432 THE FRUIT QUESTION CONSIDERED. 



As to the old orchards existing in the country where 

 the trees have been merely "stuck in," instead of being 

 being properly planted, where unsuitable sorts have been 

 used, or where cultivation has been long neglected, there is, 

 I fear, little hope for them in the future. Where unprofit- 

 able (and the majority I have met with are of this nature), 

 the best thing to do is to clear them away and begin 

 again, working on more intelligent and sounder principles. 



There is no doubt that the slow returns on invested 

 capital often hinders the planting of fruit trees. It is 

 not everyone who can afford or has the patience to 

 wait four or five years for the profits of an investment, 

 even if in the future there is the prospect of handsome 

 returns. In addition, capital is required, and must be 

 found by owner or occupier, more or less, according to 

 the extent of the undertaking. To plant on one's own 

 land is best ; next on long leasehold ; if on a short lease, 

 the trees should be taken at a valuation if the renewal of a 

 short lease is unattainable. 



ON THE FLOWEBING AND FLOWERS OF APPLES. 



[From the " Journal of Horticulture" March 6/h, 1890,^. 191.] 



AS the seasons come round we occasionally hear it said 

 in early summer, "There will be no Apples this 

 year, the flowers having been destroyed by the spring 

 frosts." In a paper which I read recently before the 

 Society of Arts, London, on " Fruit Culture for Profit in 

 the Open Air in England," I called attention to the fact 

 that there were many days' difference in the date of unfold- 

 ing of the blossoms of the different varieties, and that the 

 general opinion was that the blossoms of the early bloom- 

 ing kinds were often destroyed when the late ones escaped. 

 This is no doubt partially true, but not absolutely so, nor 

 sufficient alone to account for a full or partial crop. There 



