THE APPLE. 



75 



As regards the large establishments, another 

 matter is of great importance, namely, the 

 availability of labour in the district. This 

 does not affect the routine work so much as 

 the periods of pressure, either for land-cleaning 

 or fruit - gathering, but at such times it is 

 serious if sufficient labour of the right kind 

 is not obtainable. Where market -gardening 

 and fruit-growing is an established industry, 

 more skilled or practically-trained workmen are 

 usually to be had, at a higher scale of wages, 

 of course, than in country districts at a dis- 

 tance from a town. In the latter case, if 

 villages of from 400 to 600 inhabitants are 

 within a mile or two, women can often be had 

 for the lighter work of gathering and packing, 

 and with a little tuition prove both useful and 

 reliable. The more intelligent lads should also 

 be engaged as they leave school, and if they 

 can be sufficiently interested in the work, and 

 afforded due encouragement, they become use- 

 ful assistants in a short time. Anyone who 

 starts in a rural district must be prepared to 

 face these difficulties, and if they are over- 

 looked at the commencement it will only cause 

 increased trouble later on. In extreme cases 

 arrangements are occasionally made at fruit- 

 gathering time, when sufficient labour is not 

 obtainable in the district, to convey helpers 

 by road or rail from the nearest neighbouring 

 town, but this is seldom necessary where Apples 

 alone are grown, though it is often requisite 

 where large mixed plantations are formed in 

 which Strawberries or other small fruits pre- 

 ponderate. 



Land Tenure. — Though surrounded by many 

 difficulties still, it is possible now to ensure 

 some security for outlay to a man who plants 

 Apple-trees or other fruits on land of which he 

 is not the owner. Recent acts of parliament 

 have provided that fruit plantations formed 

 upon land let for market-garden purposes are 

 subject to valuation at the end of the term for 

 which the land is held, with compensation to 

 the outgoing tenant. But in other cases it is 

 rarely difficult to obtain an agreement with the 

 landlord, or his consent to the planting (which 

 is practically equivalent). For a man who is 

 about to invest a considerable amount of capital 

 in planting, there can be no question that it is 

 preferable to secure the freehold of the land 

 if possible, especially as the purchasing -price 

 at the present time is generally low, except 

 near towns. Frequently, however, it is ex- 

 tremely difficult to obtain freehold land in 

 suitable districts, and of the desired extent. 



Large farms or estates are often offered for 

 sale, the major portion of which would be un- 

 fitted for fruit, and moderate -sized plots of 

 from 20 to 50 acres are rarely obtainable with 

 a house. It is much easier to rent land on 

 lease, as occasionally, when large farms fall 

 into the hands of the owner, they may be 

 divided, or a few fields separated for the pur- 

 pose. For the benefit of the tenant who intends 

 planting Apple-trees to form a lasting planta- 

 tion, the longer the lease the better, and any- 

 thing less than twenty-one years is not of much 

 value, unless there is an equitable arrangement 

 for renewal at the termination of shorter terms. 

 Methods. — The principal systems of arranging 

 trees in plantations are described and illustrated 

 in the chapter on Orchards; it is only needful 

 therefore to briefly recapitulate the methods 

 which are practicable and profitable. 



A. Apples without other fruits. 

 Under this head the chief systems are : 



1. Apple-trees with intercropping of vege- 

 tables, or flowers. 



2. Apple-trees in open cultivated soil, with- 

 out intercropping. 



3. Apple-trees in grass. 



The last is the least desirable method, as it 

 is not adapted for dwarf trees. Where stan- 

 dards are employed, some years should elapse 

 before the grass is allowed to extend to the 

 tree stems, and poultry-keeping may then well 

 be combined with such a system. 



B. Apples in conjunction with other fruits. 

 Necessarily this offers the widest scope to 



the fruit-grower for market, but it also requires 

 a larger outlay at starting and in subsequent 

 maintenance; but in a well -devised system 

 there are earlier and heavier returns, a matter 

 of the greatest importance where capital is 

 limited. To some extent the constitution of 

 such mixed plantations should be regulated 

 by the distance from the markets to be prin- 

 cipally depended upon. For the home trade 

 and local markets Strawberries and Raspberries 

 are profitable, while for the more distant mar- 

 kets Gooseberries for gathering green, provided 

 the fruits can be had early, are more service- 

 able. 



Expenses. — Whatever may be the amount of 

 capital at the command of the cultivator who 

 is about to launch out into Apple-growing for 

 market, it is essential that the expenses to be 

 incurred should be carefully reviewed. Num- 

 bers have failed, who were in all other respects 

 well qualified to succeed, simply because they 

 have not enquired into the question of expenses 



