24 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



less the planter persevered with their culture, until he found that 

 for three or four years in succession he got plenty of blossom but 

 little or no fruit. He has recently destroyed them and cropped 

 the ground with vegetables. But wdiat a waste of time and 

 money, and w^hat a source of vexation and disappointment ! 



I believe in planting on slopes or uplands, where the spring 

 frosts are less destructive, with distant shelter to be provided, if 

 not already existing. If cheap quick-growing trees are planted 

 for shelter within a few yards of the boundaries of the planta- 

 tions, at the time young fruit trees are planted, the former will 

 afford the necessary shelter by the time the fruit trees come into 

 bearing. I would emphasise to the utmost of my power the 

 necessity of a favourable climate and shelter. 



On a farm of 200 acres there may be a difference of climate 

 that would render fruit culture profitable or unprofitable, ac- 

 cording to the position in w^hich the trees are planted. In the 

 Valley of the Lea I find that in some years the crop is mainly 

 or wholly on the bottom, and in others on the top of the trees. 

 This I attribute to the frost being more severe in the one case 

 near the ground, and in the other at a greater elevation during 

 the period of flowering. 



2. Soils. — A light or medium loam of good depth and well 

 drained is generally accepted as the most favourable for the pro- 

 duction of an abundance of good fruit. It matters not if it be 

 poor, provided manure can be obtained at an easy distance or at 

 , a cheap rate. A bad soil in a good climate often yields the 

 grower more profitable results than a good soil in a bad climate. 

 If the ground be wet, thorough and deep drainage is an essential 

 condition of land to be employed in fruit culture, for it improves 

 the climate as well as the soil. Chalk or gravel would seem to 

 be a better subsoil than clay, as the latter, especially if wet, 

 favours the development of canker. 



As to the soils for the different fruits I would prefer for apples 

 a medium, loam ; for plums, pears, and cherries a light warm 

 loam. For strawberries, a light rich loam, cool and moist, with 

 ready access to water. For raspberries, a deep, light loam, also 

 cool and moist. For gooseberries and currants, a deep, strong 

 loam. But I would not convey the impression that these soils 

 are necessary ; in well- drained soils cultivation may be safely 

 extended even to strong or clayey loams. 



Of coarse, the w^orking of the soil is, or should be, much more 

 costly than in ordinary farm operations, and the cultivation of 

 the trees by pruning and keeping free from insects is also an 

 item of cost in labour which must not be lost sight of. In 

 estimates of profits lately put forward, it appears to me that 

 these facts in connection with the cultivation of trees and soil 

 have not been sufficiently allowed for. The practice of " sticking 

 in " a few trees, by which is often meant merely digging a hole 

 large enough and deep enough to admit and cover the roots, in 



