62 THE EVESHAM DISTRICT 



or make it a very hard struggle for many years. 

 It is frequently found that where a family of sons 

 work with the father, an extra piece of land will be 

 got into good condition by the combined labour of 

 the family, when one son will then go on it and 

 work it for himself. There are many of these cases 

 where the father will apply for the transfer of a 

 piece of land to his son of eighteen or nineteen ; 

 and as this cannot be done legally till the son is of 

 age, the land stands in the father's name with a 

 clause for it to be changed to the son's when the 

 latter is of age. 



Cultivation of Holdings. 



The variety of crops grown is the chief feature 

 of the Evesham holdings. No two plots will be 

 exactly alike, but the main idea is the same viz., 

 where a whole living has to be made, to get a 

 succession of crops which will bring in money all 

 the year round. 



Every holding is planted with rows of plum- 

 trees, chiefly the Pershore plum, and occasionally 

 apple-trees. Between these will be bush fruits, 

 gooseberries or black currants predominating ; 

 strawberries and asparagus are also counted 

 amongst the ' permanent ' crops, the beds lasting 

 many years if kept clean. Under the trees winter 

 and spring crops are grown to be got off before 

 the leaves shade the ground. These are lettuces, 

 cabbages, radishes, wall-flowers, parsley, and narcissi. 

 Every inch of soil is made use of, and by a system 

 of planting out or sowing a later crop between the 



