FRUIT IN MONMOUTHSHIRE AND SOUTH WALES. 
277 ^ 
amused at a remark made by a farmer in reply to a question as to the 
name of one of the trees which was loaded with Apples. He said, " We 
call that * The Parson,' sir, for until about ten years ago that tree never 
had an Apple on it, but I put up a small shed near by for a colt to shelter 
in in the winter, and 1 he whole of the manure from that shed was thrown 
under that tree, and ever since it has borne heavy crops of fruit." 
Evidently the farmer thought it paid better to feed the parson than to 
starve him, for the lesson he learned by observing the result of manuring 
this one tree was put into practice throughout the whole of his orchard^ 
and I have never seen a more healthy or cleaner lot of trees. Before I 
pass on to describe what I saw in other places I feel that I must say a 
word about the large number of cottages, well built, and gardens formerly 
well stocked with fruit trees that are now fast falling into ruins. Through 
the depression in agriculture, very few men are now regularly employed 
on the farms, the result being that they have left the country for the 
more populous districts and large towns. 
Monmouth and the surrounding district is one of the prettiest parts of 
the county. About six miles from the town we come to the Hendre, the 
seat of Lord Llangattock. The fruit gardens were laid out in the year 
1893 under the superintendence of Mr. Thomas Coomber, and are about 
two acres in extent. The soil is stiff clay and, underneath, blue marl. 
Previous to laying it out as fruit gardens it was pasture land, and before 
planting, the whole of it was trenched and divided into squares. The 
lower part is devoted to the different kinds of small fruit ; adjoining and 
above are the plantations of Pears and Plums, the whole of w^hich, in- 
cluding the small fruit, is enclosed and covered over with wire netting to 
the height of 8 feet. Most of the varieties of Plums were bearing 
very heavy crops, many of them weighted to the ground ; amongst 
others I noticed the ' Czar,' ' Early Prolific,' ' Early Trans- 
parent,' 'Denniston's Superb,' 'Jeffersons,' 'Kirks,' 'Grand Duke/ 
'Monarch,' ' Oulin's Golden Gage,' 'Pond's Seedling,' and 'Victoria.' 
The Pears included most of the leading varieties, and many of them were 
carrying good crops of fruit. The Apples are on the upper side of the 
gardens, and are enclosed with wire netting. The trees are planted 12 by 
10 feet apart, and it is difficult to find words to describe the magnificent 
crop of fruit. The whole of the trees are in pyramid form and are 
well shaped; up to the present time the pruning has been done by Mr. 
Coomber personally. During the latter part of the summer the lateral 
shoots are taken out, to enable the fruit buds for the coming year to 
develop and ripen, the leading shoots only being shortened in the winter 
months. The ground between the trees is cultivated and kept free from 
weeds by continually stirring the surface ; but no manure of any kind has 
ever been applied, not even when they were planted, and yet the branches 
of nearly every tree Avere laden with large and well-coloured fruits. Some 
of the best varieties were ' American Mother,' 'Bismarck,' 'Bramleys,' 
'Belle du Pontoise,' ' Cox's Orange,' * Gascoyne's Scarlet,' ' Lord Derby,' 
'Lane's Prince Albert,' 'Peasgoods,' ' Bauman's Reinette,' 'Tyler's 
Kernel,' 'Wellington,' 'Newton Wonder,' ' Ribstons,' and 'Worcester 
Pearmain.' The fruit trees on the walls in the kitchen garden and the 
whole of the grounds are a credit to the genial and kindly-hearted head 
gardener. 
