CHAPTER VI. 

 SOIL, SITE AND SHELTER FOR FRUIT PLANTATIONS. 



By Ernest M. Bear, of Magham Down, Hailsham, Sussex. 



Anyone who has visited fruit farms in 

 different pai'ts of this country knows that 

 successful plantations are to be found on 

 a fairly wide range of soils and in varying 

 situations. It is fortunate that there is 

 a good deal of latitude in these matters, 

 because the people who have a free hand 

 in selecting a site are few in comparison 

 with those who wish to plant fruit on land 

 they already own or occupy. At the same 

 time, there is no doubt that some soils and 

 aspects are very much better than others 

 for fruit culture. Examine the orchards 

 on what is recognised as good fruit land 

 in Kent or the Evesham district. The 

 young trees have a healthy and vigorous 

 appearance, with plenty of stout new 

 growth and broad, dark green leaves. The 

 older trees are big specimens, with thick 

 stems and shapely heads. Fruit from such 

 orchards is large, clean-skinned and of 

 good colour. For comparison turn to an 

 orchard on thin soil, or where the subsoil 

 is unsuitable. The trees are smaller and 

 weaker looking, the leaves often being 

 narrow and of a yellowish colour, whilst 

 there, is ample evidence of canker and 

 other fungus diseases. Inquiry will pro- 

 bably bring out the information that cer- 

 tain classes of fruit cannot be grown at 

 all, whilst, even of those that can, only a 

 few varieties thrive well enough to be 

 profitable. Inspection of orchards with 

 an eye for such matters is one of the best 

 guides as to the suitability of any particu- 

 lar district for fruit-growing, though it 

 must be borne in mind that soils often vary 

 widely over a small area. The above 

 descriptions of good and bad orchards are, 

 however, extremes, and there is no doubt 

 that there is plenty of land that falls short 

 of the ideal which is still quite suitable for 

 commercial fruit culture, and much of that 

 in districts which have not been tried for 

 the purpose. 



Good .\nd Bad Soils.— The ideal land for 



fruit is composed of deep alluvial soil over- 

 lying a naturally well-drained sub-soil, 

 such as chalk. What are known as 

 " brick earth " soils over the Lower 

 Greensand formation are also amongst the 

 very best for general fruit culture. With 

 these may be bracketed sandy loams 2ft. 

 deep or more, provided that the subsoil 

 is not cold and wet. On land of these 

 classes, if lime is supplied where deficient, 

 all kinds of orchard trees will thrive, 

 whilst bush fruits can be grown to perfec- 

 tion. Going to the other end of the scale, 

 waterlogged land and shallow soils over 

 sand, gravel or chalk should be avoided 

 like poison. Between these extremes 

 there are many soils that will suit most 

 classes of fruit, though they may not do 

 for all. The chief necessity is a good depth 

 of top soil and a subsoil that allows of 

 natural drainage. Neither very heavy nor 

 very light land should be selected; not 

 that they cannot be made to grow good 

 fruit, but because they add difficulty and 

 expense to its production. Clay land is 

 hard to cultivate and expensive to drain, 

 and so cannot be recommended, in spite 

 of the fact that some of the finest ajDples 

 are grown on heavy land over clay in the 

 Weald of Kent. The chief objection to 

 light, sandy soil is that it dries quickly in 

 summer and is continually in need of added 

 organic matter, which is very expensive 

 nowadays. Still, light soil is probably to 

 be preferred to clay, for, if well manured, 

 it is capable of producing fruit of delicate 

 appearance and choice quality, whilst the 

 trees generally form fruit spurs freely. 



It is sometimes said that fruit can be 

 planted with confidence on any land that 

 grows good crops of wheat and roots. 

 This may be a rough guide, but it does 

 not take sufficient account of the subsoil. 

 There is plenty of land that grows farm 

 crops well enough, but fruit trees become 

 unhealthy as soon as their roots penetrate 



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