146 



On the Cultivation of the Filbert. 



throwing out those short twigs upon which the firuit is gene- 

 rally produced. That part of Kent, where the Filbert is 

 chiefly cultivated, is a loam upon a dry sandy rock As a 

 general rule, that soil which is proper for the growth of 

 Hops, is thought to be also congenial to the Filbert. 



Raising the Plants. There are four methods of raising the 

 plants ; by suckers, layers, grafting, and sowing the Nuts. 

 Each is practised according to the peculiar object of the 

 cultivator. The method adopted in the district above men- 

 tioned, is by suckers ; they come sooner into bearing, and 

 make stronger plants than either layers or grafts. They are 

 taken from the parent plant generally in the autumn, and 

 planted in nursery beds, (being first shortened to ten or 

 twelve inches,) where they remain three or four years. 

 They are slightly pruned every year, in order to form strong 

 lateral shoots, the number of which varies from four to six. 

 Tiie most free growing plants are obtained by sowing the 

 Nuts ; but they are so long in coming to a productive state, 

 and are so much inclined to degenerate into inferior varieties, 

 that this method is never resorted to in making a permanent 

 plantation. The plants raised by laying and grafting are of 

 more humble growth, and therefore belter adapted for small 

 gardens where the economy of space is an object of im- 

 portance. 



Manure. The Filbert requires a considerable quantity of 

 manure ; the grounds in Kent are dressed every year, or at 

 least once in two years. Every kind of manure is beneficial ; 

 but old woollen rags are found to produce the greatest effect. 

 If Kent had not been a Hop county, these would scarcely 

 have been thought of ; but as the same soil is congenial both 



