588 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



sheltered vales bordering on the sea, as in the hilly Cleveland district r 

 especially where it is well wooded, they do not suffer quite so much. On 

 the west the Pennine chain runs the whole length of the county ; the 

 westerly winds sweeping down from these high altitudes are rather cold, 

 and this has naturally a retarding influence upon the hardy fruits in the 

 vales. Towards the north the country is open and exposed, and the cold 

 north winds sweep down the Vale of York, which occupies a large area in 

 the centre of the county ; this shows what an important factor good 

 shelter is to successful fruit cultivation in Yorkshire. High hills extend 

 over a great part of the county, and it is particularly noticeable, where 

 plantations and large trees abound, what a beneficial influence this shelter 

 has upon farm and garden produce in their immediate localities. It would 

 be well if landowners would turn their attention a little more in this 

 direction. About Malton, York, and Selby vegetation is much earlier 

 than in other parts of Yorkshire, and it is curious to note that Malton is 

 considered to be fully a week earlier than Pickering, although the latter 

 is situated on the sunny side of the moorland hills in the north-east of 

 the county. Numerous cold springs burst from the rocks on the north 

 side of the Pickering Valley, and this is considered to be the cause. 



(2) The geological character of the soils and subsoils of Yorkshire is as 

 strongly marked as its main physical features. I often make the remark 

 that it is a " soil of patches." All through the county there is a great 

 diversity of soils, and often within very small areas. Some of my notes 

 are most interesting in respect to these conditions, not only as it affects 

 the different species of fruits, but their varieties also. I once heard a fruit- 

 grower of the good old school remark, " If you w T ant to know what varie- 

 ties of fruits to plant, look over into your neighbour's garden and see 

 what are doing well there." This is generally sound advice, although it 

 does not always stand good in Yorkshire. My notes show that in many 

 places varieties of hardy fruits may succeed well in certain gardens, while 

 in the districts round them the same varieties are most unsatisfactory, and 

 vice versa. One head gardener told me he always planted the same varieties 

 in different positions, and then some of them were sure to do well. 



It is easy for anyone acquainted with Yorkshire to be able to picture 

 in his mind its principal hardy-fruit districts. Following the line of the 

 Great Central Vale of York, which lies between the two groups of hills 

 on the eastern side and the two groups on the western side, from which 

 ramifications sweep round and run between the hilly districts of the east, 

 including the Plain of Cleveland, the Vale of Pickering, and following the 

 Ouse Valley to the mouth of the Humber, then taking a course south- 

 ward, over the flat alluvial plains by Thorne and Doncaster, much of the 

 hardy fruit grown in the county is included within these boundaries. It 

 has been said that " the rivers of Yorkshire are emphatically its own, born 

 among its mountains, giving life and beauty to its numerous dales." In 

 following up these dales along the main courses of the rivers some good 

 hardy fruits are to be seen. 



The Plain of Cleveland is mainly composed of strong, tenacious clay. 

 Towards the rise of the hills the soil is very variable, being composed of 

 b mlder clay, lias shale, and oolite sandstone. Very little hardy fruit is 

 grown in the Cleveland district, except in private places. In Eskdale, in 



