CHAPTER XXXI 



THE HOME FRUIT GARDEN 



Fruit-growers must necessarily be philosophers if not fatalists, 

 for their best-laid schemes may "gang aft agley" on the un- 

 timely interference of the clerk of the weather, 



EVERYONE acknowledges the merits of home-grown fruits, 

 but comparatively few come to realise the intense interest 

 that attaches to the cultivation of fruit trees. Although 

 there are plenty of exceptions it is true generally that 

 greater skill is needed in fruit than in flower growing; 

 thus success follows only in the train of close attention, 

 such as is bound to lead to devotion. Not only do differ- 

 ent kinds of fruit trees vary greatly in their requirements, 

 but different varieties of the same kind often need 

 individual and peculiar treatment. Thus the amateur 

 may not delude himself that success with Blenheim 

 Orange Apple qualifies him to grow the Irish Peach 

 equally well. Such treatment as produces branches 

 heavily laden with Victoria Plums will not necessarily 

 ensure a good harvest of Greengages. Neither does it 

 follow that because his garden yields basketfuls of Royal 

 Sovereign Strawberries that the British Queen will also 

 thrive there. The characteristics of individual varieties 



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