3 o THE BOOK OF MARKET GARDENING 



surprising if these crops rank high amongst those to 

 which a grower turns his attention. 



Hardy Fruits 



Hardy fruits are indispensable wherever the soil and 

 situation are suitable, and the best varieties well grown 

 constitute a most important part of a market-man's 

 assets. In favourable seasons the returns will always 

 be substantial for the space occupied, and occasionally 

 special crops of choice fruits will yield a profit un- 

 surpassed by any other form of out-door cultivation. 

 But there are always the weather risks to be reckoned 

 upon, the spring frosts being the most disastrous, 

 though high winds at the time when Apples, Pears, 

 Cherries, or Plums are maturing may bring equally bad 

 results in damage to the fruit. 



If it were not for these uncertainties, fruit-growing 

 would be the most profitable form of utilising the land ; 

 and even with these difficulties to contend against, taking 

 a series of years, the average returns under the best 

 systems and in the right situations compare very favour- 

 ably with those from any other crops. When grown in 

 combination with both vegetables and flowers, arranged 

 upon the most economical methods, with the highest 

 cultivation, the gross returns per acre often exceed 

 any other form of land utilisation for cultural purposes. 

 The kinds of fruits especially adapted to the soil should 

 always have precedence : thus in one district Apples may 

 thrive the best, in another Plums. Amongst small fruits, 

 Strawberries would form the best paying crop in one 

 place, and in another Currants or Gooseberries will be 

 more profitable. These are points that each grower 

 has to determine for himself, and they are worthy of 

 his best attention, for if work is started with a mixed 

 plantation it is soon ascertained which crop is likely to 

 yield the best returns in the locality. 



