a contract of tenancy for the 

 holding, the next consideration is the preparation of the land for planting 

 the fruit. The first thing is to get the land clean. He will be a lucky 

 man who takes land that has been farmed if he does not come into an 

 inheritance of original sin in the shape of perennial weeds such as couch 

 grass, thistles, nettles, bindweed, or coltsfoot. These must be got rid of. 

 To plant fruit trees and bushes among them would be to mortgage the 

 enterprise at the start; once get them among the roots of the trees and 

 bushes, and they will cling like a bad habit. If possession is entered into 

 at Michaelmas there will be time to ridge baulk the land. This is done 

 by drawing shallow single furrows about 10 in. apart, so that the soil 

 off the plough breast falls on the space between the furrows, and then 

 turning the whole of the soil to the depth of the first furrows over into 

 the spaces where the first furrows were turned from, so that the soil lies 

 in a ridge. The drags can then be put through it crosswise of the ridges, 

 and all weeds and rubbish will be found on the top. After harrowing and 

 rolling once or twice, to break lumps and shake the dirt out, it may be 

 forked into rows and burnt. If the land is very dirty the process may 



