28 Commercial Gardening 



us. His best-known Strawberries are " British Queen " and " Eleanor ", 

 though he raised other good varieties. 



In a handbook bearing the title Evesham and its Neighbourhood, 

 reference is made to the gardens in connection with the old Abbey (and 

 to this day called " the Abbey gardens ", though they are market gardens) 

 in the following words: "These gardens, which were in cultivation by 

 the monks of Evesham Abbey more than one thousand years ago, formed 

 the beginning of that great market-garden industry which has now become 

 so widely extended in the town and neighbourhood, and gives to the dis- 

 trict the title of ' The Garden of England '." 



To indicate the scale upon which fruit and vegetables in their respec- 

 tive kinds are grown, the area of land estimated to be allotted to each 



kind is as follows: 



Ac. 



Plums 9000 



Apples 3000 



Strawberries 2000 



Gooseberries 900 



Peas 2000-2500 



Asparagus 700-1000 



Cabbage 1000 



Beans (runner) ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 500 



Onions (for use as salad in the early months of the year) 1 50-200 



Marrows 200-250 



Kadishes 70-80 



Lettuce (for use in March and April) ... ... ... 100-120 



Tomatoes ... 250 



It must be understood that the fruit trees are mainly distributed over 

 the land in single or double rows at 30 to 40 ft. apart; vegetables, 

 Cucumbers, Marrows, Tomatoes, Asparagus, Strawberries, &c., being grown 

 in the " breadths " between the rows of fruit trees. 



In addition there are catch crops of Leeks, Parsnips, Ridge Cucumbers, 

 Broad Beans, Cauliflowers, Jerusalem Artichokes, and Herbs; and small 

 quantities of Currants, Raspberries, and Loganberries. Savoys, Broccoli, 

 and Curled Greens or Borecole are very little grown, seldom being 

 remunerative except where they are consumed locally; then the returns 

 therefrom are very small. 



A few flowers are grown also as catch crops, the chief being Wall- 

 flowers (Gillies), Narcissi, White Pinks, and Violets. All the above crops 

 are referred to in their proper places in this work. 



The Plum being the most important fruit crop in South Worcester- 

 shire, it takes precedence of other fruit crops in this article. About 9000 

 ac. of land are wholly or partly occupied by Plum trees, and they are 

 planted in several ways; sometimes they are planted in whole plantations, 

 the trees being 12 to 15 ft. apart in each direction; others are planted 

 in " belts " of four, six, eight, or ten rows, but the newer market gardens 



