188 



tions in his " Whole Art of Husbandry," 

 published in 1635 (Charles I. reign), " that 

 the olive was being grown in England." 

 His advice as to an orchard was that it 

 should be square, divided into four por- 

 tions by alleys : apples of all sorts to be 

 planted in the first portion; pears and 

 wardens of all sorts in the second; med- 

 lars and services in the fourth. A wall, 

 he considered the best fence ; on the north 

 wall, against which the sun reflects, you 

 shall plant the apricot, verdochio (green- 

 gage), peach and damask plum ; against the 

 east wall the white Muskadine grape, the 

 grafted cherries and the olive tree; and 

 against the south side the almond and fig 

 tree ; round the outsides of the alleys plums, 

 damsons, cherries, filberts, and nuts of all 

 sorts, the horse cloy, and bullace (inferioi 

 wild plums). Plums were to be planted 

 5ft. apart, apples and other large fruit 

 12ft. apart. Moss must be carefully 

 scraped off the trees with the back of an 

 old knife, and to prevent it the trees were 

 to be manured with swine's dung. 

 Minute description is given as to pruning, 

 also the washing of trees with strong 

 brine made of water and salt, to be ap- 

 plied either with a garden pump placed 

 in a tub or with squirts which have many 

 holes (the forerunner of modern spray- 

 ing). 



In 1632 the first Botanical Garden in 

 England was founded at Oxford. 



Simon Hartlib, a Dutchman by birth, 

 and friend of John Milton, in his 

 "Legacy," published in 1651 (at the time 

 of the Civil War), tells us " that Wor- 

 cestershire and Gloucestershire have many 

 orchards." 



Hartlib recommended the growing of 

 sainfoin and lucerne, and states that in 

 Kent the value of land has risen from 5s. 

 per acre rent to £5 by planting orchards, 

 he adds that 30 acres of cherries near Sit- 

 tingbourne sold for £1000 in one year. 



Hartlib, a few years later, reckoned 

 that there were 500 different sorts of 

 apple in England, though, doubtless, many 

 of these were identical, since the same 

 apple often had two or three names in 

 one parish. 

 ^ The best apples for the table at this 

 time were the Jennetings, Harvey apple. 

 Golden Pippin, Summer and Winter Pear- 



mains, John apple, whilst for cider the 

 Red Streak was the great favourite. A 

 tenant in Herefordshire is said to have 

 bought the farm he rented with the fruit 

 crop of one year, £10 to £15 per acre hav- 

 ing been given for cherries, and more for 

 apples and pears. Pears then grown for 

 dessert were the Windsor, Burgamot, 

 Boon Christmas, and for perry, Green- 

 field. There were many kinds of plums, 

 including Mistle plum, Damazene, Violet 

 and Premorden. In 1656 Dr. John Beal 

 wrote a book, " Herefordshire Orchards a 

 Pattern for All England." 



John Worlidge, in his " Systema Agi'i- 

 culturae " (1681), tells us "there were 

 four kinds of grafting practised; in the 

 cleft and in the bark, shoulder or whip 

 grafting, and grafting by approach, the 

 last named where the stock you intend to 

 graft on and the tree from which you take 

 your graft stand so near together that 

 they may be joined, you take the 

 sprig you intend to graft and pare awaj' 

 about three inches in length of the rind 

 and wood near unto the same, after the 

 same manner that they may evenly join 

 each other, and so bind them and cover 

 them with clay or wax." 



Inoculation (i.e., budding) was also 

 practised, " when the sap is at the fullest 

 in the summer, the buds you intend to 

 inoculate being not too young, but suffi- 

 ciently grown." For transplanting, the 

 middle of October is recommended, with 

 the advice added " plant not too deep," 

 and in clay, plant as near the surface as 

 possible, for the roots will seek their way 

 downward but rarely upward; in trans- 

 planting you ma3' prune the branches as 

 well as the roots of apples and pears, but 

 not so with plums. The best distance 

 apart to plant apples and pears in an 

 orchard was considered to be from 20 to 

 30 feet, the further apart the more they 

 were thought to benefit from the sun and 

 air. For cherries and plums 15 to 20 feet 

 apart was thought right. 



Worlidge, who lived about 1640 to 1700, 

 also wrote on pruning, cider-making, and 

 "A Discourse on Bees " ; he advocated the 

 culture of the vine. 



The " Rural Economy of Gloucester- 

 shire," published in 1788; mentions that 



