74 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



protected from sheep and cattle, and the orchard itself must be 

 fenced and wired round to keep out hares and rabbits. 



Varieties. — The only point I must now venture to touch 

 upon is the selection of varieties for special soils, situations, and 

 purposes. A few years ago we planted very early sorts for 

 coming in before the American importations, but this is now over, 

 as the quick run across, and summers hotter than our own, com- 

 bined, enable our friends to be abreast of us at the beginning, as 

 for a long time they have been at the end of the season. Our 

 only way out of this dilemma, as I have before observed, is high 

 cultivation. We have a climate which ripens fruit crisp, tender, 

 and juicy, not quite so highly coloured perhaps, but in my 

 opinion superior to the general run of American. We have the 

 soil, which, thanks to yearly tenancies, nobody cares to till, and 

 we have the ability. All we want is quality, then it matters 

 little whether we market early or late, always provided we con- 

 fine ourselves to a few of the best sorts which do well in the 

 locality. This hackneyed phrase for a long time puzzled would- 

 be growers, who said, Where must we look for anything better 

 than a Sufheld or a Blenheim? Well, I am not sure that anyone 

 requires anything better, but if they do, they must just look into 

 any of the great well-known nurseries about the end of September, 

 and there they will find thousands of trees of all the leading 

 kinds carrying fruit of the highest quality. Some of these on 

 dwarfing stocks — just the thing for the garden or home nursery — 

 will be loaded with large, bright fruit, of which at the present 

 time we ought to have one hundred thousand tons ready for 

 storing. They will find also standards on free stocks specially 

 prepared for planting on pasture and arable land. From these 

 they may select scores or hundreds of trees of one sort, and so 

 on of another, but on no account must they select one or two 

 trees each of a hundred sorts, as this plurality is a great draw- 

 back in commercial culture. Very early sorts generally go direct 

 from the trees to the market ; medium and late sorts must be 

 stored in dark, cool fruit-rooms or dry cellars, and this accom- 

 modation, or the want of it, must be the guide in making a 

 selection. 



Gathering, storing, and marketing hitherto in the western 

 counties has not received proper attention ; but a great improve- 

 ment is now taking place, and the day, I hope, is not far distant 

 when ruthless shaking the boughs will be looked upon as a 

 barbarous custom of the past. Apples worth growing are worth 

 hand-picking, and when hand-picked they are worth sizing — that 

 is, dividing into two classes before they are stored or sent to 

 market. The best only should be sent away ; seconds may be 

 retained for home use, or consumption in the neighbourhood. 

 There should be no mixing of sorts, or good and bad together, 

 but one uniform quality should prevail. Buyers in this part of 



