74 



and stack strawberry litter. Brush straw- 

 berries. Hoe strawberries. August 8th, 

 ripe gooseberries. Pot strawberry runners 

 for glasshouse cultivation. Bud apple 

 stocks. Brake and hand hoe strawberries ; 

 dig strawberry runners, price, pre-war, 

 Is. 6d. per 1,000 or 9d. to dig, 9d. to trim 

 and tie up in bundles. Horse hoe rasp- 

 berries. If weather hot, water apple and 

 pear trees bearing heavy crops to make 

 fruit swell out. August 15th, commenced 

 to gather earliest pears; pears should be 

 picked somewhat before they are ripe, as 

 many varieties decay in the centre if 

 allowed to mature on the trees. 

 August 25th, commenced to pick damsons. 

 Pick filbert and cob nuts, cost lid. to 3id. 

 per peck of 7lbs. in husk, pre-war. 



September. — Gather plums, damsons, 

 apples and pears as they mature ; do not 

 gather apples before they are ready or they 

 shrivel if kept. Pull weeds from among 

 raspberries. Horse and hand hoe all plan- 

 tations. Hoe and dig strawberries, digging 

 cost 25s. per acre, pre-war. Brush 

 hedges. Plant wallflowers. Plant straw- 

 berries. Cut out old canes in raspberry 

 and loganberries, burn the loganberry 

 canes, but those of the raspberry keep as 

 fuel for pickers next year. Tie up to the 

 wires the young canes of loganberry. 

 Gather pears and apples at intervals, 

 avoiding gathering too soon or leaving too 

 long; gather carefully and sort out im- 

 perfect fruit before storing. Sort most 

 apples for market into three sizes ; pick up 

 fallen fruit but pack it separately from 

 gathered fruit and send it off at once. 



October. — Dig strawberry runners and 

 plant ; fill up blanks among those planted 

 in the spring. Early in the month put 

 grease bands on standard and half-stan- 

 dard fruit trees. Pick apples and pears — 

 most of thein are now fit to gather — gather- 

 ing first those varieties that are beginning 

 to fall or that part freely from the tree 

 on the fruit being raised. Horse hoe and 

 hand hoe strawberries and raspberries. 

 Dig strawberry plantations, which cost 20s. 

 to 25s. per acre, pre-war, or earth up with 

 ridging plough after hoeing out. Hoe 

 gooseberry and currant plantations ; sucker 

 gooseberries. October 18th, commenced 

 pruning gooseberries and currants, pick- 

 ing up cuttings. Take cuttings of goose- 

 berries and currants, prepare to plant 



same in rows about 15 inches apart and 6 

 inches apart in the row. Brush hedges for 

 second time in year. House all empty 

 baskets not in use. Young plum and 

 cherry trees and bush fruits may be 

 planted at end of the month. Preparing 

 cuttings of gooseberries and currants is an 

 indoor work for early mornings and wet 

 weather. 



November. — Horse and hand hoe straw- 

 berries and raspberries. Dig up raspberry 

 plants (cost Is. 3d. to Is. 6d. per 1,000, pre- 

 war). Apple and pear trees can be sprayed 

 with lime-sulphur wash, as soon as leaves 

 have fallen. Prune gooseberries, red and 

 black currants, and plant any cuttings. 

 Prune apples, pears, plums and cherries, 

 clear and cart prunings. Get up 'straw- 

 berry runners and plant or bed in for 

 spring use. Dig all plantations. Plant 

 raspberries, according to land and variety 

 about li to 2 feet apart in the row; rows 

 about 4i feet apart. Subsoil land for fruit 

 planting (the plough being followed m 

 each furrow by a heavy horse hoe). Open 

 land, digging with spade, 9 inches deep, 

 cost 2d. per rod, or 25s. to 30s. per acre, 

 pre-war. Digging up old grass land, cost 

 £5 per acre; bastard trenching or digging 

 two spades deep, cost Is. to Is. 6d. per 

 rod, or £8 to £12 per acre; all pre-war 

 prices. All land to be planted with fruit 

 should be very carefully cleaned of weeds, 

 especially couch-grass and bind-weed 

 (small convolvulus) before planting. Fruit 

 plantation digging with fork used to cost 

 20s. per acre ; digging with spade costing 

 about 3s. per acre more than with fork. 

 Gooseberry bushes may be cottoned to 

 protect the buds from bullfinches, chaf- 

 finches and house sparrows. Make good, 

 wire work of loganberries. Sort and pack 

 apples in boxes during rainy weather. 



December. — Dung bush fruit plantations 

 every second or third year. Fill and spread 

 30 tons per acre dung on raspberry plan- 

 tations, with use of trolley and horse, cost 

 lis. per acre pre-war. Pruning mature 

 black currants, 8s. to 15s. per acre, pre- 

 war; pruning mature red currants, 18s. to 

 25s. per acre and more; pruning mature 

 gooseberries, 20s. to 25s. per acre; col- 

 lecting and clearing cuttings cost 4s. to 

 5s. per acre extra, pre-war. Lime-wash 

 young apple trees : scrape bark and lime- 

 wash trunks of old apple trees. Grub up 



