182 THE MINIATUEE FEUIT GAEDEN 



canvas ; as the protection is for a time only, mats will 

 probably be the cheapest. If the protection is intended 

 to last for some years, paiated canvas will answer. As 

 protectors for the outer rows of trees, I think straw mats, 

 or hurdles covered with straw, will be the most eco- 

 nomical. 



For market purposes I should recommend planting 

 Pitmaston Duchess, Doyenne du Cornice, Louise Bonne 

 of Jersey, Souvenir du Congrds, Durondeau, and pos- 

 sibly other large sorts of pears ; with good cultivation 

 profitable results may be realised, the first outlay not 

 being very considerable. 



The following is an extract from the 8ta7idard : — 

 ' The paper which Mr. Barsley read last evening at 

 the meetiag of the Society of Arts upon the cultivation 

 of fruits is worthy of the most serious attention. The 

 annual value of the fruits imported into this country is 

 £6,000,000, and of this £2,000,000 is for apples and 

 other hardy fruits which we could grow with advantage 

 here. There is no crop more profitable than fruits, and 

 apple and pear trees, if not planted too closely, admit of 

 vegetables beiag grown beneath them, so that their 

 produce may be regarded as almost pure profit. And 

 yet only some 40,000 acres of land are used for market 

 gardens throughout the country. Mr. Barsley pointed 

 out that the railway embankments of England repre- 

 sent about 200 square miles, some of which are admir- 

 ably adapted for fruit culture. Allowing only a third 

 as suitable, it would yet double the present area of 



