FRUIT-GROWING AND PRESERVING. 65 



it was demonstrated there that plants of the Royal Sovereign 

 variety obtained from different districts varied to a very marked 

 extent in cropping power. A repetition of the trials gave very 

 similar results, and it appears, therefore, that a strawberry 

 runner at the time of planting in its permanent position possesses 

 within itself a definite tendency towards high or low cropping 

 capacity. Whether it is a case of a definite " strain " of the 

 variety, or whether cropping power can.be affected by treatment 

 of the runner itself prior to planting, or of the mother plant, 

 are questions of which a solution is now being sought. 



Cider and Perry. 



A feature of the work at Long Ashton is the investigation of 

 problems connected with cider and perry making, for which 

 purpose, indeed, the Institute was originally primarily estab- 

 lished. Cider and perry are the expressed and fermented juices 

 of apples and pears respectively, and of the two, cider is, of course, 

 much the more widely used. With the exception of a few large 

 firms and a certan number of small makers, the manufacture of 

 cider is in the hands of farmers. Whereas some farmers turn 

 out very good cider, this is far from being the rule, and a much 

 too large proportion of cider apples are turned into a sour and, for 

 the normal palate, unpleasant drink, which can only be enjo3^ed 

 by those who have been accustomed to it from childhood. Prob- 

 ably at least 75 ,000 acres are devoted to the culture of cider and 

 perry fruit in the West of England, and there is thus plenty of 

 room for an Institution like Long Ashton, which makes it part of 

 its business to investigate methods of growing cider apples and 

 of their manufacture into cider, so as to be in a position to help 

 the farmer to make the most satisfactory use of his crop. 



The chief features of the work may be condensed into a 

 few sentences. Systematic trials of varieties of apples and pears 

 grown in the farm orchards of the West of England, which 

 after preliminary examination appear to possess vintage value, 

 are made regularly, and these trials are supplemented by others 

 in which continental varieties of vintage repute are tested as 

 opportunity arises. The most promising of these are then 

 selected for propagation in the nursery at the Station, and the 

 trees thus raised are ultimately distributed through the county 

 councils associated with the Institute to form trial orchards 

 under different conditions of soil and situation. In this way 

 information is being obtained as to the kinds of cider and perry 

 fruit which are most suitable to grow for vintage purposes, and 

 as to the effect of soil and other local conditions on the quality 

 of the fruit and the growth of the trees. The methods of making 



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