CONFERENCE ON FRUIT GROWING. 



97 



papers, but I must say that the experiments carried out at the Woburn 

 Farm by Mr. Spencer Pickering have knocked the wind out of me as an old 

 nurseryman, they having gone entirely against all the principles which we 

 have been advocating for the last fifty years. Still, while I am not too old 

 to learn, I should be afraid and unwilling to advise the planting of trees 

 in the way described at Woburn. At the same time there is no doubt that 

 from those different experiments we may learn a great deal ; yet I must 

 confess that this is quite different from anything I have ever heard of or 

 experienced during the long time I have been connected with the nursery 

 business. I should say, as an old nurseryman — and I do not stand alone 

 in this particular — we are continually trying experiments, and our object 

 has been, within the last fifty years, to improve varieties. I do not think 

 we want to go back upon old varieties which are obsolete. What we want 

 is to move forward, to find a better variety to replace the old one.. We 

 have grown many old varieties; the 'Keswick Codling,' the 'Improved 

 Keswick Codling,' 1 Golden Knob ' have gone completely out of cultiva- 

 tion, 1 Wellingtons ' are now quite superseded by * Bramley Seedlings ' 

 and 1 Newton Wonder.' It is not our wish to cultivate so many sorts, 

 but we nurserymen exist to make a living, and we must consequently 

 cater for our customers. We are anxious to get rid of many varieties. 

 But when a man comes to you and asks you for a variety, and you do 

 not grow it, he considers you are behind the times, and he goes off 

 elsewhere for what he requires. There are, I might mention, in my 

 opinion, twenty new apples recently introduced that will never make a 

 name, but at the same time we are obliged to grow them. 



As regards grass in orchards, the old system has been to plant on 

 pasture, farmers saying that in this way they had a chance of three crops 

 — wool, mutton, and fruit. That may be all right ; but there is no doubt 

 whatever that grass takes out of the soil an enormous amount of nutri- 

 ment, and if you do not return it in the shape of manure, you impoverish 

 the soil in a marked degree ; and orchards made on arable land become 

 profitable much sooner. As to cover crops, I do not think we have done 

 much in that way in Kent. As to what our Canadian friend said, I would 

 remark that in his country they do not have to deal with orchards a 

 hundred years old. Yet it is wonderful how some of these old orchards 

 will respond to liberal treatment. If they will not it is better to destroy the 

 trees. I think we have much to learn about cross-fertilisation. As regards 

 a central experimental station, I should be very pleased to avail myself of 

 any information which might be gained from such a station, though 

 I believe every nurseryman — every fruit nurseryman worthy of the name 

 — has his own experimental station in his nursery. 



We are trying to reduce the numbers of varieties in all fruits, but 

 the remarks I made the other day were only intended as a guide to those 

 who are going in for commercial fruit growing. Mr. Cheal and myself 

 purposely only mentioned a few sorts, but the difficulty is much greater 

 than many persons are aware of, because of the difference in soils and 

 localities.* 



* Since the Fruit Conference was concluded Mr. George Bunyard writes saying 

 that the results obtained by Mr. Pickering at Ridgmont, as far as planting fruit trees 

 is concerned, are so very different to what might have been expected, and are so 



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