Jnne 15, 1871. ] 



JOUENAL OF HOKTICDLTURE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



421 



to say will appear only what is the everyday practice of the 

 neighbourhood : yet I am in hopes some of the views I may 

 liave an opporfctmity of putting forth may contain something 

 that is not generally understood, and, perhaps, some of the 

 ideas may have the claim to originality ; at the same time I 

 must, at the onset, disclaim all merit that way, but merely the 

 privilege of narrating such facts and opinions as I have come 

 in contact with in witnessing the cultivation of the class of 

 objects which forms the subject of this evening's discussion, 

 which, I may here remark, is not confined to the county of 

 Kent. At the same time It must be fully understood that in 

 accordance with suggestions, the paper is expressly written 

 •with a view to place the cultivation of fruit tor market pur- 

 poses in its true and proper light, so as to expect a fair and 

 reasonable profit on the outlay incurred. I deem it right to 

 mention this, because in the remarks that will be made it may 

 he thought that I have omitted many requirements that tend 

 to a successful issue, but where a crop has to be bought before 

 it is produced, as too often has been the ease where a too-sx- 

 travagant expenditure has been first of all incurred, it is need- 

 less to say that disappointment is the result. Under these 

 circumstances, we will suppose that the subject of growing 

 hardy fruits to supply the metropolitan and other markets is 

 •under discussion, and that only such prices as are realised 

 •there in an ordinary way are expected. Let us see how this 

 is to be accomplished, bearing in mind the competition that 

 already exists in the trade, both at home and with the foreigner ; 

 the consignments from the latter, especially, being a matter so 

 difficult to calculate upon, that we dismiss it here, but may 

 revert to it again in the course of this paper. 



Assuming, therefore, that the cultivation of the ordinary 

 hardy fruits that are grown in large quantities to be the sub- 

 ject in hand, it may perhaps not be known to all present that 

 these fruits (with the exception of Cherries, perhaps), are all 

 British fruit, properly spealsing — that is, they are the offspring 

 of fruits found wild in this country ; the Crab, BuUace Plum, 

 and a coarse representative of a Damson are common enough, 

 but the Black and Red Currant, as well as the Gooseberry, are 

 more sparingly met with ; and when they are, it is often ap- 

 parent they have been outcasts from some garden ; yet I have 

 found a wild Gooseberry and Red Currant a long distance from 

 any dwelling-house or cultivated garden in Yorkshire, which I 

 think might be truly called wild, the fruit also being of a very in- 

 ferior kind, so that it is possible they might claim a home there 

 as well as the Bramble and Hawthorn. But I will not pursue 

 this subject further than to say that the Black and Red Currant 

 ao found in a wild state were not both together, the former 

 occupying a much moister site than the latter. This significant 

 fact I would like especially to call your attention to, as it may 

 be adverted to when the cultivation of these fruits for com- 

 mercial purposes comes to be dwelt upon. The conditions under 

 •which the other fruits are found when in a wild state are too well 

 known to require comment here, and for that of one of them, 

 Pears, I am far from certain where to look, although in its normal 

 state the Pear is unquestionably found in many places ; but we 

 need not inquire further into that at present. If we inquire 

 into the history of most of these fruits, we shall find that, 

 although they are originally natives of this country, we have at 

 various times been indebted to the cultivators of the continent 

 for the improved varieties furnished to this country, Flanders 

 standing pre-eminent for its fruit culture in the middle or dark 

 ages, and who can say but that the industrious artisans driven 

 out of that country by religious persecution in the fourteenth 

 the fifteenth centuries, did not bring with them their Apple, 

 Pear, and Cherry trees, and finding a home in this country 

 equally adapted for these trees as for themselves, both became 

 located here ? Be this as it may, certain it is that many valu- 

 able additions to our orchards were obtained from that country, 

 and possibly others from North-western France, during the 

 many years these provinces formed a part of, or were claimed 

 by, the sovereigns of this country as part of their dominions. 

 Cider is said to have formed an important Saxon drink at a still 

 earlier age, and I think there is a story of one of the Roman 

 Pontiffs' good of&oes being secured by a present of some pre- 

 served fruits of English growth and preparation ; showing that 

 some progress in the art of confectionery had also been made 

 at that early period. These luxuries, no doubt, were intro- 

 duced through the many institutions of the monkish order by 

 which the country was studded ; where, likewise, other arts had 

 their origin, or, at all events, were nurtured. There is also 

 ample history to prove that the cultivation of fruit trees was 

 one of the useful lessons transmitted to us by these austere 



brethren, and as many of the religious establishments of the 

 dark ages were placed on low situations, surrounded more or 

 less by the almost universal forest, we have a proof that shelter 

 was one of the items of good cultivation that was easily obtained 

 at that day, and one not to be despised at the present. 



Another problem which there seems to be difficulty in solving 

 is — Were the seasons at that time different to what they are 

 now •> The fact (if we may regard it as a fact) of Grapes ripen- 

 ing in the open air sufficiently well to make wine, would imply 

 the summers at that time to be hotter than they are now. iVe 

 must not confound the mode in which home-made wines are 

 made in these days witli that of the ancients, who, we expect, 

 adopted the continental plan of making that drink from the 

 fruit alone, while in the present century we are content, or 

 obliged, to make ours from sugar flavoured with the fruit, to 

 which we give it a name, while it is needless to say sugar in 

 its present shape was not obtainable then. We will not, how- 

 ever, follow this subject further, except to suggest that it is 

 possible the much greater breadth of laud occupied with forest 

 may have had something to do in rendering the parts that were 

 cleared and cultivated more warm in summer than the gene- 

 rality of the country is now, as it seems to be an acknowledged 

 fact that the destruction of the great American forests exercises 

 considerable influence on the climate, and it is possible a like 

 result took place here in the early history of this country, and 

 this, naturally enough, opens another subject of inquiry not 

 altogether foreign to the one we set out upon, as its bearing 

 may perhaps exercise considerable influence on the matter of 

 fruit-growing, and that is — Does not the destruction of timber 

 and coppice plantation tend in some degree to alter the climate 

 of this country, even at the present day ? I expect to be told 

 it does not, but I am not sure of this. The presence of trees is 

 of more importance than many people are aware of. In soma 

 countries, especially tropical ones, their presence insures rain 

 more or less at some time or other: hence the anxiety of the 

 well-wishers of the Egyptian canal to clothe the banks of that 

 gigantic undertaking with trees, so as to attract the clouds and 

 obtain rain to cover the parched ground with some kind of 

 herbage or other. It may, perhaps, be said that rain is not 

 wanted by fruit trees in this country, but the dry summer of 

 1868 altered many opinions on this matter, and the idea that 

 even Hops were better without rain than with it received a con- 

 vincing proof to the contrary that year. It is quite possible 

 the dry summers we have frequently had of late years may 

 have been less favourable to the growth of good crops of fruit 

 than was the case in former years. In saying this I must not 

 be understood as being favourable to a showery, or rather a dull 

 wet summer. On the contrary, a dry autumn seems almost 

 indispensable to ensure a good fruit season the ensuing year ; 

 but I still believe that nice, copious rains in the early summer 

 months tend to fruitfulness, as, for instance, the summers of 

 1847 and 1865, both favourable years, while in this last-named 

 year more rain fell, even in the summer months, than in 1860, 

 but the warm atmosphere rendered it highly serviceable as a 

 fertilising agent, and most things did well that year. 



The latter divergence from what was intended as an intro- 

 duction to hardy fruit cultivation will be excused when the 

 bearing it has on the subject in hand is taken into considera- 

 tion, but as a too-lengthened paper is not wanted, we must 

 omit the more modern history of fruit-growing, and go at 

 once into that of its cultivation ; not as an amateur who may 

 be desirous of obtaining a small quantity of choice fruit, 

 regardless of cost, but as an ordinary occupier of a farm who 

 wishes to grow the greatest possible quantity of fruit of fair 

 average quality at the least possilile expense, so as to ensure in 

 the long run a fair and proper remuneration for the expense 

 incurred, including rent and other charges for the land, and 

 due interest for the capital embarked in the enterprise. These 

 matters must be perfectly understood by many here better than 

 by me, and that being so I will not assume to put the cost of 

 preparing an acre of land for fruit-plantation purposes into 

 figures, but will content myself with such general observations 

 as may, perhaps, help those contemplating going into fruit- 

 growing from committing an error, especially if they have not 

 had much experience that way, but to those who have made 

 fruit-growing their study in life it is no easy matter to im- 

 part information ; I need not waste further time in useless 

 apologies, but commence at once with the culture of the most 

 popular of our out-door fruits, and one that in some form or 

 other is to be had the greater part of the year. 



The Aiele. — The antiquity of this fruit has been already 

 alluded to as furnis'aing a popular drink to our Saxon and 



