PART V. CULINARY GARDENING. '" 27'3 



at Knowlesly ; and it agrees also with what Mr. Hitt recom- 

 mends and practised in making borders for fruit trees ; several 

 of which, when the subsoil was gravel or rock, were not above 

 one foot in depth ; and these he always found produced the 

 largest crops, and by much the best flavoured fruit. The qua- 

 lity of the soil must vary according to the kind of tree to be 

 planted. In general, it may be sufficient to observe here, that 

 pears, plums, and apples, require rather a strong loam ; cher- 

 ries^ apricots, figs, and vines a lighter ; and peaches and nec- 

 tarines a kind of medium between them ; though, upon the 

 whole, daily experience proves that all these sorts will prosper 

 in the same soil, if other circumstances are favourable. In Dr. 

 Monro's garden, atSlateford cottage, excellent crops of grapes, 

 and indeed of most fruits, are produced from a strong clay ; and 

 in hundreds of places in Surrey equally good crops are pro- 

 duced from soils chiefly composed of sand and gravel. Apples 

 and plums seem to prosper best in argillaceous soil, as may be 

 observed both in the Clydsdale and Herefordshire orchards; 

 though there are some kinds that prosper much better in a 

 light one, as the paradise and oslin pippin and the drap-d'or 

 plum *. 



* The finest flavoured fruit in Normandy is found on very light and even shal- 

 low soils, which are the kind indeed that most generally prevail throughout all that 

 province, as well as Picardy. Even the rich loam that covers the most fertile 

 plains on the banks of the Seine abounds in small gravel and sand. Both that soil 



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