^78 Cider Orchards. [Jan. 



into pure cider at a reasonable profit. Before many years, 

 if the present state of affairs is allowed to continue, there will 

 be a regular and more serious shortage of cider fruit ; this 

 means that not only will any extension of the industry be 

 impossible, but a decline from its present position will be 

 inevitable. The matter is so serious, that it cannot be too 

 forcibly impressed upon those interested in the industry that 

 fresh orchards must be planted, if a suitable supply of fruit 

 is to be maintained. The number of young orchards is small ; 

 and enquiries among leading nurserymen, who propagate 

 cider varieties, show that the demand for young trees is still 

 limited. It is indeed stated that in many nurseries, where 

 formerly cider trees were extensively raised, their propagation 

 has been given up in consequence of the lack of demand. 



An equally serious point, as far as the general welfare of the 

 industry is concerned, is that the maintenance of a standard 

 of purity of the beverage is intimately connected with the 

 question of an abundant supply of fruit. 



Characteristics of a cider orchard. — Since it is of importance 

 that fresh orchards should be planted, and since there are 

 indications in some quarters that the need is beginning to be 

 recognized, it may be opportune to consider what the essential 

 characteristics of a good cider orchard should be from the cider- 

 makers' point of view. The general arrangement and the selec- 

 tion of varieties for a vintage orchard are matters which involve 

 questions of some complexity, quite distinct from those met with 

 in connection with the laying out of orchards for market purposes . 

 The questions are for the most part unique in character, since 

 they present in many ways features of a materially different 

 nature from those occurring in connection with the laying 

 out of vintage vineyards, the example which offers probably 

 the nearest parallel. It must be borne in mind that the value 

 of an orchard for vintage purposes is determined by the quality 

 of the cider which can be made from its produce ; and it may 

 be shown that this is determined primarily by the kinds of 

 fruit and the relative proportions of the three main types of 

 cider fruit, viz., sharp, sweet, and bitter-sweet apples. 



The ideas as to the construction of a cider orchard, which 

 are here put forward, have been based to some extent upon 

 the general experience of cider-fruit growers, and are supported 



