430 THE FRUIT QUESTION CONSIDERED. 



seem to mark out the present as a favourable moment to 

 enter upon the work. The "where" is not so easily 

 settled. There are some districts in England where soil 

 and situation are so favourable for fruit culture that they 

 might be wholly given up to it. And there are others 

 where little hope of profit could be entertained. These 

 are the extremes. Between them are thousands of 

 farms on which a few acres of land might be found 

 suitable for the purpose, and which would yield a 

 better profit under fruit culture than under any other 

 crop. 



The fact that there are at present many farms in 

 England with orchards which yield no profit does not 

 militate against this statement. Investigation would dis- 

 close the facts that such have not been properly planted, 

 the sorts have not been judiciously chosen, or the manage- 

 ment has been bad. This brings us to the " how " of the 

 subject. Starting with a favourable situation and a good 

 soil, the rest depends on the sorts and varieties planted, 

 cultivation, and marketing. 



Now, it is too much to expect of the farm labourer 

 that he should know how to select, plant, prune, and 

 cultivate fruit trees, and further, gather, store, and market 

 the fruit in the right manner and at the right time. Yet 

 this has been expected of him by many of our farmers of 

 the present, and for the want of knowing what to do he 

 has done nothing ! and neglect has been followed by the 

 usual consequences. How shall we get over this difficulty ? 

 Of course the farm labourer can be taught ; this know- 

 ledge is as easily acquired as that of managing horses, 

 cows, and sheep ; but then he has not been taught, and 

 until he has been taught the management of the orchard 

 should be committed to other hands. 



It would be well if the farmer could himself acquire 

 the necessary knowledge, and manage the orchard and 

 fruit ; then an intelligent farm labourer could carry out 

 the details if definite instructions were intelligibly given. 



