1922.] 



The Orchards of Middlesex. 



large proportion is made up by the batches of the Mmvllo variety 

 which are found in many of the larger orchards. Sweet cherries 

 are not now grown to any great extent in the county but old, 

 more or less derelict orchards here and there bear witness to the 

 fact that cherry growing was at one time more popular. At 

 Enfield in particular, " Cherry-Orchard Lane " together with 

 an old orchard or two, and groups of ancient trees, remain to 

 remind us of the days when cherry growing found favour in the 

 district. Cherries, however, require a kindly season to bring 

 them to perfection, and other crops are, no doubt, more reliable 

 and profitable, with the result that cherries are not often planted 

 now. Moreover, Middlesex does not possess a typical soil for 

 this crop. 



In the Slough and Langley district, which although just inside 

 the Buckinghamshire boundary, is a continuation of the West 

 Middlesex plain, there is a colony of several hundred acres of 

 cherry orchards, where the industry is in a thriving condition, 

 and young orchards are just coming into bearing. These 

 orchards are of peculiar interest owing to the unusual system of 

 letting. The land is owned by the Lord of the Manor of Langley, 

 who has himself planted the fields with cherries. When the 

 trees reach maturity they are let to growers, under conditions 

 which include a certain amount of cleaning, manuring, etc., 

 the owner letting separately or retaining for himself the grass 

 under the trees for grazing purposes. Under this system the 

 landlord is assured a fixed revenue, while the tenant harvests 

 and markets his crop in the ordinary way, but requires practi- 

 cally no capital outlay. One of the results is that these orchards 

 are among the best and cleanest of the country. 



Undercrops. — Gooseberries, currants, and raspberries are 

 grown as undercrops in many of the orchards, but in 

 common with other fruits, their numbers have decreased during 

 the last ten years. The greatest reduction is in black currants, 

 which have in recent years been considerably injured by the 

 currant mite (big bud). American gooseberry mildew has been 

 responsible for the grubbing of large numbers of gooseberries, 

 which are. however, one of the county's most reliable and profit- 

 able crops, and are again being freely planted. 



In the western part of the county rhubarb and spring flowers 

 are extensively cultivated under the trees. One large orchard, 

 near Harlington, is entirely undercropped with peonies. Some 

 of the orchards have no ground crops, but comparatively few 

 are on grass. 



