CROPS, METHODS, MANAGEMENT 31 



The Board of Agriculture Committee appointed to 

 investigate matters relating to fruit-culture has stated 

 that the total approximate area under fruit in Great 

 Britain is about 300,000 acres. Though this is but 

 a small proportion of the total amount of cultivated land 

 (32 million acres for Great Britain and 15 million acres 

 for Ireland are returned as under crops and grass), " the 

 fruit industry appears to be most progressive, in fact it 

 is the only form of agriculture which has exhibited any 

 sign of progress in recent years." 1 



Plants and Flowers 



Plants grown out of doors to supply flowers for 

 cutting constitute an important department, which can 

 be well included with the others named in a general 

 business. Where fruit-trees are grown as standards, 

 not too closely planted, the ground beneath can be 

 cropped with many spring-flowering plants, and this 

 system has been adopted in the metropolitan counties 

 for many years. Wallflowers are chiefly grown in this 

 way, but many others can be included where the spaces 

 between the rows of trees are sufficiently wide for the 

 purpose. Such positions are, however, naturally best 

 fitted for plants that flower before the trees are in full 

 leaf. Of other plants that are largely grown out of 

 doors for their flowers, the principal are Roses, Violets, 

 Bulbs (comprising Daffodils, Tulips, and Lilies), Irises, 

 Asters, Dahlias, Gaillardias, Lilies of the Valley, Paeonies, 

 and early Chrysanthemums. Just as with the vegetables 

 and fruits, some of these form specialities in certain 

 localities, while a few constitute a trade in themselves, 

 like the Daffodils in the Scilly Isles. 



Plants grown for sale from the open ground are 



1 The last official return of Market Garden acreage in Great Britain 

 (1896) gives the total as 96,981 acres, which includes some fruit land. 



