THE CONVEYANCE OF PRODUCE 141 



generally utilised for the choicer or soft fruits, in the 

 style of that described for local selling in towns. On 

 good roads, with the requisite horse-power, loads of 

 two to three tons can be taken with safety on the larger 

 wagons, but the pace is a slow one, and a ten or twelve 

 miles' journey may take from four to five hours. 



A vehicle extensively employed by market-gardeners 

 in some districts is the lorry, which is both light and 

 strong, usually consisting simply of a body on four 

 wheels, without sides or rails. It is convenient for 

 loading, but to the inexperienced it would seem difficult 

 to pack a large load securely, yet this is performed with 

 considerable skill by those accustomed to them. In no 

 town can this form of lorry be seen more in evidence 

 than in Evesham, particularly during the spring and 

 summer. It is the favourite conveyance of the district, 

 and the speed with which large one-horse loads are 

 rushed up the roads, round the corners, and into the 

 Great Western station-yard is astonishing, seeing that 

 accidents are of rare occurrence. The whole affair is 

 very suggestive of the hazardous way in which the cars 

 are driven in the Irish towns, when it appears a certainty 

 that at every corner some of the passengers will be pro- 

 jected into the road or on to the path. We have watched 

 some hundreds of the Evesham lorries being driven at 

 headlong speed, but never saw a single basket dislodged 

 nor a collision of any consequence. They are often used 

 for taking women and girls out to the gardens for piece- 

 work in the busy season, and the natives are both safe 

 and comfortable, seated on pot baskets in the centre, 

 though the " strangers" take a time to get accustomed 

 to it. Similar lorries are in use amongst greengrocers 

 and fruiterers in a few districts, and generally prove very 

 serviceable ; they are much cheaper than ordinary wagons, 

 and lighter horses can be employed for them, with in- 

 creased speed. 



