i 36 Encyclopaedia of Gardening 



radiation. In cloudy weather this radiation is checked. Frost is 

 likely to be the most severe on low sites, but the presence of a body 

 of water modifies it. If non-hardy plants are frozen they should not 

 be exposed to the sun, but should be syringed. Plants in unheated 

 houses should be dry before evening. A few sheets of newspaper 

 will protect the plants against a mild frost. " Smudge fires " are 

 coming into use among fruit growers to protect blossom. Cotton 

 waste is burned in Colorado heaters, of which 40 to 50 are required 

 per acre. Frost acts beneficially on soil. 



Fruit. A supply of fruit should be regarded as indispensable in 

 all but the smallest gardens, and even in these it is possible to grow 

 a few trees, either as bushes on dwarfing stocks, as cordons on a 

 wall or fence, or as fans on a wall. Apples, Pears, Plums, Cherries, 

 Apricots, Damsons, Currants, Gooseberries, Raspberries, and Straw- 

 berries all claim attention, while Peaches, Grapes, Loganberries, 

 and Blackberries have also to be considered. Crabs, Damsons, 

 Figs, Melons, Mulberries, Nuts, Oranges, and Quinces swell the list. 

 The fruits named are dealt with in alphabetical order. There are, 

 however, certain general points that may be dealt with here, to 

 save repetition. 



Soil, A cold subsoil is bad for all kinds of fruit trees ; it is there- 

 fore imprudent to plant in damp, undrained ground. If a low site 

 is unavoidable, drain pipes should be laid in 3 ft. deep. The best 

 soil for fruit is a reddish, substantial loam ; the least suitable soils 

 are heavy, undrained damp clay and light fibreless land close to 

 chalk. The soil should be dug or ploughed deeply. 



Site. Windswept places are bad, and so are low spots. Strong 

 winds worry the trees and blow the fruit off. In low sites frost is 

 liable to do damage to the blossom, but a body of water near is a 

 preventive. A south-easterly aspect is unsuitable, because the sun 

 may strike direct on to the trees while the bloom is touched by frost 

 and destroy the crop. For this reason a south-westerly aspect is 

 better. 



Manure. Fruit trees are generally manured when young, and 

 receive little food when they have got into bearing. The reverse 

 would be better. In rich, loamy soils, 20 tons of manure per acre, or 

 i barrow-load per rod, suffice at planting. In poor ground half as 

 much again may be used. When the trees have got into regular 

 bearing a coat of manure may be spread round them every other 

 year, alternately with a dressing of artificial manure, such as 2 Ib. 

 of sulphate of potash and 5 Ib. of basic slag (superphosphate instead 

 of the latter on limestone soils) per rod, applied in February and 

 raked in. 



Grass. Only in good soil districts should the fruit trees be planted 

 in grass. Some market growers are doing away with grass where 

 sheep do not pay and keeping the soil open. The early crops of 

 weeds are kept under by running the shim through the orchard, and 

 the autumn crop is turned in with the fork or a one-horse plough. 

 It is found that the fruit comes larger, but what falls is not so clean 

 as on grass. 



Planting. November is a good planting month, as the soil has 

 not lost all its summer warmth, but if the ground is very wet it is 



