19'20.] 



Fruit Cultivation in a Gravel Pit. 



407 



On the average, early-sown crops give the best return. Many 

 farmers purposely delay sowing because they fear the develop- 

 ment of " black grass." In our climate it is safe on the whole 

 to utilise an early seed-bed and risk the black grass ; a luxuriant 

 crop has a smothering effect on weeds, while early sowing will 

 save seed and manure. As regards the latter, how^ever, it may 

 safely be said that wheat will repay the judicious use of arti- 

 ficial manures as well as, if not better than, most crops. The 

 main requirement is nitrogen. About J cwt. per acre of sulphate 

 of ammonia should be applied at seed-time, followed by another 

 J to J cwt. in early spring, if the condition of the crop warrants 

 the additional dressing. In the case of wheat after a straw 

 crop, about 2 cwt. per acre of superphosphate or 4 to 5 cwt. of 

 basic slag should also be harrowed in at seed-time. Farmers are 

 advised to obtain their supplies of manures early. 



Of all the unpromising propositions that could be taken in 

 hand for garden purposes, a gravel pit at first sight might very 

 well appear the least attractive. Neverthe- 

 Fmit Cultivation j^gg j Bolingbroke, of Springfield, 



m a Gravel Fit. Chelmsford, has shown how, by taking 



advantage of opportunities and exercising great ingenuity, 

 obstacles can be overcome and an apparently sterile waste be 

 made to produce an abundance of the choicest fruit. By the 

 courtesy of Mr. Bolingbroke, the Ministry is able to publish the 

 following account of his undertaking. 



Some fifteen years ago the excavation of gravel which had 

 been commenced by Mr. Bolingbroke 25 years ago in a quarry 

 near his home ceased, and a hole over 60 feet deep and extending 

 to about f acre remained. The local authorities were in need 

 of just such a place to deposit town refuse, and permission was 

 given for them to lease the pit for this purpose. Later on, large 

 buildiufT operations w^ere commenced in the neighbourhood, and 

 Mr. BoHngbroke again offered the use of the pit for the disposal 

 of the excavated earth, and many hundreds of yards of the very 

 best top soil, together with the top soil and waste earth arising 

 from the working, was thrown in on top of the rubbish. In the 

 course of about five years the lowest level of the pit had been 

 raised to some 50 feet from the surface, and the hitherto almost 

 perpendicular sides had been converted into slopes which 

 seemed to Bolingbroke to present an ideal situation for fruit 

 trees and garden crops. These were tried tentatively at first, 

 but the results were such as to justify his highest hopes, and 



