812 



Fruit Farming in West Kent. 



[JAN., 



Lane's Prince Albert, Early Victoria, Rivers' Early, Prince 

 Bismarck, White Transparent, Baumann's Red Winter 

 Reinette, and Gladstone. Under favourable conditions 

 Beauty of Bath grows to such a big bush as to require 15 ft., 

 so that if planted alone more space is required. 



For the first five or six years strawberries may be grown 

 between the apples, four rows of strawberries being planted if 

 the bush apples are 10 feet apart ; sometimes 3 rows of harvest 

 onions are grown for the first year between the rows of 

 strawberries. 



The following is an estimate of the cost of manuring and 

 cultivating the land preparatory to planting fruit : — 



Preparation of Land for Fruit Planting. 

 • Manuring. 



£ s. d. 



40 tons stable or cow manure at 4s. 3d. per ton ... ... ... 8 10 o 



Cartage from station and depositing in heaps at 2s. 4//. per ton ... 413 4 

 Spreading ... ... ... ... .... ... ... ... 034 



£13 6 8 



Preparation with Steam Cultivator. 



£ s. d. 



Ploughing ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... o 15 o 



Steam cultivation by grubber twice over, crossways, 18 in. deep 100 

 Coal (2s.) and cartage of coal and water (is.) ... ... ... 030 



Harrowing three or four times ... ... .. ... ... o 5 o 



£2 3 o 



(or) Preparation with Stibsoil Plough. 



£ s. d. 



Ploughing, say, 7 ins. deep (3 horses) ... ... ... ... 018 o 



Followed by a subsoil plough or heavy horse hoe (2 horses), 



stirring the ground 5 ins. deeper ... ... ... ... 012 o 



Harrowing ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... o 3 o 



£l 13 o 



Total Cost of Cultivating and Planting per Acre. 



£ s. d. 



Manuring with 40 tons stable manure ... ... ... ... 13 6 8 



Ploughing, subsoiling, harrowing, weeding ... ... ... 210 o 



Setting out land by marker or by sighting ... ... ... ... o 15 o 



Digging holes and planting (10 ft. apart) ... ... ... ... I 18 o 



436 apple, pear or plum bushes (2 or 3 years' old) at £6 per 100* 26 3 1 

 Strawberry plants, and planting four rows between apple rows 



32 in. apart, 18 in. in row ... ... ... ... ...500 



£49 12 9 



* If the distance between the apple trees is 12 ft., 303 trees are required costing 

 say, £18 3s. yd., and £1 6s. $d. to plant. At this distance there would be five rows of 

 strawberries, one row being in the apple row. 



Small Fruit planted between the Rows. — Many plantations 

 are planted with black currants between the bush apples or 

 pears. Great care is taken to get stock free from the Big Bud 

 mite, but as this usually attacks the fruit within four or five 

 years, the bushes are planted more closely than formerly, 



