THE FRUIT AREA 55 



with the original of the Kent sheep and many of the 

 improved farming practices which at an early date made 

 Kent the Garden of England. The fruit is, however, 

 on the whole grown on lighter land than that given up 

 to hops. As we dropped off the Wealden heights we 

 saw plenty of hops in the valleys and little fruit, but 

 as we approached the long escarpment of the Lower 

 Greensand to the south of Maidstone fruit was more 

 abundant than hops. In that highly farmed " rag- 

 stone" country the hops have generally been replaced 

 by fruit on the heights ; but along the Medway valley 

 and in the hollows, where the soil is a little deeper 

 and heavier, the hops predominate, because they do 

 not suffer like fruit from the spring frosts which 

 always affect the lower land most severely. Fruit 

 again is thickly planted in North Kent upon the thin 

 Tertiary sands and light loams which extend along 

 the Chatham line almost up to the outskirts of London, 

 but very few hops now remain in that country. In 

 the Maidstone district almost all the fruit is grown on 

 tilled land, apples and plums are planted alternately, 

 with gooseberries underneath. Strawberries, rasp- 

 berries, and currants are generally grown separately ; 

 the black-currant plantations have almost wholly been 

 destroyed of late years through the attacks of the 

 tiny mite which causes " big bud." No certain cure is 

 yet known, though some growers profess to have 

 methods of their own whereby it can be kept in check ; 

 others have preferred to grub the infected area, and 

 after an interval have replanted with clean stock care- 

 fully imported from France. Within the last few 

 years gooseberry mildew has obtained a footing in 

 this country, despite the warnings of scientific men, 

 and now the Board of Agriculture and the County 

 Councils have to employ inspectors, plantations have 



